Winter on the Sunshine Coast is mild compared to most of the country, but our humidity drops, the air gets drier, and a lot of household issues that hide through summer suddenly become visible. This is the time of year we get the most calls from homeowners noticing things they hadn’t noticed before — dust patterns on white walls, mould lines that weren’t there last week, and the slow realisation that the house needs more than a quick tidy.

Here’s the pre-winter deep clean checklist we actually work through in our own homes and recommend to clients on the coast.

Outside first

Gutters need clearing before the autumn leaf drop is over. We do most gutter clearing through April and May because by June the leaves are mostly down and the gutters can dry out properly. Wet leaves left in gutters through winter on the coast cause two problems: they rot and stain the fascia boards, and they hold moisture against the metal of the guttering, which accelerates corrosion.

Window tracks need attention. The sliding doors and windows that are the standard layout in most coast homes accumulate sand, dust and salt residue in the bottom tracks. By autumn, the gunk has compacted into a hard residue that’s much harder to clean than the loose dust that built up earlier in the year. A plastic scraper, a stiff brush, and a damp cloth take it out. Doing it now means the windows actually open and close cleanly all winter.

Outdoor furniture and BBQ areas. The combination of salt air and seasonal pollen leaves a slow film on outdoor furniture. A proper wash with warm water and a non-abrasive detergent now, while it’s still warm enough to dry properly, sets things up for the cooler months. Letting outdoor surfaces sit through winter under a layer of last summer’s residue makes them substantially harder to clean in spring.

External walls and entry tiles. Sunshine Coast homes near the beach get visible salt deposit on light-coloured external walls. A pressure wash on a low setting clears it without damaging the paint. The same applies to entry tiles, which collect a sandy residue that gets tracked through the house if not addressed.

Inside, in priority order

Ceiling fans first. Most homes have at least three or four ceiling fans and they collect dust on the top edges of the blades that you don’t see until you turn them on hard and watch the dust fly off into the room. Cleaning them now, before you stop running them in winter, means you don’t have a layer of dust waiting to launch when you start them up again next spring.

Air conditioner filters and grilles. Coast homes run air conditioning hard through summer, and the filters are usually due for cleaning by autumn. The grilles around the unit collect a fine dust that turns into a darker residue when humidity drops. Pop the filters out, wash them in warm soapy water, dry properly, and put them back. The grilles wipe down with a damp cloth.

Range hood filters. The metal mesh filters in range hoods accumulate cooking grease through the heavy summer cooking season. Now is the time to soak them in hot soapy water and degreaser. We use the dishwasher on a degreaser cycle for this; it’s efficient and gets a better result than hand washing.

Carpets and rugs. If the carpet hasn’t had a proper deep clean in 12 months, autumn is the right window. The dryer winter air helps the carpet dry properly after a steam clean, where the higher humidity of summer can leave carpet damp for longer than is healthy. Same logic applies to rugs that get spot-cleaned through summer but not properly washed.

The mould questions

We get more mould questions in autumn than in any other season. Three patterns to watch for.

Bathroom mould that wasn’t there in summer. The drop in humidity actually makes some mould more visible because the surface drying reveals the staining that the moisture was masking. The fix is the same as always — proper ventilation, regular cleaning of grout lines, and treatment of any active mould with a proper cleaner rather than just bleach. Bleach removes the colour but doesn’t address the underlying mycelium, and the mould comes back.

Wall mould near windows. Condensation patterns change as the temperature differential between inside and outside grows. Walls that were fine through summer can develop visible mould lines on the colder surfaces of single-glazed windows. The structural fix is better window treatment; the immediate fix is cleaning and a proper anti-mould treatment.

Wardrobe and pantry mould. Closed spaces with limited airflow can develop mould patches on the back walls during seasonal humidity changes. Pulling everything out, wiping down the surfaces, and letting the space air properly clears it. The longer-term answer is moisture absorbers in any closed cupboard space.

Bond cleaning is busier

If you’re a renter on the coast, autumn is also when the rental moves cluster. Bond clean demand peaks through April and May because that’s when leases that started in October last year roll over. If you’re moving and need a bond clean booked, two to three weeks ahead is the realistic lead time at this point. We don’t generally take bookings less than a week out during the autumn peak because the schedule is full.

The main thing renters miss in self-bond-cleans is the inside of the oven and the range hood filters. Property managers in Maroochydore, Caloundra, and through the rest of the coast routinely fail bonds on these specifically. They’re the items that take real time and the right products, and they’re the items that make the difference between a returned bond and a partial deduction.

What I’d do this week

If you’re tackling a pre-winter deep clean yourself, my suggestion is to do the outside first, while the weather still cooperates, and then work room by room through the inside. Don’t try to do the whole house in a day. Most coastal homes have enough surface area that a proper deep clean is realistically 12 to 20 hours of work spread across a couple of weekends.

If that sounds like more than you want to take on, that’s the conversation we have with most of our coastal clients this time of year. The autumn deep clean is the busiest period for us alongside the rental turnover season, and booking ahead is the only way to get a slot in the window where it actually matters.