Fall Cleaning

Fall cleaning time is here. What’s that you say? Never heard of it? Fall cleaning is preparing your home for the coming season of winter. It is a deep clean of each room in the home; clearing away the dust and grime that has entered over the summer months when we open windows and patio doors to enjoy fresh air and natural breezes.

Still not convinced? Take a quick look at a few windowsills around your home. Pretty dirty, huh? That is the dirt that makes its way inside. How about under the beds and behind furniture? Is it covered in dust tumbleweeds? This is the dust that is inside and accumulating.

From top to bottom

Once the need for daily air conditioner use has passed, it is time to start cleaning. One room at a time and every part of the room: ceilings, walls, furniture and bed linens, curtains or window treatments, floor and windows. This is where the saying, “from top to bottom” comes from. You start at the ‘top’ of a room because dust will fall upon items below, the ‘bottom’. Last to be cleaned will be windows and floors.

It’s a lot of work- the kind that makes you cranky and exhausted but I still think it is an important way to keep a clean home. Not in a germaphobic way, but in a way that looks and smells fresh. A home that is a welcome respite and one that is cozy and well cared for takes effort.

All of the above I learned from my mother and grandmother. First by watching and then ‘assisting’. I also learned not to get in the way of either woman or ask any questions, especially ‘What’s for dinner?’ when this type of cleaning was being performed. Just sayin’…

When the fall cleaning was completed, it seemed as though the house sparkled again. The faint smell of pine cleaner lingered and blended with lemon furniture polish. It’s just different from the regular, weekly smell of clean.

Cleaning gadgets

There are so many conveniences of which we can avail ourselves to make the task easier: vacuums that also shampoo carpets, robotic vacuums, gadgets that attach with magnets to clean outside windows from the inside, mops that don’t require any hand contact to rinse or wring out. No-iron window treatments and even blinds built inside the window, no blind cleaning needed there!

But just decades ago, fall cleaning was an altogether different endeavor.

Come the end of September, early October, women began the arduous but necessary task of fall cleaning the home. It was time to sweep out the dust of spring and summer and prepare the home for the long winter months of cold and inside living.

Washing walls and Mattress turning

This preparation was often weeks-long. It might begin with sweeping dust and cobwebs from walls and ceilings, washing the walls, window sills, woodwork and light fixtures. Knick-knacks would have been washed in hot, sudsy water with a splash of ammonia and carefully placed on towels to air-dry.

Mattresses were turned. Mattress pads removed and washed in hot water with bleach- the best germ killer. Lightweight summer cotton or linen coverlets from would be replaced with wool blankets. These were first hung out on the clothesline to air for several days to remove the smell of moth balls. Pillows received washing in hot water, feathers and all. Furniture was cleaned and waxed with Butcher’s wax (now known by simply Bowling Alley wax but it’s still Made in the USA!) or lemon oil.

Curtains and Rugs

Lace curtains would be taken down and carefully handwashed using Castile soap and then put away for next spring. Replacing them were heavier curtains or drapes for added insulation against drafts. Rugs, if they were a manageable size, would be rolled up and carried outdoors. Hung over a sturdy railing or line, where the rug would be beaten or whacked with a rug beater to remove debris which a Hoover or carpet sweeper could not.

Window Cleaning

Finally, time had come to remove the window screens and put up storm windows in their place. Both were attached by hooks or hinges and button pins that secured the storm window on the outside of the house. If fresh air was needed, the storm window could be pushed out from the bottom, working somewhat as an awning window.

But from around the 1930s, the triple-track steel or aluminum frame storm windows became the norm -aka the windows from hell. These hideous creations required cleaning two separate sets of windows! The upper storm window, inside and out. The lower storm window, inside and out as well as the interior window! Check out your neighborhood, you’re sure to find them still in use.

I have to admit, I like cleaning windows. I like them even more now that I can fully open casement windows and clean them from inside the house. Windows are the eyes of a home and I want them clean, always. I’ve used the blue stuff in the spray bottle with paper towels; not always streak-free results. Vinegar and water with newspaper – don’t laugh, this really does a terrific job with no streaks.

Window wax

Of course, geeky person that I am, I have also used old-fashioned window wax made by the Gold Seal company, sadly now out of business for some time. Using glass wax is absolutley the best method as it keeps windows really clean for months, even through snow storms. It’s also the one that requires the most work but the results are worth it. You can also skip a couple of ‘arm’ days at the gym.

Once you’ve cleaned mirrors, windows and floors and moved the furniture back into place, stand back and admire a job well done. Now is the time to put your feet up and savor a hot cup of tea. And then a nap.