How to Clean Your Living Room
Use these five cleaning tips to spiff up your living room. Each one takes 20 minutes or less.
Drawing from the experience Consumer Reports experts have picked up from their own home cleaning duties, we’ve found that cleaning a living room doesn’t have to be an all-day affair. From wiping down your TV to scrubbing your walls, you can tackle each of the tasks we cover in our spring cleaning checklist below in 20 minutes or less. When you’re done, you can use the time you saved to start planning cleaning days for other areas of your home with CR’s spring cleaning guide.
- Living Room Spring Cleaning Checklist: TV Air Conditioner Sofas Workout Equipment Walls
Clean the Flat-Screen TV and Remote
Gently wipe your TV with a soft, dry anti-static microcloth to avoid scratching the screen. Avoid window cleaners—or any chemicals, for that matter—because they can damage the screen. Even paper towels and tissues can do damage. If there are hard-to-remove stains, dampen the cloth slightly with water and gently clean the screen.
Clean the Air Conditioner’s Filter
Prep your window air conditioner for the warmer seasons by cleaning the filter behind the front grille in case it accumulated dirt and dust. Pop off the grille, take out the filter, vacuum it, then wash it in warm, soapy water. Let the filter dry before reinstalling it. If the filter is badly worn, it’s time for a replacement.
Clean Under and Behind the Sofa, and Crevices
Even if you vacuum regularly in high-traffic areas, dust bunnies can lurk underneath and behind your sofa. Get these hard-to-reach areas at least once a year (every six months if possible) by moving the sofa. Vacuum the carpet or flooring and use special attachments to reach into the sofa’s crevices. Pet hair can be notoriously difficult to remove from some upholstery, so you might need to employ a lint roller or packing tape for these areas.
Clean Workout Equipment
If you share workout equipment with others in your household, it’s best to clean the handles and other high-touch surfaces with a disinfectant wipe between uses. But once in a while, you’ll want a more thorough cleaning. Get rid of dust buildup around the motors and other mechanical parts of treadmills and exercise bikes by unplugging the machine, removing the motor cover (your owner’s manual can help you find it), and vacuuming the visible debris. Then clean the machine’s surface with a damp, soft cloth and mild soapy water. Do not use window cleaners or any harsh chemicals on the screen, which may damage the display’s coating and touchscreen responsiveness.
Give your dumbbells and yoga mat the same treatment with a damp cloth and mild soapy water. We also have more brand-specific instructions from various yoga mat manufacturers.
Use a Magic Eraser for Scuffs on Your Walls
Depending on where you live, spring may mean more sunlight, which makes all those random streaks and smudges on your walls even more noticeable. Tough sponges like Mr. Clean’s Magic Eraser can remove crayon marks, fingerprints, and many scuff marks from painted walls.
Get a Magic Eraser sponge wet, wring it out, and glide it along black marks on the walls until they disappear.
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