Deep cleaning in Clifton, from the hearth to the walk-out basement

If you burn wood through a Clifton winter, you know the fine grey ash it leaves behind. Some escapes each time you open the stove door or carry in a load of logs. It settles on the mantel, the shelves near the hearth, lampshades and the tops of picture frames. Smoke can leave a dull film on nearby glass and light fixtures too. Plan your deep clean for spring, once the burning season is over. Your team dusts high and low, from the mantel up to the crown molding. They wipe lamps and lampshades and clean glass and picture frames. They also clean the air vents and return covers that carry ash around the house. Your team cleans around the hearth, not inside it. The firebox and the chimney are a job for a chimney sweep.

The Town of Clifton is tiny, and most Clifton mailing addresses are out in the county around it. If yours is one of the older houses in town, it may have original wood floors and older windows. The trim may carry many coats of paint. Those surfaces want mild products and a soft cloth, not hard scrubbing. A few miles north, the family neighborhoods near Centreville, such as Little Rocky Run, are a different job. Many have HOA rules, garages and finished basements. There, the work is more about busy kitchens, kids' bathrooms and lower-level rec rooms. The deep clean checklist is the same in both. How your team works through it is not. Tell us your home's age if you know it and anything that is original or fragile. Heavy or antique pieces stay right where they are.

If your house has a walk-out basement, that door brings in the same grit as the mudroom. Lower levels also gather cobwebs in the corners and dust on the window sills. Guest rooms, a bonus room or a second family room can sit unused for weeks. They still need a full clean. A deep clean covers them all. Your team dusts high and low in every room and vacuums under beds and sofa cushions. They clean air vents and return covers and wipe the stair rails and spindles on the way down. If the walk-out has a sliding glass door, they clean the glass and wipe out the track, where grit from the yard collects. Keep the door to any storage or mechanical room closed, and your team will know to skip it.