As the weather gets colder, it is a good time to take care of important maintenance and deep cleaning tasks around your home. This winter cleaning checklist will help you make sure your home is clean and healthy for the upcoming holiday season.

Chimney Sweep

If you have a fireplace in your home, annual inspection and cleaning is crucial to reducing your risk of a fire or carbon monoxide poisoning. A certified chimney sweep will inspect your fireplace, chimney, and vent and clean out any accumulated ash, soot, and debris.

When you hire a chimney sweep, look for one that has been certified by the  Chimney Safety Institute of America. They have undergone extensive safety and ethical business training prior to certification.

Furnace and Vent Cleaning

Annual furnace and vent cleaning keeps your HVAC system running efficiently and can reduce airborne allergens in your home. HVAC specialists typically perform this service. While general contractors and even some carpet cleaning companies offer furnace and vent cleaning, they may not be as well-trained on your particular furnace. If you have noticed a drop in efficiency in your furnace, it may be worthwhile to hire a furnace specialist to perform the inspection and cleaning. If your furnace is fairly new and you have not had any problems, you may be able to have your furnace and vents cleaned at the same time you have your carpets cleaned.

Carpet Cleaning

Before you host a holiday party, consider having your carpets professionally cleaned. Clean carpets give your whole house a fresh, clean appearance. While you can rent a carpet cleaner and do the job yourself, a professional carpet cleaning crew will save you time. Their professional-grade equipment will get your carpets cleaner than the rental machines available at grocery stores.

You can expect to pay between $0.30 and $0.50 per square foot for professional carpet cleaning. Before you hire a cleaning service, be sure you understand exactly what products and techniques they use, and what services are included in the estimate.

About Vince Sandri

Vince Sandri is a content writer and blogger with more than 12 years of experience. His expertise is in creating content related to disaster restoration, including information about preventing and reacting to natural disasters like flooding, water damage, fire and smoke damage, mold growth, storm damage and more.
Vince has been the main contributor to RestorationMasterFinder.com since 2014. Over that time, he has written numerous service pages and blogs for disaster restoration providers featured on RestorationMasterFinder.com. Vince has done extensive research and covered a wide range of topics relating to disaster restoration to help homeowners, business owners, and property managers better protect their property. He understands the problems that disasters like flooding, fire, smoke, and mold can cause as well as the best ways to respond to these issues to limit the damage.
Vince completed his Bachelor of Arts degree at Aurora University and his master’s degree at DePaul University. He has been writing SEO website pages, blogs, and press releases since 2012. Vince is also a musician and can be seen playing in the Chicago, IL area.