Category Archives: How to…

tips on how to clean or how to use products

How to clean a self-cleaning oven

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Manufacturers have made us believe that ovens can clean themselves. Although this is in part true, thanks to the self-cleaning ovens, we will still need to apply a little bit of elbow grease to keep our oven looking like new.

Self-cleaning ovens have a special interior pyrolytic coating that, heated at high temperature, burns off all the food and debris without using any chemicals. It’s like magic, isn’t it? But, what happens with the trays, racks, rack supports and glass door? As they have no special coating, they will continue dirty after the self-cleaning process.

So your oven may be clever enough to do some cleaning, but it still needs a helping hand!

Here are some basic steps on how to clean your self-cleaning oven:

1- Remove all trays and racks and soak them in hot soapy water.

2- Wipe any excess debris from the oven with a damp e-cloth and some washing up liquid (do not ever use a green scourer inside the oven as this can damage the special coating).

3- Open the window and turn on the kitchen hood and start the self-cleaning process (there may be some fumes and smoke, so it is better to have the area ventilated). This process can take up to 5 hours.

4- While you wait for the oven to get clean, finish with the trays and racks. Use soapy water if they are not very dirty or a degreaser if they need a strong clean up. Rinse well.

5- As soon as the oven has finished with the self-cleaning process and cooled down, you can wipe the ash from the oven with a damp soapy e-cloth. Use a degreaser to clean the glass door and finish with a glass cleaner for the outside to leave the door shiny and looking good.

So… tell us, what are your tricks for cleaning your oven?

How to clean Plasma TV screens

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Gone are the old glass-surfaced TV screens that you could clean with a glass cleaner and cloth. Nowadays a lot of television sets have plasma TV screens and this means that, inevitably, the care and cleaning methods have to be different.

Here are some ideas on how to take care of your Plasma TV.

 

Don’ts:

1- Use window cleaner. Plasma TVs have an anti-glare coating that may be damaged by the alcohol in the window cleaner.

2- Use paper towels to dust the TV. As soft as they look, paper towels are abrasive and can leave scratches on the surface.

3- Touch the plasma screen with your fingers or any hard object, as this can damage the surface.

4- Use any cleaning spray around the TV. When dusting furniture around your plasma TV, remember to spray the cleaning product into the cloth to avoid any chemical being in contact with the TV.

Do’s:

1- Use a microfibre cloth to dust your plasma TV. It always has to be clean and dry.

2- Use a little bit of washing up liquid if the screen is very dirty. Put warm water in a bawl with a drop of washing up liquid; soak a micro-fibre cloth and rinse it well to leave it almost dry; then use it to clean the plasma screen and immediately after, wipe with a clean and dry micro-fibre cloth.

What other tips do you have to clean your plasma TV screen? Share with us!

How to clean your painted walls

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This weekend I had the chance (and the time) to reorganize my daughter’s bedroom. Not happy to admit, it has been six years that we do not paint our home’s walls, and believe me you can notice all the marks and stains. So, I had time to deep clean the room, but not to paint it and I knew I had to do something about those walls… so I decided to wash them! They look like new now!

The trick is to go wild and be gentle at the same time so you don’t end up with the paint on the cloth. You will need a big sponge, a micro-fibre cloth (or an old towel), a bowl of soapy water, and some washing up liquid.

Here are the steps to follow to clean your painted walls (in case you are a busy bee like me):

1- Decide which area of the wall you would like to clean. You cannot clean the whole wall in one go, so you will need to mentally divide the wall and clean one area at a time.

2- Soak the sponge in the soapy water and then add some more washing up liquid on the sponge. Wash the wall on circular movements. Do not clean only the stains as this will leave marks when the wall gets dry, you have to wash the whole wall with the soaked sponge (You may want to put some newspapers or towels on the floor because this is going to get very wet!).

3- With a damp microfibre cloth, wipe down any excess water and clean any stains left that you were unable to clean with the sponge.

4- Wait for the wall to dry and done! you have a clean wall!

The points to remember here are:

1- Always clean “square” areas of the wall, not only the marks or stains; this way, once the wall is dry the paint will look unified.

2- Don’t let the sponge get dry if you don’t want to strip the paint off the wall.

3- Always clean in circle motions and don’t press to hard.

4- The big sponge is for a reason. If you use a small one you tend to put more pressure on it, ending with the paint on the sponge.

5- This works with non water proof painting also (remember you have to go wild but gentle!).

Happy cleaning!

 

How to clean your canvas shoes

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Now that the summer is finally here we start using our canvas on a daily basis. But, like anything else, canvas shoes can get very dirty.

 

Here is the “how to” of cleaning your canvas shoes:

 

1- The quick-lazy-don’t have time way:

  • Take the laces and insoles out and place your canvas in the washing machine on a shoe cycle at cold temperature.
  • Leave them to dry and ready to go!

2- The old fashion way (and the most recommended):

  • Take the laces and insoles out.
  • Fill a bucket with cold water and put some mild detergent (Woolite type or neutral soap bar). Put your canvas in.
  • Use an old toothbrush to properly clean every corner.
  • Rinse your shoes in cold water.
  • Don’t forget to wash your laces too! (you can wash the insoles with rubbing alcohol).

Some things to have in mind not to ruin your canvas shoes:

  1. Strong detergents can stain your white canvas.
  2. Never leave your canvas to dry on the sun as they can become yellowy!
  3. If you have white canvas, sprinkle them with talc powder when leaving them to dry. Once dried, brush the talc off with a dry and soft toothbrush. They will look like new!
  4. After washing you canvas, make sure to return them back to their original shape by pulling the material with your hands as canvas shoes tend to shrink a little bit when washed.

Enjoy the weather… and your new canvas!

 

Weird cleaning tips that work

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Here are some cleaning tips to help you around your home:

1- Rub a lemon wedge inside your mug to get rid of tea stains; then wash with soapy water and your cup will be clean as new.

2- White bread will help you clean dirty spots and finger marks on walls and dust on paintings (just make sure that the bread is fresh).

3- Clean your plants with a little bit of mayonnaise or beer to return the shine on them.

4- Strike a match to get rid of all bathroom smells (greener than an air freshener and very effective!).

5- For smelly hands after chopping onion or garlic, just put your hands on running water for 30 seconds without rubbing them and the smell will disappear. Otherwise you can rub your hands on fresh parsley.

6- If you are washing red clothes for the first time, make sure you soak them in white vinegar first; this way you avoid these clothes bleeding all over your other clothes.

7- Put some dry rice onto your salt pot to protect from moisture.

Have you got any funny cleaning tips that work wonders? Let us know!

Organising your winter clothes

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Now that the Summer is getting closer (fingers crossed) it is time to think about how to organise your wardrobe and make space for your summer clothes while getting rid of the winter ones.

Here are some tips for keeping your winter clothes in good condition until next season:

 

1- Always wash coats and clothes before putting them away. Moths are attracted to dirty, sweaty clothes so make sure that every garment is clean before putting them in your wardrobe.

2- Use a fabric bag to protect your clothes from dust and moist. If you have one of those vacuum bags, make sure the garment is properly folded to avoid creases.

3- If you are hanging the clothes, use proper hangers, not those plastic ones we usually get from the shops when we buy new clothes. Wooden hangers are the best ones to hold heavy coats in shape for months.

4- Never use plastic bags to store clothes as this creates moisture.

We know that wardrobe organising would be easier if we had the space for it, but what are your tricks to keep your wardrobes in order? Share with us!

Ironing tips

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Ironing is one of those daunting cleaning tasks that usually gets left for the last moment. At the end of the week most people will put themselves in front of a mountain of dried and wrinkled clothes that will take ages to iron.

 

It is because of this that I could venture our first ironing tip will be: Do not leave it for too long! To iron a shirt nicely can take up to 7 minutes; so if you have a big pile of shirts, work trousers, jumpers and the lot, you could end up with 2 long hours of ironing… and a strong backache at the end.

Here are other tips to help you with your ironing:

– Read the labels! and follow instructions on your iron. Most “accidents” happen because we do not follow what manufacturers recommend.

– Organise your pile: Iron the clothes that require low temperature first, then medium and finally hot. This way you won’t need to wait for the iron to reach the correct temperature.

– For thick garments, iron the inside first and then the outside.

– Iron your shirts when they are wet (specially if they are 100% cotton) and put them on hangers to avoid wrinkles (make sure you button the top button to get the correct shape on the shirt).

– Use a reflective ironing board cover to save time while ironing.

– Clean your iron regularly and do not leave water inside the iron after use to avoid limescale deposits damaging your clothes.

Do you have any good ironing tip that would like to share? Let us know!

Spring Cleaning in Easter

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According to an ancient tradition, the three days after Palm Sunday are devoted in many countries to a spring cleaning of the whole house, to get ready for the great feast. This tradition is a custom taken over from the ancient Jewish practice of a ritual cleansing and sweeping of the house in preparation for the Feast of Passover.

So if you haven’t done any spring cleaning yet, now it’s time to start thinking about it before Easter Holiday arrives and finds you looking for the hoover still!

Easter is traditionally a family holiday, and we suspect that you may be having a lot of visitors in your home during these bank holidays. So here are the must do’s of cleaning before the troop comes knocking on your door:

1- Clean the kitchen. Give it a good shake, clean it top to bottom and don’t forget the oven and the fridge! Most probably you will be doing a lot of cooking these days…

2- Clean the living room. Vacuum, dust and polish furniture.

3- Tidy the garden! Get your garden ready for the Egg Hunt for your little ones; remove dead/dry plants and mow the green.

4- Laundry bed linen and towels. Get them ready for all your guests; take advantage of the sunny days we have now to hung them outside and let them embed the sun.

If you don’t have the time or patience to get your home ready for Easter Holidays, then call Amy Cleaning for a great spring cleaning that will leave you only with the hard chore of buying the chocolate eggs!

How to clean your home avoiding cleaning products toxins

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All of us love a clean house and when we get in the mood of cleaning, we do it with such an energy that sometimes we end up cleaning too much. Yes, you heard it right, too much. There are several experts these days warning us of the “dangers” of a sterile environment; houses that are clean top to bottom, with no sight of dirt, can make your immune system non responsive; therefore there are more possibilities of developing allergies.

What can we do to make sure our home is clean without converting it into a sterile bubble?

1- Clean often: Do you remember how long it took you to get rid of that tomato sauce stain? If you leave dirt for later chances are you will need to use strong products to scrub it out. If you wipe clean as you go, in most situations a damp cloth would be enough to clean the area in question.

2- Do not use antibacterial products: These are linked to allergy reactions if used in excess. Antibacterial chemicals contain triclosan, which is a pesticide and an endocrine disruptor. So in fact, you could be causing more harm than good when using them.

3- Use chemicals with no fragrance: Perfume on cleaning products is made of hundreds of chemicals, some of them dangerous to your health. If you want to freshen your home, open windows, buy fresh flowers or bake a cake!

4- Do not over do it: When you clean, use only as much cleaning product as you need, no more. The less you use the less toxins you will spray into the air.

These are simple steps to help you take care of your family’s health while cleaning your house. Like with everything, go step by step, try to clean with a mild detergent; if it doesn’t work then try something stronger, but if it works your job will be done with no harm caused.

How to reuse your old newspaper

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Baring in mind that an average person in the UK gets through about 83 pounds of newspapers per year, I wonder how many of those people are actually recycling their papers.

I found a great article about the re-uses of your old newspapers that could make you click with your more natural self.

 

Here are some of the best tips:

1- Newspaper is great to clean windows and glass around the house as it helps leave the surfaces without smears (just remember to get those really old-yellowy newspapers as the new ones will leave ink marks all over).

2- Newspaper is a good deodoriser; if you put a a sheet of crumbled newspaper inside wardrobes or suitcases they will absorb any bad odours.

3- Damp a sheet of newspaper to clean up broken glass; you will easily take those small particles of glass that usually gets shuttered all over the floor.

Check this to find more ideas on how to use your old newspapers!