It’s Not a Renovation, Just a Deep Clean! 30 Incredible Before-and-After Washing Transformations (28 Photos)

Cleaning has a reputation for being dull, back-breaking work. But if you want to get motivated to scrub away the grime, take a page from Tom Sawyer whitewashing the fence and treat it as a creative, oddly satisfying project. The end results can be genuinely stunning—just take a look at these transformations.







Had a little fun while power-washing the walkway.





“My wife polished the hardware on our old basement cabinets.”



Hard to believe, but this is the exact same room.



New York City was significantly grimier back when coal-fired power plants operated across the Northeast.



“Transferred to a different McDonald’s. The very first thing I did was scrub down their fryer vats.”



“Embarrassing to admit, but I had no idea how filthy this chair was until my wife asked me to clean it. It wasn't painted green—that was just decades of built-up grime.”



“Our lakeside cabin.”



“This Detroit church hadn’t been cleaned in 134 years, ever since it was built. I honestly thought the stone was naturally black.”



Laser rust removal on metal.



“Bought a new pressure washer.”



“Cleaned up the school playground.”



“My cousin went to town with a power washer.”



The Church of the Trinity Abbey in Vendôme.



Stripping a 200-year-old layer of yellowed varnish off an oil painting.



Marischal College in Aberdeen, the second-largest granite building in the world, before and after a deep clean.



“Power-washed a dock that hadn’t been touched in 15 years. I could hardly believe my eyes.”



“Pressure-washed the running track.”



“Restored a garden bench bought 16 years ago.”



“Fountain stones, before and after cleaning.”



“Walked by at the perfect moment.”



The Solina Dam in Poland.



“Power-washed the walkway for the first time in five years.”



Pressure-washing a semi-truck.



“The pressure washers accidentally started on the wrong house, but hey, at least we got a free sample.”



St. Patrick’s Cathedral.





“I had no idea this building was actually white.”