Spring Cleaning

Winter is over. It is time to Spring into cleaning. While enjoying the beautiful weather with your windows open, Spring brings a new cleaning into the home. To start:

Whole house:

1. Vacuum/wipe down walls and ceilings
2. Vacuum and clean all furniture
3. Dust all surfaces of your home(shelves, knick knacks, photos, lamp shades, door trim, window casings and ceiling fans)
4. Clean air vents yourself or have them professionally cleaned.
5. Vacuum all floors
6. Shampoo carpets and rugs
7. Clean windows inside and out
8. Wipe down baseboards
9. Clean the drapes and blinds

Kitchen:

1. Defrost and clean out freezer
3. Pull out the refrigerator and clean the coils
4. Apply thin layer of citrus oil to wooden cabinets
5. Wash out and sanitize trash cans
6. Clean the inside of the oven
7. Remove build up in drains using quality drain cleaner

Bathrooms:

1. Check expiration dates on all products
2. Clean grout in tile if necessary
3. Sanitize the whole bathroom

Bedrooms:

1. Change the bedding
   

   If you keep up with your cleaning, there should be no reason to beat the mattress

2. Wash or replace pillows
3. Clean out drawers and closets
4. Replace batteries in all smoke detectors

Office:

1. Clean out drawers
2. Replace paper
3. Check all paperwork
4. Scan and store all important files

Garage:

1. Wash out and disinfect trash cans
2. Replace filter for your furnace

Outdoors

1. Check for burnt out light bulbs
2. Clean out door furniture
3. Clean/power wash all decks and walkways
4. Clear all cobwebs and nests from porch

Laundry room:

1. Clean out washing machines
2. Clean out vent and exhaust of dryer and vacuum out lint trap

Keep up with the spring cleaning. It is worth it once fall and winter come back around. Good luck!!

 

Cleaning the Freezer

Put your coat on and grab your chiselers  Freezers tend to be one of the most ignored areas in your home. Even though it might not seem dirty because it is much more difficult to detect odors, it is very important to thoroughly clean the freezer. With this in mind there are certain products you must have before taking on this frozen animal:

• Rag or sponge
  

  Sponge used to clean Freezer.

• Towel or paper towels
• Vinegar or other sanitizing cleaner
• Water
• Baking soda
• Old toothbrush

Now that your have all of your tools to clean the freezer, you need to be able to use them properly. Start by:

1. Emptying out the freezer(and fridge if connected)
2. Unplug the freezer so it defrosts
3. To speed up defrost, use hair dryer on built up ice
4. Now that the freezer is empty, pick up left over food particles
5. Using sponge or rag, wipe out the fridge with warm water and vinegar
6. For the harder to reach spots use the toothbrush
7. After cleaning with hot water and vinegar, go back in and rinse it our with plain water so there is no stickiness.
8. To reduce any odor, go back in with the sponge and use a mixture of warm water and baking soda.
9. Wipe down the whole freezer including the door.
10. Now that the freezer is clean, it is important to dry it so ice does not build up around the walls and doors.
11. Put the food back in and plug in the freezer.

With the freezer clean, it is important to go back in more frequently so there is less of headache next time. Good luck!

Pets and Their Stains

Pets can be an amazing addition to your home. Some would say pets make the home “home”; however, just like humans, dogs and cats have to go to the bathroom. Sometimes, that potty break can’t wait for the litter box or fire hydrant.

Sadly, pet urine stains are the biggest reason for the calls we receive. The owner was never trained properly on how to clean up pee stains.

The Humane Society of the United States has a step by step clean up that we find the most useful. To start:

Portable black light used to detect urine stains.

1. Seek out all of the spots that have pee by sniffing them out or using a black light.  
2. Soak up as much urine as you can using newspaper and paper towels. Do this by placing newspaper under soiled area, if possible, and standing on lots of paper towels to soak up the pee.
3. After repeating the process until the area is barely damp, place the pee soaked towels in the area it belongs. Litter box, puppy pads, or outside.
4. Rinse the accident spot with cool water
5. Blot until dry

Along with all of the cleaning, it might be a good idea to start training/retraining your dog and for that goes for cats too.

 

Honey and Carpets Do Not Mix

An Employees Tragedy:

Last week, I went to one of my favorite restaurants, Mississippi Sweets, in Boca Raton. When ever I go, I always get a half pan of there incredibly tasty corn bread to take home for desert. With the cornbread they give me a couple of cups of honey to drench my corn bread with. Mmmmmm… It’s so good, tasty is an understatement. To the point, I am not the only one in my house hold that thinks honey is “incredibly tasty.”

Bella, my adorable lab, agrees that corn bread and honey are the perfect mixture for a mid-night snack. If you haven’t figured it out

Bella relaxing in her spot of tragedy

yet, Bella stole all of my corn bread and honey off of the counter. Bella is also like her daddy in that she likes to eat in the living room where the nice cozy carpet is. After I woke up to this tragedy, I soon realized that honey is not very easy to get out of the carpet. Also, “not very easy” is an understatement when trying to get honey out of the carpet.

Through my search of the world wide web, Stain-Removal-101 has the most useful tips in cleaning honey out of carpets.

For both carpet and upholstery, the removal process is the same. Start by:

1. Scraping off any excess honey from the carpet or upholstery
2. Mixing a solution of two cups cool water and one table spoon dishwashing liquid
3. With this solution, sponge the stain with a clean white cloth
4. Blot at the stain until the liquid is absorbed
5. Repeat steps three and 4 until the honey has been removed.
6. Once honey is removed get plain water and a white cloth and blot until cleaning solution is out
7. Blot until dry

If this does not work, I would consider calling a cleaning company. If you have a dog, like Bella, be pre-cautious and do not place your most desired treats at the edge of your counter.

Dust is Inevitable

For those of you that do not know what dust is. Please take a seat, for I  have some scary news for you. According to HGTV, dust is an accumulation of:

1. Sloughed off skin cells
   

   Dust gather in house hold environment

2. Animal dander and hair
3. Dust mites and their feces
4. Decomposing bug parts
5. Fabric fibers
6. Soil
7. Wood
8. Paint
9. Plastic
10. etc….

For those with allergies, it is very important that you dust on a regular basis. You know if you have an allergy with symptoms like:

• Stuffy nose
• Itchy and watery eyes
• Sneezing

According to doctors, allergies can not be cured but they can be treated. The best way to treat an allergy of dust is to treat it by dusting and trying to avoid constant contact with the list above.

Pressure Washing Do’s and Don’ts

Pressure washing is one of the more dangerous areas in the cleaning world. For those of you that are pressure washing for the first time or just need a couple of tips on how to be pre-cautious, we are going to provide you with some of Amazing Machinery’s Do’s and Don’ts.

Do’s:

• Wear gloves, protective eye-wear and ear muffs.
  

  Pressure washing concrete driveway.

• Find out whether machine is gas or electric
• Read owner manual
• Check accessories of pressure washer
• Check engine and pump oil levels
• Test pressure washer on a small section before moving to larger surface
• Engage safety lock when in use
• Run fresh water through when done
• Store in a climate controlled, well ventilated area

Don’ts

• Do not direct spray toward any body part or another person
• Don’t leave pressure washer running while unattended
• Don’t add fuel when on
• Don’t pressure wash windows
• Don’t use hot water unless you washer is rated for it
• Don’t run machine for longer than two minutes with out spraying.

While pressure washers are great for cleaning grout and removing dirt outdoors, this machine needs to be treated with the upmost respect. If you do not handle this machine properly someone(including yourself) could get hurt very easily. If you feel uncomfortable using such a high powered machine, please call your local cleaner to do the job. Feel free to ask them how they do it. If they are a good cleaner, they will give you a 101 course on how to work it properly.

No More Dirty Boats

For those of us that are unfortunate enough to have a boat, cleaning it can be quite the tedious task. Unlike automobiles, the interior of boats needs to be constantly cleaned in all areas. Due to boats having constant contact with water, mildew and mold can become an issue. It is recommended that after 3 or 4 trips out on the seas, we give the boat a good rub down.

Cleaning Boats 101

1. Be prepared to clean the boat on a regular basis. Be sure to clean the constantly used areas as much as you can. It will help dramatically once you prepare for your more thorough cleaning. 
2. In white areas, you can use bleach but make sure to not touch the bleach to any colored surface. While scrubbing down the interior be sure to use a soft scrub product.
3. Do some research and find a good marine grade cleaner. It is important that you do not use a cleaner intended for cars for it will break down marine material.
4. After cleaning the interior thoroughly, apply a protectant on all seats, platforms and pads. Similarly to the cleaner, make sure the protectant is meant for boats and not for cars.
5. It is important to keep rags and cleaning products on the boat in case an immediate cleanup is needed.
6. If you want to keep your boat smelling fresh and clean, after every outing be sure to dry off all of the products in the sun.
7. Pull up all of the carpet and let it dry in the sun. Be sure to not let it sit in the sun for to long or it will fade the carpet.
8. At least once year, have a professional clean the boat thoroughly.
9. In order to keep your boat in the best condition make sure to cover it after every trip.

With all of these tips combined, your boat will keep looking like new.

Vehicles Are All About the Detailing

Just like your home, your vehicle is another place you find your self consistently everyday. It is very important to make sure our homes, automobiles and places of work are clean so we have a healthy environment to live, drive and work in.

The interior of your vehicle is very similar to the furniture in your home or office. You can actually use the same products that are used on furniture inside your vehicle. One of the most effective ways to start cleaning your automobile is by vacuuming your:

1. Seats
2. Floor Mats
3. Carpets

Next, you need to dust:

• Dashboard
• Rear Window Shelf
• Other Surfaces

After, you have vacuumed and dusted, it is time to take the products you use in your home and apply them to the surfaces of your car and upholstery. When cleaning, try to avoid using:

• Large quantities of water
• Sponges
• Paper towels
• Slippery cleaning products

Try to use microfiber clothes when ever you are dampening and drying surfaces. Also, based on the car you have decide what kind of brushes you want to use. Softer brushes are better for navigation screens,  while stronger brushes are better for getting into harder to reach crevasses in your vehicle.

Detailing  your vehicle does not have to be an expensive task. If you stay on top of keeping your vehicle clean, it can be very inexpensive.

Oil Stains Vs Cat Litter

Are oil stains ruling your garage and concrete driveway? We are here to let you know that there are some cheap and simple steps to cleaning those dark and slippery stains. This might be surprising but here are some house hold products that can efficiently remove a deep grease stain:

• Cat Litter
  

  Cat litter can be used to clean up grease and oil stains by simply pouring over stain, crushing litter and rubbing it into the stain so it soaks up the oil.

• Pepsi
• Peat Moss
• Liquid Tide

For a larger and thicker grease or oil spot, you might want to hire a professional to remove the stain. However, for the more simple clean ups these should work great. Our favorite is cat litter. Why?

1. Inexpensive
2. Environmentally friendly
3. Very simple

While these other products work well, cat litter tends to be the least messy and most environmentally and economically friendly.

There are many ways to use cat litter in the process of cleaning up and this video shows a more extensive way of using cat litter to clean up after a recent oil spill.

Cleaning From Top to Bottom

Has anyone ever told you that cleaning your home from top to bottom is the first step to a good cleaning? This means, before you start working on your floors or counter tops, you should probably begin with the:

• fans
• crown moldings
• windows
• cabinets
• ceilings
• televisions
• refrigerators

The reason we do this is because it is inevitable that dust is going to get on the object below the area you are dusting.

For instance, when you are dusting your fan, all of the dirt and scum from the fan is going to land either on the floor or furniture below it. So, start from the highest point and move to the lowest point. This is a much more timely way to clean.