House Cleaning

Making Sense of “Bedroom Hygiene”

Making Sense of “Bedroom Hygiene”Cleaning your bedroom (thoroughly) the right way is a chore that is often overlooked and avoided.

Unfortunately, not properly cleaning your bedroom, specifically in the areas of your bed, pillows, and sheets can cause unwanted dirt, negative skin reactions, bacteria, and even illnesses. Below are a few outlined steps to more effectively cleaning your bedroom, as well as details explaining how often each should be done and on what timely basis.

Cleaning Your Bed

Most people look past this chore, or procrastinate and often this behavior leads to unwanted acne, breakouts, and even ticks, fleas, and dust mites. Cleaning your bed, including sheets, pillow cases, and even the mattress itself is essential to preventing unwanted germs and hosts of other illnesses.

An uncleaned mattress also collects dust and allergens, in turn setting off allergies that you may not have even knew you had!

Realistically, you should change and clean your sheets weekly, and be sanitizing and changing (flipping) your mattress every month if possible. You need to remove all items first, before attempting to clean your mattress, but it’s as simple as sprinkling baking soda, using a light cleaner with a sponge, and then airing your mattress out, outside to collect UV rays from the sun to both dry your mattress and kill unwanted germs and other bacteria.

Vacuuming in and around your bed

If possible, it’s recommended that you lightly vacuum your mattress, as well as areas around your bed on a monthly basis. This is important, since often you cannot see dusts, allergens, dirt, and other skin oils with your bare eyes that are both unhealthy for your body and poor for your sleeping conditions.

Before ‘getting down and dirty’ with your bed, linens, and the surrounding areas it’s especially important to make sure you clear all objects on, in, and around your bed so that you do not miss any dust or pollen, and so that dirt does not spread or cling onto other objects during the cleaning process!

Cleaning your Linens the Right Way

If you are not cleaning your sheets, pillow covers, and even your pillows themselves the right ways, you could be missing germs and unwanted dust and dirt.

Each fabric for the corresponding bed linens should have their own directions somewhere on a label directing you as to what type of washer and dryer settings you should use to clean them, such as temperature for example, and what will be the safest method so that you do not destroy your linens in the process.

Image credit: Wong Wai Kit

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How To Make Home Cleaning And Holiday Cleaning Fun

How To Make Home Cleaning And Holiday Cleaning Fun Preparing for the holidays needn’t be a chore. It’s supposed to be a time of joy and fun and prepping the house for holiday revelry should be so.

First of all, don’t take things too seriously. Don’t sit around fretting about whether your guests are going to find that spot on the rug or that stain on the wall. They’re more likely to be more interested in having a time with you and your family, not acting like barracks inspectors for the drill instructor.

It doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t go that extra mile to make the house tidy. I fyou do expect guests of a good number and need to prep up the family room and guest rooms and such, then taking care of these areas should be easy if you’ve not neglected them for a while. Often, we’ll have that guest room or guest bath just sitting there the last time someone visited. You might not have given it a good dusting or vacuuming and you might have left some of the previous guests’ leftover belongings and tracks. Well, the first thing you do is survey the areas and predict what tools you’ll need and how much. Can you get away with a light dusting and vacuuming or will you need to go all out to get the job done.

To be on the safe side, just give the entire area or areas the once over full. Wipe down walls, cabinets, showers, toilets basins, and give the floors a good mopping as well as vacuuming any rugs. Dust will have settled on curtains, blinds and even light bulbs. A simple dusting should fix that. Test the outleets and lights to make sure they’re working and run the water for a while in the sinks and showers to flush out any backed up residue and rust.

Check for hidden treasures the pets may have hidden in small places as well as tos the kids might have left laying around. Once you’ve done all that, it’s time to hit the rest of the house and give it the once over.

Don’t do it too far in advance or the areas will just get messy again. Holidays call for lots of preparations regarding meal preps and decorations and organizing the furniture to accommodate guests. You might have to bring in more chairs or a bigger table ou’ve had sitting in the attic, basement, or the garage. If so, then you’ll have to clean them thoroughl too. Appliances like washing machines, dishwashers, stoves, and refigerators should be spotless. Toss out old food and such and make room for the holiday treats and beverages.
Keep pets in check during this time so they don’t mess up right after you’ve tidied up and the same goes for small children and clumbsy family members. If the weather outside is frightful you might have to prepare for that especially if it’s windy or wet and slushy. That outside debris and dirt will be blown in every time you open a door or window or tracked in by foot. Have a good household spray cleaner, rags and paper towels handy and place them strategically in every busy room. This way you can tackle those spills and such immediately and not let them set where the may cause permanent stains or discoloration.
Finally, get the family involved with the home cleaning and holiday cleaning. Play your favorite music, usually holiday music to brighten the atmosphere. You’ll find that such chores are fun and easier when everyone pitches in and are smiling.

Image credit: Leonid Ikan

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Cleaning The Home The Green DIY Way

Cleaning The Home The Green DIY WayIf you’re a person who is not only environmentally conscientious, but also one who likes to Do It Yourself or DIY, there are ways to keep your home clean using your own products made from regular things around the house.

First of all you’ll be tackling the two tough rooms. The kitchen and the bathroom. If you have kids and there’s a room designated for play, that can be a major challenge too. Pets add additional wear and tear so you’ll need a cleaner that can really get in there and pull up that grime and disinfect.

Believe it or not, good old fashioned vinegar and water can get you a long way. Add some eco friendly soap and you’ll be in business. Even baking soda comes in handy and in the right combinations will do the job as good as if ot better than the higher priced store bought items.

Vinegar, water, and eco friendly liquid soap is great for the kitchen. With a spray bottle, bucket and mop, you’ll do dirt so much damage that your head will spin. You can clean tile, wood, metal, plastic, and other kitchen surfaces and cause no harm. A clean cloth or microfiber cloth and you’ll be good to go.

For the tough jobs there’s the addition of baking soda. A bathroom can get a great cleaning adding baking soda to water, soap, and borax.

Baking soda and liquid soap should be mixed to a nice paste then add some water but not too much and you’re good.

For sprays you can use either water and vinegar which works great on glass and polished metal.

Home cleaning can mean green cleaning if you just stick to the basics and approach your regular cleaning the same way.

There are also tutorials on how to make more products for the home using products readily available in your cabinets or at the store. You can look for comingations that might work on other products eve outside like swimming pools, kids swing sets, bar-b-ques, even washing the walls of the house. All eco friendly with means you’ll be home cleaning and green cleaning in one stroke.

Tools can also be cleaned with these products and you might be surprised at how well it does. The home garage is a place that is a spotlight for home cleaning. A DIY solution can get that dust and grime out in no time.

It’s not a big thing to use these kinds of products and just a bit of study will get you started.
Now, in addition to the basics mentioned above, you can add essential oils to your mixtures and really see them pack a wallop. Tea tree oil is one of nature’s finest products. A little bit of tea tree oil with some warm water and liquid soap is a disinfectant that you just can’t beat. Smells good too.

Another great essential oil is peppermint. Not only does it smell good but it will both disinfectant. Lavender is another essential oil goodie. Head to a store that has these oils and ask around to see what can be applicable. They’re just as good a disinfectant as the stuff you buy in the stores.

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Selling A House? Clean It First

Selling A House?  Clean It FirstSelling a home takes expertise. You need to know how to communicate with buyers and allay their concerns. You don’t want little things to get in the way of your pitch and that means showing a home that is clean.

By clean we mean from dirt and from clutter. It’s a major chore but if the home is unfurnished, it’s easier, if furnished, you’ll need more elbow grease to get things done.
First of all you’ll need a battle plan to evaluate where you stand realistically. Some buyers are very fastidious and will look inside every nook and cranny of the property. This is your toughest client. One thing out of order and they can make a mountain out of a molehill and get you to drop the price. It can be highly embarrassing to the seller to have a potential buyer find mold or old socks or pet hair lying about. It shows the buyer that you’re not on your toes and may have overlooked more important things like the electricity and plumbing.

Don’t give the buyer a toe hold to be cautious. Look over the property for first, general dirt, grime, and smudges. Are there hand prints on the doors and walls in the children’s room? How about that splatter of tomato sauce between the range and the dishwasher? Are there pushpins or tape still on the walls where posters and things once hung? Are the light fixtures, wall sockets still dusty or smudged? Could the walls use a good cleaning? How about the floors and rugs? These are the big areas and that means you need to get down and dirty to make them spotless. If a rug is good but has a stubborn stain, then it’s better to put down a new rug or if possible take the old one up. Make sure the lights have bulbs that work in them. The kitchen and bathrooms are the major areas of thorough cleaning. Wash the windows to a sparkle and clean those Venetian blinds and draperies.

The clutter cannot be. Don’t have rolled up rugs, boxes of stuff, lying around. It looks crampy and makes the buyer feel uneasy. You wan them to enjoy that space as much as possible. To let their imaginations soar regarding what they want to put in those spaces. The home should be showroom perfect.

That’s all there is. Make the home look like it’s brand new and you’ll have buyers with eyes wide opened and wallets wide open.

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The Battle Of Cleaning The Bathroom

 The Battle Of Cleaning The BathroomThere are two rooms in the house that are the most challenging to clean, the kitchen and the bathroom. That being said, any tips that can make the job go easier are welcome as they’ll save a lot of time, energy, money, and headache.

The basics to cleaning the bathroom are materials that are cheap and usually already a part of the household repertoire of products. Things like vinegar, baking soda, bleach, dish soap, are all regular weapons in the battle for bathroom cleanliness.

With such materials at hand, the first step is to know how to apply them and to which surfaces. Since you’ll be dealing with tile mostly, that’s not a problem. With some elbow grease and time, you’ll do wonders with the simplest of materials.

You’ll need clean sponges, brushes, paper towels. Again, baking soda, vinegar, bleach, warm water. If you feel you need more, then add a glass cleaner and an all purpose cleaner. A microfiber cloth or two or three, vacuum, mop, broom, extendable duster, and of course rubber gloves to protect your hands. Believe it or not, some folks use safety glasses which isn’t a bad idea.

You’re going to tackle areas like the shower, shower heads, grout, sink, doors and door handles, mirrors, the toilet, mats, rugs, garbage receptacle, curtains, vents, light fixtures, outside light switches, door hinges. Any decorative items like sculptured reliefs or statues, picture frames, and artificial plants. The decorative items might not seem like they’ll need a cleaning, but they will. They collect moisture residue and dust as does everything else in the room.

Take care of the small areas first like hinges, molding, door frames. A dusting and then a pass with the cleaner of your choice. The walls, are the big areas so judge your energy level for them. One pass with a cleaner of vinegar and warm water should do the trick. Windows call for special care where those nooks and crannies are as they can collect moisture and promote mold. Look over the room for those areas, those cracks where things are fixed to the walls, doors, like screw mounts etc.. You want to make sure the itty bitty places that are most overlooked but if neglected can cause damage in the long run and be a hiding place for germs and bacteria.

The shower and the toilet are the heavy duty areas of combat. It’ll take powerful cleaning solutions and effort to get in there especially where grout is concerned. Vinegar and warm water, baking soda can do wonders here. These areas take two to three passes. Consuming most of your cleaning time but well worth it. A real good, deep cleaning means not having to expend so much effort later. Floors, usually tile call for getting deep and making sure the grout areas are thoroughly clean. Cabinets, closets need a pass and the outside hinges too. Just a wee bit of vinegar, diluted will do the trick so as not to cause damage to the hinge.

Home cleaning, especially bathroom cleaning is of utmost importance, but need not be a major chore. Just careful tender loving care and you should be in good form from beginning to end.

Image credit:  Alexander Raths

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Cleaning The Bedroom Big Time

The m Cleaning The Bedroom Big Timeain problem with the bedroom is that it’s the bedroom. The place you lay your head down each night and sleep or lounge around on those lazy days. It serves as a combination crash pad, gymnasium and storage facility. With that much usage, cleaning it thoroughly means a big time effort.

We’re not talking your regular daily or weekly vacuuming and dusting, we’re talking the big beat down on dirt, clutter, damage, and more.

Getting started means surveying the bedroom and assessing when the last time it got a thorough cleaning. Realize that there may be spots that need some real elbow grease to straighten out. You’re going to have to move some furniture, loose some fixtures, and lift some rugs. The worst part is cleaning out the closets of clutter that has accumulated over time.

Clean out the closets and drawers first. Put down some plastic or big sheets that you can put the stuff on and not soil the rug or damage the furniture and floor. Look at what you really need to have in your closet. Old clothes that hold some sentimental value, just pack up and store in the attic. Shoes too. Some ladies can accumulate so many shoes they often forget they’re there. Tools, broken items, old boxes, need to be cleaned or tossed out. You’ll end up with just the right items you need to keep.

Before putting the necessary items back in the closet, inspect it for damage. Clean it thoroughly and if it needs painting or repair, set that as a chore. Once the job is done you can repopulate it with your possessions. Drawers, cabinets, need to be inspected and cleaned. Move them to see what is underneath them and clean it if need be. Check ceiling fans and air ducts for dust and clutter as well as discoloration and damage. Replace them to give the place a better look. Furniture and items that have small details you need to clean with delicate cloth and cleaner.

If the room needs a new coat of paint, then set things up. Same if the rug or flooring needs attention. A new rug will prevent the build up of mold and dust that older rugs can accumulate. Smooth surface flooring like hard wood, need special care and a few throw rugs that are secured underneath with adhesive will protect the floor and cut down on noise. Don’t forget door hinges and door knobs as well as electrical sockets. Just unscrew and replace or unscrew and clean and put back.

Overall, home cleaning with the bedroom will lead to more peace of mind and foster a better attitude in your life.

 

Image source: Andriy Popov

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Cleaning The Pro Way With Simple Household Items

Cleaning The Pro Way With Simple Household ItemsIt might surprise one to find out that they can do a pro level job of cleaning the bathroom and kitchen using just some simple products that are found in just about every household.

You don’t need those high profile cleaning products that cost a bit and don’t always do the job. Doing things the old fashioned way can save in money, time, and get the level of cleaning done that doesn’t harm surfaces, gets rid of the germs with basic vinegar. Vinegar is one of the oldest and most effective disinfectants and cleaners ever. So much so that some companies actually up out a product called cleaning vinegar, which is basically vinegar with a new snazzy name.

Usually, just a half cup of vinegar and a half cup of water will do an entire bathroom or kitchen. This includes appliances, sinks, walls, and floors, and doors tool.
Vinegar won’t harm anything and kills odors. The trick is to get a regimen in and the right tools which are simple. Nowadays the only difference is that you can use microfiber cloth thus cutting down on the use of numerous paper towels.

For the sinks and toilets and showers, just spray the cleaning solution and let set for like 15 minutes. Then follow up with a damp cloth from top to bottom. Follow up with a buffing of paper towels or toilet paper. You’ll get that professional shine right on the spot. Toilets are the heavy duty job, but following a simple procedure will get the job done almost effortlessly. You spray the inside of the bowl and scrub before spraying and wait until 15 minutes after spraying. The grime and icky will disappear easily. Next spray the outside of the toilet and seat and lid and let set about 10 minutes and use a cloth the same way and buff with paper towels or toilet paper. It’s easy and highly effective. Not a lot of elbow grease needed at all.
Walls are the same way. Spray, wait, damp cloth. For appliances, same thing except for the insides. Refrigerators need cleaning in a different way as do dishwashers and microwaves. Fridges need to be sprayed and with the door open, let the spray sit and then wipe down and do a thorough job on the shelves. Put the shelves back in, let dry and you’re good to go. Same with a microwave. Open the door, spray lightly, let set, damp cloth, buff with paper. Dishwasher cleaning can be done with no effort. Just a half cup of water and half cup of vinegar poured into the dishwasher and set on low cycle and voila, the job is done. Do this once a week to prevent odors and other nasty things.

Finally, for floors, you just get a damp mop, after thoroughly spraying the floor or just applying directly with your vinegar water solution. When it’s almost dry, clean damp mop with warm water, to clean up and you’re done.

So it’s no big major chore, just doing things simply with cleaning tools and products that are inexpensive and easy to get.

Image credit: Sebastian Duda

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Cleaning and restoring your Washing Machine

Cleaning and restoring your Washing MachineCleaning your washer is a task that no one wants to do. But following these tips will make it all the more practical for just about anyone to complete—no children!

Unfortunately, over time through usage washing machines build up unwanted hard minerals, nasty soils, hair, mildew, and detergent compounds. These are not only unhealthy for the operation of your machine, but can also leave a nasty or otherwise unwanted smell, or even worse, residue on your clothes.

Many common causes of green or yellow staining on your clothing can be caused by mildew and mold buildup, and even make your clothes stink! While some detergents are specifically designed to clean out your washer during it’s next cycle, these products can be unreasonably costly. Rather, you might find useful taking the time to wash your washer by hand every six months to prevent unwanted smells and coloring.

The best way to clean your top loading washer is by setting it to the highest heat and cycle setting. Through adding white cleaning vinegar (specifically containing six percent acid) to the wash cycle you can renew your washer’s once clean smell and appearance. After starting your cycle, just hit pause, and get to cleaning! Using a soft rag or microfiber (even better) cleaning cloth to wipe the insides and outside of your washer should leave it looking clean and smelling fresh. You can use an old or cheap toothbrush to scrub down the inside, and a rag to wipe up any unwanted residue. Make sure to also clean out the intake dispensers, and then continue the wash after an hour of letting it sit in the cleaner. After this, turn on your washer’s cycle at its hottest and strongest. Doing this will not only wash away the current buildup, but also wash away unwanted smells and clean the interior parts that you can’t see—but still effect your clothes cleanliness.

Try to avoid leaving your washer lid door open unnecessarily, ensuring it’s always dry, and trying to dry out the insides as well during the more humid seasons to avoid bacterial growth or mold buildup.

One final tip: Stop mildew and mold by keeping the lid or door closed when not in use.

For Front Load washers use a similar method for cleaning, but also ensure the water is on the hottest setting. Also add a little bit more white cleaning vinegar, approximately 2 cups. Add a little baking soda (about half a cup) into the washer through the drum, and make sure you clean all rubber gaskets for the best cleaning results!

Image credit: Ivanov Arkady

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We Love Pets But It Calls For Cleaning

We Love Pets But It Calls For Cleaning A dog is a man’s best friend, and other pets can be like members of the family, but they’re not the independent creatures who can clean up after themselves, thus it requires us to do the job for them.

Cleaning up after pets calls for two strategies, actually three.  The first is training them to avoid such messes like house breaking them properly, not allowing them in certain areas and making sure they understand this.  Leaping up on the sofa or lounging on the kitchen table are no-nos for most pets although there are ranges of how much comfort a pet is allowed in the house.  The more leverage they are allowed, the more cleaning you’ll have to use.

The second strategy is to prevent problems.  This includes brushing them properly, bathing them properly, and cleaning up before they come into the house.  There are all sorts of new gizmos out there that work mostly on keeping paws cleaned.  Cats and dogs particularly, will trounce through the most messy environments, dogs in particular.  Before they enter the home you can wipe off their paws and inspect them.  Some doggie and cat entry doors have rough carpet that can wipe off the mud and dirt to a good degree.  Put pet doors in areas that won’t lead directly to the expensive carpeting or kitchen floors.  The basement entry is a good one as they’ll have to walk across concrete or inexpensive carpeting first.

Finally, is the cleanup.  For animals with hair or fur, use brushes on the furniture.  Velcro brushes work fine.  Vacuum cleaners with extensions should get to the wide areas and hard to reach places.  For those messy messes, you’ll need disinfectant cleaners like vinegar and warm water.  Other cleaning solutions can be used but you don’t want to poison your pets so check with your local pet store for the safe products to use.

Since there are all sorts of pets, we need to look at the variety of species. People will make a pet out of anything, even animals that are dangerous.  From big cats to birds, to even reptiles, and aquatic animals.

Cleaning up an aquarium for example takes skill as you don’t want to kill the creatures inside.  This can range from fish to snails, turtles, small lizards, frogs.  There’s a procedure for moving the contents of an aquarium and a good book on the subject is best to serve as procedural reference.  You just can’t dump the aquarium contents in a bucket and use a spray cleaner.  That might kill the pets. Sometimes good old fashioned vinegar and warm water to clean the enclosure will work.

For birds, some people have open perches for the big ones like the colorful tucans and parrots.  There are products that people put at the bottom of these to capture the droppings and spilled food.  In the old days people used newspapers but there are more efficient and cleaner products available at your pet store, or you can make on your own.

Knowing your pet’s habits, timing for messes is also good.  You’ll be able to anticipate and prepare.  You can’t control everything about an animal but you can minimize the messes with some attention and loving care.

Image credit: John McAllister

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