10 quick cleaning projects for the last days of summer

Cleaning schedules and routines help a home run smoothly, but in the summer, even people who run tight ships tend to relax a bit, scaling back or skipping chores in favor of enjoying the season.

There are, however, certain cleaning and organizing tasks that are well-suited to summer. So if a rainy day has you stuck indoors, a nasty burn is forcing you to take a break from all that sun, or you’re just looking to keep idle hands busy, one of these summer cleaning projects might be the perfect use of an hour or so.

Winter coat purge

• 30 minutes, plus time for mending, washing and drying coats to be donated

Summer is a great time to contend with a collection of winter coats that needs paring down, because handling a heavy wool coat in summertime is a terrible experience. That may not sound like much of a sell until you think of it this way: You’re less likely to talk yourself into keeping a winter coat you’re on the fence about when it’s 95 degrees outside. You’ll also be doing a great service by donating winter coats before the weather turns cold.

Clean vents, blades and filters

• 30 minutes, plus drying time for reusable filters

Our air conditioners, fans, vents and air purifiers work overtime in the summer months to maintain comfortable indoor air. Keep them in good working condition by dusting or vacuuming vent slats and fan blades, and washing or replacing air conditioner and air purifier filters, as needed.

Deep-clean the grill

• 30 minutes

Caring for your grill calls for both routine cleaning (scraping the grates before and after use) and deep cleaning, which involves detailing the entire unit, not just the cooking surface. Infrequent grillers can get away with deep cleaning twice a year, at the beginning and end of each grilling season, but people who grill a lot should aim to deep-clean after eight to 10 uses.

Clean pool, beach and camping gear

• 20 minutes

This is the cleaning equivalent of sneaking spinach into brownies. Cleaning camping gear, pool noodles and all those beach toys is more fun than chore: Take them outside, line them up and hose them down. Then, check for any repairs or deeper cleaning that may be needed, toss anything that is broken, set aside items you no longer use to be donated, and let everything dry in the sun.

Wash the car

• 30 minutes

Going through a car wash is a thrill, but there’s something so great about getting outside with a bucket of suds, a hose and a comically oversize sponge to wash the car by hand. Some tips to get the job done like a pro: Put down the dish soap and spring for a bottle of car-wash soap, which won’t strip the car’s clear coat the way dish soap can. The car should be cool to the touch and parked in the shade. Work in sections, applying the soap and rinsing it quickly so that the suds do not dry on the surface.

Shampoo carpets and upholstery

• 45 to 90 minutes, plus drying time

Using an extraction machine is the best way to deep-clean carpet and upholstery, but it can be a challenge to keep busy household members away from damp furniture and rugs while they dry. Take advantage of the warm summer months, when you can send the whole family outside, to shampoo the carpets and upholstered furniture. Drying times will be shorter when it’s warm, but high humidity will prolong the process — so if possible, opt to do the shampooing on a hot, dry day.

Clean the dishwasher and washing machine

• One sanitizing or cleaning cycle length, typically 90 minutes

Technically speaking, major household appliances like dishwashers and washing machines should be deep-cleaned monthly. Here in the real world, most of us are not nearly so diligent. Summer is a good time to make up for dereliction of duty: If you haven’t deep-cleaned the appliances this year, or simply cannot recall, exactly, when the last time was that you did so, go ahead and run a cleaning cycle now.

Launder pillows and other bulky bedding

• Two to three hours, mostly hands-off

The worst part of doing laundry is the folding, which makes washing items that don’t call for it — like pillows, mattress pads, comforters and duvets — an almost entirely hands-off task that’s perfect to pick off during the lazy summer months. Plus, freshening up the bedding after a few sweaty months is a nice treat, and it’s one less thing to do when the busy back-to-school season bleeds into the even busier holiday season.

Deep-clean trash cans and recycling bins

• 20 minutes, plus drying time

Summer is a great time for any deep-cleaning jobs that are best performed outdoors, and that’s especially true of jobs that call for a hose. One such job, deep-cleaning trash cans and recycling bins, is perfect for a hot summer day. Remove the liners, take the bins outside and hose them off, inside and out. Use a rag and soapy water to wipe up stubborn spills and stains, then hose the cans off again and allow them to dry in the sun.

Wash laundry bags, liners and hampers

• 5 minutes to wipe hard-sided hampers, plus washing and drying time for liners and fabric laundry bags

Laundry bags, liners, hampers and baskets hold our dirty clothes until it’s time to do the wash, making them a breeding ground for bacteria, germs and odors. Fabric laundry bags and liners can be machine washed and dried using a low-heat dryer setting. Hard-sided or woven laundry hampers or baskets should be wiped clean with all-purpose cleaner and a rag or a disinfecting cleaning wipe; disinfectant sprays can also be used to clean laundry hampers and baskets.