House Cleaning Blog
5 Reason Why You Should Get Spring Cleaning Services
With the arrival of spring, we’ll discuss five excellent reason why you should get spring house cleaning services:
Breath Better
The more dust your home has, the poorer the quality of air you may be breathing. Spring cleaning services focus on removing as much dust as possible from your home, helping you breath cleaner air.
Boost Your Mood
In a study from the Social Psychology Bulletin, it was found that women who lived in cluttered homes, were more likely to have an increasingly depressed mood though the day. Decluttering your home may help you boost your mood.
Be More Active
Researchers from Indiana University conducted a study in which they found that the cleaner a participant’s house was, the more exercise they got. Getting spring cleaning services may motivate you to do more exercise, as you get more free time!
Eat Healthier
Researchers form the University of Minnesota found that individuals placed in a calm, orderly room were more likely to eat healthier than those placed in an unclean, disorderly room.
Get More Free Time
Getting spring house cleaning services will help you get free time to do important things in your life.
To get an estimate for spring cleaning services, click here!
How to Disinfect the Dirtiest Items in Your Kitchen
The kitchen items that often become contaminated with bacteria and fungi include dish sponges, cutting boards, coffee makers, kitchen sinks and countertops, and refrigerators. In this blog we’ll show you how to disinfect these items.
Dish Sponges
To disinfect your kitchen sponges you can use your microwave oven. First, damp your sponges. Then, heat your dish sponges in the microwave oven for 1 minute.
Refrigerator
The surfaces of your refrigerator that often become contaminated are those that are in contact with uncooked food. To disinfect these surfaces you can use disinfectant wipes.
Countertops
To disinfect your countertops, start by washing them with soap and water. Next, wipe your countertops with disinfectant wipes. Certain countertop materials should be cleaned with specific chemicals. Therefore, consult the manufacturer first.
Coffee Makers
Fill the coffee maker’s water reservoir with a solution of equal parts white vinegar and water. Allow to brew until half the reservoir is empty. Next, turn the coffee maker off and then let it sit for 30 minutes. Rinse the coffee maker by brewing a pot of clean water.
Cutting Boards
It is important to rinse your cutting boards immediately after use. To disinfect wood cutting boards, start by washing them with soap and water. Then, apply 3% hydrogen peroxide. The hydrogen peroxide will kill bacteria, fungi, and spores. To disinfect plastic cutting boards, you can wash them in your dishwasher.
Cleaning Tips To Alleviate Allergies
In a few days we will enjoy the beautiful sceneries that spring brings every year. Unfortunately, spring also brings allergies. In this blog, we present you a few cleaning tips to reduce the amounts of allergens in your home.
Vacuum Your Carpets Regularly
It is important to vacuum your carpets at least once per week to reduce allergen accumulation. The American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and immunology, recommends the use of vacuums with HEPA filters. Unlike regular filters, HEPA filters are able to trap small allergens.
Dust, Dust, Dust
Don’t forget to clean surfaces in your home that tend to accumulate dust. A microfiber cloth works best to dust these surfaces. This is because microfiber clothes trap small dust particles.
Wash Your Bedding
Your linen can accumulate dust, pollen, spores, pet and human hair, among other allergens. For this reason, wash your bed sheets at least once per week, using fragrance-free detergent.
Wash Your Curtains, Clean Your Blinds
Curtains and blinds are magnets for dust. It is important to wash your curtains once per month. Alternatively, if you have dry clean only curtains, you can vacuum the same. Furthermore, using a microfiber cloth, dust your window blinds.
Clean Your Bathrooms
Bacteria and mold can thrive in damp conditions. Unfortunately, your bathrooms can provide these conditions. Using a microfiber cloth or a squeegee, remove the water from your shower walls every time you shower. This will inhibit the growth of pink slime bacteria and mold.
Other things you can do
- Consider using HEPA air filters.
- Remove your shoes at your home entrance.
- Avoid using scented cleaners, which can be irritants.
- Keep your windows closed during days with great amounts of pollen.
Remove Permanent Marker Stains
Permanent markers in the hands of children can lead to beautiful artwork creations. However, sometimes these creations are not made on the right canvas. What should you do if your little ones stain your favorite garments with permanent markers? Before you think about the trash can, read this blog:
The Natural Way
One way you can remove permanent marker stains is through the use of milk. Yes, Milk! Simply fill a bowl with milk and soak the stained area of your garment. As the stain is removed, the milk will change color. When the color change is very noticeable, replace the milk and soak again your garment. Repeat these steps as necessary.
The Stylish Way
Another way to remove permanent marker stains is through the use of hairspray. First, moisten the stain with water. Next, spray a paper towel with non-oily hairspray. Then, blot the stain with this paper towel. You will see how the ink of the marker moves from the fabric to the towel.
Use Alcohol
Dip the stained fabric in rubbing alcohol. Next, press the fabric against a piece of paper towel. Again, you will see how the ink moves from the cloth to the paper towel. Change the paper towel as necessary.
Make Your Home Smell Good
There is no better feeling than stepping into your home, after a hard day at work, and being welcomed by a pleasant odor. If you are interested in learning how to keep your home smelling great, follow these simple steps:
Eliminating Unpleasant Odors
The first step in keeping your home smelling great, is to eliminate any source of bad odors. Some of the most common sources of unpleasant odors include trash cans, garbage disposal, refrigerator, washing machine, and carpets:
- Take out of your home trash bags, specially those found in the kitchen, which may contain food leftovers that can rotten and cause foul odors.
- Remove rotten food from your refrigerator and sanitize its interior.
- Sometimes fungi and bacteria can accumulate on the walls of the drum of your washing machine, producing nasty odors. To remove these odors, pour 1/4 cup of water, 1/4 baking soda, and 2 cups of vinegar into the drum of your washing machine and run a normal load at high heat.
- Remove bacteria and bad odors in the air, by changing your air filters every 3 months.
- Vacuum and deodorize your carpets.
- Clean your garbage disposal with some bleach, along with running water.
Enjoy Pleasant Odors
Once you have removed any bad odor, the next step is to add great odors in your home:
- Make a stove simmer by simmering water and adding citrus slices and herbs, like lavender and mint.
- Use scented candles and plugins.
- Make scented-filled jars by adding simmering water, cinnamon sticks, and dried apples in a jar.
- Decorate your home with indoor plants, like snake plants, which not only look good, but also can clean the air in your home.
- Spray air freshener on your air filters. Every time your HVAC runs, the great odor will dissipate in your home.
- Bake cookies, cinnamon rolls, and pies. Baked goods not only taste good, but also can leave a pleasant aroma in your home.
Keep Your Home Healthy This Flu Season
According to the New York Times, this Flu season is the worst in nearly a decade. Unfortunately, 37 pediatric deaths were reported to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In this blog we bring you a few tips to keep your home healthy and prevent the spreading of illness.
Disinfect Commonly Touched Surfaces
One way you can prevent the spreading of illness in your home is by disinfecting the most commonly touched surfaces in your home. It is important to know that disinfectants do not act immediately on germs. It takes between 5 and 10 minutes for disinfectants to kill 99.999% of viruses, fungi, and bacteria. These are some of the most commonly touched surfaces to disinfect in your home:
Cabinet and drawer knobs
Appliance handles
Sink fixtures
Countertops
Light switches and plates
Chair back and sides
Table and desk surfaces
Door knobs
Sink, toilet, and shower handles
Dryers, straighteners, and shavers
Banisters
TV remotes
Video game controllers
Computer keyboards, mice, and trackpads
Phone cords and chargers
Washable toys
Wash Linens
The Flu virus can survive for hours in porous surfaces like towels, washcloths, blankets, and linens. Wash your bedding, towels, and clothes with household detergent in hot water and tumble dry on a hot setting.
Wash Your Hands
Our hands are in contact with many surfaces that can be contaminated with different pathogens. As we touch our faces, we can contract different diseases through our eyes and noses. Hence, washing our hands is one practical way to prevent contracting and spreading the Flu. To wash your hands the proper way, follow this protocol stablished by the CDC:
Wet your hands with clean, running water.
Lather your hands by rubbing them together with soap.
Scrub your hands for at least 20 seconds.
Rinse your hands well under clean, running water.
Dry your hands using a clean towel or air dry them.
Use Hand Sanitizers
Hand sanitizers can kill up to 99.99% of germs. However, keep in mind that their sanitizing action is not immediate! Again, it takes up to 10 minutes for hand sanitizers to kill germs.
Don’t Forget Your Car
Just like in your home, you can disinfect the most commonly touched surfaces in your car. Focus on the following items:
Key fobs
Door handles
Seat-belt buckles
Steering wheels
Install HEPA Air Filters
According the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters can remove almost 98% of virus particles. They recommend the use of portable air purifiers with both UV lamps and HEPA filters to prevent the transmission of the Flu.
Pay Attention to Your House Humidity
According to MIT, higher humidity levels can kill or disable viruses. In the winter, humidity levels can plummet as low as 10% in your house. However, by keeping your house humidity level between 40 and 60%, using a portable humidifier, the Flu virus survival in the air can be decreased by up to 30%.
Follow the Recommendations of the CDC
For more information on Flu prevention visit www.cdc.gov.
Lower Utility Bills This Winter
Winters not only bring beautiful sceneries, but also high, very high utility bills. Here we bring you a small guide on how to save money this winter:
Change Air Filters Regularly
According to the Department of Energy, replacing a dirty air filter with a new one, can reduce energy consumption by as much as 15%. It is recommended to change the air filters in your home 4 times per year.
Clean the Refrigerator
Clean your refrigerator by removing any rotten food and reducing clutter. This will improve air circulation, increasing efficiency. Furthermore, you can vacuum the dust that accumulates on the coils of your refrigerator to reduce its energy consumption. Make sure you unplug your refrigerator before you clean its coils to avoid being electrocuted.
Reverse Fans
Due to its lower density than cold air, warm air rises. For this reason, the Department of Energy recommends to change the direction of your fans, so that their blades rotate clockwise. This will push the warm air downward, keeping you comfortable this winter.
Thermostat Operation
The Department of Energy recommends to set the thermostat to 68 degrees Fahrenheit when you are home and to lower this temperature 7 to 10 degrees when you are not. This reduction of temperature can save you as much as 10% on heating a year.
Water Heater Thermostat
Water heating approximately accounts for 18% of your utility bill. Check the thermostat of your water heater. If it is set above 120 degrees Fahrenheit, bump it back. You will save as much as 5% in energy consumption, for every 10 degrees reduction.
4 Green Ways To Clean Your Outdoor Grill
The summer temperatures are great, your relatives are visiting you over the weekend, and you are planning a cookout, only to discover that you forgot to clean your outdoor grill the last time you used it. Don’t worry. Here we show you 4 green ways to clean your grill:
Vinegar and Salt
If your grill grates have rust, you can remove it with a solution of 2 parts vinegar to 1 part salt. Simply soak the the grates in this solution for 8 hours. Wipe off the rust with a cloth. Then rinse with water and dry thoroughly.
Baking Soda
Another way to remove the rust from your grill grates is to use baking soda. First, using a brush remove the most rust possible. Sprinkle some baking soda on the grates and heat your grill to allow the baking soda to remove the rust, as it bubbles. Let the grill cool and remove any remaining rust with a brush.
Onions
If the grates have grease and remaining food, you can clean them using an onion. First, heat your grill very hot to burn down the grease and food residues. Then, cut an onion in half. Finally, remove any remaining residues by rubbing one half of the onion against the grates.
Lemons and Salt
Another way to clean your grill is to cut lemons in half and dip their exposed ends into salt. Heat your grill very hot and rub the grates with the salty lemons.
Got pink slime in your bathrooms?
Are you tired of cleaning the nasty pink rings that form in your toilet or the ugly pink lines that form in the bottom edges of your shower? If so, you need to read this blog.
First of all, what causes this pink slime to form? Because often we find this slime in damp conditions, it is common to think that your tap water is contaminated with some sort of pathogen. However, the organism to be blamed, Serratia marcescens, is an airborne bacteria. This bacteria thrives in wet conditions and can survive consuming shampoo and soap residues. Hence, our bathrooms provide this bacteria great living conditions! Thankfully, we can do a few things to keep this bacteria under control:
Ventilate your bathrooms
One easy way to prevent pink slime to form is to turn on your bathroom’s extractor fan every time you take a shower. This fan will reduce the the humidity in your bathroom, as it exhausts water vapor.
Dry your shower
Using a squeegee, dry your shower walls each time you take a shower. This can prevent bacterial and fungal growth.
Use chlorinating agents and vinegar
If your shower curtains have stains from bacterial and fungal growth, spray a mixture of 1 part vinegar to 1 part water onto them. Leave this solution to soak for 10 minutes and then rinse.
To prevent pink slime rings in toilets, place a bowl cleaner tablet in the toilet tank. The active ingredients in bowl cleaner tablets will prevent bacterial growth.
How to Keep Your Indoor Plants Healthy
Indoor plants can be great decorative elements of your home. However, a lot of times it can be difficult to maintain them healthy. In this blog you will find some tips to provide your plants with adequate growing conditions to make them thrive!
Soil
It is important to plant your indoor plants in a good potting mix. A good potting mix should drain properly, permit oxygenation of your plants’ roots, and be treated to reduce biological contaminants.
Nutrition
Like humans, plants require optimum nutrition to develop properly. To determine whether or not your plants are properly fed, you have to measure their soil water’s electrical conductivity (EC). The EC level is a good indication of the amount of nutrients available for your plants to absorb. You may use an EC meter, which you can purchase online for less than $20, to find out the EC level of your plants’ soil water. Most plants do well in soils with EC levels between 1.5 and 2.25. If these levels are lower than 1.5, you can feed your plants with a general-purpose fertilizer.
Water
All plants require water to survive. However, it is important to find out how much water your plants require. For example, some cacti require water once per week. On the other hand, hibiscuses require large amounts of water.
A lot of times tap water is treated with chlorinating agents. Large amounts of chlorine can be toxic to plants. To reduce the amount of chlorine in tap water, you can let the tap water sit for about 24 hours to allow for the chlorine to dissipate into the environment.
pH
A lot of times plants struggle to grow because their soil’s pH levels are not adequate. To find out the pH levels of your plants’ soil, you may use a pH meter, which you can purchase online for about $10. pH levels indicate how acidic or alkaline your plants’ soil is. Most plants do well in soils with pH levels between 5.5-6.5. Using a pH meter, vinegar, and baking soda, you can adjust the pH levels of a fertilizer solution you can use to feed your plants. Vinegar lowers the pH levels, while baking soda raises them. When making this solution, mix water and fertilizer (according to the manufacturer’s recommendations) and gradually add vinegar or baking soda to adjust the pH level according to the needs of your plants.
Light
Plants need light to undergo photosynthesis. It is important to maintain your plants in an area where they receive adequate sunlight. Determine if your plants grow better in full sun, partial sun, or shade and place them in an area of your home where these conditions are found.
Humidity
Most plants require humidity to thrive. Most homes have humidity levels below the requirements of most plants. The majority of plants prefer humidity levels between 40 and 60 percent. To raise the humidity levels of your home you can purchase a humidifier.
Diseases
Plants are prone to get bacterial, viral, and fungal diseases. A lot of times these diseases are transmitted to plants by different insects. The key to have disease-free plants is prevention. This is because once a disease becomes systemic, it is extremely hard to eradicate it from your plants. In the case of some viral diseases, this can only be accomplished through in vitro techniques where a diseased donor plant is used to create healthy clones. To prevent systemic diseases, maintain your plant in an area where there is good air circulation. Furthermore, you can utilize green products to control different pests. For example, neem oil is a green product that works good to control whiteflies and certain fungal and bacterial problems.