First, it is important that you plan when you are going to clean what. Sounds a little funny, but with a little forethought, cleaning can become actually easy. To determine what your schedule should be, consider the following:

• What day, or days, of the week is your trash pick-up?
• What day of the week do you have the most free time – and thus the most chance to clutter your home?
• How often do you do laundry?

Using the information provided from the questions above, coming up with a schedule is easy.

• Plan to clean your fridge of all leftovers and spoilt food the night before trash pickup
• Plan a ‘clutter’ pickup the day after your free day to return all those things from around the house that seem to end up where they do not belong
• Plan to do your laundry throughout the week. Perhaps one day for linens, one day for towels and one day for clothing. Don’t forget about ironing!

Besides coming up with a plan for cleaning, keeping up on your household maintenance can help you keep your home white glove clean.

• Be sure to regularly change your air filters. Clogged filters are not only less efficient; they actually put dust and particulate matter into the air, which isn’t good for your lungs or your wood furniture.
• If you have blinds, be sure to clean them regularly to prevent a build up of dust and dirt.
• Using a daily shower spray can help prevent the build up of mildew or mold that can be difficult to clean.
• Be sure to maintain your cleaning equipment as well. Regularly change your vacuum cleaner bags, replace mop heads and dusters. Well maintained equipment will help you clean.

Finally, in order to have a ‘white glove’ clean house, you must actually clean it – and clean it well. This means doing things the hard way.

• When dusting, remove each item from the surface to be dusted – don’t just dust around them.
• Floors should be wiped up by hand whenever possible – mops often do little more then move around dirty water.
• White surfaces that can handle it, like tile, should be bleached whenever possible.
• Clutter should be kept to a minimum
• Ledges, base boards, cupboard tops and even light bulbs should be regularly cleaned.

For those of use that believe there is more to clean then the appearance of being clean, going the extra mile and working for ‘white glove’ clean is well worth it. Elbow grease, good cleansers and knowing what you are doing will go along way towards passing that dreaded white glove inspection.

There are a huge amount of Manhattan house cleaning services to chose from, and many times those house cleaners provide an array of different services that can be customized to fit the needs of their clientele, ranging from one time cleaning projects to regular, routine maid service and home maintenance. Most house cleaners do not limit themselves to servicing standalone dwellings and will also clean offices and corporate apartments as venues before and after special events.

Manhattan House Cleaning Services

What services do you need from the house cleaners? There are a multitude of reasons to hire professionals to meet your house cleaning needs, and a multitude of different types of services to meet those needs. If you have a clear focus as to the level of your expectations, the odds increase that you will find your perfect house cleaning match. A partial list of frequently offered services may include:

• Maid service on a daily, weekly, or bi-weekly basis.
• One time deep cleans such as spring cleaning, cleaning before or after a party, or cleaning before and after you move from one home to the next.
• Clutter clean up and organizational assistance, including help for hoarders.
• Pack and unpacking assistance.
• Green cleaning, using only non-toxic, earth friendly organic supplies and energy efficient equipment.
• Post construction cleaning services.

Many Manhattan housing cleaning services go beyond the standard dusting and disinfecting routine to offer a multitude of other services, such as steam cleaning, in which kitchens, bathrooms, and hard surfaces are cleaned without chemicals, using only steam. Often, you will find house cleaners are willing to professionally clean your carpet and rugs or wash and fold your laundry! Some even offer handyman services. Really, almost anything you need done around your home can probably be handled in some capacity by a house cleaning service; figure out what your ideal is and most likely you will be able to find a house cleaner who will make that ideal a reality for you!

A Final Word on Windows

A lot of homes in Manhattan are in multiunit buildings with numerous floors. This makes cleaning the outsides of the windows difficult and sometimes dangerous or impossible. If you live in such a place, make sure that the service you hire is equipped to handle high windows and is experienced with using the special safety belts and ladders necessary for this type of job.

What is soap scum?

Soap scum is a filmy layer that can be white or gray. It can cover many exposed surfaces in your bathroom including shower curtains, bathroom fixtures, tiles, shower doors, etc. Soap scum is formed by the accumulation of minerals in water that combine with soap and dirt to create a scaly layer of scum throughout the bathroom. Soap scum is sticky and adheres to the surfaces and also catches things that come into its path like hair, dead skin cells, dirt, and body oils. If you have “hard water”- more minerally enriched tap water- you are more likely to get soap scum. Soap scum becomes difficult to remove when left alone for extended periods of time and does build up the more the area is used. It can also combine with other molds and mildews to further discolor your bathroom. Soap scum should be effectively managed so that it does not permanently damage or endanger your bathroom. Soap scum is also known as limescale.

How do you get rid of soap scum?

The best way is to take preventative measures against soap scum. It is much easier to prevent than to scrub away. If you wipe down tubs, shower areas and sinks at least once a week you are going a long way to prevent soap scum buildup. The warmth and humidity of the bathroom just after showering or bathing aid in the easier removal of soap scum. Try adding vinegar, detergent or ammonia to your weekly wipe down to add more power to your prevention.

If you have it already, how do you go about getting rid of it? Commercial degreasers are very effective against soap scum. Also try products specifically fabricated for getting rid of soap scum. Baking soda can also help, acting as an abrasive to lift away layers of soap scum. You may also need small brushes like toothbrushes to help reach into small corners where soap scum loves to hide. Brillo pads or wire brushes are also effective tools in scrubbing away the scum. Warmed vinegar or a spray bottle filled with ammonia will help clean the area as much as it prevents soap scum build up. Make sure to use two parts water to every one part cleaner. Also, some have suggested using a wet dryer sheet to remove soap scum. Try these homemade solutions before investing in heavy duty chemicals.

Make sure to be prepared for your battle against soap scum. If using heavy duty cleaners, make sure a window or door is open to improve circulation and ventilation in a small space. Remember to also wear gloves and refrain from touching your eyes so that you do not irritate your skin. If you are well prepared for your battle against soap scum, you are sure to come out victorious.

1. Manage your clutter – true neat-niks will tell you the key is clutter management. Clutter seems to pop up on a daily – and sometimes hourly basis. From jackets and sweaters to toys and books, clutter alone can quickly turn even a clean home into what looks like a disaster zone. The old average ‘everything in its place’ is the golden rule. Make it a habit to always carry something with you when you leave a room – just be sure to put it in its own ‘home’ and not simply leave it to clutter up another room.
2. Easy ways to hide ‘stuff’ – Anyone with kids can tell you that toys and their other ‘stuff’ seems to grow out of the carpet. The same holds true for hobby enthusiasts and simply busy people. Find innovative and unique ways to store that stuff away. A great idea is a coffee table that doubles as a storage unit. The busy mommy can use it to quickly and effectively hold toys, while the rest of us can use it to store everything from magazines to video games.
3. Do it a little bit at a time – Setting out on Saturday morning to clean your whole house is simply daunting. You are likely to lose steam half way through and not get as much done, as you would like. Instead, divide up your cleaning chores throughout the week. Make Monday mildew day and clean the bathrooms. Make Tuesday trash day and empty out all the garbage while cleaning out the fridge. You will find you have a lot less to do when Saturday comes around.
4. Flip it – don’t always clean your rooms in the same order. The rooms you do first will get cleaned the best, while, as you lose steam or interest, the later rooms won’t get the same attention. Instead, switch it up. If you live in a two-story house, clean the upstairs first one week and the downstairs the next.

Keeping a home clean is a lot of work, but by learning to work smart, it is possible to have a clean home most of the time.  Mange your clutter, organize and plan and then you can use that cleaning service to take care of all the really unmanageable jobs.

Be prepared

Arm yourself with all of your cleaning supplies from the onset. Designate a “cleaning bucket” and fill it with your favorite products, scrub brushes, dusters, etc. Have a few old washcloths, paper towels, and older towels to use for drying. Make sure to use the correct products for the job. If you have a mild soap scum problem in the bathroom, make sure you have the necessary products. Contrary to popular belief, baking soda won’t clean everything. Aside from the physical preparations, be mentally prepared to complete the challenge. If you are too busy for a total cleaning at once, build a schedule. Make Tuesday the day you clean the bathrooms, or Saturday mornings the time you mop the tile in the kitchen. Adhering to an established schedule will build your confidence in your ability to maintain a clean household.

Plan your attack

The easiest and fastest way to clean is from the top down. Tops of shelves and bookcases tend to be less dirty than the lower shelves. It will be a nice way to ease into the cleaning routine. Clean back to front- reach in the depths of shelves and drawers before moving to the front. Clean behind the sofa and hard to reach areas behind chairs before moving to the open spaces. Start in a room and move in a way that makes sense to you- typically left to right, focusing your attention on a specific area at a time for maximum efficiency.

Dust first- vacuum later!

If you plan on dusting all exposed surface areas, you will be able to vacuum up the dust and dirt afterward. Remember to work from the top down- don’t forget ceiling fans and tabletop lamps. Dust can gather on all of these objects and after a thorough cleaning, you will notice a significant difference in the air quality of your home.

Don’t be afraid to throw away!

Clutter accumulates over time. Understandably, it is difficult to part with objects and mementos that carry special meaning. Yet, the easiest way to keep a house clean is to rid it of unnecessary clutter. Edit the amount of things you keep on display in your household, and you will be pleasantly surprised with how much easier clean up becomes.

If you establish an effective cleaning routine, you will be less hesitant to conquer the house cleaning chore.

One of the unique aspects of the New York house cleaning scene is all the cleaning options that are available to the average client. A particularly modern example of the diversity of the business is “green cleaning.” For the eco conscious consumer, this method of house cleaning involves using only non-toxic, organic cleansers and materials, as well as the most energy efficient of tools. Some green cleaning services even engage in aromatherapy by burning essential oils while cleaning, while others advertise that they offer a turn down service that includes organic chocolate left on the pillows. Another popular house cleaning service is steam cleaning. With steam cleaning, kitchens, bathrooms and hard floors and surfaces in the home are cleaned using only steam, without any harsh chemicals. Steam cleaning is also often used to rid homes of bedbugs and other pests.

New York House Cleaning Basic Services

Any New York house cleaning should include basic services. These include, but are not limited to:

• Thorough cleaning of all surfaces with surface appropriate cleaning supplies. For example, marble is easily damaged and should only be cleaned with a special solution. Cleaning services which only use all purpose cleaners may cause damage to sensitive materials.
• Kitchen and bathroom disinfection. These are the two dirtiest rooms in a home and should be cleaned painstakingly and with methodical precision.
• Dusting. No knick knacks or bric-a-bracs should be left untouched.

Obviously, you want any New York house cleaning service you use to be fully licensed, insured, and bonded, and to do background checks on all their employees. You are opening your home to a virtual stranger – it’s always better to be safe than sorry.

Additional Services

Many New York house cleaning services offer extra services, usually with a fee. These often include:

• Laundry service. Laundry is very cumbersome for New Yorkers, many who live without cars and sometimes a sizeable distance from a laundry mat. New York house cleaning services frequently offer both dry cleaning and laundry services, and many will also fold your clothes for you once they’ve cleaned them.
• Organization services. This will include the contents of cabinets, pantries shelves, and desk areas. Some services even offer help for hoarders, or compulsive collectors.
• Spring cleaning. A one time, deep clean, spring cleaning services will make any neglected home sparkle again.

Post renovation services. The focus of this deep clean is to rid any recently renovation New York apartment of dust and other construction grime.

Trash Disposal: If you live in the city, you may not be able to dispose of your trash whenever you want. You may only have trash pickup once or twice a week, or the trash bin may be a long walk (or many flights of stairs) from your apartment. So how are you supposed to de-clutter? Well, if you live in the city, it may be a good idea to ask a cleaning service to handle your trash. They may be able to help you keep it down to a minimum, and dispose of it properly.

Old buildings: In the city, new buildings aren’t constructed as often, and older buildings are often repurposed for residents and tenants. If you live in a very old building, it can be exceptionally hard to keep it looking clean. Dust and mildew are a big problem, and paint may be old, floors may be cracked or stained, and even worse, you don’t want to run the risk of damaging old flooring and ceilings. To combat this, you will need to be sure you are cleaning in a way that does not damage older fixtures, and will be sustainable. Speak to a cleaning service skilled at cleaning old buildings.

Storage for cleaning supplies: It takes a lot of space to properly store all the things you need for a good clean. Buckets, mops, chemicals, gloves, and sponges may all take up space that you don’t have. How about having someone bring those things when it’s time to clean? A good cleaning service will be able to provide their own equipment, so if you’re cramped for space, it may be a good idea to have someone else supply the buckets and brooms.

Indoor pets: If you’re in an apartment on the fifth floor, chances are, you can’t take your dog or cat out as often as they’d like. For some animals, a well placed puppy pad is all that’s required, but not every animal is perfect. Even well trained pets can make a mess in a small space, even if they’re trying to keep everything neat. Pet odors can quickly get into furniture and clothes, so it’s important that you have someone clean areas where pets are active when you’re away. This may mean vacuuming kitty litter out of the carpet, getting pet hair off the sofa, and scrubbing the floors underneath puppy pads (or on the walls around them) just to be sure that everything stays neat and tidy.

1. Empty trash
2. Vacuum
3. Clean bathroom
4. Clean break room

These are the mundane, day-to-day, cleaning chores you probably don’t have the time or desire to take care of yourself.

It is true that simple janitorial services are a large part of what business-cleaning services do. They will do everything on your list, helping you maintain a clean, sanitary and professional office for your employees and clients.

What you don’t realize is that truly professional business cleaning services encompasses so much more than your simple list.  Below is a list of the ‘extras’ you can look for in a cleaning company. Some of these may not be daily tasks, but they are cleaning chores that must be done from time to time, so hire a cleaning company that can do it all for you.

1. Carpet cleaning:  It isn’t enough to simply vacuum the carpet each night. Eventually those high traffic areas will begin to show the wear and tear of constant movement. A good business cleaning service will periodically steam clean your carpets to keep them fresh and professional looking.
2. Floor cleaning:  break rooms, entrances and other areas of your office may have linoleum, tile or ceramic floors. Periodically, these areas need a little bit of extra attention. Be sure your cleaning service can handle the semi-annual (or more often) maintenance of your floors and will wax, buff or strip them when needed
3. Room with a view:  That beautiful corner office won’t be so beautiful if the window is dingy and grimy.  Professional cleaning crews will properly clean and maintain the windows in your office to ensure they remain crystal clear.
4. Construction clean up:  from time to time, you may find the need to reconfigure your current office space. From adding walls to create offices to building cubicles for a bull pit, construction is messy. Your cleaning service should be able to assist you with the additional tasks construction can bring.

As you can see, professional business cleaning services are about much more then simply dusting. Your cleaning crew can, and should, address all of your cleaning needs. From seasonal concerns like salt and mud, to sprucing up the office for an important visit from a client, be sure your cleaning service will be there for you when and how you need them.

Carefully interview several professional crews to determine how well they will fit the needs of your particular office. Be sure to thoroughly discuss your particular needs with the crew. The contract should clearly state what the cleaning crew is responsible for. It’s a great idea to request a monthly walk through by management to ensure that your cleaning crew continues to perform as requested.

Common Spring Cleaning Services

These are services frequently provided in addition to a standard house clean. Of course, services available will vary from company to company.

• Spot cleaning of infrequently cleaned objects such as walls, doorknobs, switch plates and the like.
• Extensive dusting, including baseboards, ceiling fans, high shelves, and door frames.
• Spot cleaning of carpets and rugs.
• Extensive vacuuming, including behind and underneath furniture and the air conditioning vents.
• Window washing.
• Wiping of blinds and shutters and washing fabric window treatments.
• Deep clean of kitchen appliances.

Hiring a Service

Many people don’t automatically think of using a cleaning service to knock out their spring cleaning, but more and more folks are realizing that it’s a great idea that will save them time and energy, not to mention that the service will probably do it better and faster! Treat yourself to a day out with your special someone or family and let someone else take care of the knick-knacks and cobwebs. Here are some things to consider when hiring a service:

• Go with a pro! Do some research and settle on a company that you are confident is knowledgeable about cleaning, trustworthy (look for testimonials on their website or check with friends for recommendations), and that will perform the types of chores your home requires. Hiring a friend of friend might result in less than professional results, and some surfaces, such as marble, require special cleaning solvents and can be easily damaged by careless cleaning.
• Get estimates, but scrutinize deals that are too good to be true. You are paying for the maintenance of your home, so remember not to focus solely on price, but also take into consideration quality of work, reputation, and services offered.
• Spring cleaning requires a lot of chores that often aren’t included in a standard, one time cleaning service. If you can, have a cleaning service representative come out to your home for an estimate and to go over a list of your requirements. This way, the company can accurately quote you based on the actual magnitude of the job and you will know in advance if there are some aspects of the work which they will not be able to tackle.
• Ask who supplies the cleaning products. If the cleaning service company supplies the products, make sure that it is more than simply an all purpose cleaning solution and a dust rag, especially if it seems like the service-people who are cleaning your home might be limited as to how many rags they are allowed to use. Those types of policies create homes that look clean but aren’t. It’s usually a good idea to simply buy your own supplies and make them available for use.

Supplies

You will need different supplies for each type of cleaning you will undertake, as well as specific cleansers if you have certain surfaces in your home. Make a separate list for supplies and check it against your existing cadre of cleaning supplies. If you are missing anything or running low on a certain cleanser, buy more.

Basic supplies needed to get the job done fall into just a few categories:

• Dusting supplies. You will need mircofiber cloths, a microfiber dust mop for high ceilings, fans, and other hard to reach areas, and a dusting spray or furniture polish.
• Organizational supplies. The first step in organization is to get rid of what you don’t need. Trash bags can be used for items that are headed to either the trash can or donation station. Have recycling bins available for your paper, glass, and other recyclables, as well as general plastic bins for indoor and outdoor storage of items you want to keep but can’t keep out.
• Surface cleaning supplies. These include a good all-purpose cleaner, a glass cleaner, tile cleaner, wood floor or laminate cleaner, carpet cleaner, broom and dustpan, mop, bucket, and paper towels or cleaning cloths. Gloves are also a must; you will need to protect your skin from damage from harsh cleansers.
• Specialized cleaning supplies. These include oven cleaner, stovetop cleaner, marble cleaners, leather cleaner, toilet bowl cleaner, silver polish, laundry detergent, bleach and more. Items from this category will need to be added or subtracted based on the specific items in your home. Do a walk through and take inventory if you aren’t sure what you’ll need.

General Spring Cleaning Tasks

Note: remember that using certain solutions together can be dangerous, such as ammonia and bleach, which when mixed create a noxious gas that can be deadly. Always follow product instructions exactly, use the recommended product for each project, and well ventilate your workspace.

• All of your normal weekly cleaning chores apply. You will need to sweep, mop, vacuum, collect and dispose of trash, clean your mirrors, sinks and toilets, and wipe down kitchen and bathroom surfaces.
• Dusting is a very important aspect of spring cleaning, even if it can be tedious. Pick up every item in your home and wipe it down; remove books from shelves and wipe down both the shelves and the books. Dust ceiling fans, baseboards, door frames, blinds, shutters and any other surface that might collect dust.
• Spot clean areas that are usually neglected, such as walls, door surfaces and knobs and switch plates.
• Spot clean your carpet, rugs and upholstered furniture; move furniture to make sure that extra vacuuming or cleaning isn’t necessary underneath or behind areas where your furnishings sit.
• Wash windows and sliding glass doors.
• Replace filters and clean vents.
• Wash all window treatments and cloth shower curtains.
• Deep clean kitchen appliances. When you clean the refrigerator, take out the shelves and wipe them down individually; also, clean its condenser coils.
• Clean bathroom and kitchen drains.
• Clean the grout of any tiled area.
• Rotate and flip your mattresses.

Before beginning to clean your blinds, be sure to check the manufacturers recommendation for cleaning products and processes. Some blinds are sensitive to abrasive products while others aren’t. This step can save you from wrecking your blinds with the wrong product.

For Plastic Blinds

1. Use a feather duster to remove any built up dust. Adjust the blinds during this process to each of the ‘open’ or ‘closed’ positions to be sure you are catching the dust from every angle. If a feather duster is not available, an upholstery brush attached to a vacuum works well, as does a soft cloth. The feather duster is the best option as it has the ability to get in-between the slates.
2. If the blinds have areas that are soiled – perhaps from dirty hands, you will need to use a dampened towel. Some people find that antibacterial wipes work well for this step.  Avoid spraying a cleaner directly on the blinds as this can sometimes lead to spots. Taking the towel, place each slat between the fingers and thumb and gently run your hand back and forth along the length of the blind.

For wood or faux wood

1. Close the blinds fully
2. Spray with appropriate wood cleaner – generally recommended by the manufacturer of the blinds.
3. Wipe gently with a soft cloth
4. Rotate the blinds fully to expose the opposite side and repeat the above the process.

For Fabric Blinds

1. Using a vacuum cleaner with an upholstery brush or other appropriate attachment, gently vacuum each side of the slats.
2. Spot treat any problem spots with mild cleanser and warm water if recommended
3. Rub a dryer sheet along the length of each blind to prevent future dust build up. The dryer sheet will not completely prevent dust, but will help.

For Metal Blinds

The same process used for plastic blinds also works well for metal blinds. One word of caution:  metal blinds can be very fragile. Because of this, it is important to take great care when cleaning the slats. Even a little bit of pressure can cause one to bend.

Like anything, a bit of preventative maintenance can save you lots of time and energy. Whenever you clean your house (weekly), gently run a feather duster over your blinds. The point here isn’t to deep clean them, simply to knock the worst of the dust off of them. Many people find they do not need to deep clean their blinds for three to six months by simply keeping up the maintenance on them.

First, take a look around your home. Determine what areas need addressing and what areas need extra attention. You likely have a ‘catch all’ area where everything from bills to pocket change gets dumped and the kitchen and bathroom probably need some TLC. It is a good idea to prioritize your cleaning goals at this time. In most cases, you will want to focus on the kitchen and bathroom first, followed by living area’s that guests may see and finishing with bedrooms or other private area’s of the home

Next, do a clutter sweep. Walk through each room and remove everything that doesn’t belong. You may be surprised at what a difference this simple step can make. From sweaters left on the couch during movie night, to glasses of water on the bed side table, simply removing all that extra stuff and putting it back in its place is likely to have an impact on how your home looks.

There is no way around the final step of the plan – cleaning. It is during this phase that the dusting, vacuuming, sweeping and mopping will get done. With a little bit of planning, you can clean ‘smart’ and accomplish a lot in just a short amount of time. Here are a few tips:

1. Start a load of laundry and load and start the dishwasher first. These tasks take the longest, and by starting them first, and continuing to address them throughout the cleaning period, there is a pretty good chance you will have a stack of clean laundry and a cupboard full of clean dishes when you finish.
2. Vacuum before dusting –that sounds odd, but the vacuum will actually kick up some extra dust…. which will then settle on to the furniture, so save yourself from having to redust by vacuuming first.
3. Let your cleaning products do their job. If your bath or shower has mold or mildew, spray an appropriate cleaner (be sure to carefully follow directions) at the start of your cleaning session and let the product take care of the mold for you. The same thing goes for oven cleaners and toilet bowl cleansers.
4. Move from room to room – since you have already prioritized which rooms are to be finished, follow your plan and complete each room in turn. Carry your supplies, brooms, mops, buckets and other equipment with you, so as you leave a room, it is completely finished.
5. Carry a garbage bag – it may surprise you just how much garbage you find, even if you regularly clean your house. Keep a large garbage bag with you as you clean to empty small trashcans into and dispose of any other garbage.

Cleaning a house is hard work, so be prepared to put in a little bit of elbow grease. Once you are done, reward yourself with a favorite snack or carryout meal and don’t forget to put all that clean laundry away.

Commercial cleaners are trained professionals who can quickly and efficiently clean an entire office. From vacuuming to washing out the toilet bowls, commercial cleaning is an excellent option for a busy office. It is important, however, to take care when selecting a company to provide your cleaning services.  Here are several tips:

1. Be sure the cleaning company is bonded. This step is a great way to protect your company and your employee’s belongings. This extra vetting process helps ensure that the people cleaning your offices are honest.
2. Do a complete walk through and clearly state your cleaning objectives. If you have special requests, security concerns or specific areas that you want addressed by the cleaning crew, be sure they are communicated to the company.
3. Get quotes from several different companies to make sure you are getting the best price.
4. Carefully read any contracts and thoroughly understand what services your commercial cleaning company will be providing.

Once you have selected a cleaning company, carefully review their work during the first few weeks of service. Be sure all of the areas covered by the contract are adequately cleaned. If you notice any areas of concern, address them immediately. It is a great idea to schedule a follow up meeting with the management of the cleaning company several weeks after they begin work.

After determining that you are satisfied with the cleaning company, the only area of concern is typically communication. Because cleaning crews come in late in the evening or even in the middle of the night, communicating special or seasonal cleaning needs with them can be difficult. Many office managers find that by placing a spiral notebook out each evening in a pre determined place, the cleaning crew can easily see any extra requests. They can also communicate to you any needs or concerns they have.

Commercial cleaning is a competitive business. Typically, the actual cleaning tasks covered are the same. Most cleaning crews will empty garbage cans, vacuum, clean bathrooms and kitchen area’s and keep the reception area spotless. At the end of the day, the best crew is the one who provides the best customer service and consistently completes their assigned tasks to your satisfaction. If one commercial cleaning company does not work out for you, try another until you find the best fit.  Many even offer special ‘trial’ periods at a cut rate that allow you to try them out.

A good commercial cleaning company can be a great asset to any business. By taking away menial and difficult cleaning tasks, commercial cleaning companies allow you to focus on what is truly important – everyday business.

Children track dirt, sediment, and other gunk on their shoes, such as mud and grease. They paste bubble gum underneath desks and sketch notes and drawings onto the top of them. Their lockers are even worse. Any and all trash wind up in a locker by the end of the school year: half-empty soda bottles, broken pencils, mildewed clothing, bags, ink, crumpled paper, drugs, paper clips, unfinished lunches, and other ingredients for a morass.

Many students are also known to be notoriously inaccurate at aiming for a toilet seat. There’s also grafitti to consider: gang signs or scrawl all over latrine walls. Then there are the messes left after special events: confetti in the grass after a school fair; broken posters after a science fair; drinks and popcorn in the bleachers after a sports game. Plus, the hallways have to be buffed, the display cases for trophies and the windows of the classrooms washed, and the normal traffic of debris vacuumed out. Every season thousands of students get sick all across the country, and it’s no wonder: the schools are petri dishes.

And none of this even touches the mayhem in a cafeteria.

All these ingredients make for one nasty place to spend eight-hours a day learning. That’s why it’s important to use cleaning services familiar with  schools. Schools deserve the time, the patience, the skill, and the tools for heavy duty jobs. A thorough cleaning staff will ensure your school is as safe as it can be for students, staff, and faculty

It’s important to look for some important features in a school cleaning service. Make sure that cleaning occurs after hours, so that your cleaning crew never interferes with learning. Also, ensure that any chemicals used to clean are safe, and non-toxic. This is especially important in elementary schools, where children are more prone to putting items in their mouths. Check to be sure that all cleaning staff are thorough, as any room left in an unsanitary condition could prove a health hazard for students and faculty.

Every room of a school should receive through treatment, indoors and outdoors, with the purpose of each area taken into account. The grease stains in the cafeteria should be removed in a way that does not use toxic chemicals or slippery surfaces. You should also check to see if your school cleaning service has experience with cleaning school areas. Corporate cleaning is very different from residential, or school cleaning, because the tasks, chemicals, and equipment will be different. Ensure that your cleaning service understands the responsibility of creating a safe environment for children.

There is white marble, which is prized for sculpture, and veined and colored marble which is used in building exteriors, flooring, and as a veneer for columns or ceilings. Regardless of the kind of marble you have, the cleaning techniques will be similar. Marble is very porous, which means liquids easily seep into it at quick rates. If this happens to your marble, very quickly scrub the area with water and a dry towel. Be sure to dry it thoroughly, as remaining water can damage the marble, discoloring or greying it. For this reason you should avoid putting beverages directly on the marble surface, and instead use coasters.

To regularly clean marble, wash it occasionally with water and dry it with a towel or chamois, which will not leave streaks. Once or twice a year, lightly wash the marble with a dish detergent, and again, dry thoroughly. Wax, except on white marble, can protect the surface as well, but use sparingly. For special cleaning, buy marble cleaners from a business that sells marble. Usually these cleaners are imported and originally used on softer marble, which means they will be easier on the surface of harder US marbles.  Putty Powder will liven up dull or scratched surfaces. Use it with a damp clothe and apply a couple times. Afterward, buff the spotted area.

Removing stains from marble requires a specific combination of ingredients. For all types of stains, you will need to use a poultice made of an absorbent material, such as a napkin or tissue, and one of the cleaning chemicals recommended further on, depending on the type of stain you have. For an organic stain, mix your poultice with peroxide and a tiny bit of ammonia. For an oil stain, immediately spread an absorbent powder, such as corn starch, onto the affected area.

Brush this powder away after it has turned color, indicating it has soaked up some of the stain. Continue applying powder and removing for the next twenty four hours. When removing, use a sudsy solution with water and a dish detergent. For a rust stain, caused by a lamp or other metal touching the marble, use a commercial rust remover but do not leave the solution on the marble for long: the acid can scratch the surface.

Regardless of the cleaning techniques you use, you will need to keep a close eye on your marble. As pretty as it is, it is also delicate and susceptible to damage.

Cooking grease is animal or vegetable fat that is a liquid at room temperature. Both types of cooking liquids can be cleaned up using the same products. Cooking grease that has spilled can be cleaned up in a number of ways: if it has gotten onto fabric, you should use a dishwashing detergent and water to soak the fabric immediately. The detergent and water break up the fat molecules, removing the stain from the fabric. If you don’t have a detergent, aloe vera gel or hairspray may work as an alternative. Cooking grease also often gets onto cabinets. If this is the case, wash the cabinets with a vinegar solution and water, finishing the cleanup with a pleasant smelling spray or liquid to resolve the vinegar smell. If the cabinets are wooden, wash the vinegar smell away with dishwater.

The easiest cooking-grease messes are on appliances. The smooth surfaces allow a solution of dishwater and soap to remove the stain quite easily. If the stain persists, add some dish detergent to the solution and try again.

Industrial lubricant grease, however, requires a completely different set of cleaning solutions. These lubricants consist of a mineral or vegetable oil base emulsified with a thickening substance, such as a lithium or sodium soap. Lubricating grease is used where other lubricates cannot remain, or where water needs to be prevented from entering, in which case it acts as a sealant.

Common places you’ll find industrial lubricant grease include under the hood of your car, your oven, and in other mechanical places, such as the ball bearings in the hub of a bicycle. Just as with cooking grease, the best way to clean lubricating grease depends on the surface on which it needs to be removed:

If lubricating grease has gotten into fabric, immediately rinse with baking soda, dishwashing detergent, and water. If grease has gotten onto skin, which often happens when cleaning a car, pipes, or a furnace, a number of steps may be needed to remove it.

First, wash the skin with water and soap, getting as much of the grease off as possible. Whatever remains, rub generously with petroleum jelly. Wipe your hands clean with a dry cloth, especially focusing on the areas where the grease seems to have gotten trapped in dead skin. Whatever grease remains will need to be sloffed off through exfoliation, using a scrub. If grease still remains, use a pumice stone on the leftover stains. Be sure to moisturize your hands after this rough treatment.

The most difficult cleaning task with lubricant grease is on rugs or carpets. The first step is to immediately blot as much grease off of the carpet or rug. It’s essential not to scrub the grease into the fabric of the material, but to lift the grease off with a paper towel. Next, spray the remaining stain with a cleaning solution appropriate to your type of carpet. Repeat the first and second step over and over until the stain has disappeared, being sure to prevent the stain from spreading. If the stain still doesn’t disappear, pour cornmeal over the affected area and let set. In either case, leave the affected area overnight, and the next day vacuum clean until the area is back to normal.
Grease stains are hard to fight, but if they are treated at once, they won’t ruin the surface they tried to conquer.

Cleaning a freezer effectively requires a little planning. It is best to clean a freezer when your frozen food supply is low, not after a big food shopping trip. When the food supply is empty or low enough that you can preserve the frozen foods in an ice chest, this is a good time to clean the freezer. Additionally, now is a good time to throw out old food items that have been in the freezer and may have frostbite or be well past their sell-by date. Many people think that frozen foods do not emit odors but this is not true. Old frozen food can cause smells that are absorbed into other frozen foods or may seep into the refrigerator, so discard old frozen food past its use date.

For most modern freezers, actual ice build-up is negligible, but if you have an older freezer, the first step will be to defrost the freezer. Turn off the freezer and leave the door open, allowing the ice to melt naturally. If there is significant ice-build up, do not attempt to pick away at the ice. You could slip and puncture the side walls of the freezer or cause some other form of damage. Instead, to speed up the defrost process in an ice-filled freezer, boil a pot of water and put it inside the freezer, closing the door, protecting the bottom of the freezer from the hot pan. The steam will help melt the ice and loosen the solid ice deposits. You may have to repeat this step several times, depending on the ice thickness. Once all the ice is melted, dry out the inside of the freezer with paper towels.

Once the freezer is ice-free and relatively warm inside, wash the insides thoroughly with warm, soapy water. Be sure to wipe out all smudges and crumbs, and when finished, wipe down with warm water to rinse out the soap. If your freezer seems to still have odors in it, you may want to dissolve some baking soda in warm water and wash down the inside of the freezer with this solution. It will help remove any lingering odors. Once finished, dry the insides of the freezer with a clean towel or paper towels. When the freezer is completely dry, turn it back on again and close the door. Once the inside has return to freezing temperature, you can refill the freezer. Now that your freezer is clean, consider keeping an open box of baking soda inside, which will absorb any odors and help keep your freezer smelling fresh until its next cleaning.

According to current estimates, allergies may affect as many as one out of every five Americans. So, don’t be afraid to ask your guests in advance if they suffer from allergies. Even if not, they are likely to be grateful for your consideration.

In cases when this is not an option, it pays to be prepared. Whether coming for any length of a stay, even for a quick chat, your guests are likely to eat or drink while visiting. A guest with extreme food allergies might experience symptoms even sitting in the same room with an allergen, and eating an allergen could be deadly.

So, for your reference, the most common food allergens include:

• Peanuts and tree nuts (such as walnuts, almonds, pistachios, pecans, and cashews);
• Fish (and shellfish);
• Milk and Eggs (think barnyard animals to remember this one);
• Soy
• Wheat

Some populations tend to experience specific food sensitivities with a greater frequency than others; for example, Asians are very commonly lactose-intolerant. Even cheese can lead to uncomfortable digestive symptoms in lactose intolerant guests.

So, to be on the safe side, it may be best to find a few great recipes that include none of the above, so that you’re ready for your next big dinner party.

Another extremely common type of allergy is the environmental allergy. Pollinating flowers, cats, dogs, dust, and even air-borne particles can all be culprits.

For example, a freshly mowed lawn could make your guests absolutely miserable, should you host them on the front porch; so it’s best to give all those grass and pollen particles a while to die down, before dragging your guests into a sneezing fit.

Fortunately, most environmental triggers are relatively easy to resolve. To combat dust, dust and vacuum regularly and well. (Hopefully, you do that already!) Similarly to mowing the lawn, it’s best not to time it too closely with regard to your guests’ arrival, if there’s any chance that you’ll be stirring up built-up dust.

Buy allergen proof filters for your vents and pillows that discourage the accumulation of dust mites. You may also want to avoid feather pillows, as down is another common allergen.

Cats and dogs should be well-bathed shortly in advance of the guests’ arrival, as this will remove some potential allergens. If possible, they could be kept outside, or loaned to a friend to fully ensure your guests’ comfort.

Allergy-friendly floral arrangements should be selected — your local florist should be able to help you with this. Non-flowering branches may be less likely to irritate sensitive guests.

Guests with a deadly allergy to bee-stings should be warned if an area in your lawn attracts bees. Also be aware that a guest with a bad nickel allergy may not be able to use your silverware, and a guest with a latex allergy won’t want to help blow up balloons.

Spring office cleaning services are about more than simple routine office cleaning. These services are aimed to provide you with a top to bottom cleaning of the entire office building, just like you would expect while spring cleaning in your home. Some of the services that you can come to expect are not unlike traditional cleaning services, except that they are more thorough than what is expected on a daily or weekly basis. For example, rather than simply empty waste recepticals and vacuum or sweep and dry mop personal offices, a company performing spring cleaning tasks for you may dust and wipe down all equipment, desk tops, windows, curtains and blinds in each individual office to give them a brand new look.

• Carpet Cleaning – Carpet cleaning services can generally be provided a monthly basis, a quarterly basis or a yearly basis depending on how much traffic the floors are receiving and how often they need to be cleaned in order to maintain a good appearance in the building. Do not let your floors get dingy! With enough notice, your cleaning service can even conduct a full deep carpet cleaning with commercial grade equipment.

• Floor Stripping / Waxing – Services for floor stripping and waxing can be used on a monthly, a quarterly or a yearly basis depending on how much traffic your floors are receiving. A customized spring cleaning schedule can be created to make sure that your hard floors get the treatment that they deserve.

• Luchroom Appliances – Although keeping the lunch room clean should be a priority all the time, your kitchen or break room area could use a little extra attention, and most service providers can provide this to you. Your appliances in the kitchen area should be cleaned from top to bottom, removing bacteria, germs and odors in the process.

• Windows – Most cleaning companies do not spend a lot of time doing windows from day to day, but during spring office cleaning, you are definitely going to want to make sure that your windows are taken care of. Dirty windows reflect your business badly to people that travel past your office building on a daily basis, as well as those within it, so make sure that your cleaning services provider is going to pay particular attention to your windows during spring cleaning.

This is just the basic list when it comes to spring cleaning for your office. Make sure that a thorough job is done in cleaning your office if you are only opting for a once-a-year serious cleaning.

Remember throughout the process that organization is about utility. Put items in the appropriate places and it will be easier to return them to those places, keeping the room tidy and your belongings accessible.

For example, if you use something several times a day, it should be more accessible than something that you use once a month. Categorize things based upon how you use them, not based upon how someone else thinks they should be organized. If you only ever use nail polish remover to take care of household stains, for goodness sake, get it out of your beauty drawer and put it with the cleaning supplies!

This leads to the first and most basic principle, the “use” principle. “How often do you use it?” Now, how often do you use it, really? This one question will inform all of your later decisions.

The simplest solution stemming from this question would be: I thought that this would be useful when I bought it, but I have discovered that is not the case. Throw it away or return it.

Then ask yourself, how exactly do you use the item in question; this includes concepts such as:

• Do you currently use it as much, or, as well, as you should?
• Do you regularly have trouble finding it?
• Is this the place that you normally use this item?
• Are there other items that you normally use with this item? Do they have any other uses? Should you store them together?

If you don’t currently use an item as often as you feel that you should, what can you do to change this? Do you store it near where you use it? For example, I always apply sunblock outside, since I prefer the spray-on type.

So to ensure that applying sunblock wasn’t a hassle, I moved the sunblock downstairs, closer to the door, so that it wasn’t such a hassle to use it.

If you regularly have trouble finding the item, figure out why. Have you placed it within a set of items with which it does not fit conceptually. For example, is your conditioner in the drawer with your nail polish, instead of with your shampoo?

Or does it not have a “place” of its own? In this case, find a place for it. Figure out where it fits in the organizational hierarchy of your mind and store it there. Always keep in mind that the bathroom may not be the right room for this object, even if that’s where Mom kept it.

If this isn’t the place that you normally use the item, I strongly recommend moving it. In order to keep things tidy, it is wide to make keeping things tidy easy. Store things close to where you use them and you won’t have to march across the house to put them away.

Keep these principles in mind and your bathroom should be ship-shape in no time.

Who hasn’t had to clean up after a special event before? Moreover, who knew before that day just what incredible slobs people could be? For some reason, special events tend to produce a very special kind of a mess.

With large events, the clean-up before, during, and after the event becomes even more unmanageable. Often special knowledge or tools are required to clean areas properly and efficiently. Have you ever had to clean artificial turf, for example? The confetti that drops from the ceiling at that special moment may be absolutely necessary, but cleaning up every speck of it is never easy, no matter how many dust busting hand vacuums you employ.

Depending upon the number of people attending your event, you may even have more crowd then you bargained for — and what then? A bigger mess than you bargained for, for one thing! For another, you may not have planned for enough garbage cans or even port-o-potties, which can lead to a special kind of a mess all by themselves.

There’s always so much to consider and to do. After the event, will the florists be removing their arrangements, or will they be left for you to take care of? What about the entertainment? Magicians may leave balloons and balloon pieces everywhere, if they specialize in balloon animals.

Will the band be tossing things into the audience? Do they have special requirements of their own?

What about ensuring that trash bags are changed in a timely manner during the event? Most assuredly, if you don’t make sure that it’s taken care of, none of your guests will take action to change the bag for you, but will keep throwing trash onto the teetering pile and the ground around it.

What about tables and counters in food preparation and eating areas? Unfortunately, not everyone is in the habit of clearing their places, and uneaten food quickly attracts pests.

A sudden spill can really mar the appearance of your party if not treated promptly. The last thing you want is red punch tracked onto carpets and melting through the tablecloth onto the table. Oh, did you expect to get that deposit back?

But special event cleaning services can help with all of this. Not only do they offer their services after the event, but even before and during. Planning a special event is stressful enough that taking pre-event cleaning off of the to-do list can make a real difference in whether your event is a success or a flop.

During the event, they can change out those garbage cans, clean up spills and forgotten food or drinks, and so forth, freeing you to keep things running smoothly. So if he band members say they must have a six-pack of imported Peruvian ale to start playing, you’ll have plenty of time to figure out how to get some with a special event cleaning crew backing you up.

Equipment cleaning can mean different things to different people. It really depends on what type of office you are running and what types of equipment you have in your office building. If you are running a company that uses computers, printers, scanners, fax machines and other such technological equipment, then an office equipment cleaning service should be able to meet these cleaning needs for you. If you have other types of machinery or office equipment, then you are going to want to make sure that the office cleaning service that you choose is capable of meeting your needs. The best way for you to achieve this is to call ahead of time and ask.

One of the best things that you can do to ensure that you and your chosen cleaning service are on the same page is to draw up a contract that explains, in no uncertain terms, exactly what you expect to be accomplished by the professional cleaning service. Not only is this going to give you peace of mind when it comes to ensuring that your individual needs are met, but it is also going to make the job easier for the professional cleaning service by outlining exactly what is expected of their employees so that there are no miscommunications or misunderstandings during the business contract.

Office equipment cleaning definitely plays a big role in cleaning a commercial office, so you are definitely going to want to make sure that whatever specifications that you have for office cleaning are met. If you have specialty equipment that requires more knowledge or understanding in order to properly clean it, then make sure that the cleaning services company is aware of what your needs are so that they can learn to use the equipment, or even research it if the need arises. The more thorough that you are in letting your expectations be known, the better able the cleaning services company will be when it comes to ensuring that no office equipment is damaged or rearranged during the cleaning process, as well as exceeding the expectations that you have for the service.

If you’re running an office that is serious about the office equipment that you use, then it is going to be important to choose a company that offers commercial office equipment cleaning that will not compromise the functions of your equipment in any way. In an office setting, understanding your unique office cleaning needs is going to be important, so don’t simply choose a company and hope for the best. You should be in complete control of your office cleaning arrangement.

Lime Buildup
Lime buildup in showers, tubs and sinks can be ugly and distracting. There are some harsh chemicals on the market that can remove it, but they can be dangerous. Instead, use a paste of 1 teaspoon white vinegar and 2 tablespoons salt. Apply the mixture to the lime buildup, let sit and rinse away. Repeat the process for particularly thick buildup.

Create a Safe Cleanser
Scouring cleansers are useful for a variety of purposes, and it is easy to make your own using vinegar. Simply mix 1 tablespoon liquid detergent with ¼ cup baking soda. Then add enough white vinegar to the mixture to obtain a thick and creamy paste. Use this cleanser anywhere you would use a store bought cleanser.

Drains and Garbage Disposals
Garbage disposals and drains can really smell, especially in hot and humid weather. If you notice that unpleasant odor in your sink, pour 1 cup baking soda into your drain (use ½ cup for the garbage disposal). Follow this by 1 cup hot white vinegar. Wait five minutes and rinse the drain or disposal with hot water. The unpleasant odor will be gone.

Tupperware
Perhaps one of the greatest kitchen aids ever, Tupperware, has a habit of getting stained and smelly. Grease stains are common, especially if the Tupperware has been used to store spaghetti sauce or something equally greasy. The stains can be easily removed by simply wiping the container out with a soft cloth or rag soaked in white vinegar.

Dishwasher
Dishwashers can save you an awful lot of time and effort in the kitchen, but when they get smelly or develop a soap build up, do you really want to spend your time cleaning out the cleaner? Instead, pour one cup of white vinegar into the dishwasher and run it through a cycle (empty). The soap buildup and odor will disappear.

Coffee Pots
No matter how often you wash them, your coffee pot will become cloudy or stained. Run a cycle of plain white vinegar through the machine. Follow this by one or two cycles of plain water to rinse out the machine. Be sure to consult your manufacturer’s instructions first!

Fruit Flies
Fruit flies can be impossible to get rid of. You throw away the fruit and still have flies for days. Instead, just set a small bowl of white vinegar out on your counter. The fruit flies will be gone!

For the Grill
Cleaning the grill can be difficult with all of that stuck on food. Simply spray the grill with a solution of ½ water and ½ vinegar and the job will be much easier!

The first and most effective way to recycle clutter is to rid your home of all recyclable paper items and set up a recycling program in the house to ensure paper clutter is dealt with if not on a daily basis, then at least weekly. Paper comes into the home every day in the form of mail, newspapers and magazines. Collect it all up and recycle it. If your town has an at-the-curb recycling program, leave it out on the next trash day. If not, many towns have recycling centers. Paper seems to make up the bulk of recyclable clutter in homes, but if you find your house is littered with any other sorts of recyclable products that are of little or no value, repeat this process with those items. Set up a regular recycling program in your home, with places where recyclable waste is taken at the end of the day, and stick to the program to ensure no more recyclables fill up your home.

Homes are also cluttered with more valuable items than paper, items that also should not be thrown away because they will just occupy a landfill, but also because other people may be able to use them. Such items include clothes, videogames, DVDs, CDs, books, and even extra furniture that crowds a room and serves no purpose. Useful items that you do not use but that others may want can be sold on auction sites, taken to clothing consignment stores, or sold in a garage sale. Not only will this get rid of the clutter in your home, but it will earn you extra cash, a sort of reward for taking the steps necessary to declutter your home.

However, auction sites, consignment stores and garage sales are only helpful if you actually have the time. Many homes become cluttered because of a lack of time, and good intentions may not be enough to get rid of the recyclable clutter in your home. If you are extremely busy, consider a charitable donation. Some charities sponsor clothing and small item pick ups several times a year, and some will come directly to your home for larger items, like furniture and exercise equipment. Recycling clutter items in your home with a charity that can resell them also helps your pocketbook at tax time in the form of charitable giving. It also keeps those items you donate out of a landfill, which is the ultimate end of recycling the clutter in your home.

There are a wide variety of different cleaning and janitorial services that can be outlined in office cleaning contracts. They depend on what types of services the office manager is looking to have fulfilled. Additionally, there are some limits placed on these terms based on what services the janitorial or cleaning services company is or is not willing to complete. Most cleaning companies offer a wide variety of cleaning and maintenance services, but one cannot simply assume that they will do everything that you ask of them unless you have specifically verified what services are offered in a thorough office cleaning.

Office cleaning contracts are important when there is a business relationship between an office building and a cleaning company. This is because it gets the terms of the agreement down on paper and makes sure that there are no misunderstandings or miscommunications. By committing everything to paper, both parties can rest assured that they understand the terms of the business agreement and that their individual needs are being met as well.

This means that most office cleaning contracts will outline not only what cleaning needs to be done, what services need to be rendered, but also they should outline payment agreement information, such as how much will be paid for the services and how often. These office cleaning contracts are also often used to outline when the cleaning company is going to complete the work, and how often. Some office cleaning agreements have a start date and end date attached to them, meaning that the contract will have to be renewed by both parties after a period of time.

Many professional cleaning companies rely heavily on office cleaning jobs for much of their work and income, because it means guaranteed income on a regular basis. For this reason, many professional cleaning companies are eager to create office cleaning contracts with office managers and other professionals. Professional establishments that are looking for a long term agreement with a professional cleaning company will definitely benefit from drawing up office cleaning terms that allow them to make sure that all of their cleaning and janitorial service needs are met on a consistent basis. This way, you can ensure that your office building is properly cleaned and maintained on a consistent basis and that there are no issues or concerns regarding ensuring that all of the work is done properly the first time as well as every subsequent time.

Red Wine

Everyone knows how hard red wine can be to remove from carpeting. In fact, it is often considered the hardest stain to get out. Not anymore. Simply blot up as much of the spilled wine as you can and then sprinkle generously with salt. Allow the salt for sit for fifteen minutes. It will soak up any remaining wine. Your carpet will appear slightly pink in color. Rinse the area thoroughly with a mixture of 1/3 cup white vinegar and 2/3 cup water. The stain will be gone!

Water Rings on Wood

Anyone who has ever set a wet glass done on a favorite piece of wood furniture knows the horror of the dreaded water ring. No amount of furniture polish or elbow grease ever seems to erase them. Mix up a thick paste from salad oil and salt. Rub the paste into the stain and then remove it by gently buffing. This process will also work for rings left by hot plate or pots.

Grease

Grease stains on a rug or carpet sometimes seem impossible to remove. Salt and rubbing alcohol can remove the grease in a snap. Mix 1 part salt to 4 parts rubbing alcohol. Apply the mixture to the stain and rub hard, being sure to rub in the direction of the nap. Rinse thoroughly with cool water. No more grease stains!

Tarnished Cooper and Brass

Brass and cooper accents pieces can look beautiful in a home, but ugly tarnish can ruin the effect.  Make a simple paste out of flour, vinegar and salt in equal parts. Use a soft cloth to rub the paste on. Wait one hour. Wipe the paste off and then buff with a clean and soft cloth. Your cooper and brass will be tarnish free and gleaming.

Rust Stains on Clothing

Any handyman can tell you that rust stains are really hard to get out of clothing. Mix up a paste of lemon juice and salt and apply it to the rust stain. Wash as usual, and the rust will be gone.

In The Garden

You can even use salt in your garden. It can be used to kill the poison ivy. Simply spray the plant with a mixture of salt and water. Just be sure not to spray any plants you want to keep. The phrase ‘salting the earth’ actually refers to the inability of salted ground to produce anything! You can also use salt to remove the itch of a mosquito bite. Wet the affected area and rub with salt – no more itch!

The most common foods that pests enjoy are the most natural ones, such as foods that contain grains, nuts, or seeds — even baking mixes or spices. So it’s wise to ensure that all such foods are enclosed in containers that will keep such pests out! (Or if you’re very unlucky, in.)

Some of these insects can even leave the pantry to damage other items in your house, such as wool products or books.
Screw-top glass containers, metal or heavy plastic containers are best, to ensure that pests can’t get in or out. Paper or cardboard packaging and plastic wrap are not sturdy enough.

Ensure that the packaging is undamaged when you buy it. Also when you purchase food, buy small amounts, so it won’t need to be stored for as long, and always use the oldest food first. The longer you own a food, the longer it has to become infested.

Keep your kitchen clean and pursue regular insect-prevention methods, such as spraying or setting out traps. The importance of this cannot be emphasized enough. If you leave out food, the scent of it is like putting out a “Free Hamburgers” sign in front of your house.

Also check for gaps under doors and verify that you have undamaged screens over windows and open doors. Check for areas of damaged caulk throughout the kitchen, but especially in and around the pantry. Caulk up any damaged areas, as well as over any cracks. A cat or a dog door is one thing — you definitely don’t want an pest door.

While proper cleaning goes a long way in keeping pests away, sometimes they find their way in no matter what you do. While there are sticky traps or pheromone traps for some insects, for many these are not effective. Really, the best thing to do with any kind of infestation, is to act quickly and remove all access to the food source. After that, you can go after the insects.

To remove access to a food source, you will need to take any food that is in paper, cardboard, or other flimsy containers and put it in sturdy bug proof containers. Or, if it is obviously infested, contain it tightly in a bag and throw it away outside . I’d move the trashcan as far from the house as you can manage for a few days.

Ensure that you clean the pantry very thoroughly for as long as you are seeing pests. Wipe all of the shelves down, as well as their contents, and examine them carefully for signs of infestation. Use a vacuum to get the area really clean. Suck up all those pests and larvae, as well as, of course, any food spillage.

Whether the bugs are in a container (hopefully not) or outside, without access to a new food source in your kitchen, they should die off relatively quickly.

Mustiness often happens in poorly ventilated bathrooms. Even bathrooms with proper intake and outtake vents get very damp and develop musty smells. In bathrooms that have windows, keeping a window open before and after showers can help reduce the humidity in bathrooms that leads to musty odors. If there is no window, consider a small desk fan that can be set on the floor or on the counter area (always use caution using electrical equipment near water sources!). A fan can help circulate and cool air in a humid room and will reduce mustiness. This can also serve as a preventative measure, as once musty odors sink into bathroom counters made of wood, it can become much harder to remove that smell.

Sometimes bathroom odors stem from mildew that occurs naturally in a damp, warm environment. There are many cleaners on the market that are made specifically to combat mildew in bathrooms. Be sure to clean carefully in corners of showers and along grout lines to remove all the mildew from the bath and shower area. Even a small amount can create that musty odor. Keep the toilet clean as well. Though mildew is not a common toilet problem, an unclean toilet can only contribute to an odor problem. All kinds of cleaners for toilets crowd the shelves, including some disposable and flushable items.

If you notice mildew in your bathroom, check to make sure it has not spread to items like your shower curtain. If it has, launder the shower curtain, or clean it to manufacturer specifications. Washable shower liners are helpful, especially if you have a vinyl shower curtain where mildew can be harder to remove. The shower liner stands between the bathtub and the shower curtain and can be easily washed. Some are inexpensive enough to dispose of and replace if mildew develops. Even better, many shower curtains and shower liners come pre-treated to combat certain types of bacteria that can cause mildew. Investing in one of these types of curtains can help reduce musty smells in your bathroom.

Sometimes the musty smell can get into towels, which can be an aggravating problem. White towels can be laundered in hot water with bleach, following product recommendations, and this often removes the smell. Colored towels are trickier, but many have found that when colored towels are laundered in hot water with a cup of white vinegar added along with laundry detergent, it knocks the smell right out of colored towels. Vinegar also has the added benefit of removing detergent build up not only in the towels but in the washing machine itself. Removing that build up will get towels cleaner and the cleaner they are, the less musty they will smell.

Spring-cleaning can be made easier with some preparation that will help you get started early. Go from room to room and make a list of all the tasks you will need to do in order to completely clean the room. When you amass this task list, review it and see what cleaning supplies you will need. A complete cleaning supply kit will ensure you can get started early and not have to stop when you realize you don’t have a certain cleaning supply. In the kitchen, keep in mind specialty appliance cleaners, like oven cleaners. In the bathroom, if you have hard water, keep lime scale removers in mind. By making a complete task list and ensuring you have the supplies on hand to tackle it, you will be able to get an early start on your spring-cleaning and not lose any momentum.

Once you have a task list, dividing the chores up into manageable sizes will help spring-cleaning from becoming too difficult. When you look at an entire house that needs to be cleaned, it seems like a never-ending task. If you look at one or two rooms a day that need cleaning, it becomes far easier to mentally and physically tackle the cleaning tasks. Group together similar tasks. For example, clean bathrooms together. If you need to vacuum upholstery, vacuum the drapes while you have the vacuum set up with various attachments. Your task list will also help you plan ahead. If you need to let oven cleaner sit for a while, you can plan to do tasks in another part of the house away from the fumes of the cleaner. You can clean out the refrigerator and freezer the day before you go to the supermarket, ensuring less items you have to remove and keep fresh while doing these chores. A little forward planning will go a long way to making cleaning much easier.

One other thing to keep in mind when spring-cleaning is that you don’t have to do it alone. If you have help, you will be more likely to start early and complete the job. Get family members to help. If you live alone, suggest a housecleaning swap with a friend, where you help each other clean one another’s homes. Enlist the services of professionals to steam-clean carpets and wash windows. Housecleaning companies offer spring-cleaning services that you can use to augment what you do, or to do the job entirely. Check to see what services are out there to help you get started and get your spring-cleaning finished early.

Some of the Manhattan apartment cleaning services that you can take advantage of include:

Daily apartment cleaning – Daily apartment cleaning services will involve a professional service provider visiting your home on a daily basis to handle basic cleaning tasks such as sweeping and mopping, dusting and taking out the trash.

Weekly apartment cleaning – Weekly apartment cleaning involves one visit per week, and involves a heavier cleaning job including things like window and mirror cleaning on top of the aforementioned tasks.

Monthly apartment cleaning – Monthly Manhattan apartment cleaning services generally involve a single visit per month, where more thorough cleaning services are provided over a period of several hours.

Move In cleaning – This is a cleaning service that you can take advantage of if you are about to move into a new apartment and want to make sure that it is cleaned up before moving day.

Move out cleaning – If you are moving out of an apartment and want to get your security deposit back, take advantage of this cleaning service. Move out cleaning for Manhattan apartments can be especially useful, because not all apartments have easy access to dumpsters or trash bins. A cleaning service will be able to dispose of all cleaning materials properly.

Carpet cleaning services – If you’re simply looking for carpet cleaning services, some Manhattan apartment cleaning services can accommodate.

Professional window cleaning services – If you need to get your windows clean in Manhattan, you will need a local cleaning service that can handle windows, particularly those in high rise apartments.

No matter what your individual needs are when it comes to requiring a thorough apartment cleaning, the right Manhattan apartment cleaning services can meet your needs and even exceed your expectations. What you are going to want to do is to figure out exactly what types of needs you have, and then find a company offering Manhattan apartment cleaning services that will meet those needs. Once you have your requirements outlined, you should form an apartment cleaning contract with the service provider that you choose so that you will not have any problems with miscommunication or misunderstanding in the future.

There are a lot of different options available to you, so don’t be afraid to simply shop around and find out what different service providers will be able to do for you. It is important that you are getting the most out of your apartment cleaning services, otherwise you’re simply wasting time and money.

If you are running an office that gets a lot of foot traffic or a lot of people traffic throughout the week, then you should definitely be considering special cleaning of those high traffic areas. The purpose behind a service that offers high traffic office area cleaning is to provide a caliber of cleaning that is well beyond the usual in terms of quality and depth. If you have carpeting or tile flooring that gets really dirty and really well used all throughout the week, then hiring a company to pay particular attention to those areas is going to be extremely beneficial.

Other areas of your office may only require light or occasional cleaning, like desks and office furniture for example, and this is okay. If there are areas of your business that get a lot of traffic or use however, such as bathrooms, the kitchen, waiting areas and reception areas, then you should consider hiring a company that is going to pay particular attention to these areas for you so that you can keep your entire office clean all throughout the week or month without having to worry about heavily populated areas becoming worse for wear.

Many businesses find that most of their traffic is in certain areas of the building. If you have a business with visits from clients, then the reception area or waiting area of your business may get the most use. If you do not see a lot of customers, but you hold a lot of meetings, then the board room, meeting rooms or even the kitchen or staff break room may see more use. The main room where cubicles are set up may also get a lot of foot traffic and heavy use. Understanding what areas see the most use in your office is the best way to get the most out of high traffic office area cleaning, because it will ensure that the most often used places in your company are the ones that get the most cleaning attention.

It would be wise to find a cleaning services company that specializes in extra cleaning of busy areas. When your cleaning service spends more time and pays more attention dealing with your high traffic areas, you can make sure that your office is always kept clean no matter how much foot traffic or people traffic it sees all throughout the week or month.

Dust accumulation also depends very much on the type of home in question. A house with pets will generate more dust than one without them. Brushing pets and keeping their fur free of dander will help prevent them from shedding and creating dust. Also, the more people who live in a house, the more dust the house will accumulate. Much of the components in dust are skin particles, so the more living creatures in a house, the more dust. Homes with carpeting instead of hardwood or tile floors also collect more dust as the carpet traps dust and allows it to be redistributed when the carpet is disturbed in any way. Some recent products that boast they can repel dust from furniture simply by polishing with them do reduce the accumulation of dust, but the dust is still in the environment and will instead accumulate on knick knacks, books or in the carpet instead of the polished surfaces.

One of the most effective ways to reduce dust in your home is by using HEPA filters. A HEPA filter removes over 99% of the airborne particles from the air that moves through them, so using such filters in central air conditioning will reduce the amount of dust from the air that is moved through the filter. HEPA filters are also available on most recent vacuum model makes, especially the bagless vacuums. The more dust that your vacuum is able to filter out of the carpet and keep in the machine, the less dust there is to be redistributed in your home. HEPA filtration is also important for air purification systems that suck air into the machines in order to clean it. Be sure to change or clean these filters often. Pay attention to filters in other places. The lint filter on the dryer, for instance, reduces the amount of lint and dust on clothes. If this filter is not cleaned with each dryer cycle, lint and dust can stay on clothes and get sent back into the air when clothes are folded or worn.

Since carpets and upholstered furniture hold onto dust particles, redistributing them in a room whenever their surfaces are moved or disturbed, frequent vacuuming of carpets and upholstered furniture is important to reducing dust accumulation. The same is true for bedding, mattresses and draperies. Washing bedding and draperies (or vacuuming draperies if they are not machine washable) will help reduce the overall amount of dust in your home. Using microfiber mattress and pillow covers will prevent much dust from entering into pillows and mattresses, and a good vacuuming with a handheld vacuum attachment periodically will remove the dust that did get through. By keeping household fabrics dust free, less dust can rise from them and end up accumulating on furniture.

Mold on your carpet is often impossible to clean up. The mold may grow not just on the carpet, but also down into the padding that lies between the carpet and the sub-flooring of your home.  If you see mold on your carpet, it is often best to contact a professional carpet cleaner, or if the mold is severe enough, there are companies that exist solely to help people get rid of mold in their homes. Sometimes, the carpet cannot be cleaned to any sort of standard that will promote good health and will have to be replaced, though sometimes the carpet can be cleaned and the affected areas of the padding replaced.

Mold needs moisture to grow and therefore homes that are damp or have experienced flooding are excellent breeding grounds for mold in carpets. Companies that deal with mold removal also help determine if there were any overt environmental factors that caused the mold.  In order to prevent the mold from coming back onto a cleaned or new carpet, the cause has to be addressed. Sometimes it can be as easy as reducing the humidity in the house. A severe mold growth can be caused by something as minor as a small crack in a house’s sub-flooring.  Mold is likely to return unless the environmental factors that permitted it to grow are addressed.

If you cannot contact a professional immediately to deal with the mold on your carpet, there are some cleaning tips that can help deal with the situation, provided it is only in a small area, until a professional can advise you or you can replace your carpeting. In doing this, all due precautions must be taken to ensure that you do not inhale mold spores or allow the spores to spread in the air in your home. Wear protective clothing and masks, turn off all ventilation in the house, such as air conditioning or fans, and do this only after any elderly persons, children or people with compromised immune systems are out of the home.

Scrub the carpet thoroughly with a stiff-bristled scrubbing brush with soap and water. Rinse the area well, using a wet-dry vacuum to remove excess water. Let the area dry. If the mold returns, you need to repeat this process and then treat the area with a diluted bleach solution, then rinsing and letting the floor dry. This method is not 100% effective and does not address the greater problem of how the mold grew in the first place. It is still a very good idea to contact a professional carpet cleaner or mold clean-up crew if you find mold on your carpet.

Cleaning the outside of windows on a high rise building is a task that is going to require professional help. It would be wise at this point not to hire a traditional cleaning services company, but rather to choose a professional company that specializes in cleaning windows that are pretty far up off the ground. These professional cleaning companies will come equipped with the right tools, materials, safety gear and know how in order to make sure that the job gets done right the first time, without putting anyone at risk in the process.

• All windows that are washed by a professional high rise window cleaning service should be completely clean and free of any smears, streaks or visible residue from soap.

• The contractors should be able to furnish all of their own supplies and equipment that are needed in order to carry out the specified services for no additional cost.

• Some cleaning companies that do windows will do both the inside windows and the outside windows for you.

• If items have to be moved away so that the cleaning company can get to the interior windows, then the items should be returned back to their normal places. All drippings from water and cleaning solution will be removed thoroughly so that offices and other places of business are left how they were found, albeit with cleaner windows.

• Make sure that you write out a contract with your professional window cleaning company that lets them know that they are liable for all damage to the building, windows, furniture, equipment or other items. If damage is sustained, office managers or other superintendents should be notified immediately.

• When you draw up a contract with the professional window cleaning service, make sure that the company knows in no uncertain terms how often they are going to be expected to return to repeat the work. Setting up a contract is a great way to make sure that all expectations are known and to make sure that the job gets done the right way the first time.

This is just a brief primer on what professional high rise window cleaning is all about. When you find the right service company for your needs you will be able to better come to understand the services that can be offered to you.

One important thing to remember in the garage is that there are often sharp objects like nails, screws, or splintered boards lying hidden where you’d least expect to find them. So protect your hands before you start. Pick up a pair of sturdy leather gloves and put them on before you start fishing around where you can’t see.

The first task I undertake when cleaning the garage is to throw away anything that’s obviously trash. Then, I move on to looking for things that the kids have outgrown or that we no longer use. Bicycles are one obvious item to apply this rule to.

Often, garages are full of items that are waiting to be repaired, or are just missing “one part.” Cleaning time is the moment of truth as far as these things are concerned. Today, you fix them, take the appropriate steps to get them fixed (order the part), or throw them away.

The decision to throw something away can be a tough one, but if you only picked it up because it was five bucks at a garage sale, and it would be “so easy” to fix, now’s your time to revisit that hasty decision. “Is it worth your time?” is the question you want to ask yourself now, and don’t let your answer be the answer that you think it should be. Make it an answer that you mean.

Make sure that everything you’re keeping in the garage is something that should be in the garage. Sometimes items migrate out there during car cleanings or transfers between cars — items that shouldn’t be exposed to the harsh temperatures that they’re likely to face in a garage.

Check to see if a new toolbox is in order. Often we purchase new tools when needed, without any thought as to where we’re going to keep them, and we end up with an overflowing tool box; or, worse, a huge pile of tools that is impossible to sort when the faucet is leaking! There are many excellent shelving units out there for garages, in many different price ranges, too.

Remember the “ease of use, ease of put-away” rule. Keep items close to where you use them, and they’re easier to put away, and you’re also more likely to use them, instead of trying to get by without something that you need, just because it’s inconveniently located.

Ensure that you store things in logical places, so that you can find them again later, even if things get a little overcrowded again. This may mean moving something from where you’ve always kept it (and maybe where your mother and father always kept it before). Categorizing is what’s important here.

If you keep like objects together, it won’t just make this one thing easier to find, but it and everything like it. It also ensures that anyone who ever enters your garage is more likely to put things back where they found them.

Kids may not enjoy doing chores – really, who does – but with the right incentives, you can get your kids involved in household tidiness. It is best to start when kids are young, and even very small children can learn little tasks that contribute to the overall tidiness in a house. Toddlers can be taught that tidiness can be fun. Encourage them to put away their toys. Young siblings can make it into a game by seeing who can finish first and you can add to the game element by putting pictures on toy boxes or toy baskets so the kids can visually see where the items go. Show younger children how to toss their clothes into kid-sized hampers. Visual, colorful charts that show the children what chores they need to do, with markers that show when the chore is complete, can help reinforce that participating in household tidiness is fun.

Pre-schoolers, once they are tall enough, can make their own beds each morning. If parents set up bed making as a daily expectation for a child early on, it is more likely this chore will be carried on into teen years as well. Kids this age can also reliably put clothing away, as long as the drawers are within reach. Again, pictures on the outsides or insides of drawers can help kids determine the right place to put away their clean laundry. Elementary-age children can almost always reliably make their beds and as they get older, more tasks can be added as they help with household tidiness. Once again, depending on height, these children can empty dishwashers and put away dishes, wipe up counters in their bathrooms, hang up their own clothing, and run vacuum cleaners and sweepers. Parents are the best judges of the age-appropriateness of any chore, but it is best to leave anything that involves potentially dangerous household machinery, like a washing machine, or toxic cleaner until the child is older.

Junior high and high school kids, as they become busier with school activities and part-time jobs, may need more incentives than younger kids to do household chores. This is an excellent time to create chore lists that are tied to allowances or amounts paid per task completed. Kids this age are able to do much more safely that contributes to household tidiness, like wash and dry loads of laundry, help clean up after meals, and do deeper cleaning that involves chemicals smaller kids should not handle.

If you start young, make it fun and then later make it profitable for your kids to be involved in household tidiness, you’ll set habits that kids are more likely to follow later in life and your house will be much tidier for your efforts.

Always use the fan when taking a bath or a shower, for example. Leave it running for a few minutes if the room is still humid. Keep shower curtains spread out so that they can dry completely, and hang wet bathmats so they can dry properly. Remember, nothing smells quite like mold.

Daily, squeegee or wipe down shower walls. Tidy as you go — if you leave things to pick up later, they may never get picked up, and a cluttered bathroom doesn’t look clean. It is also harder to clean a room that is untidy.

Once a week, or even more often if the bathtub or shower is in frequent use, the tub and the shower should be scrubbed down with a mildly abrasive cleaner and warm water.

During your weekly cleaning is a good time to ensure that you haven’t left things out over the week. Put things where they belong, if they aren’t there already.

Check for areas of odor, and pay those areas special attention. Refill fragrance dispensers, as necessary; this can make a real difference in the atmosphere of your home.

Sinks should be cleaned in the same manner at least once a week. If you are careful to rinse out the sink after each use, especially after shaving or brushing your teeth, once a week is probably adequate to keep your sink looking clean. Ensure that you clean the sink faucets and handles, as a shiny surface can really brighten your bathroom.

A minimum of once a week, or more often if heavily used, scrub the inside of the toilet bowl with a toilet bowl cleaner, and wipe down all other surfaces of the toilet with an appropriate cleanser.

Also weekly, the mirrors should be cleaned with a spray cleaner and wiped to a streak-free shine. All linens should also be laundered at this time. Also, ensure that you dust, vacuum, and mop all applicable bathroom surfaces. Remember, this does mean all surfaces. Dust builds up slowly, even before it’s visible.

Once a month, more often if needed, scrub the grout clean, and wipe down any areas that may not be adequately cleaned on a weekly basis. The monthly cleaning should include a real focus on detail, if you want to keep your bathrooms looking their best.

Wipe down the insides of any shelves at this time, as well. Dust among your stored items, where needed. Wipe down the blinds with a sponge.

This is also a good time to check the shower head for buildup. If you’ve noticed a decrease in water pressure recently, this may be the cause.

If you fill a plastic bag with vinegar and attach it over the shower head overnight, then give it a good scrub, that should take care of a small amount of build-up, without the need to disassemble the shower head.

(When at the store, note that just because a cleaning product says that it’s environmentally friendly doesn’t make it so, and eventually, everything’s biodegradable, so that label doesn’t really mean much of anything!)

First of all, think reuse, reuse, reuse. Rags are a great substitute for paper towels, and you can use a reusable mop, such as a rag mop, instead of one with a disposable base. Try using a natural sponge instead of a disposable one.

Then, for ingredients… here are some household basics that will help you keep your home clean without destroying the environment (or poisoning your family):

• Distilled white vinegar
• Lemon juice
• Baking soda
• Plain white soap (without scents, colors, or other additives… purchase or make your own)
• Isopropyl alcohol
• Cornstarch

One thing to remember while cleaning just about anything is that hot water  tends to speed the cleaning process. Regular soap is a great cleanser. It needn’t just be for the body.

Clean glass using a vinegar solution or straight lemon juice. These are also both great for cutting through grease.

For light abrasive cleaning whether on the counters, in an appliance, or in the oven, add a little bit of water and some baking soda and scrub away.

In the bathroom, tea-tree oil works great on mildew, and so does vinegar. To clean the toilet, vinegar is great for around the rim detox. For inside the toilet, let lemon juice and baking soda sit, followed by a good scrub.

You can take care of a clogged toilet or a clogged drain with nothing more than vinegar and baking soda. Adding a little hot water speeds this up even more.

To clear out a nasty odor from the disposal, grind up ice cubes (to clean it) and pour some lemon juice in it (for the scent).

When it comes to stains, first of all, don’t let them sit. Not for a minute, not for a day. You’ll find, as grandmother always said, club soda is great for carpet stains, (and non-toxic!).

If that doesn’t work, let cornstarch soak it up for a bit, then follow that with a water-vinegar solution scrub.

For an anti-bacterial disinfectant, add a few drops of either tea-tree oil or lavender to water. Both are excellent antiseptic agents.

For deodorizing, baking soda works great, whether in the fridge, the pantry, or the carpet. Once you’ve taken care of odor, get rid of those chemical air fresheners. Use candles or potpourri instead, or even incense, if you’d like a nice scent.

To polish furniture or wooden floors, add olive oil to either lemon juice or vinegar and rub away for a nice shine.

If you’re running an office building of any size, then you are probably aware of just how much foot traffic your building can get in a single day. Floors of all types, including carpeting, tile, laminate and even concrete can get dirty and dingy throughout the day with the number of people that are walking back and forth. High traffic areas such as reception rooms, seating areas, bathrooms, kitchens, meeting rooms and board rooms and other offices tend to experience more wear and tear than other areas of the office. Unfortunately what this means is that they are going to require a greater level of cleaning as well, simply to keep them in good condition.

If you want to keep the high traffic areas in your office building looking pristine, then commercial grade floor cleaning is going to come in handy for you. Commercial cleaning is a professional level of cleaning that is designed to deal with all of the heavy duty work that you cannot do yourself. A professional cleaning company is simply going to be able to provide you with a high quality cleaning of your floors without you having to worry about your highest traffic areas not getting the attention that they need.

Commercial cleaning of your floors is good for all types of floors and all types of rooms and situations in your business. If you are looking to have carpet or hard flooring cleaned, that should not be a problem. Additionally, if you need specialty areas cleaned, or if you require that certain products be used, many commercial cleaning companies can accommodate you in those areas as well. For example, if you have a set of stairs or an elevator that gets a lot of traffic, cleaning services can be provided for these spaces as well. If you want a special antibacterial or sterilizing product to be used in the kitchens and the bathrooms, then most cleaning companies will be able to accommodate you there as well

There are a essentially a wide variety of different options that are available to you when it comes to cleaning your floors commercially. You need to have a good idea about what you are looking for though, so that the professional cleaning service that you choose is sure to be able to meet those needs as well as to exceed the expectations that you have  for their cleaning services. Be sure to lay out all your expectations in writing, so that there is no miscommunication between the office manager and the cleaning company.

Before you begin to clean your kids mess, take a look around your home. Has your child taken over the house? Are there clothes and toys everywhere? Well, it’s not your child’s fault. Most children create messes easily, but when the house has reached a messy state they can become easily overwhelmed and may not have the skills needed to clean up the large mess. However, these skills can be learned over time. The first thing you need to do is help teach your child the skills they need to become a bit more organized. Begin to clean your kids’ mess by collecting a few supplies.

The first step to cleaning your kids’ mess will be to collect various boxes and bins, a timer, some paper to take notes, a lot of time, and the ability to be patient with your child.

You need to take a look at one individual room at a time. Make sure that you start with a room that is not too overwhelming for your child to handle. Have your child look at the mess in the room and decide if they can distinguish categories of items. Make a list of all the items that might be in the piles. You can look for clothes, books, toys etc. Take out one of the bins and give it to your child along with the labeled note card. Set the timer for five minutes and challenge your child to get all of the like objects together in the bin by the end of the time. Turn cleaning your kids mess into a fun game. If they associate cleaning with fun, they will be more likely to do it in the future.

Then you can divide the room up into sections and race your child to see who can organize that section the fastest. Another strategy to cleaning your kids mess will be to set up a “basketball game.” Have your child try to throw toys into a basket and give them a point for the most toys that made it into a basket. After a while of playing the game, pick up the remaining toys that shouldn’t be thrown and put them away.

Always be able to help your child if they get overwhelmed with the cleaning process. Provide help and support to your child and show them that being clean and organized can be fun! Working with your child, and giving him or her a proper respect for their things and their home will ensure that in time they learn to clean up their own messes.

It is important to sweep or vacuum the floor on a regular basis. It is a good idea to clean vinyl floors once a week for each person that lives in the home. Therefore, a family of four should sweep or vacuum four times a week. This will prevent the build up of dirt and other material that may mar the shine and surface of the floor.

Spills should be wiped up immediately and cleaned with a mild cleanser. The floor should be mopped or wiped up on a regular basis. There are commercially available cleansers that are specially designed for cleaning vinyl floors. These are designed not only to clean, but to protect the flooring. How often the floor is moped or wiped up is entirely dependent on how many people live in the home and how quickly it gets dirty. Remember that regular mopping prevents damage.

Once the floor has been mopped using a commercial cleaner, it is important to rinse the floor with clean, cool water. The chemicals in commercial cleansers can sometimes build up and eventually lead to a dulling of the finish. To avoid this, it is best to simply rinse the floor each time it is mopped.

It is also possible, and in some cases recommended, to use a commercial polisher or protector. These items will seal and protect the vinyl floor and ensure the glossy shine remains intact for as long as possible. It is important to note that not all products will work on all floors, so be sure to thoroughly read the manufacturer’s recommendations before using a commercially available polisher or a protector. Using the wrong one may have the opposite effect and you may end up with a dull and drab looking floor.

Many homeowners choose to ‘strip’ their vinyl floors once or twice a year. Commercially available strippers are used to remove the build up of soap, oil and other residues that can dull the flooring. Once done, returning to a normal cleaning schedule will allow the bright and shinny surface to shine through.

As a final option, it is sometimes possible to refinish vinyl floors. This option is rarely used and is only appropriate in cases where exceptionally high wear has occurred in relatively small area. Commercial products are used to ‘fill in’ the worn areas and return the shine of the original floor. To avoid potential damage, consider using felt pads under all chair and table legs.

Vinyl flooring is a durable and attractive option for many homes. Simple maintenance of the floor, along with commercially available cleaning products and polishers, will keep the floor looking beautiful for a decade or more.

The best solution is the simplest — don’t let your shower door get dirty. Wipe it down every day. The easiest way to make sure this happens is to keep a plastic squeegee inside the shower door. Some of them even come with little suction cups so you can hang them up.

Make it part of your daily routine to use that squeegee after your shower. It just takes a second, and it really pays off. Then, when you get out of the shower, leave the shower door open a crack. This will let air circulate and keep away the mildew.

Even with the daily wipe-down, you should clean the shower (including the door) once a week. A regular glass cleaner should work just fine, if you’ve followed this simple daily routine. If the door has a metal rim, it can be cleaned using a mild detergent and water. Lemon oil, if used afterwards, can add a real sparkle; just remember that a tiny drop goes a long, long way.

Also, remember to check the caulk while you’re cleaning the door. If any of it has broken away or developed cracks, it needs to be replaced quickly before any water damage occurs.

Fortunately, with the new squeezable caulk-containers, it’s easy to reapply; just squeeze it out like toothpaste, then go over it with a plastic spoon to smooth it.

Now, if you didn’t quite follow a basic maintenance routine… here are a few suggestions for dealing with the (often ugly!) results.

Does your shower door have built-up soap scum? There’s a simple solution for that which you probably already have in your pantry… white vinegar! It works very well on soap scum due to its high acidity.

Apply, let it sit for a few minutes, and then give it a scrub. Just ensure that you rinse it all away after you’re done.

Another great option to try on soap scum is adding just a touch of liquid fabric softener to water and applying that onto the soap scum. Let it sit for a minute and then scrub and rinse.

If the gunk on your shower door is extremely built up and you’d like to use some kind of a mild abrasive, tooth paste works surprisingly well. Remember, you’re working with glass, so you don’t want to use the same kind of harsh abrasive that would be okay in the tub or on the tile floor.

In any of these cases, remember that just because a cleanser can be used on glass doesn’t mean it should be left on the metal rim of the door or the tile floor of the shower. Ensure that you rinse well, in any case, and treat your shower door with care.

Once you’d rid yourself of any excess, walk through your home and examine all of your storage space. Do you have enough, not enough? If you don’t have enough storage space, either you need to get rid of more stuff, or you need to come up with a new storage solution. You can add shelves in one of the rooms, purchase a stand-alone wardrobe, work in some storage space in the garage — just know going in if you’re not going to be able to fit everything into your closets that you currently have in there.

Then take stock of everything in all of your closets. Get it all in one mountainous pile, if need be. Pay attention to what you currently store in your closets, and consider how often you use it, and what you use it to do.

In order to keep things neat, it is critical to ensure that everything has a place. Otherwise, there’s no specific spot to put it away in. Also, try to keep things close to where you use them, so that fetching an object and putting it away isn’t an enormous hassle. Remember, the harder it is to put something away, the more likely we are to put off the putting away.

Then, examine the rooms and areas around each closet. The entryway closet should have a very different utility, most likely, than the upstairs closet in the guest room. For example, umbrellas should probably be kept close to either door. Although, if those closets are especially small or especially full, and rain comes very seldom in your part of the world, this may not be true for you.

Always keep in mind that utility is about you and your needs, not about what the creators of the item thought that it was best used for. This is what you should be thinking about during every step of the reorganization process.

Don’t forget while taking stock of closet space any unused vertical space. And remember that clothing rods can be removed. Just because the previous occupants used the entryway closet as a coat closet doesn’t mean that you have to. If you’re worried about losing a place for the coats, but need the space for other things, you can always consider a free-standing option such as a coat tree.

View every space with regard to its total possibilities, not its past uses, and you will find a world of opportunities. A great example of this is floor space. We had a real problem in our front closet, until we installed a short free-standing shelf there to organize everything that ended up on the floor. Now, it is easy to find whatever we need.

Just keep these concepts in mind and your closets should be clutter-free!

High quality commercial bathroom sanitation should involve cleaning and sanitizing all bathroom equipment, including the insides and outsides of the toilets and urinals. It should also include wiping down and sanitizing all bathroom stalls and cubicle dividers. Sanitizing the bathroom should involve wiping down all soap, toilet paper and paper towel dispensers, cleaning mirrors and cleaning sinks and the area around the sinks. Antibacterial products should be used in order to make sure that all of the fixtures and equipment in the bathroom are completely clean and sanitized.

Commercial bathroom sanitation should also always include completely removing all refuse from the bathrooms, including individual waste receptacles in each cubicle and waste receptacles in the main area of the bathroom. New trash liners should be replaced in each of the trash cans.

Another step of the sanitation process should involve sweeping and wet mopping the floor in the bathroom thoroughly. The mops, rags and other equipment that is used for sanitizing the bathroom should absolutely be color coded in order to prevent any type of cross contamination between the bathroom and other areas of the office building that require cleaning. This way, a bathroom mop won’t be used in the kitchen, and rags intended for dusting computers won’t end up being used to wipe bathroom sink counters. Different cleaning products are used for different purposes, and different bacteria and other substances can be found in the bathroom that should not be given a chance to travel into the kitchen or elsewhere in the office building for that matter.

Bathrooms are high traffic areas in all office settings, because there are many employees that need to use them throughout the day. Because of this, it is definitely going to be important that you take steps to make sure that your office bathrooms are kept in good condition. While your employees may be able to keep up on making sure that toilet paper, paper towels and hand soap are all well stocked, there is more than that involved in keeping a bathroom clean and safe. Make sure that you are keeping this in mind when it comes to hiring a professional cleaning services company, because it is going to be important that you choose a company that meets your bathroom sanitation needs in addition to being able to meet your basic cleaning needs.

There are a number of cleaning tasks that can be achieved in your break room or kitchen area depending on the type of service that you contract for this purpose. Some of the cleaning tasks that can be provided by such a service provider will include:

• Antibacterial surface sprays and other cleaning products that are intended for kitchen spaces and eating spaces can be used to clean all of the hard surfaces in the kitchen and break room areas including counter tops, front of fridge, table tops and chairs,
• Hard floors can be swept and dry mopped using a commercial grade sanitizing agent,
• Carpeting can be vacuumed to remove food particles and other spills,
• Microwave and other kitchen applies can be cleaned
• Refrigerator can be cleaned out on a regular basis, including removing items that are not dated, dated incorrectly or past their expiration date,
• All hard surfaces within refrigerator can be sprayed down with antibacterial agent,
• Odor control product can be replaced or topped up in refrigerator to keep out odors,
• Any dishes that are belonging to the company itself can be collected, cleaned and returned to where they belong,
• All cloths and mops should be color coded in comparison to those used for other parts of the building in order to ensure that cross contamination is avoided

The break room or kitchen area in a business is often one of the most difficult areas in the building to deal with on your own. Giving your employees incentives to do their part or simply expecting them to is not always the answer. Instead, you should consider a professional break area and refrigerator odor control service that can ensure that this area is kept clean, tidy and odor free for you, without having to wait for your staff members to take it upon themselves to get the job done.

Kitchen odors can really diffuse all throughout a building by way of central air and ventilation, so if you do not want your clients or customers to know what’s brewing in the break room or break area, it would be wise to stay on the odor control for this space with a professional service that can get the job done for you.

Some cleaning tasks do not have to be performed daily, but are better suited as being weekly tasks or bi-weekly tasks, but they should still be outlined in the office cleaning contract to make sure that they are not forgotten. Anything that you lay out in your contract is going to be something that the office cleaning company will do for you in order to make sure that all of your cleaning, janitorial and office maintenance needs are met on a consistent basis.

Most office cleaning and janitorial services companies will provide cleaning services to the general office areas, boardroom, private offices, meeting facilities and reception areas, bathrooms, kitchen or break room and any other areas that are specified by the client in the contract.

Some of the daily office cleaning services that will be performed based on your needs include:

• Vacuuming carpeted floors and damp mopping hard floors
• Emptying trash bins and replacing with new bin liners
• Removing all waste from the building
• Dusting office equipment
• Dusting and damp wiping desks and office furniture
• Cleaning other furniture as per your specifications
• Dusting computer screens,
• Sanitizing telephone handsets and cradle rests
• Removing dust and finger marks from filing cabinetry
• Dusting and damp wiping furniture and desks in private offices
• Cleaning reception areas
• Cleaning seating areas, arranging magazines and general tidying up
• Cleaning kitchens with antibacterial products
• Sweeping and damp mopping kitchen floors
• Cleaning microwave regularly
• Cleaning fridge and removing items that are out of date
• Collecting and cleaning dishes belonging to the company
• Cleaning bathroom sinks using antibacterial cleaning products
• Cleaning bowls and cisterns using bacterial agents, buffing dry
• Cleaning mirrors
• Cleaning cubicle partitions as needed
• Sweeping and mopping floors in bathroom with a sanitary agent
• Topping up of toilet paper rolls, paper towels and soap dispensers
• Dusting window ledges and light switches on a weekly basis
• Glass surfaces including windows to be cleaned on a regular basis as determined by the client

This list is just a brief look at some of the daily office cleaning services that can be available to you by the right professional cleaning services company. It is up to you to determine what services you need to have performed in order to keep your office running professionally. You may opt for light service only involving kitchen, bathroom and trash cleaning, or you may choose to have everything in the office cleaned on a daily basis depending on how important a clean environment is for your office to run at its best.

In the case of bacteria in the showerhead, it seems like it would solve the problem if you took apart your showerhead and cleaned it with bleach, but the above study showed this method to be less than helpful as it resulted in bacterial resistance to the cleaner, and in some bacteria, the strain came back three times stronger than it was before. Most of the ways to eliminate bacteria in a showerhead do not involve cleaning at all. One of the researchers in the study found that metal showerheads contained less bacteria than plastic ones. It is also recommended that one use a showerhead that has a filter, as well as changing out the showerhead every six months. But the best tip to ensure one does not take a bacteria-infested shower is to stand outside the shower and let the water run, a good practice anyway when letting the water run warm enough to shower. The bacteria tends to grow in water that collects in the showerhead between showers and much of it can be dispelled by letting the water run for a minute or two before taking a shower.

Removing mineral deposits from a showerhead involves actual cleaning. Removing mineral deposits does not have to involve caustic chemicals and involves more waiting than cleaning. The first step is to remove your showerhead. Do your best also to remove the showerhead cover, if you can. Place the showerhead and cover into a bowl that contains white vinegar and let it soak for about ten minutes (if you cannot remove your showerhead, you can fill a baggie with a few inches of white vinegar and place it around the showerhead, making sure the showerhead is submerged in the vinegar, and securing the baggie in place with a rubber band). Check the showerhead and see if the mineral deposits have loosened. You can poke through the holes with a straightened paperclip. Use a toothbrush reserved for cleaning purposes to clean loosened mineral deposits in the showerhead, then rinse the showerhead in hot water. If the mineral deposits have not loosened enough, soak it again and repeat this process until you have been able to remove all the minerals.  Replace the showerhead and secure it into place and run warm water in the shower and see if the pressure and water direction have been restored.

First make an abrasive cleanser paste. You can do this my mixing water and a household cleaner, but a much better alternative is simple baking soda and water. You want to add just enough water to make a thick paste.

Second, wipe the bumpers, headlights and windshield with the paste and then scrub. You can also use a mesh covered sponge. The mesh will help remove the bugs, but it will not scratch glass or damage your paint job.

For particularly gummy spots, especially those that seem ‘tarry,’ apply a light coat of a conventional degreaser. A great product is WD-40; it works well and is a staple in many homes.

Fourth, pretreat each bug ‘splat’ with your car cleaner. It is best to use the cleaner undiluted for this step. Use a soft cloth or a car wash mitt to gently prewash the area.

Finally, wash the car as you normally would. These steps should ensure that your car is cleaned of any ‘remains’ from your trip.

While the paste created in step one will work great for any bug cleaning need, sometimes preventing the bugs is the best way to go. Instead of spending your time scrubbing off lawn furniture and fixtures to get rid of bugs, use a few simple tips to keep your backyard as bug free as possible.

You can create an easy to use and environmentally friendly bug catcher out of nothing but an old soda bottle. Simply take a 2-liter bottle, empty it and punch four holes around the very top of the bottle. Put several inches of a sugary soda or plain sugar water into the bottle. Thread twine through the holes to make a tie. Tie the bug catcher to a tree branch. Placing several of these throughout your backyard space will cut down on the number of bugs considerably. For a more festive look, consider wrapping the bottle itself in colorful paper or saran wrap. This simple trick works great for bees, wasps and flies.b

Keeping your home and car free from pesky bugs can be difficult, but a few easy home remedies can make all the difference. Be prepared to put a little elbow grease into it and your car, mobile home or bike will shine!

The first thing you need to do to completely clean and organize your linen closet is to empty everything out the closet and sort everything according to what they are. Pillows, towels, sheets, linens, blankets, and any other linen should be sorted accordingly. Sorting these out will help you better get a visual inventory of what you have and the age and condition of all of your linens.

The next step is to take stock of what you have and what you need. If you need less than you have, consider donating your excess linens and towels so that others may get use out of them. Another alternative is to turn old linens and towels into rags for cleaning, or make into other household objects. If you have more than you need, now is the best time to get rid of the excess so you may better organize your linen closet to fit your needs and make it easier to get what you need easily.

Now that your linen closet is empty, take the time to clean off the shelves, walls, and door to your linen closet. Dust can accumulate on your linens and shelves, so be sure to get to the very back and sides. This is also the best time to rearrange your linen closet to best fit your need. Arrange your shelves to best fit your linens and towels, making sure to adjust the height to accommodate bulky blankets, comforters, or pillows. You can also take this time to line your shelves with a liner if you so desire. Liners can protect both your linens and your shelves from unnecessary wear.

When rearranging your closet to put your items back in, be sure that everything is folded neatly. Try to put items back in small stacks and not taller towers. This will reduce the tumbling of linens whenever you need to reach for something at the bottom of a stack. Also remember to leave some room in your closet for air circulation so dust and allergens will not accumulate.

Bulky items should be stored at the very top or very bottom of your linen closet. This will make it easier to leave room for thinner materials at eye level. Make sure that everything you fold and place in your linen closet are folded the same way to make them easier to visually pick out and easier to stack and store. You may also want to consider keeping the most used items at eye level or below and the least used items at the top of your closet to make for easier access.

Be sure to check your linen closet often for excess moisture as this could lead to mold or mildew. Keeping your closet clean and organized will keep your linens and towels in their best condition and easier to keep up with. A clean linen closet will certainly make your home easier to maintain and your linens easy to find.

1. Install a fan. If your bathroom does not have a fan, consider installing one. It is not difficult or expensive to do. A fan can help circulate air in the room and help to reduce odors faster.
2. Clean any mold or mildew. Because the bathroom is a space with lots of water, it is easy for mold and mildew to accumulate quickly. You can use an all-purpose cleaner or even bleach diluted with water. Use this mixture to clean all tile, as well as the tub, sink and even the floor. Be sure to get the corners, as this is a place where mildew and mold love to hide. Doing this on a regular basis (weekly) should help to reduce odors.
3. Make sure all drains are cleared. Another cause of odor in the bathroom is water that remains in sinks or bathtubs. By removing any blockage, like hair or other buildup, you can get rid of odors. You can also remove bathroom odor by using any commercial product that unclogs drains. Usually these are inexpensive and easy to use. If there is not a blockage slowing water down, you can also try to pour white vinegar or bleach down the drain to kill any odors that may be lurking in the pipes. Baking soda may also help with this.
4. Make sure water is not living anywhere. Sometimes, the caulk that surrounds tubs, toilets or sinks is old or cracked, allowing water to remain. This can be another source of odor. Try removing the old caulk, dry the area and put in fresh caulk. This can help you to get rid of any leaks or places for water to remain, a key source of bathroom odors.
5. Consider an odor eater. There are products that can help to mask any odors that you may have in the bathroom. Air fresheners, candles or even a spray product like Lysol can neutralize or mask any bad odors you may have in the bathroom. If you buy a product that remains in the bathroom, be sure to change it on a regular basis so you can continue to enjoy the fresh scent.

The bathroom is a room in your house where controlling odor can be an issue. But removing bathroom odors is easy and inexpensive. With simple household products you can buy in the grocery store or the hardware store, you can remove bathroom odors quickly and easily. Get started today and you can have the clean, fresh smelling bathroom you have always wanted to have.

Get some good supplies. The windows you see that look beautiful at the office are because a professional is using the right tools and equipment. Invest in a squeegee or other tool with a mop-like handle. This soft surface can give your windows just the right amount of water to get them clean. Lines and imperfections in the cleaning job are normally a result of too much water that is left running down the window.

Clean the screens first. Often there is debris that collects on screens that can just leave your clean windows looking dirty. Use a dust rag or something with feathers to clean the screens before you start on the windows. Be sure to remove cobwebs and debris. If you can, spraying screens down with a garden hose may also help. Be sure to allow the screens to dry completely before returning them to the windows.

Use warm water. Warm water will do a better job of getting your windows clean. You can use any type of detergent or cleaner, just dilute in warm water.

Develop some good technique. Experts recommend making an S-shape along the window from the top to the bottom. Another option is straight up and down. If you use this method, be sure to remove any excess water from your squeegee so you don’t leave lines. Again, lines are the main complaint of those who try to clean windows and don’t get the results they want.

Don’t leave out the window frames when you are cleaning the windows. Dirt and dust can accumulate in these areas, leaving windows dirty almost immediately. Use a cloth, add some water and detergent to get into the cracks and crevices of the windows. Be sure to dry these areas completely and to clean them before you clean the windows as to ensure excess water does not dirty a clean window.

Try using alcohol. A bit of Isopropyl Alcohol mixed with warm water can help to get windows even cleaner. Be sure to mix the alcohol and the water well before starting to clean.

Be careful in cold weather to not use water that is too hot or you may crack your windows.

Clean windows up to four times a year. It is a great thing to do with every change of the seasons. By cleaning windows regularly, it will make the job easier the next time.

Windows are the way you view the outside world. Be sure to invest the time and effort in having the right equipment and doing it the right way. You won’t regret it when you look outside and everything looks brighter!

If you have lost or thrown away the product documentation, there are other ways to access this information. First, find the product’s model number and any other identifying information.

For many newer products, it is possible to find all the information you need on the company’s website, which is easy to find through an online search. Another great resource is the company’s customer service line.

Until you can remember any safety or damage-related information pertinent to the product you are cleaning, it is highly recommended that you read the appliance’s documentation prior to cleaning it. Accidentally damaging a brand new appliance or injuring yourself is not the best way to learn this lesson.

One great tip for keeping appliances clean is to tidy as you go. When that tomato sauce first splatters onto your mixer, it is still liquid and wipes off easily. But, exposed to air over time, it dries, forming a thin layer that takes a bit of scrubbing to remove. The amount of scrubbing required dependent upon how well the sauce adheres to the surface of the appliance. (Be sure to remember that some appliance finishes can be damaged by overly hard scrubbing.)

Keeping your home clean can start with appliance selection. A smooth, non-porous finish is a real winner when it comes time to clean.

One thing to remember when cleaning small kitchen appliances is that they regularly come into contact with food. Be very careful what cleaning liquids you use near food or appliances that contact food. Additionally, be sure not to forget about cleaning fluids after you’ve sprayed them onto a surface.

Some of the newer appliances are made with stainless steel. The stainless steel requires either regular polishing or a product to protect the surface, as it picks up fingerprints very easily, which leave it looking dirty and smudged.

Be sure to wipe off any liquid -including water- that lands on the surface of the steel, since over time they can cause pitting. Also avoid abrasive cleaners, like steel wool, that can scratch the surface.

There are special cleaners made especially to keep your stainless steel appliances looking their best. Just remember that these formulas may not be appropriate for use with any non-stainless steel surfaces on these same appliances.

Many other surfaces in your kitchen may have cleaners especially suited to keeping them clean. Glass, for example, is best cleaned with glass cleaners, unless instructions claim otherwise. Also, most cleaners now come in antibacterial varieties, although the word is still out on how much is really gained by their use.

Don’t forget to clean your smallest appliances, like coffee-bean grinders; remember, every appliance in your kitchen contributes to the overall look of cleanliness or uncleanliness in your home.

Also remember, messes are always easiest to clean up right away – unless perhaps you are soaking a pan to remove burned-on food. That hot liquid splatter that wipes off so easily right after it lands on the counter will dry to a hard crust, if left long enough, and not all surfaces are made to tolerate heavy scrubbing.

When cooking something especially messy, as spaghetti sauce tends to be, it’s best to be prepared. Otherwise, that sauce can really go flying, ending up in tight-fit or hard to reach corners. One ends up searching for all of the splatter before it dries, all while trying to get dinner served at the same time!

So, keep in mind that almost anything that you can imagine doing in the kitchen has an associated product these days, whether it’s available through a specialty chef boutique or your local grocer.

One great tool for avoiding splatter with a mess magnet like fried food is the aptly named “splatter screen,” also called a “splatter guard”. One common version of this is placed over the pan; it has a handle so that it can be easily lifted, then put back in place. Word on the street is that it works like a champ, keeping the oil off you and your surroundings.

Another version of this device is an actual three-sided, physical barrier that surrounds the rear and both sides of your pot, containing the mess to a small surface area – and of course, to the splatter guard itself.

Tired of seeing food splatter all over the inside of your microwave? It shows up better than one might think through that glass window in the door! There’s a food splatter screen available to solve exactly this problem. It even folds up for easy storage.

Sometimes I’ll set out newspaper or paper towels, when I know I’ll be doing something especially messy. At least they’ll soak up part of the mess – even if it’s oily.

Splattered oil is a special problem when cleaning, because it can be difficult to remove. Even when washing oily pans, you can feel the way it clings before you douse it in soap.

And if you absolutely can’t avoid oil splatter – and if the surface you’re cleaning allows it – one great trick is to make a paste from cornstarch and water, or to apply cornstarch to a wet cloth. Try this first on a hidden part of the surface, one where you don’t mind a little visible damage, just in case!

If the surface permits, rub at the oil spots with the cloth; or, if using a paste, the paste can be painted over the oil splatter and as the paste dries, it draws out the oil, hopefully leaving the surface like new!

When a business office is cleaned regularly, it stays clean and retains its original sparkle. Most offices spend a fair amount of money on the interior décor, so it only makes logical sense to keep it cleaned, allowing it to keep that quality and charm that was so attractive in the first place. The highest quality tables, chairs, carpet and drapes may fill your office, but if dust and dirt are allowed to collect on these, the superior quality is always obscured. This buildup causes an item to look no better than a much lower quality item, driving down the perceived quality of the office, the experience, and the entire company, in the long run.

Many people nowadays are aware of the negative environmental impact of conventional cleaning products. If those are still used at your office, it may subconsciously affect the desire to use these detrimental products, therefore causing you to actually clean your office less. It is therefore worth it to make a trip to purchase environmentally safe, or “green” cleaning products to use in your office every day. This could even cause you to feel so positive about using these products, that you may find yourself looking forward to cleaning more than ever before. This would not only be a benefit to the environment on our planet, but it would create good planet karma, and mightily boost your office quality as well.

When office workers are infected with flu or cold germs, surfaces that are shared and touched by everyone become germ transfer points. Studies have shown that office workers are exposed to more germs at their desks than at the toilet! Since some viruses can survive on shared surfaces for several days, it goes without saying that cleaning and disinfecting these surfaces on a daily basis would go a long way toward keeping the spread of illnesses in check. Using a sanitizing product on the surfaces most used, such as keyboards, desks, doors and water coolers, would cut down the survival and transference of these sick germs, and consequently, the missed days of your workers.

An office should, optimally, be totally cleaned top to bottom once a week. Additionally, light cleaning every day would be ideal, to rid it of any food or drink items from snacks, trash taken out, and a light sweep or vaccuum should be run, and shared surfaces disinfected. Offices with very few employees may get away with light cleaning every other day, but no less would really be sufficient for the ideal upkeep of your office.

Water softeners chemically treat water to remove some of the hard chemicals that create the rings in your toilet. These chemicals help to reduce the number of minerals in the water that interact with your toilet bowl and cause the rings.

If the water softener does not work, don’t fret. There are a number of ways you can take care of this issue. If a water softener does not do the trick, you can try any number of cleaners designed for this issue.

Regular cleaning of the toilet can help to ensure that the toilet bowl rings never show up again. Chemical and mineral buildup is what creates these rings. That is why cleaning as much as twice a week can ensure that there are no rings or stains in your toilet bowl. This, of course, depends on how hard the water in your community is.

If you don’t have time for cleaning up to twice a week, experts recommend a range of products. Depending on how serious your stains are, you can use a variety of gentle or stronger, chemically based products to help with your toilet bowl rings. These products are often available commercially and are not expensive or difficult to use.

Gentle products you can use to remove toilet bowl rings include vinegar or borax powder. Both of these products can be bought in any grocery store or hardware store. While gentler than commercially available products, then can be an effective first try to remove toilet bowl stains. Just put the product directly into the toilet bowl and use a toilet scrub brush to remove the stains. Repeat regularly to prevent future mineral build up and future toilet bowl rings.

If these products don’t work, there are many other stronger chemicals that can help. Consider using Oxalic Acid or bleach. Both of these products contain strong chemicals that can remove toilet bowl stains. They are proven to attack the hard water stains that are likely part of your problem. When using these products, use a toilet scrub brush. If you don’t have one, be sure to wear gloves when using these chemicals. Because they are strong, you need to protect your skin from any damage. Also, be sure to limit use to a well-ventilated area, as fumes may be strong. Additionally, be sure to not mix chemicals, as this can be dangerous and create a chemical reaction that could be dangerous.

Toilet bowl rings don’t have to ruin your beautiful home. If you find the right product for your problem, you can solve your problem. With regular cleaning, you can have a fresh, clean and ring-free toilet bowl.

1. Create a space that you can work in. By having room to fold and sort laundry, you can make it easier and more efficient to get the laundry done. A small table or shelf that you can work on to fold will help you ensure that you get the laundry done quickly and efficiently.
2. Make space for the things you need. Do you find yourself running around the house looking for the stain remover? Give up on the laundry because you cannot find the detergent? Buy a small plastic tub or build a shelf for all of your materials. It will not only make it easier to find things, but it will also make you more likely to get the job done.
3. Make room to sort the laundry. If you have the space, build or place bins for the different types of laundry you may have – darks, lights, and delicates. By sorting clothes as they get dirty, you can easily and quickly place your dirty clothes right into the laundry. Sorting clothes beforehand can help you save time.
4. Install a clothes rack or bar to hang clothes. By hanging clothes as soon as they come out of the dryer, you can ensure that your clothes will be less wrinkled, reducing the need to iron.
5. Create an ironing station. Buy an ironing board that comes out from the wall and install shelving above it to hold your iron, starch and other supplies. With an ironing station nearby, you can get your ironing done quickly and efficiently.
6. Have a lost and found in your laundry room. Add a small basket or plastic tub to hold the myriad of things you may find in your pockets. By not washing these things, you are protecting your clothes and your washing machine and dryer.
7. Place a garbage bin in the space. A garbage bin can help you when you are cleaning out pockets or you finish the last of the laundry detergent. By removing papers from your pockets before you wash, you reduce the lint and dust that shows up on your clothes.
8. Create a space to dry clothes that may not go in the dryer. Delicates such as bras and swim suits often do not go in the dryer. A folding rack that can hold these items that is located right next to the washer will ensure they get hung promptly and dry fast.

Your laundry space can be organized to help you get your laundry done faster and better. With a couple of shelves and bins to organize all of your products and laundry you can save time and get your laundry done. Plus, your space will look cleaner and make you feel good every time you have to do the wash!

My clean-up preparations begin while I am selecting party supplies. First, I examine the guest list: how many people are attending? Based upon the answer, I often opt for disposable utensils and dinnerware. Certainly, there’s an associated cost with anything disposable; however, as I’m often forced to remind myself, time is money.

Every moment that I spend cleaning up is a moment that I could have spent working or spending time with my daughter. So the amount of time available to you can and should be an important consideration when purchasing supplies.

If I’ve selected disposable dinnerware and utensils, I then seriously consider the purchase of a disposable tablecloth. Nothing speeds up clean-up like using the tablecloth as a bag for all disposables: unwanted food, dinnerware, utensils; and throwing it directly into the trash. (I often leave this step for next-to-last execution right before I sweep, so I can heap as much trash as possible in one place, careful not to overload.

Still examining the guest list, I check for the presence of children. Kids can be so untidy, especially when not closely monitored, as often happens at parties. Activities that keep kids occupied instead of drawing on the walls are a real plus. I’ve found that video games can be a great distracter, as can movies. Another alternative is a drawing table with a protective covering that’s durable and made to stay in place! To serve this purpose, on our foldable plastic and aluminum table, I often tape a vinyl tablecloth in place. I recommend pencils, since they’re erasable, or washable markers. Connect the dots games or crossword puzzles can come in handy.

When possible, I try to stay away from chocolate cake, or anything with an especially juicy filling. Boy, can that stuff get ground into the carpet! But when it can’t be avoided, one of my first tasks once the last guest leaves is to examine the carpet for traces of ground-in food and drink. The sooner a stain is attacked with stain-remover, the less likely it is to set in.

Balloons, when popped, can make an enormous mess, and paper streamers tear easily, leaving ragged pieces on the floor. These are best avoided. I also recommend putting any streamers out of reach. Once, I caught children systematically tearing up streamers and sprinkling them on the floor for fun! Prefabricated polymer or mylar balloons and signage are much sturdier than the alternatives. Also, the signs can be reused for the next big occasion.

As is often the case when it comes to keeping tidy, “The best defense is a good offense.” Make your business a place that is easy to keep clean.

One important thing to remember is the psychological effect of a pristine office – when one’s environment is remarkably clean, there’s an associated pressure to keep it that way.

In a dingy, cluttered looking hallway, an employee might not think twice about leaving that missed piece of trash next to the trashcan, but if it’s glaringly obvious, (He might get caught!) he’s more likely to go back and throw it away properly.

So, it’s important to keep the office well-maintained. Even a damaged paint job can dramatically impact the perception of your office. Good lighting also helps this perception.

Keep clutter to a minimum in hallways and meeting rooms. This serves the additional purpose of leaving fewer surfaces to gather dust.

An untidy desk is much more difficult to keep clean. Let your desk set the example for your employees. If your desk is untidy, how can you expect organization from them?

Provide plenty of folders, inboxes, and other organizers. It’s next to impossible to keep everything in its place when there’s no place to put it! Provide little bottles of spray cleaner that employees can keep at their desks to clean up messes from spilled drinks or other accidents.

Although it can be problematic for employees to eat at their desks, this is often unavoidable. Keyboard protectors can protect one of your most valuable assets from real damage. Compressed air cleaners can also keep keyboards functioning their best.

Screen cleaners are also important to keep your office looking good. Remember, everything the potential investor or customer sees in your office sets the tone for your encounter, and for their perception of your workplace as either well or poorly managed.

Keep trashcans and recycling bins near any printers or copiers and at each employee’s desk, if possible. Remember, the handier the trashcans are, the more likely employees are to use them. It can even be helpful to have trashcans in the hallway, so that Joe the janitor doesn’t leave his apple core sitting on the water fountain!

If you can’t keep your employees from eating lunch at their desks, or if you’d like to encourage this activity, it would be wise to have them throw away any uneaten food in an outside trashcan, or one that is emptied daily.

If a cleaning crew only comes through once a week, and employees leave food in un-emptied trashcans, that food may have taken on new life – and a strong odor- by the time the cleaning crew comes by.

Finally, remember that cleanup is best achieved as you go, and some things are better to address in advance.

Bamboo flooring takes a little different work than regular hardwoods. First, bamboo flooring is a bit softer than hardwood flooring. This means that bamboo flooring has the ability to scuff more easily, and care should be taken when sanding the bamboo. Still bamboo flooring is very stable and versatile, and works well in any place you would put a hardwood floor. The general care of bamboo is essentially the same as it is for any other hardwood flooring.

Pollution is a concern anywhere you work in a big city. It takes its toll on offices too, as the indoor air has to be filtered to be clean and healthy enough to breathe all day. Therefore, changing of the air conditioner system filters is a maintenance must. The type of vacuum cleaner system used can also affect the quality of air. Thoroughly cleaning of the micro germs, pollution particles, and dust mites that are present in an office will rid your work place of these major causes of “sick building syndrome.” Floors should be cleaned with germ killing solutions, preferably eco-friendly and without added perfumes or dyes that could be potential allergens themselves.

Carpets are a major item in Manhattan on which to focus quality cleaning. Often, the carpets are very high quality, and need to be treated with the utmost care when cleaned, as well as being cleaned and able to be walked on as soon as possible. A carpet that has had a top-notch cleaning will usually look like brand new. This goes for hard floors as well. The floor must be stripped of any old treatment and brought back to its highest potential for shine and luster. This is a benefit of great importance, for the floor treatment is often the first thing a client will notice when judging the feel and quality of the company. Therefore, keeping your carpets and your floors, as well as your entire office, as clean as possible can protect your company’s image and attract the high level and quantity of clients that you want. If needed, your hardwood or bamboo flooring can be lightly sanded and a new polyurethane coating can be placed upon it. This is when it has a really bad stain or scuffing that cannot be cleaned or repaired by regular methods. You should use a solvent based urethane instead of a water based one for the best results and apply with a wool pad.

The Big Apple starts trends, styles, and is often the first to face challenges that will soon follow to the smaller towns and cities of the world. It is a good thing we have innovative communication technology, so people can talk about challenges and share the ways they have found to deal with these, working together like a team of city dwellers, as it were. For instance, if you want to more easily take out the trash when you live up a large flight of stairs, you can ask others who had the same problem what some of their solutions were. Sometimes a better solution is simpler than you think, and can be passed on from others, just like the neighborly advice of the old days was passed by word of mouth from neighbor to neighbor. Nowadays, finding cleaning advice from your neighbor can be as easy as popping the key words of a dilemma onto Google, and in an instant, a plethora of neighborly advice will be in your face, among ads and other nonsense, but there, nevertheless. Whatever type of floor you have, either hardwood or bamboo, taking the best care of your flooring will make it last for many years and allow it to keeps its shine and beauty. Take good care of your bamboo and hardwood floors for the best looking home.

1. Ceiling fans – Do you never turn off your fan, simply to avoid seeing the buildup of dust and gunk on the blades? Using the extension wand on a vacuum, it’s easy to make those blades sparkle. Remember to turn the fan off, and use a stool. Hold each blade and carefully run the soft duster attachment along the sides and top of the blade. Gently spin the fan to reach the next blade. To finish, vacuum the center part of the fan, being careful around any light fixtures. To clean the light fixture, remove the screws and bulbs. Gently wipe the glass with a microfiber cloth and reassemble.
2. Electronics – Disconnect them from their power source, and run over with a microfiber cloth to dust. For deeper areas (for instance, keyboards) , a can of compressed air will help remove the debris. If you don’t have canned air, a paintbrush or makeup brush should do the trick.
3. Personal computers – These boxes sit on the floor, inhaling dust all day long. If not cleaned regularly, they can become clogged and overheat, leading to crashes and damage to components. To begin, unscrew the panels from the case and slide them off. Use a static duster and canned air to remove dust. Disassemble fans and wipe them with a lint-free cloth. Never use liquids or solvents inside a computer. If the idea of this is intimidating, contact your local computer geek.
4. Garbage disposal – To deodorize it, dump a cup of baking soda down the disposal while it’s off. Pour a cup of plain white vinegar into the disposal, and wait for the frothing to subside. Then run the disposal with plenty of water. To minimize odors, make sure the disposal is free of food waste each time it is run.
5. Behind large appliances – If you can, disconnect the appliance and pull it out from the wall a small bit. Use a mop with a sponge-style head to remove dust, grease and debris from behind the appliance. Wash the area with soapy water or cleanser.
6. Under appliances – Slip an old sock over a broom handle. Wrap the base of the sock tightly in masking or duct tape so it doesn’t fall off. Slide the broomstick under the appliance. This will catch the dust bunnies in a place that’s too small for a vacuum attachment. This is especially useful under stoves, washing machines, and refrigerators, since these often have sticky substances underneath that you don’t want clogging a static duster
7. Behind the entertainment center – Use a long-handled static duster. The static duster is the best choice because it attracts dust in an area that is usually more roomy than under an appliance. Clean the duster outside when finished.
8. Valences and curtains – There are a couple of options for cleaning these. If they are washable, you can do the job yourself. If your curtains require extensive pressing or are delicate, you can take these items to be professionally cleaned.

The first step is making sure your clothes and linens are truly clean. Clean clothes are the first and best step toward great smelling laundry and fresh, clean clothing. Be sure that your clothing and linens are free from all excess debris. Any dust or hidden pens or crayons can cause a disaster in the washer or dryer. Once your clothing is sorted and placed in the washer, make sure you add the correct amount of detergent to your washing machine. Some particularly dirty loads of laundry may need the extra boost of borax or another laundry-boosting product such as an oxygenated cleaner like Oxyclean. Using these products may increase the cleanliness of your wash, particularly if you have some clothing or linens that need some extra care.

Some people swear by certain perfumed laundry detergents for a clean-smelling load of laundry. For some, this may be the best solution to making their laundry smell good. For others, the smell of some perfumed cleaners may be too strong, or may not be pleasant to everyone. There are other alternatives to add a clean, fresh smell to your laundry. For example, using a fabric softener with a pleasant smell can make your laundry smell fresh and clean. Add your fabric softener to your laundry as directed by your washing machine.

The final way to get your laundry smelling clean and fresh is to use dryer sheets while drying your laundry. Many dryer sheets come in different scents and using a dryer sheet will transfer those scents to your clothing and linens for a clean and fresh smell that will last a long time. Some dryer sheets have scents that last longer than others, so it’s best to try out different ones to find the scent that most appeals to you. Overall, a clean load of laundry and use of fabric products will help your laundry stay clean and fresh until its next wash.

The best way to prep your home for sale is to make sure you keep it clean at all times. Countertops should be free of clutter, the sink should be clean and dried, the bathroom should be spotless, and all of the bedrooms and carpeted areas should have clean, fresh carpet. The house should be free of any offensive odors and the carpet should not have any stains. The way your house looks to a potential buyer shows them that you took good care of your house and that it will be in good condition if they choose to purchase it. You want your house to look appealing, inviting, and most of all very clean.

You want to be sure to disassociate yourself from your home and be able to let go so that you are in the mental mindset to hand your keys over to a new owner. In general, you want your home to be as general and impersonal as possible to attract the greatest number of buyers. Not all people like the same things, and showing your home simply will allow people to envision their own belonging in your home and will make a greater impression for a sale. Be sure to store away all of your personal items to keep buyers from being distracted from the house itself.

De-clutter your house before selling it. If you are not moving out before your house is shown, start going through your belongings and getting rid of items you no longer need. The less cluttered your home looks, the more room it will have and the more appealing it will be to potential buyers. You may need to rent a storage unit or get some more attractive storage solutions in places such as your garage or shed to hold any items you would like out of sight. Make your home welcoming, but not a showcase for your family items.

If you have kept your home in good repair and clean while you have owned it, cleaning your house for a potential sale should be a snap. Vacuum floors and wipe down counters daily. Try to do dishes as soon as you use them to keep your dishwasher and your sink clean. The best way to attract buyers is to make your house as clean and welcoming as possible. Be sure to make sure your lawn is carefully manicured and mowed so buyers will instantly find it appealing as soon as they are in front of it. Your home should be detailed and cleaned inside and out, including the little details such as the outsides of windows and dusting every nook and cranny in the house.

Making sure your house is tidy and welcoming will ensure a quick sell. Buyers will love that your house is in such good order and you will find that all of your hard work will be rewarded.

The first step to doing this is assessing what sort of storage your mudroom needs. If you live in a cold, rainy, or snowy environment, a mudroom that can handle wet or muddy shoes and large jackets or coats would be ideal. Start by creating a space for everyone’s items. A bucket, box or basket for loose items such as book bags or toys can be kept for all of the children of the house, and adults, too. Keeping ample hooks or closet space for everyone’s loose winter or wet gear will help keep your mudroom tidy. Having an area specifically for shoes is incredibly important. Most people use their mudrooms as a drop off point for shoes and a place to put on slippers or socks to keep the house clean and dirt free.

Create a cubby or locker system for each member of the household. If you can make a specific place for each person to store his or her belongings, there’s less chance that they’ll lose or misplace their items when they need to grab them next. Key hooks and baskets are great tools for keeping your mudroom organized.

The next step is to make sure your mudroom consists of materials that are not only easy to clean, but materials you can keep clean on a regular basis. Flooring that is good for wet or muddy shoes may be your best choice for your mudroom, and should help keep the rest of your house clean. Keeping a mop and broom in easy reach for those using the mudroom should allow for easy cleanup of excess dirt and accidental spills.

Another good thing to have in your mudroom is something you can use to receive things like paperwork and bills. Your children may bring home tons of paper products daily, and they may all find their way scattered about your mudroom. Take a chance to evaluate your mudroom’s purpose. If you need a receiving area for incoming mail and paperwork, consider a system of shelving or boxes on the wall to keep paperwork organized. Instruct other family members to use this system so all paperwork ends up in the same place.

Using shoe hooks for excess shoes or shoes specifically for bad weather can be very helpful in keeping everything organized and reduce the risk of losing one shoe out of a pair. Be sure to keep seating in your mudroom to help those who are putting their shoes on and taking them off. Dirty or muddy shoes are especially difficult to take off while standing up.

Make it a point to clean your mudroom weekly. This will help any tracking of excess dirt, dust or mold into the house and will promote a clean and organized environment for your family.

The first most common area overlooked by home cleaners is behind the toilet. We all know the value of keeping a clean bathroom and a sanitary toilet, but seldom do we realize that the area behind the toilet can collect dust, grime, and germs over time if no carefully cared for. Make sure to sweep and mop behind your toilet whenever conducting your regular cleaning routine. This simple action can greatly reduce about the germs that accumulate on your bathroom floor.

The next most common place people forget to clean is your shower door tracks. Many people take the time to scrub their showers and shower doors, but rarely do they realize the amount of dirt, residue, and mildew that can build up in the tracks of your shower door. Take the time to use some simple water and vinegar to wipe up any gunk left in the tracks of your shower door and keep it sparkling clean. Flush the tracks with hot water and dry with a towel to make it sparkling clean.

One of the most overlooked places to clean is the walls and doors of your bathroom. You may take the time to clean your bathroom mirror, shower doors and toilet, but your walls are constantly coated with hair products that you can’t even see. Over time these products create a layer of dirt and grime on your bathroom doors and walls that can be incredibly difficult to clean. Take the time to wipe down your doors and walls during cleanings to keep the layer of grime out of your bathroom.

Looking up high may not be something you’d think about while cleaning your home, but the corners of rooms and the blades of fans can get incredibly dusty and dirty, spreading cobwebs and dust mites around with your air conditioner and throughout your house. The next time you’re vacuuming, try using the long attachment to clean the corners and edges of ceilings and dust your ceiling fan often.

Many appliances tend to go unmoved, but no appliance harbors more dirt and grime than your refrigerator. Take the time to move your refrigerator and clean behind it, and don’t forget to mop, too. Allow the area to dry before pushing your fridge back against the wall. Cleaning behind the fridge can help the fridge work better as its air filter can get clogged and dirty over time. Also, hair from pets can settle behind the fridge. Keeping the area behind the fridge clean will keep unwanted pests away from your kitchen and food areas.

Last, don’t forget to vacuum and clean under your couches and other furniture that you rarely move. Pet hair, dirt, dust and grime can even accumulate in places that you don’t go, so be sure to take the time to move your furniture while cleaning and get the dirt and dust that lies below.

The first step you want to take when cleaning your coffeemaker is to be sure it’s completely off. Take time to inspect your coffeemaker for any damaged areas, including the plug and on and off switches. Make sure your coffeemaker is free from cracks and dents that may cause water leakage. Keeping your coffeemaker in good working condition will make sure that you will not encounter appliance issues later on.

Next, you want to make a solution of one part vinegar to two parts of water. This is the easiest do- it -yourself formula to clean out your coffeemaker. Pour this mixture into your coffeemaker’s water reservoir and let the coffeemaker go through a brewing cycle with this mixture. Do not put coffee grounds into the filter during this cycle, but be sure that the filter and coffee pot are in their places while running the vinegar solution through your coffeemaker because the vinegar will help clean those areas as well.

After running the solution through your coffeemaker for one cycle, turn your coffeemaker off and let the solution cool completely. After the water has cooled, rinse out your coffee pot and repeat the process with the vinegar and water a second time, allowing it to cool again after the cycle ends.

Now rinse out your coffee pot and fill it with fresh, clean water. Run the water only through your coffee maker twice, allowing your coffee maker to cool between cycles. This will be sure to rinse any leftover impurities out of your coffee maker, as well as getting the remaining vinegar out. After running these cycles, check your coffeemaker for any leftover dirt or grime. If you’ve never cleaned your coffeemaker, it may take several more cycles to get it completely clean. Be sure to check your filter and pot for any leftover residue and rinse it thoroughly.

When you’re done running through the cleaning cycles, unplug your coffeemaker and take time to hand-clean the outside of your coffeemaker, paying special attention to areas that never get cleaned or wiped during your normal cleaning regimen. Keeping the inside and outside of your coffeemaker clean will ensure a fresh-tasting pot of coffee every time and will keep the grime and impurities from building up.

You may think that dust only accumulates on your hard or smooth surfaces, but did you know dust will also settle on your upholstered furniture? It is important to clean your upholstery regularly, at least once a month, in able to keep settled dust from accumulating on your upholstered furniture. One of the most important tools in upholstery maintenance is your vacuum cleaner. Using an attachment such as an upholstery brush can help you reach into those hard to reach crevices in your sofas and chairs, and allow you to remove dust and dirt particles which could attract insects.

Using arm covers and headrest covers can greatly reduce the dirt and oil found on your upholstery. Your hands, arms, neck, and hair all carry oils and dirt that can soak into your upholstery and cause staining. These stains can be difficult to get out of certain fabrics, so taking preventative measures to keep your furniture clean can help you save money and time in the future. In extreme cases, it may be wise to keep towels or blankets handy to cover chairs or sofas if people who might be sitting on them are carrying extra dirt or soil from outdoor activities or during the hotter months of the year.

One of the easiest ways to clean your own upholstery is to use commercial upholstery shampoos and special machines, either purchased or rented, used to shampoo and steam your upholstery. However, if you would like to save money and use your own methods of upholstery cleaning without renting expensive hardware and using chemicals, there are some options available.

You can use ordinary liquid dish soap and warm water to blot stains from your non-leather upholstery. This method should be used with the least amount of soaking as possible, blotting your furniture as soon as you use this mixture. Be sure to spot-test a small area of your upholstery before applying this mixture to larger areas in case your upholstery reacts to the solution and bleaches or stains. The important thing to remember is to completely dry your furniture before use, as extra moisture will trap oils and dirt easier.

You can clean your leather furniture with household items as well. Mix a cup of white vinegar with two cups of linseed oil and spread the solution on your leather upholstery with a lint-free cloth. After letting the solution dry for several hours or overnight, you may polish your leather furniture and it should leave your leather clean and lustrous.

Cleaning your upholstery at home can make your furniture last longer and have a more beautiful look for a longer period of time. Commercial applications and cleaners can work well in your home, but learning to do your own upholstery cleaning will save you money and help your furniture last.

The filters used for your air conditioning unit are more often placed along the return duct, or where the air enters your air conditioner. Cleaning this area is the first way to keep your air conditioner clean and free from dust, and also helps clean the air that comes from your air conditioner as well. Not keeping this area clean can lead to a significant decrease in performance from your air conditioner, and could cause major problems that may need professional maintenance. Keeping your AC filter clean is one of the best ways to protect one of your home’s more expensive appliances.

To keep your window unit from getting clogged, the easiest method is to create your own mesh filter to keep particles and insects out of your unit. If your window unit already has a mesh screen, cleaning is a breeze. Take the filter out and scrub the intake area underneath it to get rid of any dust, dirt or grime. Then take the filter and wash it thoroughly. Use a cloth or rag to scrub this area and wash with soapy water. Your cloth or rag should be lint-free to reduce the amount of dust and particles trapped in your air conditioning unit. Make sure to dry the filter before putting it back on your window unit to keep the air conditioning’s intake from getting wet.

Cleaning the filter of a larger air conditioning unit can be more difficult than a window unit. Keeping your air conditioning unit clean is vital to lasting a long time and keeping costs low, so it’s important to learn how to keep your air condition filter clean. Larger air conditioning units tend to have larger and more numerous filters that can attract a lot of different debris. The obstructions caught in these filters would be regular dirt and dust, or animal hair or fur, leaves and insects as well. These obstructions can make the performance of your air conditioning unit decrease, so it’s important to clean your unit and its filters regularly to keep this debris from accumulating. Not cleaning your air conditioner’s filter can also lead to allowing bacteria to come into your home through the air, which can be harmful to your health.

Changing your air conditioner’s filter is important to keeping your home healthy and keeping the air conditioner clean. Doing this should be done every month to every three months for the best in air quality. You can also clean your air conditioner’s filters at home with a lot of elbow grease. Use high pressure washes to get your filter as clean as possible and scrub and sweep until all of the debris is washed away. Doing this regularly can guarantee a better working air conditioning unit and cleaner, healthier air for your home and family.

Properly caring for your carpet doesn’t have to be a difficult task. First, routine vacuuming will help keep debris off of your carpet. Vacuums come in all different qualities, and it’s best to choose one that will not only pick up dirt from your carpet, but hair and dust mites, too. Be sure to find a vacuum with a cheap filter to keep your air clean as well. A vacuum should be an important investment for every homeowner to ensure that your home will stay as beautiful and valuable as when you first purchased it.

Unfortunately, vacuuming alone cannot keep your carpet free of debris and stains. This is where cleaning agents, chemicals, steam vacuums and other special tools to clean your carpet come into play. One of the most popular deep clean methods used are sprays and foams you can purchase in your neighborhood supermarket. Although these seem economical, these formulas can actually cause more harm to your carpet by settling in and attracting and trapping more dirt. It is best to use these chemicals wisely and follow all directions to ensure the best clean.

Another popular product you can find are dry carpet cleaners that simply absorb excess dirt and oil and are easily vacuumed away. These are great temporary fixes, but neither spray shampoos nor dry cleaners can get your carpet 100% clean. Your best use of time and money is using a wet vacuuming method or steam cleaner. You can more than often find these at your local mega mart and they can be rented for a certain amount of time. These deep cleaners use heat and steam action to saturate your carpet and suck up the excess dirt, oils and debris. These treatments work well for most types of carpets, but can be rather time consuming. The best course of action is to invest in a deep cleaning occasionally and be sure to keep your carpet clean between deep cleanings.

Stains in carpets are often difficult to remove, but there are many home remedies that can help you keep your carpet clean, even when you come across very stubborn stains. Club soda is known to get one of the most stubborn stains, red wine, out of your carpet. Some have said that regular shaving cream can get food stains out of carpet if allowed to stand before being blotted. The most important thing to remember is never to rub a stain. Always blot a stain until it comes up, as rubbing a stain can damage your carpet’s fibers and spread the stain around.

Your carpet’s quality can make your home look beautiful and keep the value of your home high. Be sure to invest in quality cleaners and take time to make sure your carpet stays clean and fresh.

One of the most widely-used household products for keeping your house clean and sparkling is ordinary household baking soda. Baking soda is a very versatile ingredient that not only helps you clean, but can also eliminate odors, as well. Baking soda is known to neutralize both bases and acids, which helps it neutralize odors instead of covering them up like many other household cleaners. You can use baking soda as a way to clean sinks and counter tops because it can be used as an abrasive. Baking soda can even be used on expensive china to keep it clean without harsh chemicals or the risk of breaking in a dishwasher..

Another amazing household ingredient is regular bleach. Bleach is known as a disinfectant and is very useful in tiled areas such as your bathroom and kitchen. Bleach can kill many bacteria and can be used to kill and clean away mildew and mold wherever it may build up. It’s important to remember that you should never mix bleach with ammonia or ammonia-based cleaning products as that could be incredibly hazardous.

Vinegar is one of the most commonly used household do it yourself cleaners as it is very effective and very inexpensive. You can use vinegar to clean your windows and glass, countertops, tile, and even your coffeemaker. Vinegar is great at killing mildew and removing stains, and works great at removing hard water deposits from your bathrooms and kitchens.

WD-40 is one of those household products that many people don’t think of when coming to cleaning their home. WD-40 is excellent at getting rid of waxy residues such as crayon marks, so if you have children WD-40 can be extremely useful. It also helps remove grease and adhesive leftovers. You can use WD-40 to lubricate many household fixtures, as well, to keep them from squeaking and rusting.

And finally, one of the most overlooked household products for cleaning is regular borax. Borax, most commonly known as a laundry booster, is not only to help your laundry detergent work more efficiently. You can use borax to help deodorize your trash compactor, food disposal, or garbage can. Borax is also very good for cleaning your walls and floors, too. Use a small amount of borax and water to scrub your kitchen walls and get rid of built up oil and grime. Your garbage can will also benefit from a soak in borax and warm water and a good rinse. Keeping your disposal and garbage areas clean will keep your house from bacteria and unwanted odors.

Bamboo flooring takes a little different work than regular hardwoods. First, bamboo flooring is a bit softer than hardwood flooring. This means that bamboo flooring has the ability to scuff more easily, and care should be taken when sanding the bamboo. Still bamboo flooring is very stable and versatile, and works well in any place you would put a hardwood floor. The general care of bamboo is essentially the same as it is for any other hardwood flooring.

Regular maintenance to any bamboo or hardwood floor will greatly help it stay beautiful for its entire life. Be sure to do periodic dustings and cleanings of your hardwood and bamboo floors. Proper maintenance of these types of flooring will help keep them shiny and scuff free. Use a clean fiber broom to clean the dirt that accumulates on your hardwood or bamboo flooring. You can use your vacuum to clean up large amounts of dirt if necessary. Anything such as food, liquid spills, or other sticky substances should be removed with a wet soft cloth. Any excess water should be cleaned up immediately as this can harm the surface of your flooring. If needed, you can use a high quality floor mop, however it is not recommended to expose your flooring to too much water.

Direct sunlight exposure can lead to color changes. It is recommended to put mats at entrances and anywhere sunlight may shine for most of the day. Not only does this keep the dirt from building up on the floor, but it also keeps the floor from becoming discolored.

Any furniture used on your hardwood or bamboo flooring should have pads to protect the floor from scratches. If you need to move the furniture, be sure to utilize protective fabric or pads so it will not scuff the floor and leave hard to remove marks.

If needed, your hardwood or bamboo flooring can be lightly sanded and a new polyurethane coating can be placed upon it. This is when it has a really bad stain or scuffing that cannot be cleaned or repaired by regular methods. You should use a solvent based urethane instead of a water based one for the best results and apply with a wool pad.

Some hardwoods have a waxed floor that must be cleaned with a waxing agent that is able to remove dirt from the wood. This cleaning and waxing solution also provides a fresh coat of wax to hardwood floors to keep their shine and protect them from scratching and scuffing.

Whatever type of floor you have, either hardwood or bamboo, taking the best care of your flooring will make it last for many years and allow it to keeps its shine and beauty. Take good care of your bamboo and hardwood floors for the best looking home.

Things you will need

- Contact paper
- Silverware Organizer
- Pantry
- Wall shelf

Step One

Take all of the dishes, cups, Tupperware and silverware out of your cabinets and kitchen shelves and divvy them up into these particular groups

Storage/Tupperware
Glasses
Coffee mugs
Large plates
Small Plates
Bowls
Silverware
Large bowls
Casserole dishes
Pots and Pans
Grocery Items
Spices

Step Two

Wipe down all of your kitchen cabinets, shelves and counter tops. Then, using contact paper, cover the insides of the cabinets and drawers. This will make the drawers easier to clean, and will make them look more attractive.

Step Three

Find the shelf nearest to your stove or oven, and put all of your spices in a spice rack. Having a clear, organized method for storing spices, allows you to reach and find them easily while cooking. Make sure everything is in a Tupperware or glass container and has a label.

Step Four

Now it is time to rearrange your dishes. Starting on the bottom right side of your cabinet, stack the large plates first and then stack the small plates or saucers. On the shelf above the plates, set all of your bowls.

Step Five

You will need a separate storage cabinet for storage containers. Many people have mountains of Tupperware. Don’t fret. It’s best to find a separate cabinet just for the storage containers to live. You can arrange them by size and keep the lids separate so that stacking your containers is much easier.

Step Six

In another cabinet, put all of your breakable drink ware with the tops pointed down. This will help dry cups faster. You can put the glass and ceramic glasses or mugs on the bottom and all of the plastic drink ware on the higher shelves.

Step Seven

On a separate wall, install hooks to hang your mugs. You can buy wall shelves with hooks that run along the bottom. Not only will you have a convenient way to hang all of your coffee mugs, but you will also have additional storage space to further organize your kitchen.

Step Eight

Get rid of what you are not using. Too many people these days hold on to old relics, or outdated dishes or trinkets they no longer use. Try to analyze each item and decide whether or not you use it enough to justify it taking up space in your kitchen. If not, you can donate it to a family that really needs dishware!

Step Nine

Organize the silverware in your drawer into categories. Make sure to purchase a plastic divider system that has enough slots for your varying types of silverware.

Before you leave for vacation, be sure to empty all of your clothes from your washer and dryer to keep them from molding or wrinkling. It’s also important to be sure your laundry or mud room is clean so it will make it easier for you to return with your luggage and any extra items you may be bringing back from your trip.

Taking the time to clean and prepare your bathrooms and kitchen will also be a great benefit to you while you’re away. If you want to keep bugs and pests out of your home while you are gone, be sure to do a thorough cleaning of your dining area and kitchen. Be sure to surface clean your bathroom and make sure the floor and tub or shower is cleaned to deter any silverfish from taking nest in your bathroom while you are gone.

If someone is going to be checking on your home while you are out, it is important to make sure your home is tidy so they have a pleasant experience while checking to make sure everything is okay. This will also ensure that if anything has occurred like a burglary or if a fixture breaks, it will make it easier to spot the damage and get the correct help while you are away.

Be sure to find a place for your pets if you are going to be gone for an extended amount of time and do not have an involved pet sitter who can check on your pets often. Unattended pets tend to get bored, lonely, depressed or frustrated and may take these feelings out on your furniture or carpet. Coming home to a pet’s mess is probably not on your list of priorities, so be a responsible pet owner and be sure to have someone check on them often or take them to the vet or a kennel to keep them from getting lonely or bored and make sure they are cared for.

Another important tip to remember when leaving for vacation is that most of your appliances will still use energy while you are gone. Be sure to turn down or unplug any unnecessary electrical appliances or fixtures so that they do not cost you unnecessary money while you are not in your home.

Be sure to do any necessary yard work before you leave your home for vacation. An unkempt lawn is a telltale sign that the residents are away. Mow your lawn and trim any hedges or plants that need to be tended to before you leave for your vacation. A manicured lawn can keep any unwanted attention away from your home while you are gone.

And lastly, coming home from a vacation to a dirty house is not only unpleasant, but it can really put a damper on your vacation time. Cleaning and maintaining your home before leaving for a vacation can enhance your vacation experience and make coming home a pleasure instead of a chore.

Step One

Learn how to use a vacuum! You need to vacuum your house weekly. If you do not, dander or hair may sink into carpets or furniture and become impacted. Then it becomes much more difficult to remove the dander completely. You need to focus mostly on your carpets. You can use a lint roller in highly trafficked places to remove hair even more completely. Then, you can use ordinary dryer sheets on your furniture. By rubbing your furniture with the dryer sheets you cannot only repel hair from sticking to the furniture, but can also leave your furniture smelling fresh. No pet odor here!

Step Two

Filters are your friend! They can help trap dust, dirt and pet hair that wander around the air in your apartment. If you change your air filter once a month or so, you will only be out about 2 bucks a month, but the air in your apartment will be free of dander. Your equipment will be functioning at a high level when clean, and the airborne particles will not be circulating their way around your home. You can also vacuum vents around your house to remove hair that could be stuck to the outside of the vents.

Step Three

Wash those linens! By washing all of your sheets, pillows, and blankets regularly you can not only remove the dander that may accumulate (especially if your pet sleeps in your bed,) but you can keep a parasite problem at bay. Fleas and bedbugs will not survive weekly washing; that is for sure! Make sure to use a strong detergent and drier sheets to even more fully remove the pet hair from your linens. Make sure to empty your dryer lint traps. More pet hair in your laundry will mean that the washer and drier will be working overtime. Keep up the maintenance for the washer and drier, and they will be an important tool in helping keep pet hair at bay in your home.

Step Four

Brush those pets! You should groom your pets as often as possible. You will remove any loose hair hanging around on your puppy or kitten, which will lead to less hair being left around your house. Use a good brush and groom them 2-3 times a week for best results. You can also wipe your pet down with some pet wipes to remove any other hair that may be clinging to them.

Many people hire a personal assistant or housecleaner to help organize their life. For many hard working professionals, an organized pantry is a thing of the past, and chores and bills pile up as they work 60 hour work weeks. The additional cash you earn from even one long night at the office can help pay someone to help you around the home. Do you remember what a clean countertop looks like? Or what the kitchen looks like when dishes are done? Is hiring a professional beginning to sound more exciting? If a full time housekeeping staff is not in your budget, consider cleaning services on a smaller scale. You can have someone come in once or twice a week to scrub toilets, bathtubs and sinks. This won’t be very expensive, and you can save money by not purchasing a lot of specialized cleaning products. In addition, you can prevent big repairs and remodeling later down the line, by ensuring that your tiles and grouts are being maintained and cleaned regularly.

Another factor is that many people now live alone, or work alternating hours than their spouses and roommates. It’s important that you never use harsh chemicals, or work on ladders and footstools while alone in your home. There’s a big risk that you will fall, or accidentally inhale toxic substances. A professional cleaning service will have all the tools required, as well as all the safety equipment to do these jobs properly. They will carry things like gloves, air filtering masks, and safe cleaning agents that will keep your living area safe for you and for pets.

Before you hire professional help, consider these tips:

1. Outsource the chores that you hate. If a certain chore zaps your energy and leaves you in a bad mood, that should be the first to go.
2. Put a price on how much your time costs
   

   You should calculate how much it costs to pay someone for something. If it is less then you earn per hour, your time could better be spent working, and a professional should be hired.

3. Prioritize your money habits

If it is important to you to be able to afford to have your house cleaned, even in a tight budget, you can make it fly by cutting out other activities like eating out or going to the movies.

4. Evaluate your knowledge of cleaning products. If you’re not chemistry major, it’s best to leave anything with strong chemicals to a professional.
   

   With these simple tips you are well on your way to hiring the right professional to handle your chores.

1. Wash Everything- Did a smoker just sit on your bed? Have your friends been hanging out in the living room smoking? If you can launder sheets, pillow cases or slip covers, this would be the first step to removing the odor from your house.
2. Use a vacuum- Scents will stick to fabrics and carpet flooring. Make sure you vacuum as much of the odor out of the carpet before you turn to cleaning products or alternative measures. If the smell is in your car, you can go ahead and vacuum the seat cushions and the foot mats as well.
3. Vinegar- If you have a stale cigarette odor in your home put a bowl of white vinegar out all night. You might be surprised at how well it eats up the odor.
4. Baking soda- You should sprinkle baking soda liberally over any cloth covered carpet, piece of furniture, or car seat. Baking soda has long been known to eat up odors, and cigarette smoke is no exception! You should always test the baking soda on a small corner of the furniture first to make sure there are no adverse reactions to it.
5. Coffee- You can put bags of coffee grounds in various places where the stench of stale smoke is the most severe. It will help eat up part of the odor.
6. Air it all out- Immediately after a smoker has been in your home, it helps to air out the room or the vehicle by opening all doors and windows for a few hours to let the scents slowly disperse. Leaving things closed, instead, will allow the smells to sink into the fabrics very quickly.
7. Charcoal- Leaving charcoal in a container around your house is also another idea. In about a week you will notice a dramatic decrease in the cigarette odor in your home.
8. Clean Surfaces of Furniture- Smoke residue can land on tables or chairs or floors. Try to do a good deep cleaning of your furniture and floors to remove all traces of stale smoke from your home.
9. Clean Your Light Bulbs- Light bulbs, whether you know it or not, attract smoke. When you turn a light bulb on, the smoke on the outside will heat up and release odor. Wipe your light bulbs down to stop this from happening.

There are many all natural ways to combat stale cigarette odor, and get it out of your home once and for all.

1. Turn off the electricity and the gas since the stove will be turning around.
2. Take off all the external pieces from your stove, racks, drip pans, burners and handles. Put all of these pieces in a large garbage bag and pour in one gallon of ammonia. Close the bag and let it sit for up to twenty four hours. While the pieces are soaking in the bag, the ammonia will act as a grease fighter.
3. Cover the floor beneath the oven with newspapers, and pull on some rubber gloves. It’s time to tackle the grease! Apply an oven cleaning product. Make sure that the product you use is made for ovens, or is non-toxic. Apply the product liberally, especially to places in your oven with a high concentration of grease.
4. Then, after allowing the product to soak into your oven to remove all of the grease stains, get a container of soapy water. Wearing your gloves again, make sure you use a rag, and clean the oven from back to front, without leaving residue. In between each cleaning, wash out the rag or sponge. In tougher cases, you can use a scrubbing brush to break up any caked on food or gunk in your oven. You can add a degreaser product to cut down any remaining grease in your oven that the soap and water did not remove. Simply spray, leave on for a while and then wipe away with a towel.
5. Then, the next day, remove all of the smaller pieces from the bag. Using rubber gloves individually wash each piece in another bucket of soapy water. Use a tough sponge and watch as the oven grease easily falls off! Rinse again and leave the pieces out to dry.
6. Make sure you dry off each of the smaller pieces very well, and reassemble the parts correctly.
7. Turn your gas and electricity back on. Once all has been clean and assembled, your stove should be ready to use again!

You should now have grease free stove! Although cleaning the grease stains from your stove can be a daunting task, doing it on a regular basis can keep your appliances in good working order, will help them smell better, and look more attractive. You can also use things like drip pans in your oven to help catch the grease long before it stains your oven, and keep them cleaned out often. This will limit the amount of times you need to do a full deep clean of your oven itself. Follow this process every several months and grease stains can be a thing of the past.

Over time, mattresses can build up dust, allergens and molds. You will not be able to put a blanket over your mattress and make those go away very easily without a little bit of work.

First, you need to do the laundry often. Sheets, blankets and pillows that sit unwashed for long periods of time can easily contribute to a mattresses wear and tear. Keeping them clean, however, removes some of the dust and allergens and does not allow these contaminants to sink fully into the cloth of your mattress.

Once your bed sheets are being washed, freshening your mattress begins. You will need to get a vacuum. Before you vacuum the mattress, pour a small layer of baking soda on top of your mattress and let it sit for about five to ten minutes. Baking soda has long been a very popular natural odor eater, and here is another case where its cleaning powers can shine. It will also absorb any moisture. Then go ahead, using the vacuum, and vacuum all the powder up from the top and sides of your bed. Make sure you get the edges. Edges are easily forgotten about, but do tend to attract the most dust, so make sure they are cleaned as well.

For those whose mattresses need some extra special treatment, there are a few more steps you can take. You should try mixing together a solution of dishwasher detergent and water; you can spray this solution on top of your mattress. This can help with immediate odor. You will need to give your mattress time to dry after it has been lightly sprayed. Another option is the once a month baking soda trick. You can pour a larger amount of baking soda on your mattress and leave it for one day. After that, vacuum it up. Because of the long time it has been left to sink in, the mattress should now be in tip top shape.

Here are some simple mattress freshening tips you can use.

1. Keeping your mattress clean is easier than fixing it up once it has been damaged. Try not to spill anything on your mattress. If something does spill, treat and clean it up immediately. You can also use mattress protectors or slip covers underneath your sheets to really protect your mattress from unwanted dust or stains.
2. Whenever it gets too musty, freshen your mattress up using the baking soda trick described above.
3. Air your mattress out. Bring it outside on a warm and sunny day. The sunlight will be able to easily dry your mattress out and kill any mold spores that have been living inside of it.

Keep freshening your mattress on a weekly or monthly basis, and it will last a long time for you, and serve you well.

What to do if company is on their way:

Look Good in front of your guests (They will never know)

1. Create a checklist with a deadline and the tasks that need to be done. To make your life easier you are entitled to ask for help and if you have a big family even better because you can assign tasks to each of them and offer rewards when dealing with lack of enthusiasm. Take advantage of having a large family; everyone who is part of the mess should help.
2. If you are the type person who needs to get in the mood in order to complete tasks, try making cleaning fun and get yourself in a good mood. Pump up some music in your stereo, turn off the TV and just enjoy yourself while cleaning. It is also a good way of changing your family’s attitude towards cleaning if they are doing it against their will.
3. A great way to begin is by cleaning the rooms’ guests see first, such as the kitchen, main bathroom, and living room. Once you have cleaned these rooms move on to the bedrooms, which are rooms guests don’t tend to look at in detail. The rooms mentioned at first are very important because they tend to say a lot about a person. If these rooms aren’t well-cleaned you won’t be able to impress your guests and look good in front of them.
4. Remove Clutter: If you have any dirty dishes in any of the rooms clean them, or if you have a dishwasher place them there so they could be cleaned. Also if you have piles of clothes all over your bedroom floor pick them up and put them away. Not one piece of clothing should be seen on your floor.
5. Pick up everything from your floors, toys, hobby and sports items and place them where they belong. Make sure you straighten furniture, cushions, pictures, and lampshades or any magazines left around the house.
6. Make beds, dust, broom, mop and when you are done go back and check to see if everything looks nice and neat so that you can relax and be ready to receive company with open arms.

How to prevent this situation from happening again

1. Make a chart with daily chores for everyone in your home as well as yourself. Place the chart in a room in your house where everyone usually hangs out this way they will always be reminded of the chores that need to be done. Also by doing small chores everyday your house will always be clean and you won’t be jammed up with chores when expecting company.
2. If you are not a fanatic of sweeping or dusting, get yourself a good vacuum with attachments so the chores will be easier and the vacuum will do most of the work for you. This usually encourages people when it comes to cleaning because they find it easier. Make sure you have good and healthy cleaning products and equipment such as, pails, mops, wash cloths, and scrubbing brushes.
3. However, if you hate cleaning and you prefer not to deal with cleaning your home you could always call a cleaning service and have someone go to your home every week.

These tips are helpful and necessary at desperate times when company is expected but to avoid stressing situations it is best to maintain your house clean on a daily basis.

Tools needed:

• Sponges
• Paper Towels
• White Vinegar
• Lint Brush
• Tape (heavy duty)
• Pet Rake
• Aroma Pill

Most of the items on the list you are able to find in pet supply stores.

Urine Stains and Odor Removal
If you have any urine stains on your carpet and upholstery the best way to remove it is by using baking soda. Begin with damping some paper towels or cloth with water and use it to wipe the urine off. Mix a solution of one teaspoon of white vinegar and one quart of water and saturate the area with the solution. Then add a teaspoon of vinegar and use the damp paper towel to blot the area. Make sure you blot and you do not rub your carpet because you can transfer the dye to your carpet and damage it.

Once you have removed the urine stain and odor make sure you keep placing clean paper towels on the area until it is dry. If the stain is still somewhat visible you can accelerate the process by standing on the paper towels; it works by absorbing the stain at a quicker pace. Or you also can place a heavy object on the paper towels instead of standing on it. Either way it works the same way and you can see faster results.

If after all the process you still smell odor, try sprinkling on the spot more baking soda. Try leaving the baking soda on the spot overnight and the next day vacuum the carpet. By vacuuming it may suck the odor out and transfer to your vacuum so make sure to clean out the bag.

If you are dealing with really old urine stains, then I recommend you contact a commercial cleaning company that specializes in carpet cleaning.

Pet Hair Shedding Removal
If you own a pet that sheds hair you probably have it all over your house, even on your bed sheets and clothes. If this is the case you can use a pet rake or a vacuum. If you choose to use a vacuum make sure you get a beater brush which will help remove the pet hair easier and faster. The beater brush will help pick up more hair than without it and will take less time. However, a lint brush can also be of great help. It will help remove the pet hair from your clothes, carpets, and especially sofas. If you are dealing with a small area that needs to be clean it is best you use tape. You can put a piece of tape on your hand with the sticky part facing out and press on the area or material you want to clean. The tape method is more useful when you want to remove pet hair from your clothing or blankets. House Clean Pets Clean

In order to maintain a clean house, you must have your pets clean as well. You can minimize the amount of pet hair by giving your pets more baths and constantly brushing their hair. Another way is by vacuuming every other day, especially your bed and sofas. Use your lint brush and do a quick swipe with it every other day. If you want a clean home and still keep your pets, keep them clean too. It might sound like a lot of work but it really isn’t. There is nothing better than owning a pet and being able to maintain your home. And if you love your pet and a clean home it is all worth it!

Method products are made with naturally-derived surfactants. It works by absorbing dirt rather than chemically degrading it. Method is a biodegradable so you can clean your home without flushing super-toxic chemicals down the drain into our rivers, lakes and oceans. With these organic products you could have a clean home that smells chemical free. The best thing is that they have a different organic product to clean different items. They also have a diverse scent of smells to choose from. You decide the smell you want to have after cleaning your home with Method products. The following list gives an area or item you may want to clean and the method product that should be used to clean that area or item.

Bathroom – Tub and Tile Spray
Your bathroom is a place that must be sanitized! Your body is completely exposed when you are in your bath tub and the tub is a place where there can be mold if you don’t clean and sanitize your tub regularly. If you’re unable to clean your bathroom due to being allergic to bleach or ammonia based cleaning products you should definitely go green. Tub and tile spray will leave your bathroom without any molds and smelling great and chemical free. The tub and tile spray contains a biodegradable formula leaves nasty toxins behind and removes soap sum and hard water stains. If you want to be healthy in your own home cleaning your bathroom with tub and tile spray is the best way to start.

Mint Window Wash
There are so many window cleaning products out there and some do the job, but those that do the job have a strong chemical smell that not everyone enjoys. Method has a window cleaning product called “Mint Window Wash”. This window cleaning product leaves your windows looking as good mirrors. Not only will you have streak-free windows but it has a great mint scent. “Mint Window Wash” is fabulous product for those who love streak-free windows and a minty scent.

Wood for Good Wipes
Method came up with a great product for dusting wood. They came up with “Wood Wipes” these wipes leave your wood as good as new and you do not have to keep spraying into a paper towel. It is easier to go around with two or three wipes and dusting your home than a roll of paper towels and dusting spray. These wipes have a non-wax formula that contains a cleansing conditioner that leaves no residue and brings wood back to life making look brand new. “Wood Wipes” also leaves a delicious fresh almond scent behind as you dust that will make you want to eat your wood!

Mop Wood for Good Almond Non-Toxic Floor cleaner
This method product for wood contains the same almond scent as the “Wood Wipes” the difference is that this product is for your floor. It leaves your wood floor sparkling. The best quality of this product is that it’s also a non-wax formula that is non-toxic. It’s almost hard to believe that this product is organic, chemicals free and so efficient. Murphy might also do the job but its can be harmful for your family.

Aroma Pill
Sometimes there may be odors in your home that are not welcome but the problem is that you are approaching to kill them with the wrong products. The “Method Aroma Pill” is a device that you plug into an electrical socket and it kills all the bad odors that may be in your home. It works like a molecular coercion. Your home will smell good in no time all you need is the aroma pill and a socket.

Leather Wipes
It’s always hard to find products to clean your leather couches. With leather wipes you can renew its shine with these biodegradable wipes. All you have to do is run a leather wipe over your car seat, jacket, luggage or furniture and they will look amazing. With leather wipes you can clean anything made out of leather to make look brand new.

Granite + Marble Cleaner
Many people have furniture or a kitchen made out of marble and only clean it with water because they don’t know of a product that clean granite or marble. Well, Method does have a product that will leave your granite or marble steak-free. This product makes it shine and smells good at the same time.

Stainless Steel Cleaner + Polish
Stainless is great because it doesn’t get corroded or rusty but sometime its does get dirty. At time when it does get dirty it’s good to it with the “Stainless Steel Cleaner”. This method product cleans and polishes stainless steel without streaking. What is also great is that it leaves behind a protective layer as you clean. Steel needs to be cleaned too and “Stainless Steel Cleaner” is the perfect product it with.

If you wish to have your home clean and healthy without having to use harmful cleaning products you should begin to use method products. It’s a smart move to make and that you won’t regret. Don’t waste anymore time, GO GREEN!

Stickers on Walls
Begin by cleaning your children’s walls, if they have any stickers on the walls try removing as many as possible. If you are able to remove most of them don’t worry about the rest; you could remove them with a little Ben Gay ointment and then use a blow dryer to blow on them. This is a great method to use on carpets as well. You could also so use other cleaning products that have been known to remove stickers.

How to Clean Stuffed Animals
To clean stuffed animals you can use a pillowcase. Put the stuffed animals inside the pillowcase and tie a strong knot. Then put the pillowcase with stuffed animals inside into the washing machine. There’s no need to put them in one by one, if they are all in a pillowcase they will still be properly washed.

Another method to clean stuffed animals is to place them inside a paper sack with baking soda and give them a good shake. They will look as good as new.

When cleaning stuffed animals with natural fibers, they should not be immersed in water. But they could be cleaned by wiping them off with a soapy cloth and then with a clean wet cloth.

Before you put any stuffed animal inside the washing machine make sure it does not have any torn seams.

Make sure that the stuffed animals you put in the washing machine doesn’t have a “sound box” or other mechanical parts.

Remember, before putting stuffed animals in the dryer, check for any plastic parts.

Keeping the Kid’s Room Uncluttered

1. Every month put away half of your children’s toys and switch them around. This way they will play with half and every month you switch them so they could play with the other half. This creates fewer amounts of toys in your kid’s room and more space for them to play.
2. Find plastic tubs, boxes, or baskets around your house and label them. These will be useful to store toys and teach your children how to sort them so that they won’t be all over the floor. If you want your kids to take part in the cleaning activity you can let them decorate the containers. This will make them more fun and personal as they become more organized with their toys.
3. Your kids can take part in cleaning their room too. You can set a short period of time daily for your kids to organize their room by placing everything where it belongs. This can help the kid’s room to stay uncluttered all the time. However, when dealing with kids you might need to be creative and make a game out of room cleaning. Use a timer to time them and whoever does it in the least amount of time could receive a reward. This will make your children want to help and even look forward to cleaning their room in order to get the reward.
4. As your children grow they stop using a few of their toys so once every two months go through the children’s toys and let them pick out what they still play with and what they don’t. Once you have done this you can pack them up and donate them to less fortunate children.
5. Another good method to keep your floor clean is to place bookshelves in your children’s room so that they could stack their books, toys and stuffed animals.
6. Hanging up clothes and putting things where they belong are good cleaning habits to teach your kids. Teach them to be neat and organized; it will help them in a variety of ways.
7. When it comes to cleaning your kid’s room, it isn’t easy but there are ways of maintaining their room nice and clean so that they can sleep in a clean and well organized room. Establish your kids cleaning habits before it’s too late or they will grow up to be messy and dirty … ‘children learn what they live.”

1. How do you prevent fingerprints on stainless steel?
The best way to prevent fingerprints is to use a product called Stainless Steel Cleaner & Polish from a company called Method. Lightly spray it on your stainless steel once or twice week. This product works by leaving a thin wax layer that resists fingerprints, therefore they won’t show up. Use a clean lint-free cloth to wipe the surface. Be careful not to spray too much because when you wipe the surface it will be soaked and it may leaves marks.

2. How can I wipe stainless steel and not leave marks behind?
Wipe in the same direction of the grain. If you wipe against the grain, you are leaving tiny amounts of cleaner in the micro-edges of the grain. Wiping with the grain does not leave this sort of residue and you stainless will look perfect!

3. Which products should not be used or avoided?
When cleaning stainless steel you should never use oil or and products that contain oil. When you wipe the oil off with your cloth the lint will stick to the oil. Also never use any cleaning products that contain bleach because your stainless steel will lose its luster.

The damages that are often seen on steel when using the wrong cleaning products are scratches. Any abrasive or mild product like Scotch-Brite pads or a soft scrub should not be used because it will scratch your stainless steel instantly.

4. How do you deal with accidental scratches?
When it comes to accidental scratches you are forced to use an abrasive like Scotch-Brite pads. Spray some of the Steel Cleaner & Polish on to the scratch on the steel and then abrade with the pad. Be careful and rub gently in the grain line until the scratch is gone. Finally apply some more Steel Cleaner & Polish with the lint-free cloth.

5. What about dents to stainless steel?
Unfortunately, your choices are very limited. Similar to a dent to your car, you can knock out the dent from the inside of the stainless steel element.

6. Does normal kitchen use cause stainless steel to rust?
No, however, if you have outdoor components in stainless steel, such as a barbecue, while you won’t get rust, you can get some discoloration over time exposure to all elements in the environment.

7. So, what is the best way to maintain stainless steel?
KEEP IT CLEAN! While, stainless steel is “stainless” this does not mean that it doesn’t get dirty. Use Stainless Steel Cleaner & Polish for best results and clean it at least once a week or so.

Stainless Steel will give your kitchen a great modern look and it’s what makes your kitchen standout in your home. Maintain it by cleaning it regularly with the appropriate cleaner and keep your kitchen shining bright as it never has before.

Process of Descaling a Toilet
Urine and hard water are the perfect combination to create staining around the lip of your toilet bowl which is not a good thing. That is why you need to descale a toilet at least once a month. The best way to remove these stains is with an acid descaler. You might think to yourself that bleach is what removes these stains but truth be told it doesn’t. All you get when you use bleach is a headache and you’re left with the same stains. There are a variety of acid descalers. You can use phosphoric acid or citric acid; it all depends on what you prefer. Vinegar is an acid but it will not work because it isn’t as strong as other acids. Once you have your toilet sterilized you can clean it daily as usual.

Is it necessary to disinfect?
If you clean your toilet on a daily bases and properly with the detergent indicated there is no need to do so. The only time where bacteria growth occurs is when surface cleaning has not been performed properly. The use of disinfectants and bleaching does not replace the cleaning job that descaling does. Descaling is a better process when cleaning your toilet bowl because scale is what attracts bacteria and creates surface soiling. Everyone believes that bleach is what does the job but in the end it does not. Bleach removes scale color but not the scale.

Reminder: DO NOT ever mix bleach with an acid descaler. It is best that you keep these two away from each other. The coal tar of these two disinfectants can be poisonous in heavy quantities. It is best you clean with the proper sanitizers that aren’t a threat to you or your family’s health.

Mold on Tiles
Mold on tiles can be cleaned with the same phosphoric acid descaler that you used to clean your toilet. When it comes to cleaning mold, the best way is to leave the acid descaler overnight. In the morning you simply rinse it off and the entire mold will be gone. Once you rinse it off you can just let dry. Mold on your tiles inside your bathtub can be hard to remove but if you do as indicated it will come out in no time.

Cleaning Marble
Marble is delicate and those who have it in their home should cherish it. Marble needs to be taken care of and, when cleaning it, even more. When cleaning marble you must never use any acids. Those acids include vinegar, lemon juice and any grout cleaners. Bleach is also prohibited to be used on marble. Never even think about scrubbing your marble with a scouring pad because the pad will stick to the marble creating rust staining. The damage will be unbearable if this were to happen. What you can use to clean marble is low foam detergents. These low foam detergents are very effective on marble and will not damage it at all. When cleaning your marble floor or counter in your bathroom you should make sure that your cloth or mop is somewhat dry so that instead of rinsing, you are polishing making it look even shinier. If the cloth or mop is too damp your marble will not look as clear.

Bathroom cleaning is one of the things most people hate to do but if you don’t do it, who else will? Your bathroom is a place where bacteria can grow and your body is exposed to many different kinds of germs. If you don’t start to clean your bathroom on a daily basis, it will get worse every day and it will be even more difficult to get all the mold and scale out of your bathroom. Stay safe and act now before it’s too late.

Precautions that must be taken
The first thing that you should do for precaution is identify the places where mold and mildew are most likely to grow. These places would be the ones mentioned earlier in the article. Now that you already know what those places are, you have to do your best to keep them dry and clean most of the time. You have to keep in mind that molds grow everywhere but that mildew only flourishes in environments that contain warm temperatures and high humidity levels. Therefore it is important to keep these places dry. You need to keep these places clean because soil and dirty articles are food supply for mildew creating its growth. You don’t want to be feeding your own enemy without knowing it. In your kitchen make sure you clean all greasy stains on the wall because those stains contain nutrients for mildew and molds. You must keep all these places in your home spotless so that you don’t invite these unpleasant visitors.

The Basics
From the beginning, I have said that in a home there will not be any mold or mildew if there is no source of moisture. That brings us to the basic rule of mildew prevention which is to always seek areas that are too moist. If you seek these moist areas and keep them dry you will not have mold or mildew problems. Many basements are continually wet from leaking so you will be obligated to replace the defective mortar and make sure that the outside drainage is proper. If you have a dryer in your basement and it is equipped with a vent make sure it is exhausted to the outside so that it removes all the moist air. Do the best you can in removing all the dampness out of your house by heating for a small amount of time. Also always open the windows and doors to let out the humidity in the air. When preventing mildew, an exhaust fan would be very helpful as well.

A properly installed air-conditioning system will cool the air and extract the moisture in warm air. This system would take the warm air and circulate with cool air creating dry air into the room. If you were to attach a humidistat on to the thermostat to control humidity, it will work together with the air-conditioning system to remove moisture effectively and efficiently. Sometimes, just opening your doors and windows is not enough and that’s when you have to get an electric fan or an air-conditioning system to remove the moisture from your house. It’s the only way to prevent mildew and mold from growing.

Mildew Odor
Once you smell musty odors in your home you already know there is either mildew or mold growing in your house. When the mold or mildew is not noticeable you can look for it by smelling bad odors. Try getting rid of the bad odor as soon as possible so that mildew or mold won’t flourish any faster with the Aroma Pill from Method Products. The aroma pill is installed in a socket and in a few minutes the odor will be gone and it also kills any germs or bacteria in the air. If perhaps the bad odor does not go away with the aroma pill then you will have to call a professional.

Be smart and take precautions before you have mold or mildew living in your house with you. It’s better to be prepared for the unexpected.

For some people who have had stains on their carpet for more than a year, it might be too late and you will need to call a carpet cleaning professional. If you ran to your computer after staining your carpet and haven’t tried your own carpet stain removal than you’re in luck and will most likely get the stain out. When you stain your carpet you must do whatever you can to remove the stain instantly. If you wait too long to take the stain out, when you try removing the stain it will not come out.
What can I do about those stains?
When you get a stain on your carpet the first thing you will need to do is get the staining substance out. To remove the staining substance you will need a wet towel with hot water to rub the staining substance out. With the hot wet towel, try removing the stain substance as much as possible. Then put isopropyl rubbing alcohol on a clean towel or rag, and gently blot with your towel the stained area. If you see that this process is not working stop immediately. If the alcohol is rubbed in too deeply you will damage the latex backing on your carpet. If the isopropyl did not work don’t worry as there is another way to try and remove it. You can mix a teaspoon of non-lanolin or non-bleach dishwashing detergent with a quart of water. Repeat the procedure; blot the mixed substance with a towel onto the stained area. After you are done use a spray bottle to rinse the stain and blot the stain with a clean dry towel until the stain area is completely dry. Repeat this process a second time; only this time allow the carpet to dry under a weighted towel. In case this does not work your last attempt will be to moisten the stain area with a 4% mix of hydrogen peroxide and leave it alone for one hour so it will dry. If none of these stain removing methods work you will most likely need to contact a carpet professional.

What if I made my stain worse?
There are times where we try removing a carpet stain and instead of removing it we make it worse and sometimes to the extent where we make it permanent. When a stain becomes permanent you are obligated to call a professional. A few activities that cause a stain to become permanent are:

• Not trying to get the stain out immediately
• Failing at removing the staining substance
• Excess of cleaning solution on stained area
• Scrubbing the stain
• Applying heat on stained area

Reminder: It is important that when you get a carpet stain you always remember that you should use a dry cloth and, if you are going to use a cleaning solution, apply it on the dry cloth, not the stain.

Next Time it happens:
Be prepared before another stain happens and read the carpet manufacturer’s manual on the carpet stain removal. Each carpet is handled differently when it comes to removing stains. It is also a good I idea if you always keep a pre-mixed dishwashing solution because the longer you let the stain sit the harder it will be for you to remove it. Always keep this solution around and you will be well prepared for any stain.

People who have carpet floors in their homes are always worrying about carpet stains and even though at times they may be hard to remove you have a higher chance of removing it if you act on it instantly. The longer you wait the harder it will be that is you need always have in mind and you’ll be successful at removing your carpet stains. All you need is a few techniques and they will be gone in a blink of an eye. However, if there is a stain that no matter how hard you try it doesn’t want to leave, you could always call a carpet professional that you can trust to get the stain out.

Alcohol Beverage Stains
To remove alcoholic beverage stains on hard surface floors you need to rub a dampened cloth in a solution of warm water and detergent. If this solution doesn’t remove the stain rub it again with a different dampened cloth but with denatured alcohol.

Blood Stains
Often when someone in our home cuts themselves we get blood stains on our hard surface floors and sometimes they’re difficult to remove. The best way to remove blood stains is to sponge or mop the affected area with cold water. If for some reason the blood stain is still there use a solution of ammonia and cold water to mop or sponge the area again. One of the two methods definitely will work.

Note: Carefully read and follow the label directions for using ammonia or any strong chemicals when working with them. Be very careful and make sure there is ventilation when you are using solvents. Never use them near a flame. When testing your floor with new cleaning methods you want to be very observant, to make sure you’re not causing damage to your floors.

Gum or Candle Wax Stains
When you have a candle wax or chewing gum stain the first thing you should do is freeze the material to brittleness with ice cubes. Yes, just how when we get gum stains on our clothes we use ice cubes on our floors we may use ice cubes too. This causes the gum to get stiff and become much easier to remove by scrapping it off. Scrap the material off with a plastic spatula after the material is hard. But be careful when using a plastic spatula because you want to make sure you don’t scratch your floor. When using it be very careful as you scrape the stain off. This method is one of the most effective when removing gum and candle wax stain on your hard surface floors, yet you need to be careful because it may cause damage if not done correctly.

Candy
Removing candy stains is a difficult task and sometimes we are forced to use abrasive applicators which are terrible because the last thing we want is to scratch our floors. However, before we take abrasive action we can try using a dampened cloth with warm water and detergent. If you see that this method isn’t working and not helping then you must take abrasive action. To take abrasive actions use steel wool instead of a soft cloth and powder a scrubbing pad with detergent. I recommend you use an abrasive applicator such as a scrubbing pad because it’s safer to use so you won’t cause your floor any damage. Damp the scrubbing pad with warm water and scrub the stained area with it until it is removed. When it has been removed wipe with a dry cloth. Afterwards if you want make to make sure no damage was done, mop your floor and compare to see if there are any differences.

Grease Stains
Grease stains are a little more complicated than usual stains therefore there are two methods you can try to remove them:

• First, try scrubbing the stain with concentrated detergent suds by using a scrubbing pad. Then rinse with a wet cloth. Dry with a dry cloth or towel.
• The second method you may use is to sprinkle dish washing detergent onto the grease stain on your floor and apply a wet towel on the stain. Let it sit for a few minutes and once the stain has disappeared dry it with a dry cloth.

Hopefully these methods are helpful to remove the stains you may have on your floor. Stains are what tend to ruin our hard surface floors … but all it takes is to know the proper techniques on how to remove them and they’re gone in no time. Don’t stress about a stain … just make sure you do something to remove it immediately. Time is the real enemy as the longer you wait the more difficult it becomes to remove the stain.

Save Energy with Laundry:

1. When washing your clothes you should lower the temperature settings. Instead of using hot water use warm or cold water (greasy stains are an exception). In order for you to use cooler water you should experiment with laundry detergents to see which one works best with cooler water. A cooler wash temperature will be fine when presoaking heavily soiled clothes. Set the washing machine on cold water rinse the temperature of the rinse water does not affect cleaning.
2. The thermostat on your water heater has to be turned down. For your home needs a setting of 120F is sufficient. You will save energy with either warm or hot wash cycles by turning down your thermostat.
3. Put as many items possible in the washing machine to its capacity. Many people under load instead of overloading their washing machines. Always check your machines load capacity and then take out a few loads to measure it up. Judge the volume of clothes in a load with your eye. It takes less energy to wash one large load than two on a low or medium setting.
4. Use the suds- saving feature if it is available on your washing machine when washing lightly soiled clothes. By doing this you save water for the next load to be washed.
5. Separate your clothes when drying and dry similar clothes together. For example, lightweight clothing dries faster than fiber clothes or bath towels.
6. Another helpful tip to save energy is to not over dry clothes. Also reduce the need for ironing and another energy waster by taking clothes out while they are still slightly damp. It would be even better if your machine had a auto-dry button, if you do use it instead of the timer and you will be saving more energy.
7. Do not make the mistake of adding wet items to a load that is already dry.
8. Take advantage of the heat still in the dyer from the first load, dry two or more loads in a row.
9. A clogged filter will restrict flow and reduce the performance of your dryer. It is best that you clean the dryer filter.
10. Drying small loads is a waste of energy. Dry full loads, but be cautious not to overfill your dryer. Even when drying full loads air should still be able to circulate freely around the drying clothes.
11. Make sure that the dryer exhaust vent outside is clean and that the outside hood opens and closes freely.

Keep Your Washing Machine Clean

1. Begin by cleaning the exterior of your washing machine. A cleaning cloth with an all purpose cleaner or soap dish soap is the best cleaning method. Then smoothly with the cleaning cloth wipe the exterior of the washing machine all around.
2. In the process of washing your clothes there is always a time where you spill detergent inside the machine. To clean those detergent spills use the same cloth you cleaned the outside of the machine clean the inside. Make sure you retrieve solid residue left from what was washed and after wiping down with a cloth rinse with water from the machine. Your washing machine will smell and look clean in the inside.
3. No one wants a smelly machine to prevent this from happening when a load is removed leave the lid open on the washing machine in order to allow it dry out. If you close the lid and there is water inside unpleasant smells develop. If your washing machine already has smells try washing an empty load with vinegar soda and a mixture of baking soda.
4. Water softeners added to your laundry detergent may be a solution for lime scale buildup.

Stop worrying about wasting energy with laundry, these tips will help you save energy and have a clean laundry room. Remember that washing machines and dyers should be cleaned as well if you want your clothes to out clean and smell fresh.

The best way to clean your antique furniture is to dust or vacuum with a soft cloth. Every two weeks it’s good to use a barely dampened cloth with some type of solvent based cleaning wax to wipe and this will pick up more dust, then immediately wipe with a dry cloth. It will dry off the wax leaving your furniture with a beautiful shine. Remember to only use this method every two weeks … more often may damage your antique furniture. I don’t recommend you use spray waxes and polishes on you furniture surfaces because they will leave behind a higher gloss and silicone that will make it very difficult for future refinishing.

It is also good to wax your furniture occasionally with paste wax. With a soft cloth, rub on a very light coat with the grain of the wood and buff at once with the soft cloth. In a circular hand motion, buff until the wax coating is completely hard. The key to this process is that the wax is buffed completely to avoid any smears or streaks. Paste wax helps great if you are looking to cover cracks on your antique furniture. Another good thing about paste wax is that if you don’t like how it turned out, you’re able remove it with solvent whenever you wish.

Reminder: Antiques should always be treated according to the type of finish, if they have been refinished. This is important to remember because old finishes can be affected by cleaning treatments.

Pianos
Pianos also need to be properly taken care of and cleaned because they tend to catch a lot of dust. When it comes to pianos you also need to avoid extremes in humidity … dryness or dampness; it may result in damaging your piano. Changes in temperature may affect the wood and tone of your piano. Do not place your piano near a radiator, register, or window to avoid sudden changes in temperature.

When cleaning the wood on your piano always follow the manufacturer’s instructions for cleaning. The lacquer on the wood should only be dusted with a soft untreated cloth or paper towel; sometimes you could also dust with a vacuum cleaner brush. The keyboard can be vacuumed. The wood on your piano doesn’t need to be waxed. If you wish to wax your piano make sure you use as little wax or polish as possible because you don’t want your wood to have smears or streaks. When it comes to keys on your piano there is very little you can do because old ivory keys yellow with age. It is natural for this to happen and you can’t change it; the only thing you can do is clean them with barely moistened cloth with denatured alcohol. DO NOT use too much because it will loosen the keys on your keyboard. When you’re done wipe keys with a dry cloth and remember to follow manufacturer’s instructions to clean your piano.

Alcohol Stains
Usually alcohol stains are caused by medicine stains and spilled drinks, perfumes, and lotions. When you have an alcohol stain you must react immediately. Alcohol dissolves many finishes causing a stain that may never be removed so you need to act quickly to remove it. The first thing you do when you have a spill is wipe the spill quickly and with your palm or a cloth rub the spot vigorously and dip in a small amount of furniture polish. The stain will disappear if you react quickly.

To remove older stains use a paste of rottenstone, cigarette ashes mixed with mineral oil, or baking soda, lemon oil, or linseed oil. Rub on very lightly in the direction of the grain. Then when you’re done, wipe with plain linseed oil and rub briskly with the grain of the wood. For this process use a soft cloth and make sure you wipe frequently and compare the repaired area with the original finish. By doing this you can see if you were successful in removing the stain.

Furniture is expensive and it’s what makes your home look beautiful so it is important to know how to take care and clean your furniture.

Fiberglass Sinks
Fiberglass sinks are very delicate so they need to be well taken care of and you need clean them with the proper cleaning products. Always use non-abrasive cleaners such as:

• Liquid laundry detergents, hand washing soap, or dishwashing soap
• Water to a paste and baking soda moistened. Apply to wet surface and gently rub with the paste on a sponge or soft nylon brush.
• All-purpose cleaners for household or bathroom cleaners.
• Baking soda in warm water or trisodium phosphate in warm water. Use mild to moderate alkali solutions.

All these cleaners above should be applied with a non-abrasive applicator or a sponge. The non -abrasive applicator can be a sponge, polyester, or polyethylene. Rub it on gently and always rinse to remove the cleaner completely. If you don’t rinse with plain water you will end up with hard water soap stains and it is what you don’t want to have on your faucet.

Don’t even think about using an abrasive cleaner when cleaning fiberglass sinks! When I mention not using abrasive cleaners I mean common scouring powders, scouring pads, paper, steel wool, or scrapers. Using abrasive cleaners may damage your fiberglass faucet.

Porcelain Enamel Sinks
Porcelain enamel needs to be extremely well taken care of when cleaning because it is a glass surface fused to a metal base. This glass surface is very hard but can be chipped with hard hits. It can be damaged by acids and abrasive cleaners or applicators. This type of glass surface is acid resistant but not acid proof which causes the glass coating to gradually dissolve from acid contact. Removing stains on your porcelain enamel faucet with acetic and muriatic acids can be effective but they will dissolve part of the surface coating. Once it dissolves the glass coating it will get to the metal base where it will attack and cause serious damage.

In order to clean porcelain enamel without worrying about damaging it you have to wash it with hot or warm water. Use detergents such as baking soda or non-participating water softener. Then create a solution with one of the detergents and warm water to remove stains on your faucet. Always remember to rinse with plain water.

If you prefer to use scouring powder you may use it, but make sure that it’s one of the very finest. Many scouring powders contain tough particles like feldspar or quartz that can cause scratches instantly. Once a glass surface like porcelain enamel has been roughened; it catches all types of dirt very easily such as grease, soap residue and deposits from hard water. You may also use household commercial or bathroom cleaners.

DO NOT use any type of bleach to full strength to remove stains on your porcelain faucets or let them remain on the glass surface for a long time. If you have stains that you know will only be removed with chorine or hydrogen peroxide bleaches, use as little as possible and remove it right away.

There are so many different types of faucets and different methods and cleaners to use, it seems almost impossible to not damage your faucets with the wrong cleaners. Yet all it takes is to do a little research. There is nothing better than walking into a kitchen or bathroom and seeing faucets and sinks shine. They are what make your kitchen and bathroom stand out and look spotless. These tips will help you and make your life easier by not having to kill yourself using cleaners and applicators that will not work. By using the cleaners and applicators mentioned, you will see great results.

Generally Removing Stains:
Before washing clothing always read the label! If the garment is washable try cleaning it with water, petroleum-based pre-wash spray, or a spot remover. If the garment says dry clean only then dry clean it.

Gum Stains:
Gum is always a stain that is very difficult to take out and the trick is to use two egg whites. With a toothbrush you brush the egg whites on to the gum and let you let it sit for about 15 to 20 minutes. After 15 to 20 minutes have past you proceed to clean the garment as usual.

Removing Blood Stains:
Blood might seem hard to remove but all you have to do is pour hydrogen peroxide on to the blood stain and rinse it with cold water. If the blood stain is still there repeat the process.

Glitter, Glitter Go Away!
You always have that one shirt that has glitter and sheds glitter everywhere it even gets on your face. A great trick to stop glitter clothing from shedding is to spray aerosol hair spray on to it so that it can stay put. If you are in hurry and you must wash it with other clothing wash it inside out, but if you have the time its best that you wash it separately. This way the glitter won’t on to other garments.

Mysterious Lipstick Stains:
This tip can be very helpful for men, for all you men out there the best way to remove lipstick stains is to use petroleum jelly. You apply it on the stain and clean garment as usual in the washing machine.

Greasy Stains:
To remove greasy stains sprinkle baby powder or cornstarch on the grease stain and let it sit for a few minutes. After you have let it sit for a couple of minutes brush it off and the stain will come out as you brush it off.

Spaghetti and Meatballs Stains:
To remove this stains wet the clothing fabric and sprinkle it with powered dish detergent. Then scrub it using a toothbrush. After rinse the item and clean garment as usual.

Pen Ink Stains:
The best and easier way of removing ink stains is to rub alcohol on the ink stain before washing the garment. When you throw the garment into the washing machine the stain will have already disappeared!

Gasoline Stains:
What is the best way to remove an oil stain? If you didn’t know the best way to remove any oil stain is to use another kind of oil. Baby oil is a good product to remove gasoline oil. When you throw the garment with gasoline stain into the machine add baby oil and detergent. Make sure you DO NOT dry this garment in a dryer because it might create a fire.

Mineral and Rust Stains:
To remove these stains all you have to do is add 1 cup of bottled lemon juice in the washing machine to remove discoloration from cotton laundry.

Permanent Marker and White out Stains:
To remove these stains you need paper towels and sunscreen. Rub sunscreen on the white out or permanent maker stain and then wipe off with a paper towel. Repeat this process over and over until the stain is gone.

Removing Bad odors on Clothing:
There are times where we have garments that don’t smell pleasant and the smell seems to not go away. The best way to remove these bad odors is to presoak garments in cold water with detergent. Leave the garment presoaking overnight and then launder as usual. It will also help if when you throw the garment into the dryer to you also throw in a fabric softener. This way your garments will smell even better. So you see stains might seem hard to remove but if you now a few tricks they can be removed in no time. These tips can be helpful to new housewives, or those who are just starting to learn how to do laundry. Laundry might seem easy but a few tips are always helpful if you want your clothes to be perfectly clean and smelling great.

The best way to begin to clean your bedroom and still have time to clean your home is to create a schedule. By doing this you will have a routine and it will be easier for you to maintain your bedroom and home clean.

Hang it or fold it!
I understand that sometimes you may arrive to your bedroom tired from having a long day at work and that the last thing you want to do is hang your clothes or fold it away. However, you should try to do your best in putting away your clothes the same day you it take off so that your clothes aren’t on your floor and doesn’t accumulate to the point where you can’t even see your bedroom floor! When you get up in the morning and get dressed to go to work place the hanger on your door knob so that it is easier for you to hang your clothes when you arrive to your home.

Bring it with you.
When you take your mail, magazines, drinking glasses etc. to your bedroom make sure that before you go to sleep you place them next to your door. By doing this you’ll be reminded in the morning as you walk out of your bedroom to take these items with you and put them away where they belong.

Trash in bag!
It is always a great idea to have a small nice looking waste basket in your bedroom. What often happens too many of us is that we’re to lazy to bring the waste from our rooms outside so we leave in our bedrooms. If we place a small waste basket in our bedrooms all you have to do is remove the bag twice a week. Also make sure you keep spare bags at the bottom of your waste basket this will make your life much easier and simpler for your bedroom cleaning routine.

Dust Bunnies NOT ALLOWED!
Having dust bunnies underneath your bed or in hidden corners is unacceptable. The best way to get rid of them is by deep cleaning your bedroom every two to three months. You must deep clean your room every now and then because dust attracts dust mites and you must not let dust mites enter your home. The best way to begin deep cleaning your bedroom is to remove everything from your closet floor. Vacuum all corners to get the dust out and with a barely damp cloth dust baseboards. Make sure that there isn’t any dust lying around in your closet. When you are finished vacuuming the floor replace everything that was on your closet floor. Then move furniture and dust the back of you bed frame. Vacuum underneath your bed and any other corners. Don’t forget to vacuum both sides of your mattress because its dust mites favorite place to hide. Empty pillow cases and change bed sheets so that your mattress will be clean and fresh.

Cleaning Wood Furniture.
To clean your wood furniture it is best that you use “Wood for good Wipes” from method products that specialize in green cleaning. They leave your wood furniture looking brand new and helps protect it from cracks.

Put away your jewels.
Often in bedrooms you see jewelry lying on dressers and even night stands. In order for your room to look organized and for you to not to loose your jewelry you should have a container or box to put away your jewelry. Also put small jewelry items away first and then the larger ones this will make it easier to put them away.

Your Bedroom is an important place where you get your beauty sleep and relax that is why we should take good care of this room and always make sure that it is organized and clean. Once you have your bedroom looking spotless everything else will fall into place and you will find it much easier to clean the rest of the rooms in your home. All it takes is a little bit of energy and wanting to make your bedroom and home look marvelous. Go now and begin to make these tips useful by giving your bedroom an incredible make over!

To start off, you should always do research on the cleaning products that you plan on buying. However, today must be your lucky day because all the research was done for you and all you have to do is read along. The information found is not only from hours of research but from people that have already used the product and caused damage to their floors with the product.

Micro Fiber is a fabric that has been demonstrated to you on T.V. commercials as the greatest product ever invented to clean hard floors. Don’t get me wrong, this fabric is great to clean glass or mirrors but not hard floors. Micro Fiber is made out of 85% polyester … in other words plastic, because that is what polyester really is which means that if you were to use it on your hard floor it would damage it by leaving scratches behind. On the packaging of Micro Fiber it clearly states “warning DO NOT use this product on any kind of sealed or painted surface”. Once you read this warning you should automatically know not to use it on your floor because hard floors have a clear coat of paint and sealant. This is why it is very important to read product’s warnings. Micro fiber is not a product that should be used on hard floors.

If this product damages a hard wood floor you have to sand it and refinish it which would be expensive. If you had a laminated floor you would be obligated to replace your floor. A marble floor, if scratched would be a big problem because you cannot restore it. And a linoleum floor would have to be stripped and waxed.

Another product that isn’t good to clean hard floor surfaces is pre-moistened towel mops. These towel mops are not good to clean floors because they are so thin that they are unable to do a good job cleaning the floor. Also as you mop with this product you’re leaving sticky residue behind and it will cause the sealant on your floor to start deteriorating overtime.

There are many detergents out there to clean hard floors but the truth of the matter is that any kind of detergent can damage your floor. Detergent softens the sealant on wood, linoleum, and laminated wood flooring. That is why when you use detergents to mop your floor after it dries it feels sticky under your foot. That is evidence of your floor being damaged and as time goes by your floor will lose its shine. The only solution after the damage is done is to refinish your wood floor.

If you use any kind of detergent on a tile floor it is the worst thing you can do to your floor. When you use detergent on a tile floor your floor will begin to look dirty after being cleaned because, it works into the porous crevices of tile floors making it impossible to remove.

The one product that can be used on all hard floors without fear of damaging it is cotton dust mops. The cotton dust mop is the safest and most effective way to clean your hard floors because its long strings help prevent any scratches. This product helps polish your hard floors and leaves your floor so shiny you can see yourself in it. Learn for yourself about proper hard floor care. It is the best way to maintain your floor looking as good as new. Not only will your maintain your hard floor but you will also save money by not having to pay for repairing damage done to your floor.

Disassemble Decorations
We all enjoy putting up Christmas decorations for the holidays but hate taking them down and this is what should be done first when starting your post holiday cleaning. The first step for post holiday cleaning is to disassemble holiday decorations and store them carefully for another twelve months. After this is done you will feel a relief and motivated into cleaning your home.

• If you have any lights outside you should start by removing them carefully without tangling the strings. To make your life easier and if you are planning on using the same lights next year, wrap each individual strand around a piece of cardboard and I reassure you it will be much easier to unravel.
• For those who prefer to avoid wrapping each ornament with newspaper you can make your life simpler by storing them in a box filled with shredded newspaper. Another option would be to buy a storage container for ornaments of post holiday sales. It all depends on what way you prefer to store your ornaments.
• What do we do with leftover wrapping paper? If you have leftover wrapping paper it doesn’t have to be thrown away! Find a plastic tubs around your house and place your leftover wrapping paper in it. Store your tubs in a place where they won’t be seen or bother you the basement would a good storage place. It may come in handy for next year and help you save a few dollars by not having to buy wrapping paper.
• Leftover gift boxes and bags can also come in handy for next year instead of throwing them away break them down and place them underneath your mattress. By doing this you will have replacement boxes on hand incase the stores run out before you’re finished with your Christmas shopping.
• You probably have holiday accent pieces around the house; if you do you should go from room to room removing them. A few of these pieces would be holiday pot holders and decorative bath towels. Store these items together in a box or container and label it so that you won’t have a problem finding them next year.

Cleaning up after Guests
Many have family members or friends visit for the holidays and you must cleanup the guest room after they leave so that it’s ready for the next visitor.

• Begin by changing the bed sheets and refreshing the mattress with Febreze.
• Have clean blankets and towels ready.
• Vacuum and dust the room. Also give the windows a shine with a multi-surface spray that is streak-free such as Windex.

Change it up
Keep in mind that it’s a new year which means that it’s the perfect time to change the furniture in your house. What a better way to start off the year than with new rearrangements.

• Play around with your furniture a little.
• The easiest room where you could rearrange furniture is your living room. Place the rugs in different areas.
• Move the sofa or couch around until to you find the right spot.
• Have fun with it, pretend that you’re an interior designer.
• While you’re moving furniture around it is the best way to clean places you haven’t cleaned in a long time.
• Grab the vacuum and clean where the sofa was before and you will probably find post holiday debris that was hidden as a result of being covered by the furniture.
• After vacuuming all the hidden places perform a normal cleaning routine.

You cooked now clean
Time to clean where all the cooking took place, during the holidays the kitchen is the most important and busiest room in a house. Therefore, it is also the room left with a bigger mess that is why we must give this room a deep cleaning.

• Start with the refrigerator by throwing away all the leftover food.
• Wash any dishes left in the sink and store as usual.
• Clean the top and inside of your stove. If you don’t clean it as soon as possible it will be harder to take the grease off.
• Wash any table cloths or cloth napkins.
• Sweep your kitchen floor very well so that it will be easier to mop after you’re done. Use Lysol to mop your kitchen floor that way your floor will look and smell clean.

Cleaning up after the holidays isn’t easy but in order to get back on track and start off fresh this New Year we must. I guarantee you that if you follow these tips your house will be clean in no time and ready to welcome the year 2009!

• Begin… Now!
  No time better than the present. Stop wasting time! You already have a long list of things to do, why waste more time. Get up and motivate yourself into cleaning your home. It is better that you clean before Christmas and not at the last minute. You’ll have a lot less stress and do much better job. Get it over with as soon as possible this way decorating will be much easier. You may even get Inspired to rearrange furniture or polish silverware.
• Create a Checklist
  Make a list of all the things that have to be cleaned in your home, this is the best way to start. By creating a checklist you will be organized and know what has already been cleaned and what has not. It will definitely make the process much easier for you. This will help you distribute your time better. Also it will give you motivation once you check off something on your list it will give you a sense of accomplishment.
• It only takes 30min.
  Who said that you have to clean everything in your home in one day? Cleaning shouldn’t be done in a rush. You could clean something different for 30min each day. One day could clean only the bathrooms, the next day the bedrooms, then the living etc. Cleaning could be done a little at a time everyday. As long as you clean a little here and there you’re gaining on it, and when you least expect it your list will be all checked off.
• Ask for help
  This tip is for all the mothers and wives who live with their children and husbands. You have the right to ask them to help you clean the house. The children and your husband are probably on vacation for the holidays and they could be of great help. A great way that they could all contribute is by dividing chores and giving each of them something to do. Before you know it cleaning could be done in one whole day with their help.
• Make your life easier
  There’s no need to clean or organize things that you don’t want. Throw away clothes you don’t wear anymore. Give as a gift to someone items around the house that you’re not pleased with or have no use for anymore. You’re just making your life harder by cleaning or organizing stuff that you don’t want anymore. If you throw or give away what you don’t need you’ll have less to clean and cleaning will be easier!
• Enjoy it!
  Why do you keep thinking that cleaning is hard and boring? Like they say life is what you make it. So make cleaning fun for yourself. Let cleaning be something that you could enjoy while doing, after all it is the holidays. Play some music while you’re cleaning and maybe even dance a little before you’ll know you will be having a blast while cleaning. Also while you’re cleaning promise yourself a little treat to look forward to like for example a long hot bath or a night out having fun.
• Holiday Aromas
  After your home is spotless you could top it all off with scented candles. These candles will make your home smell like new and everyone who walks in will know you worked hard cleaning your home. I recommend you get cranberry scented candles those are the ones that really do the trick and bring the smell of the holidays.
• You did it!
  Congratulations! If you already cleaned your house and used these tips you have finished and are ready to celebrate the holidays with your family and friends. Your home is sparkling cleaned and smelling great to welcome your loved ones.