Tag Archives: cleaning tips

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!

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!

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.

Household chemicals and pets

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Which chemicals can you use when having pets at home? Is there any household chemical that can cause damage to your pet?

We surely know of a lot of people that have cats or dogs or other pets at home. Maybe even you have one! We always need to be worried about the chemicals that we purchased to minimize the danger around our house when having our loving pets around.

It is true that any chemical that you may have in your household could be extremely toxic, not only to animals but to us as well. But it all depends on how we make use of them.

Let us see some chemicals that could be a potential danger for your pets:

1-Pine oil based products: It is well known that cats are very sensitive to phenol based products. So before buying any disinfectant double check the label to make sure there will be no harm.

2-Pest sprays: It takes only a mouse to touch the still wet spray and your cat to catch the mouse to have a serious accident. Make sure that when you use this sprays, you wait until it is dry to let your cat into the room.

3-Chlorine bleach based toilet cleaner: We know that a strong chemical will be great to clean the lime scale on the toilet. But if your dog is used to drink on the toilet bowl from time to time, this kind of chemicals can caused him really strong stomach-aches and diarrhea. The same will happen if you use toilet cleaning tablets.

4-Carpet deodorizer: It is fine to use it, as long as you keep your pet away from the room until it gets dry.

5-Febreeze: There have been a lot of rumors about this product. A lot of people will agree that this chemical can cause serious illnesses to our pets, from liver problems to even death. But nothing has been proofed yet, and still there are many veterinaries that do not consider Febreeze stronger than any other household chemicals. On this one, I leave the decision with you. I do not consider myself a “green” person but I always thought that opening the windows is better than using chemicals to hide unwanted odors…

You can see from this small list that it could be very easy to put the health of our pets in danger without even being aware of it. How can we change this? Well, the key to success in this matter is to read and follow the labels for proper use. Every chemical is a potential danger if we do not follow instructions of use.

 

I know I need a domestic cleaner when…

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– I cannot think of cleaning the bathroom when I wake up on a Saturday morning.

-I do not know the difference between a polisher and a hair spray.

-My job and work projects are “eating” most of my time away.

-I have spare time to go shopping, to do some sports, to walk the dog… but not to clean the house!

-My back is aching so much that I have no strength to hold the hoover properly (I call it health problems!).

-I can consider myself a great professional… but, honestly, a really bad cleaner.

-I stand in front of the dirty oven and there are voices inside my head telling me to run away as quickly as possible.

-I spent the whole weekend doing an “after-party cleaning” while taking paracetamol every two hours to stop my hang-over getting worst.

-I realize that the dust in the sofa is not part of a new trendy decoration.

-I cannot see the difference between a white tile and a black tile.

-after 6 months and 17569 sneezes I convinced myself that I do not have flu but dust allergy.