Home Cleaning and Maintenance Tips from the Professionals

Routine Home Maintenance Checks

You should remember that there are some home maintenance tasks that may cause bigger trouble or even worse, cost you big money, if you don’t check them in a timely manner.

• Sump Pump – If they are not routinely checked (at least every six months) for their functionality, you may face frequent flooding in your basement.
• Water Pressure gauge - Check for high water pressure in your house water pipe lines. If it’s more, fixtures and appliances may get affected.  
• Weep holes - Check and clean window weep holes at times. If they are clogged, rainwater will enter your house.
• Heaters -Routinely drain sediment from your water heater, if there is a provision.
• Garage - Lubricate the garage door-springs occasionally for smooth functioning.

Daily Home Organising Tasks

Here are 5 things you should do every day to keep your house clean, organized and germ-free.

1. Effective decluttering: Put things in order as and when you see them strewn all over the place. Keep bins, baskets and cubbies at convenient places so that everything in your house has a proper place.  

When children and others in the house come to know that everything has a place to go and you do replace them regularly, they will also have a tendency to place things back to its place.

2. Properly arranging the paperworks: Proper handling of all physical mails such as forms, letters, bills, reports etc. - if done efficiently, you won’t face the issue of getting them accumulated on the countertops, bedroom tables etc.

3. Keep countertops neat & clean: You should ensure that all the sinks and countertops are wiped down at least once daily- the ones in the kitchen may require frequent cleaning as the need arises. This will avoid any crusty gunk accumulating around the edges of the sink, behind the faucets, and in or around the drain. This gets rid of colonies of germs settling in your kitchen.

If you can manage washing the dishes daily, it’ll be a great advantage. Washed dishes, clean countertops and sinks all create a good feel of cleanliness everywhere.

4. Take out the trash: Make it a habit to take out the kitchen trash every night. This will not only keeps harmful bacteria and bad smell away, but also makes your house seem cleaner in the next day morning...

Good to try this to have a fresh smell near the trash: drop a dryer sheet into the bottom of the empty can before you put in the new bag.

5. Sweep the floors: A clean floor is what adds up to the overall cleanliness of your home.  You need not to vacuum daily, but dust out and sweep the floor whenever you can.

It’s good to add two more points to those daily things to do: Always make your bed and keep a clean kitchen sink. You may not have much time to clean but these tips give the appearance of an orderly, clean home.

Bathroom Cleaning

Use clever tricks to remove soap scum from your bath area.  It’s not that easy to get rid of soap scum if you don’t follow instructions from an expert home cleaner.  Soap scum forms a tough film on tiles in tub and showers and won’t get removed by rubbing alone. Use a plastic putty knife to scrape off the scum when the surface is dry. If you are okay, you may use synthetic soaps which don’t form scum.

Cleaning and Maintaining Stone Floors

Natural stone surfaces are delicate and porous too. Marble is softer than granite, and so it is very easily etched by acids and citric juices. Even water drops left after mopping can cause water stains on marble.

If a spill occurred, quickly blot the spill to minimise their absorption into the stone’s inner layers. Place doormats at all entrances to minimise dirt and other particles lingering to the stone floors. Also ensure to dry up marble floors with a towel after cleaning. If you leave the floors to air dry, there are chances that the marble may get water spots and stains.

Never use strong detergents for cleaning marble or other natural stone floors. The chemical content in the detergent could harm the stone and also dull the polished surface. Always use the gentlest methods to clean marble and other delicate stone surfaces. Consult a stone restoration specialist or a reliable home cleaning company in New Zealand for tips to maintain stone floors and counters.