Top 7 House Cleaning Mistakes You Should Avoid
With the Fall Parade of Homes right around the corner (Sept. 10th), we hope you’ll find your new dream home. If you do, make sure you follow these tips to get your current home ready to sell! And for the rest of us, our guest blogger Amy Reeves explains how to keep your home clean and fresh.
Despite being frequently considered a boring task, many people regard house cleaning chores as easy, but they lack the motivation of scrubbing and disinfecting the property when they have made other plans. However, you might be surprised to know that there are some cleaning mistakes that are so widespread that they are regarded as a part of the standard cleaning routine. If you are making the following mistakes, don’t be surprised that you never achieve the desired level of cleanliness at home.
• According to a popular belief, every cleaning detergent can eliminate bacteria. That’s probably the most widespread misconception about cleaning products. There is a good reason why some of them are tailored for cleaning, others for polishing surfaces. In other words, you cannot expect a furniture polisher to eliminate the accumulated germs.
• If you are a fan of the home-made cleaning solutions, you must be familiar with the baking soda+vinegar or lemon juice solution and the incredible cleaning properties it is said to have. Many people apply that paste to all kinds of surfaces as they consider it gentle. Baking soda is a mild abrasive indeed, but vinegar and lemon are acids. In other words, they are not suitable for cleaning wooden surfaces. They do a great job when it comes to lifting grease and neutralizing bad smells, though.
When you have a gorgeous laundry room, like one from Jyland Construction Management, there’s no reason to waste detergent.
• Do you ever read the manufacturer’s recommendation about the quantity of the detergent you should apply. You probably don’t and you blindly believe that the more cleaning product you use, the better end result you will get. That’s completely wrong. If you add more of the laundry detergent to the washing cycle, you do nothing but waste the product. Similarly, there is no point in using an excessive amount of glass cleaner to clean the windows and so on.
You definitely don’t want to block these amazing views with streaky or dirty windows. View this Stonewood LLC home, featuring Marvin Windows.
• Speaking of windows, there are two widespread mistakes people make. First, they use newspapers for window cleaning and second, they clean the windows when it is sunny outside. Believe it or not, newspapers are not the best “rag” you can use. The ink the pieces of paper contain causes streaks and matters get even worse if you clean the windows on a sunny day. Taking up a window cleaning project is recommended on cloudy days and the substitution of the newspapers with cotton rags or microfiber clothes is recommended.
• What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you see a huge stain on the carpet? You probably grab a carpet cleaning solution and vigorously scrub the affected area. That’s another popular misbelief. Scrubbing the stain will only make it more difficult to remove. If you are at home when the accident happens, grab paper towels and blot the stain. Then, apply a stain remover or another suitable detergent and let it sit for a while before you treat the area.
• Pieces of electronics and computers, in particular, are an inseparable part of our everyday lives. When you have to clean them, CleanersLondon Notting Hill tips under no circumstances should you spray the product directly onto the piece of electronics. Instead, apply it to a clean, microfiber cloth.
You would definitely want to wash dishes by hand with a sink like the ones from Mark D. Williams Custom Homes.
• Washing the dishes by hand requires you to keep the sponge germ-free. However, rinsing it with a dishwashing detergent is not enough and you have two options. You can either change the sponges on short intervals or prolong their lifespan by putting them in the microwave for 20 seconds. Alternatively, you can use a sponge sanitizer.
Avoid these mistakes and you will see that there will be a great difference in the results you achieve during your house cleaning procedures.
Amy Reeves is a writer and owner of a small cleaning business called CleanersLondon Notting Hill based in London.