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Quick Fixes to Dust Away Your Spring-Cleaning Blues

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(NewsUSA) - 'Tis the season of birds, bees and dust pans. As spring slowly drifts toward summer, many homeowners and apartment dwellers will embrace big cleaning projects. In fact, 75 percent of Americans make spring cleaning a part of their seasonal routine, according to a 2008 survey conducted by the Spring Cleaning Survey by the Soap and Detergent Association.

To ensure this is the year the car finally fits into the garage, and guests, not storage, occupy the spare bedroom, the Whirlpool Institute of Fabric Science (instituteoffabricscience.com) and Gladiator GarageWorks, a complete garage-organization system, offer their favorite tips to spruce up the home this year:

- Pinpoint areas of the home that need immediate attention, and assign family members to specific jobs. Involving everyone gets the job done more quickly.

- Tackle high-visibility areas first, like entryways, living areas and the garage, then assess storage needs. For example, a coordinated storage system with cabinets, hooks and baskets helps organize home-improvement supplies, sports equipment and seasonal items.

- Take inventory. If an item hasn't been used in more than a year, consider throwing it out or donating it.

- Clean behind furniture and appliances. Vacuuming behind the refrigerator helps improve its efficiency and saves money on utility bills. This is also a good time to change your refrigerator water filter.

- Don't forget to organize overlooked parts of the home, like the laundry room, where designating areas for sorting, treating, folding and ironing makes the seasonal switch to warm weather outfits easier and faster.

- Regularly "wash" the washing machine to remove odor-causing residue, improve efficiency and ultimately save money.

The last tip is especially important, as removing odor-causing residue from the washing machine extends its lifetime and increases its cleaning abilities. While all washers, no matter the make or model, have the potential for odor-causing residue to build up, high-efficiency models seal more tightly and use less water than traditional top-loading machines. Odor can occur when residue from detergents, lint and soil accumulate in areas of the washer where water cannot easily rinse. Cleaning the washer every 30 days with a product such as the Affresh washer-cleaning kit, along with the suggested tips in the appliance's Use & Care Guide, will go a long way toward helping all washers run at peak performance.

For additional product information, tips and more, please visit http://www.affresh.com or http://www.gladiatorgw.com.