So, you’re ready to remodel your bathroom, living room, or kitchen? Be prepared for lots of debris and dust!
These things are inevitable when you’re renovating and remodeling (especially if you have pets and children and lots of life going on in your home), so you’d better have a strategy in line to help you keep the mess under control.
Here are 10 tips to help you keep your home tidy while remodeling!
1. Take Everything Out
Make sure to remove everything from the room undergoing renovations before the works begin. This includes any furniture than can be moved, decorations, clothing, etc. The point is to leave the room as empty as possible to prevent it from getting extremely dirty, but also to keep the items from accidental destruction or damage.
2. Cover Things Up
Any heavy furniture that can’t be moved (like large armoires or vanities) should be covered with plastic. This will prevent debris and dust from entering into the cracks and crevices. In addition, it will prevent the furniture finish from getting dull.
3. Turn the Furnace Off
If you have a furnace in the room, turn it off to reduce wear and tear, but also to prevent debris and dust from circulating around the house. Dirt gets easily trapped in the furnace’s filter, so the furnace will need to work harder than usual. However, part of the dust will still find its way through the furnace’s filter and travel to other parts of the home. If you can’t leave the furnace off the entire time, then make sure it’s on only when there’s no work going on.
4. Cut Materials Outside
Even though this sounds like a no-brainer, you’ll often see workers cutting down or finishing materials in the working area. Sure, there are situations when work has to be done inside (like refinishing floors or drywall sanding and finishing), but in all other cases, it should be done outside.
5. Clean at the End of the Day
Regardless of whether you’ve hired someone to do the remodeling or you’re DIY-ing it, be disciplined and clean up the work area at the end of the day.
Remodeling can be quite messy, so keeping the debris and dust from being spread all over the house is very important. When you’re done for the day, put everything away and vacuum the working area. If there’s any water or mud, use a high-suction vacuum cleaner (if you own one).
Use contractor trash bags to collect the debris. Look for 2.0 mil bags or thicker that can stand up to tears and punctures from broken glass, nails, hangers, plaster, etc.
6. Isolate the Working Area
Even though this won’t prevent 100% of the debris and dust from entering the rest of your home, it will definitely reduce their amount. To block off the working area, temporarily install heavier plastic tarps or even thick plastic flaps over the door frames. Dust will still spread but it’ll probably stay within a couple of feet from the doorway covered with plastic, which will make it easier for you to vacuum at the end of the day.
7. Create Small Paths Out of Wooden Boards
The best way to keep the dirt under control is by laying down wooden boards. This is especially efficient for outside areas. If there are any muddy or extra dirty areas, just lay down boards over them so that everyone can keep their shoes clean and prevent the mud and dirt from entering the house. On rainy days, you’ll congratulate yourself for taking the time to do this.
However, this trick also works inside the home. If you’re doing drywall, laying down new flooring, or something else that involves an exposed subfloor or very dusty floor, laying down wooden boards to walk on will create a smaller area that has to stay clean and will reduce the amount of dirt being tracked throughout the house.
8. Make Sure to Dust
The thing about dust is that it accumulates slowly and you usually don’t notice it until there’s too much of it. But when you do notice the dust, it means that you’ll have a lot of work to do to remove it and that can be frustrating when you’re all busy remodeling. When you’re doing renovation projects, dust somehow finds its way even to the most remote parts of your home, making it smell icky. If you make sure to dust at the end of every day (which should take no more than two minutes), you will prevent this and keep your home cleaner.
9. Don’t Forget to Vacuum
As mentioned earlier, vacuuming at the end of the day is a must. Keep your vacuum close to the working area at all times and if possible, vacuum several times a day. It really helps If you have a high-suction vacuum. If you’re someone who’s into DIYs and you do renovations often, consider investing in a good vacuum because using some 20-year-old dinosaur will make you frustrated. You’ll keep using the new vacuum after the remodeling is done to clean up after your kids and pets anyway.
10. Let Some Air In
Whenever the weather permits it, open the windows and window screens while work is taking place. This will provide ventilation but also prevent the debris and dust from getting trapped in the screens’ mesh.
Final Thoughts
Living in a home while renovation or remodeling is taking place isn’t fun. Besides the constant noise and the army of people going in and out of the house all the time, there’s also all that debris and dust you have to live with. These tips will help you reduce the dirt and you survive the remodeling with much less stress.
