The government has accepted the independent Low Pay Commission’s recommendations for this year’s National Minimum Wage rates.
As from 1 October 2012, the adult rate will increase to £6.19 per hour. On the other hand the rates for 18-20 and 16-17 year olds will remain the same.
In this time of uncertainty and tough economic environment, the increase has been welcomed by Cleaning businesses.
Bad odour in the toilet is a problem that every one finds appalling; no matter how much or how good you clean the smell of urine is still there!. A lot of our domestic cleaners at www.amycleaning.co.uk have shared with us the different methods they use to get rid of any smell in toilets and bathrooms; from strong chemicals to lime-scale removers to green cleaning methods.
Here is the green way to get rid of that nasty smell on the toilet:
Put a paste mix of baking soda and lemon juice around the bottom of the toilet seat and let it sit for about 15 min. Then spray with vinegar (the chemical reaction will make it look like a fizzy drink) and wipe it clean with a damp soft cloth.
Remember to spray with vinegar all around the toilet, including walls and floor, as urine can be sprayed everywhere.
This is a quick an easy way to make your toilet cleaner than ever!
Have you got any other tips for an odour free toilet?
A domestic cleaner is always a great help and sometimes a real savior but she is never a superwoman.
If you want a good and lasting relationship with your cleaner be realistic with your requirements and treat her with the respect that she deserves. You are paying her for professional service and for her knowledge so trust and listen to her. Perhaps your domestic cleaner does not always have perfect English but she will always, especially if you choose her through a reputable agency, have plenty of experience and will know her job. Try not to take this as invitation to fill her task sheet with never ending duties though. Your role must not be diminished as well. No job will be done well if you will not find time to buy suitable cleaning products. Ironing will not be finished to high standard if you will leave piles and piles of it. Allow plenty of time if you want the job done to good standards. Miracles do not happen, mostly they are just the result of very hard work.
Be realistic. We, at Amy cleaning agency normally advise that it can take up to 1 hour to iron 5 shirts. It can take even more if they are over dried or have not been pressed the correct way previously. For example it is nearly impossible to take out creases from your shirt sleeves if they have been pressed with creases in before. It will take more than a few washes to achieve this. Change water in your iron as old water will leave lime scale marks on your clothing. Clothing stains should also be left for the dry cleaner, not a domestic cleaner to deal with.
Be careful with stains on surfaces. Some stains such as lily pollen, glue, mustard, blood or ink are nearly impossible to remove. Do not expect your cleaner to be a magician. Bear in mind that scrubbing stains on carpet carries heavy risks of damage and discolouring to material. Same goes for wood, marble or any stone surfaces. Invest in good products. Avoid the so called cleaning “shortcuts” as bleach or abrasive cloths. They will cause more harm than good.
There is always a reason why a cleaner is saying “no” to your request. Listen to her advice and you will have someone who will clean for you to come.
Maintain a regular cleaning routine of your leather upholstery so it will not look dull and tired. The best thing to use is a damp cloth to get rid of soft stains and dust.
Any stain on leather has to be removed as soon as possible. If the stain is not too big you can use baby wet wipes. It will leave also a very nice smell!
For water based spills or stains, use a soft cloth to absorb the excess and allow to dry for three or four days. If the stain is still visible, you can polish the area very gently with a clean dry cloth.
For oil based spills or stains, use a mild soap and then rinse the area with clean water. Allow to dry for three or four days.
Walking the City of London, I look at those new buildings, full of stainless steel and glass, and I can’t help but feel sorry for the cleaners.
I know! I am the first one to say how great those buildings look! How many of us have a state of the art kitchen with limestone floors, granite work top and stainless steel appliances? It is a pleasure to see the shininess and we can even see our gleaming smile reflected on the surface! But for how long?
All those new and “cool” materials are so difficult to keep clean that even the best cleaning product (and the best domestic cleaner) will not return the shine of the first day. They require a daily maintenance.
Cleaning stone and stainless steel takes time and requires constant work to keep them up to standard. If you are one of the lucky ones who can enjoy the pleasure of having those materials at home, speak with your domestic cleaner, make sure you have the right cleaning products; and if you cannot give her more time to clean them properly, be understanding with her when you find the odd finger print or mark.
At http://www.amycleaning.co.uk we receive a lot of requests from our clients to organise first meetings with their new cleaners. It is understandable that, even if you know that you will be having a professional domestic cleaner, you would like to have and idea of who will be going into your house on a regular basis.
Find on this article some tips on what to look for and what to say on a first meeting with your cleaner.
What to look for:
-First things first! your new cleaner must be on time for the meeting.
-What she doesn’t say. Non verbal communication is even more important that what she says to you. So if she is yawning or looking around while you are explaining where the hoover is kept most probably she won’t do a good job.
–Pen and paper. Domestic cleaners are busy people; they tend to work for different clients on the same week. If your cleaner writes down your requirements and any other information needed she is proving to be a very organised professional.
What to say:
We expect all domestic cleaners to do an excellent job from day one. But we can always help them a little bit by just explaining our priorities and specific expectations.
-Tell your new cleaner if you consider ironing more important than cleaning, or vice versa, so she can organise the work based on this.
-Tell your new cleaner if you will leave any note with specific tasks.
-Tell your new cleaner if you do any kind of recycling in the house and where to put the rubbish.
-Tell your new cleaner where you keep the chemicals/hoover/mop/cloths and anything she may need.
-Tell your new cleaner about the alarm and the use of the keys (make sure she practice with you in case there is any special trick to open the front door!).
Finding a magic cleaner is difficult sometimes, but these tips may help you to have an idea on how your new cleaner will respond to different situations, saving you any hassle in the future.
This month Elena is the cleaner of the month. She started in January and since then she has been doing an amazing job!
Some of her clients’ feedback:
“We’re very happy with Elena. She’s very thorough and probably the best cleaner we’ve had!”
“We have concluded that we are happy with Elena, she does a good job and is very trustworthy. We would like her to continue cleaning the flat”.
“All going very good with Elena, thanks!”
Thank you Elena for your great job!
We are two days away. Only two days to Christmas! The winter started last evening and it looks as we are going to have a proper white Christmas.
“Tis the time of jolly!” they say… of Christmas trees and present wrapping. People concentrate on decorating their homes, cooking the best turkey ever and enjoying a family reunion. Oh! lovely Christmas…
So where does cleaning stand in all this? Who dares to take a feather duster when they can light some candles and sing a Christmas carol?
This is for the domestic cleaners. The goddesses of cleaning who fight wind and snow to clean your house on the morning of Christmas eve; who clean, unnoticed, every single Christmas decoration to make them shine like stars; who battle the laziness of a warm and cozy family home to arrive at your house at the agreed time.
For them, who give you the opportunity of having a Happy and Clean Christmas.
Merry Christmas to everyone!
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.
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!