If you have ever looked around your home and thought “this place needs more than a quick vacuum,” you are not alone. Most of us keep up with the basics, but a proper deep clean is a different beast. How often do you actually need one?

It depends on your lifestyle, your home, and where you live. Here on the Sunshine Coast, our subtropical climate adds extra considerations you will not find in a generic cleaning guide.

What Counts as a Deep Clean?

A deep clean means getting into the spots you normally skip: behind appliances, inside the oven, on top of ceiling fans, behind toilets, inside window tracks, and under furniture. It resets your home to a genuinely fresh state.

If you keep up with regular maintenance, a full house cleaning does not need to happen every week. But leaving it too long creates problems that are harder to fix.

The Weekly Essentials

Some tasks need attention every week to stop grime building up:

• Bathrooms: Scrub showers, toilets, and sinks. Mould loves the Sunshine Coast humidity, and a week is all it takes for pink mould to appear in grout lines.
• Kitchen surfaces: Wipe down benchtops, stovetops, and handles. Clean the sink properly, not just a rinse.
• Floors: Vacuum all floors and mop hard surfaces. Pet owners may need to do this more often.
• Bins: Empty and wipe down kitchen and bathroom bins. In our warm climate, odours develop fast.
• Bedding: Wash sheets and pillowcases. Dust mites thrive in warm, humid conditions, and weekly washing makes a real difference.

Monthly Tasks

Once a month, set aside time for the jobs that do not need weekly attention but should not be forgotten:

• Ceiling fans and light fittings: Dust accumulates fast. Most of us run ceiling fans year-round, so they collect a surprising amount of grime.
• Window sills and tracks: Salt air and humidity leave residue, particularly near the coast.
• Inside the microwave and oven: A monthly wipe prevents baked-on grease becoming a major job.
• Skirting boards and door frames: These collect dust and cobwebs you stop noticing.
• Washing machine: Run an empty hot cycle with vinegar. Front loaders in humid climates are notorious for musty smells.

Quarterly Deep Cleans

Every three months, tackle the jobs that take real time and effort:

• Behind and under furniture: Pull out couches, beds, and heavy items. You will be surprised what is hiding under there.
• Windows inside and out: Salt spray and dust make Sunshine Coast windows grimy faster than you might expect.
• Mattresses: Vacuum and air out mattresses. Sprinkling bicarb soda before vacuuming helps absorb moisture and odours.
• Grout and tile scrubbing: Bathrooms and laundries need a proper grout scrub to prevent mould setting in permanently.
• Air conditioner filters: Clean or replace filters. Dirty filters push dust and allergens around your home and make the unit work harder.

Sunshine Coast Specifics

Living in a subtropical climate means a few things for your cleaning schedule:

Mould is your biggest enemy. Warmth and humidity create perfect conditions for mould. Bathrooms, wardrobes, and poorly ventilated spaces are most at risk. If you notice a musty smell, act fast — mould spreads quickly and can cause health issues.

Dust mites love it here. Vacuuming with a HEPA filter, washing bedding weekly in hot water, and keeping indoor humidity below 60% all help.

Salt air affects everything. Near the beach, salt residue builds up on windows, outdoor furniture, and even inside your home. Regular wiping prevents long-term damage.

When to Call in Help

A quarterly deep clean is a solid routine for most Sunshine Coast households. But life gets busy, and sometimes you need a professional house cleaning to bring things back to baseline — before holidays, when hosting guests, or when you have simply fallen behind.

A consistent schedule — weekly basics, monthly maintenance, quarterly deep cleans — keeps your home healthy without turning cleaning into an all-weekend ordeal. Even an imperfect routine beats no routine at all.