House Cleaning

Time Saving Bathroom Cleaning Tips

The bathroom is often the most used room in the house and because of this the hardest to clean and keep clean. By incorporating a few time saving bathroom cleaning tips into your regular routine, you can cut your cleaning time, save money on cleaning products and enjoy a cleaner bathroom for longer periods of time.

]]> When cleaning the bathroom, always start with the mirrors and shower doors. By cleaning from top to bottom you will save steps. The dirt from the mirrors and wall can sometimes fall to the floor. If done first, the dirt can then be cleaned in one step when you sweep and mop the floors.

To clean the mirrors and shower doors, you do not need an expensive commercial cleaner. The best cleaner and one that doesn't leave streaks, is a simple solution of water, white vinegar and rubbing alcohol. Simply add water, 1/3 cup of vinegar and 1⁄4 cup of rubbing alcohol to a spray bottle and shake gently to mix. Spray on glass surfaces and wipe with a clean white paper towel.

To clean grime and soap scum off the tub and shower stall you will need to use a two step process. First scrub the area with a white bristle brush to loosen grime and score the area so that a cleaner can penetrate it more readily. Next, spray or wipe on a concentrated orange-based commercial cleaning product. Allow the product to set for thirty minutes and the grime and soap scum should rinse right off.

After cleaning the tub and shower stall, coat the surfaces with an expensive car wax. If you do this twice a year it will help to repel dirt and cut cleaning time in half.

Another great time saving bathroom cleaning tip for your shower stall is to wipe away all of the water after each use. This will keep the dirt and grime from building up and make weekly cleaning a breeze.

After you have cleaned the big surfaces, it is time to clean the toilet and wipe down the counters, sinks and faucets. White vinegar is an expensive and effective cleaner for these jobs. Simply apply the white vinegar with a cloth and allow it to set for a few minutes. Then rinse the solution and wipe down the surfaces.

Other simple bathroom cleaning tips include the use of a bath rug outside the shower to collect water and dirt, the cleaning of your plastic shower curtain by tossing it in the washing machine with your dirty cleaning rags and the use of toothpaste and a scrub brush to shine and clean your ornate metal faucets.

Do-It-Yourself Carpet Cleaning Tips

Keeping your carpet clean and looking new is no longer an easy job. To get the most wear out of your carpet, use the following do-it-yourself carpet cleaning tips.

Regular upkeep is vital to the life of your carpet.

]]> By vacuuming your carpet weekly and not allowing shoes to be worn in your house, you can extend the life of your carpet by five years or more. Vacuuming regularly keeps dirt and grime from becoming ground in to the carpet fibers. Allowing only socks or slippers on your carpet keeps it from becoming soiled by hard to remove stains such as mud and oils.

If your carpet does become stained or overly dirty, there are numerous homemade products and easy carpet cleaning tips that you can use to make it look new again.

When cleaning the entire carpeted area, always use a warm water solution. The warm water allows the grime and oils to be broken down more quickly and completely. For the cleaning solution you can use any of the numerous commercial products available but a simple mix of water and vinegar works just as well. The white vinegar will pull residue from the fibers making your carpet softer and cleaner.

For stains, there are numerous treatments. Club soda works great on red wine stains. Brake cleaner works great on tough food stains and WD40 works great on oil or grease spots.

To use brake cleaner, simply apply the cleaner to a cloth and then blot the stain. Once the stain is removed rinse the area with a vinegar and water solution.

To use WD40, simple spray the stained area and allow the cleaner to sit for 30 minutes. Blot the area dry and then rinse it well with a mixture of dish soap and water.

The best carpet cleaning tip for removing general stains is shaving cream. Shaving cream, when applied directly to the stain and allowed to set for 30 minutes, will remove just about every type of stain. After the cream has set, gently blot it away with a dry white cloth. Be sure to rinse the area with a vinegar and water solution after cleaning.

When cleaning a carpet stain it is important to remember to blot the affected area and never rub it. Rubbing causes the particles to ground into the carpet fibers and it can also lead to the premature breakdown of those fibers.

By using these simple carpet cleaning tips you can make carpet cleaning and upkeep a breeze. Plus, you can save money on products and still have clean carpets that you are proud to show.

Non-toxic Ways To Help With Your Filthy House Cleaning

Reluctant though we may be to admit it, at one time or another we will all be responsible for some filthy house cleaning chores.

It might be the case that you're moving into a home that hasn't been occupied for some time, or that you've recently had some renovations done and the house is full of dust and dirt.

]]> Whatever the case may be, using non-toxic materials to help clean the filth in your home is not only environmentally friendly, but also a good way to get the cleaning done. So here are some useful things to note about two of our most productive non-toxic house cleaning materials: baking soda and vinegar.

Baking soda

You can use baking soda for an array of cleaning chores around your home. Chief among these, however, is to make the baking soda into a paste. You can then use this paste to help you scrub all your stainless steel, copper pots, iron cutlery.

As if that is not handy enough, sprinkling some baking soda on your carpet and leaving it overnight before vacuuming it up the next day acts as a superb non-toxic carpet deodorizer. You'll find doing this helps clear up the smell in your carpet better than any other cleaning product you put down on the carpet.

Vinegar

Vinegar is one of the most useful non-toxic materials you can find around the house. Using vinegar mixed with water in a bucket is one of the best ways you can clean all the dirt and mess off your windows. It also leaves a lovely sheen look to your windows.

Another fantastic use of vinegar is to help get rid of all those nasty chewing gum accidents. If you find some terror has trodden chewing gum onto your carpet, simply get the vinegar out and pour some of this around the area where the chewing gum is. Leave it for a while and then go back. What you'll find is that the vinegar has dissolved the chewing gum and you no longer have a messy problem!

Finally, a useful mix of both baking soda and vinegar will allow you to make some great air freshener. Simply mix one part baking soda with one part vinegar and two parts water and then let the mixture settle. After this, spray the mixture in the air. You'll be surprised the effect it has on helping give a fresh smell to complete your filthy house cleaning chores!

Starting A House Cleaning Business

If you're thinking of starting your own house cleaning business, you've no doubt thought that all you need to be a success is a bucket, some cleaning utensils and products, some elbow grease and a lot of hard-work. Well, in part you'd be right. However, this is no sure-fire way of running a successful cleaning business. To do that, you'll need a little bit more.

]]> In order to have a successcul house cleaning business, here are 5 things you'll need to consider (among the many others):

1. Transport:

You'd be surprised to know how many people consider starting their own cleaning business who seem to give no consideration to how they'll get to the houses they need to clean. But, depending on where the houses your business is going to clean are located, transportation could well be one of your biggest expenses - so make sure that you factor this in and you give some consideration as to what type of transportation will be best (for example, need a ladder and have a saloon - how's it going to fit in the car?);

2. Advertising:

Although you can do a lot of free advertising - by telling all your neighbours and friends that you now have a cleaning business - if you want to clean some homes further away from your house, in an area you're not overly familiar with, you're going to need to start paying to have some flyer distributed, stuck to trees, community newspaper announcements/adverts, an ad in a telephone directory, etc. As such, advertising can actually take up a fair amount of start up costs, so do some cost analysis on this;

3. Staffing:

As your cleaning business grows, and as you become better known for the high quality of home cleaning your business does, you may well feel the need to take on some extra staff. Suddenly you have become an entrepreneur responsible for others wellbeing, so make sure you know what the local laws are regarding small businesses so that you don't break any of them;

4. Business name:

As with any company start-up, a house cleaning business could well make or break based on the name of the business. Consequently, give some thought to the name of the business and try and be a little bit more inventive than other cleaning businesses in your area!

5. Cash Flow:

Finally, the survival of any businesses all depends on cash flow. You need to ensure that you have sufficient cash buffer to pull you through the first couple of months. Having a buffer of at least 6 months of your operating expenditure would be a great insurance.

Simple, Organizational Tips for Cleaning Your House

Cleaning your house can sometimes feel like a full time job. Once you finally finish the last room it seems like its time to start right back over again. To end this nerve-wracking cycle, it is important to have an organized plan.

]]> Start with a system. The most effective system seems to be one that breaks down all of the cleaning jobs over a period of a week. With this system you can assign different jobs to different days and spend less time cleaning your house and more time relaxing in it.

To use this system, you need to break down your cleaning jobs into three categories, light cleaning, daily cleaning and deep cleaning. Light cleaning jobs include dusting, sweeping, vacuuming and laundry. These jobs can be done just once each week and completed on different days of the week. Always schedule the dusting first so that any dirt that is knocked to the floor will be picked up on vacuuming day.

Daily cleaning jobs are the jobs that need to be done often when you are cleaning your house. These jobs include tidying up; doing the dishes and wiping down counters and other highly used surfaces. By spending at least fifteen minutes each day on these jobs, you will keep them from building up into a large mess and also enjoy the feeling of a clean house even when the other chores have not yet been done.

Deep cleaning jobs such as cleaning the bathroom, mopping and wiping down the walls and appliances, should be done once a week. Most people like to schedule these jobs for the weekend when they have more time to devote to cleaning the house. By spending an hour or two doing the big jobs on the weekend, you can enjoy a fresh clean week ahead.

After your system is in place, use the list to assign chores to all of the members of the family. If each person takes on just one or two jobs then cleaning your entire house can take no time at all.