What should I clean weekly, monthly and yearly in my house?

A house stays clean on a few layers of schedule. Some jobs are daily, most of the real cleaning is weekly, a handful of checks are monthly, a deeper clean comes a few times a year, and a short list of safety jobs is yearly. The exact rhythm depends on your household, but the list below is a solid default for a Virginia home, and it mixes cleaning with the small upkeep jobs that are easy to forget.

How often a surface needs cleaning depends on what it is made of and how often it is used or touched,^[1] so treat this as a starting point and move jobs up or down as your house tells you.

Every day

• Kitchen counters, table and sink. Virginia Cooperative Extension notes that high-touch surfaces such as tables and countertops may need cleaning daily, or even more often.^[1]
• Dishes and spills. Cleaning them right away keeps pests and sticky floors away.
• The dryer lint filter, every load. The U.S. Fire Administration's advice is to clean the lint filter before and after each cycle and never run the dryer without one,^[5] and it warns that not cleaning the lint filter and dryer vents raises the risk of a dryer fire.^[5]

Every week

• Bathrooms. Sinks, faucets, tubs and showers, toilets, mirrors and floors. Run an exhaust fan or open a window in the bathroom and kitchen while showering, cooking or washing dishes,^[2] which keeps the weekly scrub from turning into a mold job.
• Kitchen. Stovetop, appliance fronts, microwave, cabinet fronts near the stove, and the floor.
• Dusting. EPA's guidance is to "dust often with a damp cloth,"^[2] so the dust leaves with the cloth.
• Bedding, carpets and upholstery. For homes with allergy or asthma triggers, EPA's advice is to wash bedding in hot water once a week and dry it completely, and vacuum carpets and furniture every week.^[2]
• Trash and recycling. Empty bins and wipe out any that smell.
• The fridge. FDA's food-safety guidance is to keep the refrigerator at or below 40° F (4° C) and the freezer at 0° F (-18° C),^[3] to check the temperature on a fridge and freezer thermometer at least once a week,^[3] and to clean the refrigerator regularly and wipe up spills right away.^[3] Clearing out old leftovers before the weekly shop is an easy habit.

Wet towels, bath mats and anything that got soaked should not wait for the weekly round. EPA's advice is to "dry damp or wet things completely within one to two days to keep mold from growing."^[2]

Every month

• Smoke alarms. Test every smoke alarm once a month,^[4] by pressing the test button on each one.
• Heating and cooling filter. ENERGY STAR's checklist says to inspect, clean or change the air filter in a central air conditioner, furnace or heat pump once a month,^[6] because a dirty filter can raise energy costs and damage the equipment.^[6] See how often to change a furnace filter.
• Catch-up cleaning. Baseboards, door frames, light switches, vent covers, ceiling fan blades you can reach safely, the inside of the microwave, and the dishwasher's filter as its manual describes.
• Under sinks. A quick look for drips and damp is part of cleaning the cabinet.

A few times a year

A seasonal deep clean: inside the oven and fridge, inside cabinets and drawers, windows and blinds, light fixtures, mattresses, behind and under furniture, and closets. Spring and fall work well in Virginia, when windows open and close for the season. If the house has gone a long time without one, a one-time deep clean can reset it; see how often to schedule a deep clean.

Spring and fall are also when ENERGY STAR suggests having a contractor check the cooling system in the spring and the heating system in the fall,^[6] since contractors get busy once summer and winter arrive.

Every year

• Heating equipment. EPA recommends that a fuel-burning furnace, stove or fireplace be inspected and serviced before each heating season to protect against carbon monoxide poisoning.^[7] If you burn wood, EPA also advises that a wood stove and chimney be inspected every year by a certified professional.^[2] Both are jobs for a qualified technician, not a cleaner.
• Smoke alarm batteries. The U.S. Fire Administration says to replace the batteries in a 9-volt smoke alarm at least once every year^[4] and the backup battery in a hard-wired alarm also needs replacing once a year.^[4] Note the date on each alarm too: an alarm is due for replacement 10 years after its manufacture date.^[4] A hard-wired alarm is an electrician's job.
• The cleaning cupboard. Throw out dried-up or unlabeled products and keep what is left closed and out of children's reach.

What does not need a yearly schedule

Air ducts. EPA does not recommend cleaning air ducts routinely, only as needed.^[7] The cases it lists include substantial visible mold growth, ducts infested with rodents or insects, and ducts clogged with excessive dust and debris.^[7] If dust comes back fast, the filter is the first thing to check; see why a house gets dusty so fast.

Fitting this to a cleaning service

A recurring service usually covers the weekly list, and many will rotate one monthly or seasonal task into each visit for an extra charge. The alarms, the filter and the lint screen stay with you. See what a regular visit usually covers and weekly or every other week.

Stop and call a pro if

• You smell gas, a carbon monoxide alarm sounds, or a fuel-burning appliance has not been serviced this year.
• You find mold beyond a small spot, a musty smell or water damage.
• A smoke alarm is hard-wired and needs replacing, or a dryer vent behind the wall or on the roof is clogged.
• Cleaning means a tall ladder, such as high windows or a two-storey foyer light.

Getting help on Loclis

Browse recurring cleaning services, look up cleaning businesses around Blacksburg, or read the other cleaning answers. To hand the weekly list to someone else, describe the job on Loclis once and businesses quote it.