There is nothing mysterious about spring cleaning: it is mostly about dealing, once a year, with what you put off the rest of the time. Here are ten steps, each with the right product.

What you need

The oven. Sprinkle with baking soda and spray with water. On vertical sides, make a paste and leave it overnight before scrubbing.
Odours. Put Sommières earth on the source: litter tray, bin, fabric. Leave it to act, then vacuum.
Windows and mirrors. Meudon whiting as a thin paste, left to dry, then buffed with a dry cloth.
Limescale on taps. Diluted citric acid, left for a quarter of an hour, then rinsed.
Dull white laundry. Sodium percarbonate in the drum, washed at 60 °C.
Grease stains on fabric. Sommières earth applied dry, for several hours, before any contact with water.
Rust on a tool. Oxalic acid, sticking to the recommended contact time.
Greasy kitchen drains. Washing soda dissolved in very hot water, in the evening.
Tile grout. Diluted white vinegar and a toothbrush.
The fridge. Water and baking soda, then a small dish of baking soda left in a corner.

The method

1

Start at the top: ceiling lights, shelves, then furniture, then floors. Dust falls downwards.

2

Do the laundry and fabrics first if you are using sodium percarbonate: the machine runs while you do the rest.

3

Keep the windows open throughout, especially if you are using washing soda.

4

Save the vinegar for the end, as a rinse, and never mix it with alkaline products.

What gets forgotten every year

The washing machine door seal, where moisture sits.
The cooker hood filter, to be soaked in hot water with washing soda.
The shower trap, to be taken apart once a year.
Underneath the fridge, where dust makes the motor run hot.

The doses for our products are on their packaging, and that is what counts. If swallowed or splashed, call the Poison Centre on +32 70 245 245 and keep the packaging to hand.

The ingredients