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When cleaning, it’s best to work smarter not harder! Most Americans have so much clutter in their garages that they can’t park their car. Since residential garages can be huge places of mess, it’s only natural you go in with a cleaning plan.
How to Clean Garage Doors
Relatively few anticipate cleaning their garages year round, however it's a fundamental undertaking assuming you need to keep things spic and span. Your garage and garage door is consistently used, so maintaining them is key to keeping them in top shape all year round. When this task is finished, you'll be happy that your garage looks super clean!
1. Establish A Garage Cleaning Plan Before Starting To Declutter
Most garage decluttering can be done on a weekend, especially if you don’t have many stored belongings. If your garage is filled with every material possession you’ve accumulated in the span of your life, you’re certainly going to require a bigger time commitment (and maybe professional assistance).
Starting with a clear plan of what you want to get done with this garage cleaning project is important for your time. A garage cleaning checklist can help with this. Assign tasks to family members or helpful friends and neighbors to lessen the time spent cleaning.
2. Organizing your items to see what can be kept
Let's begin by decluttering your garage. Your garage's size and the number of junk items decide the timeframe needed to complete this project, so choose a full day or weekend where you have no other responsibilities pending. You'll want to go through everything that's embedded into the floor or walls. Go through each item and decide whether you need it or not.
Peruse every item, box and collection to decide what you will donate, keep, sell or throw away and separate them into different piles. Ask yourself if you have used it recently in the past couple months or year. If not donate, sell, recycle or toss it. This will make it much easier to figure out which of your possessions are worth storing or donating. Don't keep items you think you may use someday. This hoarding behavior is what leads to clutter in the first place.
3. Air out your garage
An empty garage means you are now able to make sure any windows or doors are opened to let in fresh air. This will give your cramped garage some much needed fresh air now that all your items are out of the way.
That’s a wonderful pro of decluttering – it opens up space to let in airflow. You can also use a box fan facing one of the open windows or doors to help speed up the airing out.
4. Clean, Sweep & Mop
The clear space now allows you to move any organized items away from the entrance of the garage. You will certainly find plenty of dust, dirt and grime in the cleared area as you sweep your garage floor. Gather all cleaning and sanitizing supplies that you will need.
- Start cleaning all shelves and flat surfaces with a multipurpose cleaning spray. You will likely have to clean or sweep the floor first, but doing that after will result in a much more efficient clean.
- Wipe down your garage wall panels with a clean rag or paper towels. If your garage wall material is made of brick, drywall, or any other material, sweep downward with a broom in order to be rid of some of the dust & dirt that has built up. Remove any spiderwebs you spot with the same broom.
- Time to sweep up all the dust, dirt & bugs that have accumulated on the floor. Be sure not to miss any corners.
- Your garage may need extra care if it’s extra grimey. If needed, wash your floor with a garden hose & a cleanser. A mop will also work if only light cleaning is needed. Once done, you can use a sponge to get rid of the water that’s left.
- Now it’s time to clean your garage door! Be certain to clean your door based on its material. For steel, fiberglass or vinyl, you can rinse off the door with a hose and wipe the dirt & grime away using a sponge, some gentle dish soap & water.
Now that your garage looks brand spanking new, all you have to do is maintain it! Be sure to not add more junk to your clear floors, frequently clean, and most importantly, go back and declutter once a year to keep up with it.
5. Check for Damage
While our garage doors are constructed tough and sturdy, they actually need frequent upkeep. So while you're cleaning your garage, it's a fantastic chance to outwardly examine your garage door and inspect for any issues. Capitalize on your time and energy by following our definitive residential garage cleaning agenda that even the most active of homeowners can oversee!
For more information on our residential garage door options, repair services, and garage door needs contact DoorSystems today!
