I’m the Queen of Clean & your home is a breeding ground for bacteria right now – the places you MUST scrub in September

QUEEN of Clean Lynsey Crombie isn’t married to the idea of spring cleaning – she thinks autumn is the time to tidy.

She says: “After six weeks of entertaining kids and hosting summer parties, our houses need a rest. Every nook and cranny has been neglected and they won’t clean themselves.

“Tick off cleaning jobs now and you’ll be ready to cosy up when the cold weather arrives, knowing everything is in order.”

Here, Lynsey gives Kirsten Jones her to-do list to keep your home sparkling right up until Christmas . . .

Open windows for an hour a day

AFTER a summer of hot, dry weather, shutting windows and drying laundry indoors causes a build-up of warm, moist air.

The result? A breeding ground for bacteria and fungi.

Lynsey’s fix: Keep windows open for an hour every day to reduce humidity and keep fresh air flowing through your home.

If you can, buy a dehumidifier (Dunelm, £25) and run it while you cook dinner and dry your clothing.

It will soak up that extra moisture and banish any lingering odours.

Stamp out those summer allergens

DURING summer, open windows allow dust and dirt to settle on sills and indoor surfaces.

Pollen makes its way indoors, too, and could make allergy symptoms linger well past the summer months.

Lynsey’s fix: Use the “top-down” method, cleaning thoroughly, from cobweb-ridden corners of ceilings, to dusty blinds and table tops, until you reach the floor where everything settles.

"Work with gravity, allowing any disturbed dust and allergens to fall before banishing it all.

Declutter to stop infestations

THE end of summer marks creepy-crawly season, with thick-set spiders and hungry moths eager to find a home among your neglected piles of bric-a-brac.

If you’ve noticed holes in your knitwear, or web-ridden corners around the home, it’s time to brush up your cleaning routine.

Lynsey’s fix: Critters love dark corners to hide in and tend to creep into our homes when lights go out.

Shut windows at night, clear out your wardrobe, clean surfaces with warm soapy water or white vinegar and keep corners clear so they have nowhere to hide.

If you have a garment steamer, now’s a good time to give items a quick spritz to freshen them up ready for wear.

Snake drains to unclog them

IN the summer months our hair sheds faster to keep us cool, but this can wreak havoc on our household plumbing.

After each shower, loose locks rush down the plug hole causing clogged pipes, slow drainage and nasty smells.

Lynsey’s fix: A drain snake (Toolstation, £4.98) is one of my favourite household cleaning items.

Guide it carefully down your plug holes and pull back to retrieve all that matted hair.

If your drains are particularly clogged, try an unblocker gel first.

Leave for a few hours and pour boiling water to activate the product and keep those pipes sparkling clean.

Tackle all the high-touch areas

COLDS, flu and other illnesses are rife in the colder months and spread faster when we’re shut inside together as germs gather on door handles, taps, cupboards and kitchen worktops.

Lynsey’s fix: Pay special attention to these high-touch areas using a disinfectant that promises to kill 99.9 per cent of germs and bacteria (Astonish Pink Roses Ready to Use Disinfectant, £1, Asda).

To avoid tarnishing door handles, spray the product on to a microfibre cloth then use it to wipe thoroughly.

For other surfaces, spray directly on to the area and leave for at least five minutes before wiping.

Cleaning off any sooner will allow bugs to linger.

Hot wash your bed sheets

AS flu season approaches, quality sleep is vital to boost your immune system.

But after a summer of sweaty nights and hayfever-induced sneezing, your bedding could be teeming with bacteria and allergens.

Lynsey’s fix: Before switching your summer and winter quilts, give both a deep hot wash to kill any bacteria and unwanted mites.

Give your mattress a good vacuum, spot clean sweat patches using white shaving foam and eliminate odours with bicarbonate of soda.

Vacuum under your bed, too.

Soak up dirt from sofas and carpets

JUST seven per cent of us clean our sofas annually – but lift up those cushions and there’s years’ worth of stale snacks and grime to make your skin crawl.

Meanwhile carpets can hold four times their weight in dirt and debris after two years of neglect.

Lynsey’s fix: Pop along to your local B&Q store and rent out a carpet cleaner (from £25 for 24 hours) to get your floors back on sparkling form within a few hours.

As for your sofa, run the vacuum around all the cracks and crevices and use a steamer – avoid on leather sofas, and even a garment steamer will do – to kill bacteria and lift out unwanted odours.

Sanitise sticky tech

FROM jam-covered hands on remotes, to fingerprint-littered TV screens and smeared mobile phones, our tech is teeming with bacteria, ready to spread coughs and colds like wildfire.

Lynsey’s fix: Whatever you do, don’t spray cleaning products directly on to your tech.

It causes smears and, worse, might cause pricey damage.

Spritz a little rubbing alcohol (Amazon, £3.79) on to a microfibre cloth and carefully wipe your tech.

Cotton buds are an ideal tool for tight spots on keyboards and TV remotes.

If you have no rubbing alcohol, vodka works.

After six weeks of entertaining the kids, every nook and cranny has been neglected and they won’t clean themselves

Defrost the freezer and bin old food

ALL those ice creams had your freezer working overtime in the summer.

There could be a bigger build-up of ice as the external temperature rises and your appliance may not work as well come autumn.

Lynsey’s fix: Bin all your out-of-date items and pop a bowl of boiling water at the bottom of the freezer.

The ice will fall away in nice big chunks.

Let them melt away in the kitchen sink.

Use a hairdryer if you prefer – it will work just as well.

Just be mindful of keeping it away from any wet surfaces.

Wash throws and cushions

CLEANING professionals say we should wash cushions and throws once a month – but most of us probably don’t even do this once a year!

We use them as dinner trays and wipe our hands all over them, so it is about time they had a good spritz.

Lynsey’s fix: Chuck cheap cushions, covers and all, straight into the washing machine at 30C and dry on the line.

Add bicarbonate of soda to keep them nice and bouncy. They will come out good as new.

Posher items will need spot cleaning with diluted upholstery cleaner.

Avoid fabric conditioner, which traps more dust and dirt.

If you want a nice scent, add some essential oils to the drum for a long-lasting fragrance.

Clean windows to block cold

ONE of our top ten most dreaded household chores is cleaning windows, a survey found.

But months of dirt covering the glass could make your home even colder in autumn and winter, by blocking out sunlight.

Lynsey’s fix: Glass cleaner works, but a simple bowl of warm soapy water and a microfibre cloth will make windows sparkle and let in sunlight in the winter months.

Whatever you do, don’t clean your windows on a sunny day.

They dry too fast and cause streaks – it’s a job for a grey day.

Clear out gutters to beat rot and mould

LEFT unattended, clogged gutters can cause serious damage to your home.

Water can overflow, resulting in rotting wood, mould growth and even structural issues.

Lynsey’s fix: If gutters are safely accessible, you can clear your own by hand, removing leaves, droppings and loose twigs regularly.

Every couple of months should suffice for avoiding problems.

Everyone gets excited about spring cleaning but now is the time when we really need to scrub homes top to bottom

Don’t forget the outdoor furniture

IT is time to say ciao to al fresco dining.

But leave your furniture outside all winter and it will be in a right old state by next summer.

Lynsey’s fix: If you have furniture that can handle a pressure washer – such as rattan – you can wash it down in seconds.

For metal items, use a mop and soapy water.

Cover with a cheap groundsheet weighed down with bricks to keep out the elements.

If you have soft furnishings, store them in air-tight containers or even some bin bags in the loft.

Prep your pillows for winter

WITHIN six months, a new pillow doubles in weight from your sweat and saliva.

There is no better excuse to give them a regular clean and keep bacteria at bay.

Lynsey’s fix: You do not have to wash pillows to make sure they are kept fresh and clean.

Simply stick them in the tumble dryer on a high heat for 15 minutes to kill germs.

You can also pop them in the freezer for half an hour, or use a carpet-cleaning machine or steam cleaner to suck the dirt out.