Livingston Reporting - page 361

Who actually looks forward to spring cleaning? Spring Cleaning represents the time of year when all the creepy crud that has been living under your bed is revealed and sucked up into the vacuum. As the spring cleaning begins we tend to see that when let go the house will eventually turn into one large dust bunny. This is the time of year when we vow that we will never let the dirt overcome us again. We tend to be extreme when spring cleaning. Maybe it is due to the fact that we are finally free of the layers of the winter season. We believe that this abundant cleaning once a year will cleanse our souls and prepare us for the coming months of open windows and guests that join us for summer fun. Each room has different needs for a deep clean. Some rooms can forgo a spring cleaning with regular maintenance throughout the year.

Let’s start in the bathroom. This is one area that should never need a major spring cleaning. Regular washing of the tub and tile will keep mold and soap scum at bay. Use a solution of vinegar and water and you will keep your tiles and tub surrounds sparkling year round. Mirrors can easily be wiped down with window cleaner once a week. The only area that you might tend to have a pack rat tendency is the medicine closet. During your spring cleaning, if you haven’t kept up on this throughout the year, pitch unused medicine, bath soaps and things that will not be used that have accumulated.

Kitchens are a spring cleaning nightmare. The kitchen has been spots where crud creeps up and overtakes without much notice on our part. Start in the refrigerator where you will want to purge unused sauces and dressing. You might want to have a sink full of hot water and soap ready because the shelves will be sticky and in need of a good wipe down. You will want to move the refrigerator so that you can clean behind it and underneath it. Use extra care when removing the front panel to dust away the allergens caught underneath the fridge in the coils. The same care needs to be done with the stove. You will want to use a stove cleaner in order to remove buildup inside of the stove. Spring cleaning is the time that cupboards and pantries should be wiped down and food that has expired should be thrown out.

Bedrooms are where the most dust and allergens collect. Furniture is often not moves in these areas and will need to be in spring cleaning. You will want to make sure to flip mattresses and purge items out of your drawers and closets. In the kids rooms you will want to pitch broken or toys that are no longer played with away. The same hold true as you are getting out the summer clothing items if the item will not fit for winter wear next year donate it now. There is no reason to hold onto it for a year only to donate it the following year.

The entire house often could use a spring cleaning. Make sure not to neglect window cleaning and regular household vacuuming. You will want to wipe down and touch up walls. Have a professional carpet cleaner out to remove soiled carpet. Do a thorough dusting of ceiling fans, window sills, moldings and picture frames. Spring cleaning doesn’t only refer to the inside of your home either. Make sure you are doing window cleaning on the outside of windows before you put your freshly cleaned screens back in place. Freshen up patio furniture and siding with a good power washing. A good purge and clean is also recommended for the shed and garage areas. It is a good chance to reevaluate the safety of chemicals in these areas and to throw anything out that is not in complete working order.

Spring cleaning doesn’t have to be so overwhelming. Make sure to keep up on maintenance in your home throughout the year. When it does come time to do that once over massive cleaning make it a weekend job not a month long process. Breaking down the individual rooms and processing little jobs throughout the months can also help make this process less tedious. Who says you have to wait to clean the windows or wash the cupboards until spring?

Yes you can still have your carpets cleaned in the winter. Popular belief would have us believing that all carpets need to be professional cleaned once a year during spring cleaning. There are so many reasons that this thought has changed in recent years. Winter remains the top times that carpet professionals would like to have consumers have them out to clean the carpets.

Carpets take the most abuse in the summer months. With all the bbq and outdoor parties comes traffic for your carpet. People are not taking their shoes off each and every time they enter to refill their lemonade and if they did bare feet could be even worse. How many times have you seen someone with flip flops on all day with clean feet? Never! Feet that have been housed in flip flops all day tend to be filthy. Imagine twenty pairs of those feet tracking dirt in your house all summer. Of course your carpet will have dirt that has been ground in after an entire season of this.

What you really want to avoid is waiting too long to clean your carpet. Spots from summer will become more and more prevalent as the months turn into fall. The fibers from your carpet will begin breaking down from the oils and dirt and the last thing you want to do is wait until spring to have your carpets cleaned.

One of the great things about getting your carpets cleaned in the winter months is that you can pretty much pick your appointment time. During the spring, when everyone has the itch to clean, you can wait up to two weeks before an appointment time is available. When spring hits the demand is so high that even working at top capacity most carpet professionals will have to turn away business. That favorite carpet cleaner you have will most likely be booked into the coming months. You definitely don’t want to have freshly cleaned carpet in the summer. The humidity is so high that the carpet will have an incredibly difficult time thoroughly drying which can cause mold issues later on down the road.

Carpets stay cleaner when you have professionals out in the winter. The dust and allergens are not as prevalent in the winter months. This is good for people with severe allergens because all of the allergens that were blown in and have saturated the carpet all through the spring and summer will be washed away. This will leave you with an environment that is enclosed to the outside allergens. The carpet, having been professionally cleaned, will be allergen free for the entire winter. This will allow for a greater quality of life throughout the winter months for those who have sensitivity to allergens.

In the winter months the carpet tends to dry quicker after being professionally cleaned. Without humidity the moisture that is in the carpet will evaporate at a faster pace. High powered fans, along with the homes heating elements will ensure thoroughly dried carpets. For you this means less worry about mildew, mold, or carpet delimitation from the carpets staying wet for too long.

Since carpet cleaning professionals are usually less busy in the winter months consumers will likely be able to get the best deal when scheduling their carpet cleaning for the winter months. Not only will you get all the benefits above from cleaning your carpets in the winter you can also save money doing it. How much better can getting your carpet in the winter get?

Cleaning tile is one of life’s most tedious, time consuming jobs. With all that being said it can get easier. If you are cleaning backsplashes in the kitchen, tile in the tub, or the tiled entry ways a few easy tricks of the trade could make the job much easier. The first thing you need to be aware of as a master cleaner is that tile inevitably gets dirty indifferent ways. Determine the root cause of the dirt and scum. It will be easier to pick the tool that will be the most effective if you know what battle you are fighting.

In the kitchen you will often find tile cleaning to be less of a hassle if you spend time throughout the time in the kitchen cleaning up food splatters as they happen. Waiting until the food has become an art form in your kitchen will present many grout and tile cleaning issues. For most kitchens cleaning with a simple mixture of vinegar and water, equal parts, will be sufficient. Spray on the cleaning solution and let it set and the stains should be easy to wipe off. For more stubborn stains a paste of baking soda and water can be applied. It is easier to get the tile and grout clean scrubbing in small circles rather than spreading the dirt around moving the debris about within the area using an up and down motion. Rinse the areas that you are cleaning with a straight water mixture and sop up the extra moisture with a clean sponge.

In the bathroom soap scum is a little bit harder to remove from between the grout and to get off the tiles. You can start by using household cleaners for soap scum removal. Most likely if the scum is visible you will need to use something a little bit stronger but we will discuss this in a minute. Household cleaners are available for purchase at most stores. Most over the counter cleaners that clean tile and grout will also help eliminate the buildup of mold and mildew in bathrooms. Another trick is to use a steam cleaner before actually using cleaning products. The steam will help to loosen some of the caked on grime allowing the products to get a better handle on the stains.

If you find that your cleaners are not getting the tiles and grout within your home as clean as you would like them to be go ahead and try a commercial grade cleaner. Commercial cleaners contain ingredients that are harsh to breathe in. You will want to make sure that you are using gloves and an air filtration masking when using these chemicals. If you would like to use a more natural solution that is equally strong try hydrogen peroxide or chlorine bleach. Make sure you dilute these chemicals thoroughly before starting the cleaning process. You will also want to make sure you are reading all labels to ensure that you don’t ruin your tile or grout sealants.

The final process in cleaning tile and grout to make it look fresh and new is to apply a few coats of sealer. Sealer enables your grout to have a defense against stains. Once your tile and grout is clean keep up on routine cleanings. This will avoid having to spend hours removing stains that have set in. Also, it is important to maintain the grout by continuing to apply a sealer once a year. Add grout sealing to your list during spring cleaning so that you can avoid staining.