Autumn deep clean: getting your home ready for the cold months

Most people spring clean. Almost nobody autumn cleans. That's a mistake. The autumn deep clean is, in many ways, the more useful one — because it sets the house up for the months when you'll actually be inside it.

Here's what we do, and what we'd suggest you do, before the clocks change.

Heating first. Bleed every radiator. Vacuum the dust off the top and behind each one — radiators heat by convection, and a dusty radiator pushes dusty air around the room all winter. If you have a boiler service due, book it now, not in January when every plumber in London is busy.

Curtains. Take them down and either wash them (most are washable, on a cool wash) or send them to be dry cleaned. They've collected six months of open-window dust and pollen. Curtains you've never washed will release more dust than you can imagine.

Soft furnishings. The blankets and throws come out in September and stay out until April. Wash them before they go on the sofa. Same for cushion covers.

Windows. Both sides. Autumn light is low, and the gap between sun and curtain rod is when you'll notice every smear.

Spring cleaning is about renewing. Autumn cleaning is about settling in.

Front door and porch. The first impression of the house, especially when it's dark by 5pm. Polish the door. Clean the porch light fitting (the glass attracts cobwebs faster than anywhere else in the house). Replace the bulb with something warmer-toned if it's currently cool white.

Kitchen pantry and store cupboards. Check dates on everything. Move things you'll use in winter (stock, dried beans, baking ingredients) to the front. Move things you've used through summer (BBQ sauce, cordials, ice lolly moulds) to the back or out.

Bathroom drains and shower drains. They're worse than you think. Hair, soap residue, limescale. A drain cleaner once a season prevents the slow build-up that ends in a blockage at the worst possible moment.

Wardrobes. Swap summer for winter. Wash and store away the linen shirts and the cotton dresses. Bring out the wool jumpers and check none of them have moth holes — autumn is also when carpet moths and clothes moths breed, and a single jumper with a hole is a sign of a problem you want to catch now, not at Christmas.

Last thing: candles, blankets, books on the coffee table. Autumn cleaning isn't only about cleaning. It's about setting the house up to be hibernated in. Spring cleaning is about renewing. Autumn cleaning is about settling in.