We’ve all had to tackle them at some time. The posh variants are cut-glass whiskey decanters. The less posh ones are kids drink bottles that have been left all sticky and full of bits after holding home-made fruit juice (what do you mean you’ve never tried making home-made orange juice with a simple orange squeezer?). Or you’re washing out a flower vase that has been left a bit too long and has collected green slime. But there you are: you’re trying to clean out some elusive scraps of goodness-knows-what, but the bottle or whatever has too narrow a neck to get your hand inside properly. What would a professional house cleaner do here. Or, if you are a professional cleaner tackling this job for the first time, what do you do?
What you will use as your first port of call is an ordinary bottle brush – the sort with a thin wire handle and bristles set in a spiral shape. With the help of whatever you ordinarily use for washing dishes by hand (Ecover makes a nice environmentally-friendly dishwashing liquid), put some water and the detergent of your choice. Then scrub around the inside of the vase, decanter or bottle with the bottle brush, which will pass easily through the narrow neck and then expand to gently reach the sides of the bottle, etc.
Bother – your cleaning efforts are thwarted by the bottle, decanter, etc, being too wide for the bottle brush to reach. Now what?
One easy method that has reasonable success for this sort of tricky cleaning job is to stuff a tea towel down the neck of the bottle. Make sure you keep a corner poking out of the neck or getting it back will be next to impossible. Then twist the cloth around and around the inside of the bottle, etc as best you can. It will be tough going. You can insert a long, hard object inside the cloth to help turn it in a sort of improvised big bottle brush.
But sometimes, the cloth won’t turn or isn’t abrasive enough. The old-fashioned butler’s method, usually used for cleaning glass decanters, was to pour a little lead shot into the decanter, add a little brandy or whiskey, then swirl the contents around until the grime on the inside walls had vanished. Don’t do this, especially if you plan on drinking out of the container or using to hold any sort of liquid that you plan to ingest, as lead is poisonous, and some will be left on the inside of the container, even after you’ve rinsed it. You can use this method for vases – the flowers are dead already. Use sand instead – it’s lightly abrasive and will wash out easily.
If you don’t have any sand on hand, you can try filling the bottle with dilute vinegar and leaving it to sit overnight. This will attack a lot of the gunk. Then fill the bottle with warm water and your choice of detergent and give the bottle a ruddy good shaking, holding onto it very securely. The motion of the water should flush off any remaining grime. And the real beauty of water for cleaning is that it can go into even the tiniest crevice.
If you are reading this article, it is highly likely that you own a computer (otherwise, you are reading this at an internet cafe, a library or something similar). We’ve all got them, but how do you keep them clean? After all, everything that you own or use will need cleaning at some stage or other.
A computer comes in different parts. If you’re using a standard desktop, you will have a CPU, a monitor and a keyboard (I’m not counting all the peripherals like printers and mice, although you probably have these as well.
Dusting is the first port of call for cleaning all parts of a computer. Dust getting into the system can cause computer malfunctions and crashes and even, in rare cases, fires. Keep your whole workspace dusted regularly. A damp rag works well, as does an old-fashioned feather duster. They say that ostrich feathers make better feather dusters for computers, as these are lower in static than chicken (or turkey) feather dusters or the nylon “feather” dusters. Don’t try to dust or vacuum inside your CPU – a regular vacuum cleaner’s nozzle is too wide and can damage circuitry. Some hardware technicians have a special small vacuum for doing this job – leave it to them! Dust the keyboard, the monitor and the CPU. And your desk! In this respect, make sure that the carpets in your office are vacuumed frequently, as this will reduce the overall amount of dust in your office environment.
The screen of the monitor will need cleaning from time to time. It’s amazing how much grime gets onto these screens – fly dirt, general dust and even finger marks (and, in the case of the old joke about how you can tell if a (insert nationality/hair colour to be picked on here) has been using your computer, correction fluid on the screen). Most monitors can be cleaned like you would clean any other glass surface, although using a spray-on product isn’t wise, as the spray can get onto and into the keyboard and other bits of hardware very easily. Apply the house cleaning fluid (or dilute vinegar) to a soft cloth or paper towel, then dry with a lint free cloth or crushed newspaper. My preference, however, is to use a microfibre cloth that has been designed for lenses, CDs and screens.
Keyboards seldom need much more than just the regular dusting to keep them working. However, it pays to know what to do if you spill coffee (or another drink) on your keyboard. Because no matter what good intentions we started out with, we all end up having coffee while working (or playing) on the computer. If you have a spill, act immediately. Unplug the keyboard and run it under the cold tap to rinse off any sticky residue. Never use hot or even warm water. After you have done this, let as much water as possible drain out of the keyboard. Then put the keyboard somewhere warm (e.g. in the sun or in a hot water cupboard) to dry, but avoid getting it too hot, such as in front of a radiator or fire. Wait until it has dried before using it again.
Computer mice are prone to not working correctly if they get dirty. Dust inside the mechanism can play havoc with a mouse’s function. The easiest way of dealing with this is “mouth to mouse resuscitation”, as I have heard this process described. Simply blow on the ball part of the mouse. This usually manages to get rid of any gunk. If you have an infra-red mouse mechanism, check from time to time that the lens is clean and dust-free. Blowing off the dust can work quite well, but if you can see stickier residue, use a cotton bud dampened with meths or white spirit (or vodka or even vinegar), or else a microfibre cloth to clean the lens.
* Having problems picking up leaves, twigs and other garden rubbish while cleaning the garden? Two semicircles or squares of flat metal held in the hands are ideal for picking up this sort of thing, and do an excellent job. Cut them out with tin snips from something that is due to go down to the recycling centre, or even take them off the side of something old and broken that’s about to go to the tip (e.g. a broken heater).
* Heavy furniture can often leave deep indentations on carpets. So can lighter pieces standing on castors or other narrow things that are in contact with the floor. To get these indentations out, get a steam iron and set it on high. Do NOT iron the carpet directly, but use the “steam shot” function (most steam irons have these) and shoot the indentation with the steam. It should spring up again with all this steam. Alternatively, get your carpets professionally cleaned with a steam cleaning machine – this is one reason why your carpets feel so nice after a heavy-duty steam clean: the fibres have all plumped out and sprung up again.
* If your bath is really filthy (e.g. because you’ve just moved into a place where the previous occupant left hurriedly and didn’t do a proper tidying job before moving out), you can take a lot of the hard work out by filling the bath with warm (not hot) water and dissolving biological washing powder in the water. Let it stand overnight, then drain in the morning (use rubber gloves to remove the plug). Rinse out any residue. Most of the grub should have gone. If it hasn’t, help it on its way with a little baking soda.
* Silver can be cleaned with a paste of flour, baking soda and vinegar. Apply this paste to the silver and leave it to stand overnight. Rinse off with boiling water. Great for the inside of silver teapots.
* If you have problems with pantyhose wrapping themselves around the washing line in a high wind, drop a marble down each leg – the weight in the toe will stop them flying all around the place.
* A paste of salt and water can be used to clean the inside of porcelain cups that have had one cup of tea too many, leaving a stain on the inside.
* White chalk removes grease stains from wallpaper – just “scribble” over the mark and the chalk will absorb the oils. Good for kitchens where grease is likely to spatter everywhere.
* Cold black tea – the ordinary sort – can be mixed with glycerine in the proportion of 1 T glycerine to 1 pint of tea to make a natural window cleaner.
* If you’re camping or picnicking and find that you’ve forgotten the dishwashing detergent, a frying pan can be cleaned using a very basic form of soap. Don’t tip out any grease, but add a handful of ashes to the pan. This will make a rudimentary soap that will clean out easily. If you’re on or near the beach, then gently scouring everything with sand followed by rinsing in water will do the trick.
With prices of everything on the rise and income levels failing to keep up with the increase, people start to think of cost cutting measures to reduce the strain on their domestic budgets. One item that is frequently considered is the cost of home cleaning services. After all, the common argument goes, thereХs nothing high tech about it and one can easily spare a few hours a week to keep the house looking good. Why spend all that money that could be used for more essential expenditure? This argument is fallacious. While cleaning the house is not a high tech operation, it does require some specialized knowledge and skills. Keeping the house clean is essential. And surely there are more important things, perhaps even revenue generating things, you could be doing it the time you propose to devote to house work.
Think about all these things when evaluating the need for home cleaning services. Cleaning the house often requires special tools – mops, sponges, brushes etc. and special materials, cleaning chemicals that you may not have. Buying them for occasional use may not make economic sense. Also, using the cleaning chemicals properly requires some expertise to ensure that these chemicals do not do any damage to your furnishings. Are you sure you want to get into this and that you are competent to use the cleaning chemicals?
The world is moving fast enough as it is. You need a home to relax in. If each time you enter it you are plagued by thoughts of the cleaning that is either pending or is due to be done, how much relaxation will there be for you in your home? And of course, doing the actual cleaning yourself rather than getting the home cleaning services do it for you can be physically exhausting.
Then there is the question of time. You may save money by not using home cleaning services but what is the value of the time you will be spending on house cleaning ? Does it really make sense to use your time on house cleaning? Could it not be put to better use?
And even if you feel that you have the time, what happens to your rest and relaxation? Remember, it is the rest and relaxation that keeps you in peak condition for your work periods and letting the relaxation time suffer can affect the quality of the work you do.
So maybe using home cleaning services is not just a luxury. Perhaps, if you need to cut expenses, there are other areas you can economize on that will not have such far reaching consequences on your life as cutting back on home cleaning services will have.
London is full of companies that claim to be able to keep your home spotless. Most of them will be able to do some kind of house cleaning but few are truly equipped and are competent enough to be able to do a really great job that justifies the expenditure you incur on this work. Choosing the right domestic cleaning company is crucial to being sure not only that your home is properly cleaned; but that all your precious belongings are safe and secure.
There are a few things you should keep in mind when selecting a domestic cleaning company:
* How long have they been is business. The longer they have been in business the safer your house will be in their hands.
* Ask them for recommendations. If they do not have any, ask for the contact details of some people whom they have previously worked for so that you may check on their bona fides and the quality of their workmanship.
* Ask about their staff verification procedure. Remember that you will be leaving your valuables within their reach. The better the verification the safer you will be.
* Enquire about the training the domestic cleaning company gives to their staff and how they are certified as being fit for work.
* Ask if one team will be designated to work in your house. Having the same people come in regularly is an advantage since they will get to know the house well and also know where the trouble spots are.
* Will the domestic cleaning company be able to work on days and at times that suit your convenience?
* Will they be able to provide extra service if needed? For example, you may need a special house cleaning before a party or a clean up after the party is over.
* What type of equipment and chemicals does the domestic cleaning company use? Are the cleaning materials safe and nontoxic?
* Will the domestic cleaning company offer full insurance cover for all the contents of your home?
* Do they have adequate manpower to cater for sickness and leave among their staff without making the customer suffer?
* Sometimes a domestic cleaning company will quote for the job on an hourly rate and sometimes on a fixed job cost. If you opt for a company offering a per hour cost, compare the total cost with offers you have received on a fixed job basis and make sure that there are no large discrepancies in costs between the two options. If the per hour costs is significantly higher, ask for a justification.
You can ask house cleaning services to clean most things in your house, but there are some personal items you need to clean yourself. One of the most pesky of these is your hair brush. Removing all the hair caught up in it and then cleaning it seems to be both time consuming and difficult. Actually, it is quite easy. And whatÕs the point of shampooing your hair and then using a dirty brush on it?
Start by plucking out all the hair from the brush. How you do it depends on the type of bristles and the shape of the brush. Use your fingers, rub it with another brush, run a comb through the brush or even use a toothpick to pull up the hair. Any way is fine as long as it works.
Once you have the hair out of the brush, its time clean all the dirt and oil from it. What follows can be used for all brushes that do not have wood or rubber handles. Fill a basin large enough to immerse the brush in with warm to hot water do not use boiling water as that could melt the brush or damage the bristles. Add a teaspoon of any non medicated shampoo to the water and mix until you have a smooth and uniform solution.
Place the brush in this solution and allow it to soak for about 30 minutes. After this time use another hair brush or old toothbrush to scrub the brush clean. The soaking in the warm shampoo and water mixture will have loosened the oil and dirt in the brush. Scrub until you are sure the bush is clean, but do not use excessive pressure that may damage the bristles. If you have doubts about how clean the brush is, you can repeat the process.
Once you are sure that your brush is completely clean, rinse it thoroughly with cold water to remove any shampoo residue that may remain trapped in the bristles. Shake off the excess water and either hang it or lay it on a clean surface to air dry. Don’t try drying it with a towel threads from the towels may get caught up in the bristles.
If your brush is made out of wood or rubber, do not soak it as this could ruin it. Use a tooth brush dipped in soapy water to scrub the bristles and surrounding area while trying to keep the handle as dry as possible. Rinse out the brush and dry the wooden areas immediately.
You’ve seen how surgeons scrub their hands before an operation and then wear sterile gloves and gowns. Operations are conducted in sterile operation theatres. And yet, infection is still a major worry during all surgical procedures.
Now think about the various remote controls in your home, how many people touch them? This is not to imply that the people in your home are dirty, but be honest does anyone ever wash their hands before touching a remote control? And what about the places they are kept lying around? Not the cleanest of places, are they? Let’s not forget about pets who love to lie on the remotes! You may have a home cleaning agency that keeps your house spic and span, but cleaning things like remote control units are not within their purview and this is something you need to do yourself.
There are two reasons for keeping the remote clean your family’s health which could be affected by germs and dirt on the remotes and to keep the remote control unit itself from getting clogged with dirt and getting damaged. Remember that most remotes are designed not to show dirt. But that does not mean that they do not get dirty over time.
Doing a quick surface cleaning of a remote control is easy and does not take any time or special equipment.
First of all read the operating and maintenance instructions of the equipment and see if anything is said about cleaning the remote. If so, follow those instruction and only use what is below if it does not contradict what the manufacturer has to say.
Then proceed to remove the batteries from the unit.
Use a cotton swab dipped in clean rubbing alcohol to clean the areas around the buttons on the unit. If there is dirt caked or stuck in the small gap around a button, use a toothpick to extract the dirt. Be careful not to let the tip of the toothpick break off and fall in the remote. That will mean a visit to the repair shop to get the remote opened up. Repeat the cleaning with the alcohol dipped cotton swab until the areas around the buttons is completely clean.
Spray a soft lint free cloth with the rubbing alcohol or any house cleaner that is safe for use on plastic, and wipe the buttons and the rest of the remote’s surface. Use the same method to clean the dust from the battery compartment. If there are some crevices or areas behind the springs you can’t reach, use the swab and cleaner here too.
That’s it. Depending on how your remotes are used, cleaning them about once a month is a good idea. Why not time it with the visits of your domestic cleaning agency so you can keep track of when it should be done?
Biodegradable cleaners are natural house cleaning products that are environment friendly or they are cleaning agents that are manufactured in a completely environment friendly process. The biodegradable cleaners do not have any harmful effects like those of the toxic chemicals and volatile compounds. They do not emit any sort of strong volatile fumes that may cause skin or respiratory problems.
Another big plus point of biodegradable cleaners is that they do not leave behind any toxic residues or wastes.
Biodegradable cleaners form the main component of the green cleaning process that is eco friendly. It is the latest trend and craze all over the world. Recent technological advancements have developed new biodegradable cleaning products that are devoid of harsh chemicals and as effective as traditional cleaning products.
Need for Biodegradable Cleaners: People all over the world have become extremely environmentally conscious and want to put in their every effort to protect and conserve nature. Biodegradable cleaners keep up with this growing trend of environmental awareness. The EPA or the Environmental Protection Agency of US has set standards to limit environmental and human exposure to harmful and toxic chemicals. This step has been taken to check the rise of many diseases in human beings caused by chemical pollution. Such chemical pollution related diseases include skin allergies, breathing problems, immunity reduction and cancer etc.
Advantages of Biodegradable Cleaners: Biodegradable cleaners are safer to use, non-toxic and healthy alternatives to your regular domestic cleaning chemicals. They are safe for humans as well as the environment. The biodegradable cleaners afford greater health benefits by reducing pollution. They are water soluble and easily biodegradable.
Types of Biodegradable Cleaners: Biodegradable cleaners can be classified as per their composition, materials, manufacturing process and purpose. The cleaning products that use more of natural substances or products in their manufacture can be called as natural cleaners. The various natural cleaning agents are lemon juice, borax, vinegar, salt, baking soda, washing soda, mineral oil, pine oil, vegetable based soaps and plants with high levels of saponin.
The biodegradable cleaners can be in liquid or powder forms. Generally, the biodegradable products would come in higher concentrated forms so that the packaging is reduced to a great extent. The product formulations are certified by different organizations like Green Seal, EcoLogo Program and US EPA’s program- Designed for the Environment.
The other biodegradable products are paper towels, bath tissues, hand soaps, door mats, microfiber cloths and mops along with proper cleaning equipment. The paper towel and napkins should be manufactured from recycled paper. The manufacturing process should also be completely natural devoid of chlorine and added inks, dyes, pigments or fragrances. The manufacturing processes also have to follow the established guidelines of organizations like Green Seal. The hand soaps should be manufactured from environment friendly products and packed in similar packaging.
The door mats at the entrance should be made of natural materials and they should be designed in such a manner that they keep the mud, dust and moisture out of the building. The microfiber material is advisable for cleaning cloths and mops as they use less of cleaning agents and it gives greater performance.
Not all scrubbing brushes are created equal. Use the wrong one for a particular cleaning job and you risk either ruining what you’re scrubbing or else not shifting the dirt properly. One of the stereotyped images of domestic cleaning involves a charlady on her knees scrubbing the floor, and there’s some truth in that. After all, an experienced professional house cleaner like a charlady can’t be wrong!
Hard brushes (large): These have bristles made of thick plastic and are usually quite sizeable (about the size of a smallish brick). If you try dragging it across your bare skin, you will give yourself a set of little scratches. This one is best used for cleaning hard floor surfaces such as tiles, vinyl, marble, flagstones and lino.
Hard brushes (small): These are your typical dishwashing brush. Use them for…. washing dishes.
Medium brushes (large): These can be made of plastic or natural bristle, and feel like a typical nail brush. These are a good all-round cleaning tool, and can be used for spot-cleaning stains on carpets, handwashing or removing stains from clothes that are made from non-delicate fabrics (i.e. you can use a brush like this on denim or cotton jersey, but don’t use them on frilly knickers). Can also be used for scrubbing floors. No home should be without one. They are less likely to scratch plastic surfaces or wood, so you can use them for scrubbing things like dog kennels. But probably be careful with painted surfaces.
Medium brushes (small): These are nail brushes. They are good for cleaning dirt from underneath nails (obviously) and also for removing small stains on clothing – they’re perfect for the typical bloodstain (but make sure you use cold or lukewarm water).
Long handled medium brushes: This is your typical loo brush. Some people hate them and consider them unhygienic. Others swear by them. To stop a loo brush getting unhygienic, store it in a container filled with dilute disinfectant – and don’t forget to change the disinfectant periodically.
Medium-soft brushes: Not as common as they used to be, but perfect for cleaning and polishing leather boots and shoes. You can also use them as lint brushes to remove fluff from clothing after a tissue has gone through the wash.
Soft bristled brushes (large): These tickle when you rub them over your skin. These are often used for washing cars, and can be used for really filthy exterior windows, with the help of a little warm soapy water.
Soft bristled brushes (small): These are commonly known as toothbrushes. Do not throw out your old toothbrushes, as they are ideal for all sorts of cleaning jobs. They are soft and they get into small, tricky places, so they are great for cleaning jewellery. Tricky places an old toothbrush can get into like no other cleaning tool include the hinges of the toilet seat, carved woodwork, bits of knick-knacks, etc.
Wire brushes: Not your usual cleaning tool. Keep these for removing paint and do not put it in your cleaning toolkit or you will scratch everything.
Brooms: Usually soft-bristled, if used indoors for sweeping hard floors and for removing cobwebs. Hard bristled brooms are for outdoor use, e.g. sweeping driveways down.
Because of the complexity of cleaning a large chandelier, it is one of the most often avoided home cleaning jobs. However, because a chandelier is such an eye catching lighting fixture, people will quickly notice dust and dirt that has collected there. A dirty chandelier does not reflect well on the quality of home cleaning being done in your house. It’s probably best to leave chandelier cleaning to a professional domestic cleaning agency, but if you want to do it yourself, here is how you should go about it.
1. Check the manufacturer’s website for any cleaning tips/instructions and follow them. If they conflict with what is said here, follow the manufacturer’s instructions.
2. Make sure the bulbs are off and cool before starting.
3. Place a thick blanket or quilt on the floor to catch anything that may fall during the disassembling process.
4. Set up a step ladder securely and if possible, have someone to help you by taking each piece you remove and placing it safely on the carpet or you may end up climbing up and down the ladder far more than is comfortable!
5. Take pictures of the chandelier from various different angles or make a detailed sketch of it so that putting it back together again is easier.
6. Dust the complete chandelier before beginning with the disassembly
7. Remove all the bulbs
8. Starting from the outside, remove the pieces one by one and place them on the blanket. Removing pieces is usually straight forward with one piece hooking in to the next. If you are uncertain about how to remove the pieces and if the company website has no information about it, stop and get professional help.
9. Once all the pieces are on the carpet, place a few at a time into a plastic (not metal Ð it may cause scratches) sieve or colander and rinse with hot water.
10. Apply mild detergent and rinse it off. Repeat this process until all the pieces are clean.
11. Clean the metal pieces with a reputed metal cleaner specific to the metal type and then polish as required.
12. Keep doing this until the complete chandelier has been cleaned.
13. Allow everything to dry and then polish with a soft cloth
14. Start putting the chandelier back together again, starting from the inside and working your way outwards.
15. Refit the bulbs.
This will take time and effort. There are other quicker ways of cleaning a chandelier, and most of the time those options are fine. But to prevent dirt from getting ingrained, especially in the fasteners that hold the chandelier together, every fifth cleaning should be a complete one as described above.
