Tuesday 26 July 2016

Easy Cleaning Tips and Tricks That’ll Remove Many of Your Household Headaches


Did you know that most people collect tips and hints to save time and money and make everyday home cleaning and maintenance tasks fast and easy?

Here is one such useful tip to jot down in your kitchen notebook. As we are now in the middle of winter, it’s good to know how we can keep our windows and glass doors from frosting. Take one quart warm water and mix it with half a cup of rubbing alcohol. Apply this solution on the glass surface and clean with a soft cotton cloth to view beautiful scenes of nature outside. No more foggy windows and glass door during winter!

The following collection of tips and tricks will help you greatly in day to day home maintenance

1. Pencil erasers can be used to remove sticky price tags, and clean buttons and keys on your mobile, laptop and remote control. 
2. Mix one tablespoon each of baking powder and salt and then add one tablespoon of water into the paste. Your stove top cleaning product is ready. Now take a clean cloth and use a little bit of the mixture to smartly clean the stove. This newly made chemical compound can also be used to clean your outdoor grill.
3. Use ice cube to remove stubborn carpet dents left by heavy furniture. Use a picking tool to drop an ice cube on the carpet where it is dented. Wait for the ice cube to melt fully and then use a toothbrush to fluff the area and the carpet fibres will expand and regain the original position.
4. Same ice treatment can be used to remove chewing gum from your carpets. Put few ice cubes in a small plastic bag and place it on top of the stuck gum. Wait for 15 minutes and you can see that the gum has hardened. Now you can easily peel the gum off without breaking.
5. Wood ash is a desiccant, so it can be used to remove oil or grease stains from stone and cement surfaces in your garage or elsewhere. Just rub the wood ashes into the stained area with a cloth and then apply water to clean up the stain.
6. Deep toilet stains can be easily removed with a pumice stone if you have to urgently clean the toilet due to the arrival of a guest within short notice. Normally such cleaning task is to be given to professional home cleaners to do it hygienically.
7. Are there water spots on your wooden table or other wood surfaces? Don’t worry- it can be easily removed with the help of your hair dryer. Use the blow dryer at medium heat and focus it on the water stain keeping the dryer about two inches away. Normally the stain mark will disappear immediately, but if it persists, use a napkin to wipe out the stain while applying heat. Afterwards use two drops of olive oil to moisturise the wood.
8. Did you know that cooking spray is a soap scum buster? Spray some non-stick cooking spray into the soap scum and hard water spots on your glass shower door and tiles. Wait for 5 minutes and then wash the area with mild soapy water to see that all blemishes have gone! 
9. Mix dry tea leaves into the litter box to prevent it smelling badly. The tea leaves also have anti-bacterial quality which is an added advantage for hygienic purpose.
10. Stain marks on the walls can be easily removed using semi-stale white bread. The gluten in the bread helps to remove the stain. Remove the crusts from two bread loaves and make it a ball of bread and rub it on the stained area after cleaning the spot with a cloth. Bread is highly absorbent and gradually the stain marks disappear.  
11. Artificial Sweeteners can be used to remove stains like red wine, coffee and tea from a tablecloth. Put the sweetener over the stain and keep it overnight. Next day brush off the remaining sweetener and rinse the cloth in cold water.

Importance of Professional Home Cleaning
One significant point to mention that there is no shortcut to keeping your home hygienic. You’ll have to spend considerable time washing and disinfecting your home. Here comes the role of home cleaning companies. A clean and orderly house itself will help reduce lot of stress.

Save your weekends and relax while an affordable and trustworthy cleaning professional comes and do all the home cleaning tasks with minimum disruption. Do call Select Home Cleaning Company right now on 0800 000 907 to experience that pleasant feeling. 

Tuesday 19 July 2016

Cleaning and General Maintenance Tips to Get the Entire House Neat & Organised


As a respectable homeowner, you’ll have to keep in touch with a reputed house cleaning company for professional home cleaning tasks such as removing stubborn stains on countertops/floors, effectively cleaning bathrooms and kitchen, and more. However, it’s also a must to have some cleaning tips at your fingertips for a clean, tidy, and good smelling home.

Easy Home Cleaning Tips

Kitchen Area
Save your kitchen marble countertop from staining by burnishing it with a quality car polish. The thin layer of the polish will prevent accidental spills from staining the costly stone surface. 

To effortlessly clean burnt saucepans, first soak it in hot water to loosen and lift off any burnt on food particles sticking to the surface. While pouring hot water add two teaspoons of dishwashing detergent and let it soak overnight. Next day it’ll be easy to remove the burnt marks using a quality cleaning product as recommended by professional home cleaners. Afterwards if there are stubborn stains of grease left with, then apply a paste of baking soda and water and keep it for an hour. Finally scrub off the baking soda paste with soft sponge or cloth. It’s not advisable to forcibly scrub a stainless steel pan with steel wool trying to remove the burnt marks.

When cleaning out your fireplace, sprinkle damp coffee grounds over the ashes to prevent them from spreading in the area. If coffee grounds are not available, spray some water to prevent ash from flying everywhere.

Simple way to rid your house of bad smells: When you feel nasty odours in the kitchen, burn some coffee beans and its smell will sweep over the other bad odours. 

Bathroom Cleaning Tips
Occasionally rub the bathroom mirror with a bar soap and then clean it with a cloth to keep mirrors from fogging up with steam. 

Save some bucks: Collecting bits of soap left over in the bathrooms is a boring task – Now you can make it a nice job by using those bits to prepare your homemade liquid soap! Mix the soap bits with glycerine and some warm water, and pour it into an empty liquid soap bottle; that’s it! 

Maintenance Tips Related to Clothes and Carpets
Blood stains from clothes can be removed by adding a few drops of hydrogen peroxide and brushing it. Wash the area with soapy water to see the blood stains gone. 

Suppose a few drops of oil accidentally fell on your silk clothing, don’t get upset. Sprinkle cornflour into the affected area and gently brush off. Put more cornflour to fully cover the oil stained area and keep it for two hours. Now shake off the cornflour and clean the clothing to see that oil marks are disappeared.  

Sometimes we see the bottom of the iron accumulates dirt from burned fabric. You can remove it neatly by sprinkling salt on the ironing board and ironing back and forth. 

When you notice your wool carpet has furniture indentations, place a clean cotton cloth over the area and press with a warm iron. This will lift the wool fibres.  Never attempt this on synthetic carpets as it could spoil fibres. 

General House Cleaning Tips
Spray a mixture of vinegar and water (3:1 ratio) on your car windows to prevent ice and frost formation when left outside overnight in winter.

Gummy residue left by shop stickers can be easily removed by applying eucalyptus oil.

It’s not a rare sight that a glass vase falls to the ground, breaking into pieces... After removing the pieces that can be easily picked, rest of the minute glass dust can be removed by pressing a piece of bread onto the floor.

Next time when you think of throwing the water from your aquarium to replenish it, try using it for watering your garden plants. It’s a good fertiliser with full of nutrients.

Know Your Cleaning Company
These cleaning tips are shared by our professional home cleaners at Select Home Cleaning Company who have a wealth of experience in keeping your home clean and organised. We provide full housekeeping services or a customised particular cleaning service to suit your requirement. Generally we provide: Weekly/Fortnightly Cleaning | Spring Cleaning | Move-out/Move-in Cleaning.

Available now in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Tauranga and Hamilton, you can contact us on Phone 0800 000 907 for a free home cleaning quote.   

Tuesday 12 July 2016

Speed Cleaning Tips and Move-Out Cleaning Checklist for Your Easy Reference


Speed Cleaning tips
Speed cleaning is applicable when some guests are coming over for a casual visit. In such case you should pay particular attention to important areas such as the kitchen, lounge room and one bathroom where visitors are sure to go.

When it comes to speed cleaning your house, plan it neatly by first having all products and equipment ready. Better to keep all the cleaning items and tools in a bucket which you can easily carry while you go cleaning around the house. This will also help to avoid backtracking to collect things.  

First of all clean the floors in common spaces that includes sweeping up the kitchen and vacuuming.  More attention and time are to be allotted for bathroom and kitchen cleaning- the two spots your guests will watch with scrutinising eyes!

Then move from room to room cleaning systematically; don't go back and forth to rooms. If you can plan particular time period, say 10 minutes, for each room, then the cleaning will go fast in an organised way without interruptions.

Everyone wants their house to be shining bright before the guests. So get to know as many home cleaning tips as possible to do a quick, efficient cleaning. Before you start cleaning, it’s advisable to clear space by putting unclean dishes in the dishwasher and clothes in washing machine.

Have a quick glance through benchtops and sink. Remove all clutter and put them back in cabinets or inside the refrigerator as the case may be. A clean sink and empty counters will give best impression of neatness in the kitchen.  Also make sure to wipe down the stove and microwave quickly.

Improve Indoor Air Quality and Reduce Air Pollution
New Zealand has more people suffering from asthma and poor air quality related allergies than any of its neighbouring countries. The quality of air we breathe in our home should be improved a lot by effectively removing all dust, bacteria, allergens, pollen, and animal hair, skin cells etc.

On an average we spend 87% of our time indoors, of which around 69% is spent at home. So the air quality in your home or office is a matter of great concern. Only quality home cleaners who adopt excellent cleaning processes only can ensure such high degree of cleanliness.

For regular house cleaning tips, visit Select Cleaning website or call an expert home cleaner on 0800 000 907. Select Cleaning Company does normal regular inside cleaning of homes.  They also do spring cleaning and moving cleans.  It’s a wise move to spend little extra cash by assigning a move-out clean to an affordable house cleaner in New Zealand.

Here’s a Checklist for Move-Out Cleaning

Kitchen
  • Clean out all cabinets and liners and wipe them clean.
  • Clean and disinfect all benches and countertops.
  • Clean the oven thoroughly and scrub the refrigerator inside out. Clean the back of the refrigerator and the wall behind it.
  • Apply a baking soda or other cleaning product and scrub the sink to clean it. Wipe the faucet with a mild soapy solution to remove grime and gunk.
  • Clean the exhaust fan.

Living room/bedrooms
  • Dust, sweep, vacuum and mop all bedrooms and living room.
  • Clean the windows inside out and wipe down the doors.
  • Clean all light switches.

Bathroom
  • Scrub the tiles and grouting using bleach or other products recommended by professionals. Clean inside and sides of bathtub.
  • Clean the vanity/sink, countertop and mirror.
  • Wash the floors and clean the toilet.
  • Clean the exhaust fan.
  • Empty vanity cabinets and wipe clean.
  • Clean the shower rods and wash the curtain.

Outside
  • Cut the grass and pull out any weeds.
  • Scrub the porch stairs to remove stains.
  • Remove all unwanted items from the garden and give a smart look to lawn and patio furniture with quick cleaning.

If you find the above cleaning list thoroughly exhausting and don’t have the time and energy to do it, never attempt it because doing it improperly means you’ll lose the rental deposit money. In such a scenario it’s good to call an affordable move-out cleaner.

Tuesday 5 July 2016

Why Do You Need Professional Deep Cleaning Service For Your Wooden Floor?


Assign your most stress causing job of home cleaning to reliable service providers who will manage it efficiently at affordable rates. You’ll realise how much you can enjoy your life when such a constant headache is removed from you daily chores. 

The fully trained owner operators of Select Home Cleaning service bring everything with them that is needed for the cleaning task and will leave your home sparkling. You need not to be present while Select Cleaning home cleaners are doing the job at your home because they are police checked, trustworthy professionals.

Some of the specialist home cleaning jobs done by Select Cleaning service are: vacuuming all floors, dusting surfaces, spot cleaning marks around doors and switches, washing all hard floors, cleaning all kitchen surfaces, and completely cleaning bathrooms & toilets. Their home cleaners also will manage cleaning inside the fridge or oven as per the nature of the job assigned by you.

Tips & techniques for your hardwood floor care maintenance

Keep your timber floors in good shape - Of course you’ll have to, because it’s a costly investment you made towards your home improvement. Maintain your beautiful wooden floors with these easy, time-tested cleaning tips.

Don’t use more water while cleaning wooden floor. It’ll stain the wood surface and can cause expanded and warped boards. Hot water is also harmful for timber floors. The best way to prolong the life and elegance of this type of flooring is to follow standard mop and mopping techniques employed by professional home cleaners in New Zealand and Australia.

While mopping a wooden floor, look at the grains of the wood and mop along the grains in one direction, so maximum dust and grit, even embedded dirt, are completely removed. Ensure that your mop is slightly damp and not too wet.

See what happened to a homeowner: “I put too much wood floor cleaning spray on and now the floor is so slippery my dogs can't even walk on it without sliding.” When you manage the home cleaning singlehandedly, you’ll have to confront such awkward situations. 

Additional points from Select Home Cleaning for timber floor cleaning
  • Babies crawl on the floor and put their fingers in the mouth. So, the least thing you want on your floor is petrochemicals or any other harmful chemical residues.
  • Mop up spills as soon as possible to reduce the risk of staining
  • For removing stubborn stains, contact home cleaning specialists.
  • Always make it a point to sweep or vacuum the timber floor frequently to remove loose dirt, dust, grit as these can cause fine scratches on the wood surface.
  • Never use strong household cleaners and bleach-based detergents on wooden floor.
  • It’s recommended to use removable or washable cotton mop, because when you use a sponge mop it just spread the dirt around.
  • There are quite a large variety of finishing materials such as varnish, wax, oil, shellac, and lacquer are used to seal wooden floors. Remember to use a floor cleaning method which suits the type of sealing compound used.  Your timber floors will look so much better then!

Advantages of professional timber floor cleaning

As explained with the wooden flooring, there are particular care and maintenance procedures for ceramic tile floors, slate floors, vinyl floors, linoleum floors and marble floors etc. It’s not easy for you to know all those procedures if your home has different kinds of hard surface floors.   

Even though the above mentioned timber floor cleaning tips will help you in a great way, you should have the time and mood to clean your home before attempting to do it alone. If you lack the patience, then better call a professional home cleaner, and get wonderful result in no time.

Professional cleaning can bring you a high degree of cleanliness that you can’t achieve using everyday household items. The grime and grit that has been ground into the wood just can’t be removed with microfiber pads, mops and vacuums -they are just meant for daily maintenance after occasional deep cleaning by expert home cleaners. 

The stubborn grime and stains on hardwood floors need high-powered scrubbers and cleaning products specifically made to remove them through efficient cleaning. Get an obligation-free professional hardwood floor cleaning quote today.