“The Smell of Virtue” study

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I recently had the opportunity to read an article about a research done by the Kellogg School of Management at North-western University. It basically claims that the scent of a room actually influences our behaviour. Therefore, clean odours will improve our behaviour making us more fair and ethical.

The study was divided in two different experiments. The first one evaluated people’s fairness. Subjects were given $12 and they needed to decided how much money to keep for themselves and how much to give to their partners. People in clean rooms gave an average of $5,33 to their partners and subjects on the normal rooms gave an average of $2,81. A big difference, isn’t it?

The second experiment evaluated the charitable disposition of people. It determined that subjects on clean-smelling rooms were more likely to be interested in volunteering and donations than subjects on normal rooms. (22% compared to 6%).

Amazing! Clean places make us nicer people! What are you waiting for? Take that broom and start cleaning your worries up!

Saving time and money with your domestic cleaner

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Domestic cleaners are always keen to provide great customer service. It is part of their job! A regular cleaner will always start cleaning your house with dedication and with time will start doing extra tasks around the house without you telling her anything, such as watering the plants.

This “going the extra mile” that some domestic cleaners show is a really good thing for customers that are expecting their cleaners to do extra tasks around the house when they come around. But if you just want to have your house clean, then seeing your domestic cleaner “wasting” time doing trivial things may be very upsetting. Imagine: you are happy with your cleaner but you end up letting her stay longer and paying her more because she cannot finish on time trying to make your house spotless!

When you hired a domestic cleaner you have to be very specific about what needs to be done in your house. This will help you organise the cleaning properly on the time available without the need to pay for extra hours.

Usual tasks that will take a lot of time would be:

–          Picking up clothes or toys

–          Picking up dirty dishes/glasses around the house

–          Organising dirty clothes/linen

–          Special requests such as deep cleanings.

So think about your priorities. It may be that you are happy for the cleaner not to dust the rooms one day if that means having the oven deep cleaned. Or maybe you do not want your cleaner to pick your “undies” from underneath the bed and instead you can do it yourself on the day before, allowing her to concentrate on the cleaning.

The list of tasks when talking about house cleaning is endless. This small list will give you some food for thought and hopefully may help you organise the cleaning on a more effective way.

Amy Charity

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Amy Cleaning is proud to help a number of elderly and disabled clients in and around the London area.

We provide cleaners without any agency fee to them which includes finding a vetted and insured cleaner for them each week and cover for holidays and sickness.

This is a great help to these clients who find it hard to clean and maintain their properties themselves.

The magic squeegee

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At http://www.amycleaning.co.ukwe usually receive calls from clients desperately looking for a solution to keep their limestone floors clean and shiny.

Any natural stone floor will be difficult to clean, we know that. It is always advisable to mop it several times with clean water and only use a soft detergent if needed. But then the problem appears: the smears left by the mop! You spend hours cleaning the floor and at the end those water marks will leave it dirty and old looking.

Do not worry, there is an easy solution for this: a squeegee; yes, you heard it right! The same squeegee that we use to clean the windows. The squeegee will take all the excess water from the floor and will leave it shiny like never before!

You can use the squeegee on natural stone floors such as marble or limestone or even on polished wooden floors. Believe me, it is worth the try!

Cleaner of the month, October 2009

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This October at https://www.amycleaning.co.uk we have two great cleaners awarded with the Cleaner of the month award.

Jacko  joined us in 2007. Since then she has been working for several regular clients and the feedback received is always good. Some recent clients, such said that they are happy with the service and that she is great!

Diana  has been with us only for some months. But since then all clients have been extremely happy with her. We have no complaints so far and she always calls us in case there is any problem. We can say that she is a really good cleaner without hesitation!

Limescale problem

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How many times we have noticed white marks on our tiles while having a shower? Or white flakes from our kettle when pouring water for our morning tea? This is limescale. Hard water contains high levels of dissolved minerals, which, if left untreated can become limescale deposits on hard surfaces such as taps, tiles, glass, kettles and more.

Great Britain’s soil is mostly made up of limestone and chalk. This means that about 60% of households have hard water and are suffering from limescale subsequently. Having hard water at home means that some soaps or detergents will not work as well; plates and glasses will look old after several washes; skin may become dry more often.

There are two different ways to tackle limescale at home.

The first one is prevention. Make sure that your domestic cleaner dries the bathroom and kitchen surfaces after cleaning to prevent limescale to build up.

But prevention alone will not resolve the limescale problem. We have to go to the kitchen cupboards again for this one! White vinegar and lemon juice are essential products on the fight against limescale. Here are some tricks:

If you need to clean the bathroom taps just soak a paper towel in vinegar and wrap the paper around the tap. Leave it for about an hour and clean with a soft cloth.

To clean the kettle, just boil a mix of half water and half vinegar and leave the mix over night. Rinse well next morning.

If you need to clean the sink or any hard surface just spray either white vinegar or lemon juice and let it sit for around 30 minutes and clean.

Put these tips in practice and I can assure you that your house will look not only clean but new!

Micro-fibre cloths: cleaning with no chemicals

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e-cloth1Would you like to have a product that can clean you house as well as being kind to your family and the environment and saving you money and time? We have the answer you were looking for: micro-fibre cloths.

There is a growing number of people turning their backs on traditional household chemicals. Call it health reasons or money saving, people are discovering the advantages of the micro-fibre cloth. Can you imagine a cloth that can clean your surfaces with just water and leave them free of grease, dirt and bacteria? Well, it exists! Here at http://www.amycleaning.co.uk we have some clients that had made the swap to the micro-fibre cloths and their cleaners are surprised about the possibilities this type of cleaning offers.

Micro-fibre cloths are made of nylon and polyester on different quantities. The fibres are 1/100th the width of a human hair (that is why they are so soft!) and they clean by breaking up and absorbing the dirt and bacteria from the surfaces.

On the market you can find heavy duty cloths, for cleaning thick dirt, lighter weight cloths (good for cleaning windows) and even a mop set! So you can keep your house clean with just a little bit of warm water and a micro-fibre cloth.

Do not think about their price (they cost more than normal cloths) as they can last around 300 washes; so they will be with you for months to come. Give it a try and let us know how it went!

Vetting my house cleaner

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passportThese days we have been flooded with news about the Home Office and employment rules regarding immigrants. It is always a tricky issue on the domestic cleaning sector and people are very concerned about their domestic cleaners and their right to work in this country.

Checking passports and documents is part of what you should do when having a domestic cleaner working for you. On the interview it is important to make the correct checks and the necessary photocopies to avoid any future problems.

This week at http://www.amycleaning.co.uk we have had calls from some clients asking about our vetting procedure. Luckily we are on the top in terms of vetting and checking documents for our domestic cleaners! Because we know the importance of vetting, we have make it our priority when interviewing applicants; and let me tell you, it works!

Would you like a quick tip? It is never too late to vet your cleaner, so do it as soon as possible. If you are not sure on how to do it, rely on the experience of a domestic cleaning agency, it will save you a lot of hassle.

International day for the preservation of the ozone layer

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I would say that today is an important day for the cleaning industry. The 16th of September is the “International day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer”.

It was proved some decades ago that human-made chemicals are highly responsible for the damage on the ozone layer. We all know that products which contains CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons) destroy ozone through a complex catalytic cycle.

There are a lot of household chemicals that could be damaging the ozone layer. Many common cleaning products, such as air fresheners or aerosols, may contain ingredients that are not good for the environment. We have to remember that although most of the cleaning products are free of CFCs now (thanks to The Montreal Protocol 87), they may contain other chemicals responsible for ozone damage.

What can we do in our homes to prevent ozone depletion?

-Buy cleaning products that use a pump-action instead of aerosols.

-Use cleaning products that are labelled “ozone-friendly”.

-Make sure any repair on your refrigerator/air conditioner is handle properly and the recycle of old CFCs is done.

If you are really into saving the planet… then go green and pass the word! There is nothing better to prevent damage than to let other people know!

The secrets of laundry

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laundry1Last Saturday I left my husband to do the laundry while I was filing some documents. After half an hour of not hearing the typical noise of the washing machine I got scared and went to the kitchen. And there I found my husband looking at the the washing machine as if trying to decipher a hieroglyphic out of an ancient monument!

I suppose it is always easy to do the laundry when you do it on a regular basis. It is also true that washing machines have too many bottoms to push before a cycle can start! At http://www.amycleaning.co.uk we have had similar situations with domestic cleaners who didn’t really understand how to turn the washing machine on. Do not fear! doing the laundry is easier than it looks like… if you follow these simple tips.

1. Preparing the load.

We know that we need to separate dark colours from light/white colours. But it is not only that; separate also delicate fabrics from heavier ones and read all the labels as you may missed some clothes that are only hand washable; also, remember to empty pockets and close all zips on trousers and jackets.

2. The loading of the washing machine.

We are going to be late to that picnic with friends and decide to load a 7kg washing machine with 10kg; wrong! Over-loading will not allowed the clothes to tumble properly so they will not come out clean. At the same time the washing powder will have no space to dissolve, leading to the same consequence.

4. How to graduate the temperature.

You have bought the new 15C detergent to save energy. Well I am afraid to say that not all clothes can be washed at the same temperature. Cold water will minimize creasing and may help you clean stains such as blood. If you need to wash very dirty clothes, however, hot water will do a much better job.

5. Drying.

As soon as the cycle is finished you need to take all the clothes to dry; if you leave them on the washing machine for too long clothes will become smelly. Always leave the door open to allow the washing machine to dry.