Autumn Cleaning and Home Maintenance Tips

While autumn is the best time to go for trekking, cycling or fly fishing, it’s also the ideal time to clean out the rain gutters from autumn leaves and debris. As you watch autumn’s last leaves fall, beware of the damage it can cause - these leaves clog your gutters and send water into your home. However, if you don’t have the time to clean the gutters or don’t want to pay house gutter cleaners, try installing quality gutter protectors which stop leaves and debris etc. from entering your gutters.  

Autumn season is the right time to give the deck and patio some face-lift. If you have a wood deck, you should consider giving it a bath before it goes for seasonal hibernation in the rains or snow. This is to avoid mould and fungi growing and staining the wooden surface. Brick or concrete patios also need thorough cleaning and if possible apply some concrete or sand seal at worn out joints and cracks.

When you turn the clocks forward and back, remember one more thing- do the functional check on fire alarms. Change their batteries as needed. Also remove all dust and dirt accumulated in the alarms with the brush attachment on the vacuum cleaner.

Autumn is also the right time to collect and store enough firewood for the burner. And if you see that your mud yard is slippery, make an alternate brick pathway to the mailbox or boundary wall before the onslaught of rain or snow. Similarly, inspect and fill the cracks on the sidewalks and driveways now, or they may get larger and damage the driveway when water seeps inside the small cracks and freezes during the winter.    

General home cleaning and maintenance tips

There are two basic organisational tips: 1. Maintain a place for everything; 2. Inculcate the habit of removing things that are no longer in use.

Stains on plastic cutting boards: Sprinkle some rock salt into a cut lemon; now use it to clean the cutting boards, you’ll see that all the stains have gone!

Barbecue cleaning: This cut lemon with salt also works fine to clean your barbecue. First, heat the grill up to a high temperature, and then wipe it clean with the half lemon and salt.

Bathroom & toilet cleaning: If you see mould growth on the caulk between the bath tub and tiles, make it a habit to clean the area with white vinegar.

For stubborn toilet stains, clean it with the help of a good quality bowl cleaner solution and a pumice stick. 

Home Cleaning Service providers in New Zealand

Select Clean professional home cleaners- the security cleared, owner operators- are insured, and trained on latest technology in the house cleaning industry.

Everybody knows that cleaning a house at times is very stressful. Let Select Cleaning in New Zealand take away that stress from you as their cleaners can come in and do all the normal weekly or fortnightly cleaning tasks with more technical precision than you would normally do. 

Select Clean's routine cleaning service include: 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. They can also do the little extras like inside the fridge or oven.  

Call Select Clean today on 0800 000 907 for a free home cleaning quote.

DIF Tips to Clean Thermal Backed Curtains in Your Home

We all have faced problems associated with mould in our homes when there were lapses in our home cleaning and maintenance practices.  You might have noticed that mould attacks more during winter and rainy seasons. Mould is irritating and smelly and can cause serious health and respiratory problems for you and your family members.

If you happen to see mould build-up on your window curtains, don’t panic; we can show you how to remove it using simple home remedies. However, if you have allergies, asthma or related respiratory illnesses, never forget to wear a mask while cleaning mould affected curtains. If your health issues are complicated, we recommend calling professional house cleaners to remove the mould.

When You Can Clean the Curtain in a Washing Machine

You can use a delicate washing cycle in the washing machine if both your curtain and its thermal linings are fabric material. Add some soap powder or liquid soap into the warm water in the washing machine. When the soap fully dissolves, put your curtain in the washing machine and make a normal wash cycle without letting the machine to spin. Once the washing cycle is over, fill the laundry tub with water and rinse well.

Now take out the curtain and hang it straight on the clothesline, don’t fold. Don’t use clothespins to hang curtains, always use the curtain hooks. You should double check to ensure that the thermal lines are not touching each other. If there was more dirt in the first curtain piece you washed, then you’ll have to drain the washing machine and refill with fresh water. Otherwise use same water for two or three curtains till the water gets dirty.

When the Curtain Needs to Be Hand-washed for Mould Removal

Remember, if you use washing machine to clean your curtains which are thermally backed/patterned thermal fabric, be cautious, you could spoil the show and damage your curtains beyond repair. If you act carelessly, the thermal lining in the curtains can get stuck together and damage it. If you try to untangle the linings, they’ll just peel off. 

So, use the following cleaning methods to safeguard your curtain:

First vacuum the curtains, or try shaking the curtains to remove dust, dirt, and loose mould spores. You may use this opportunity to give the windows also a quick wipe with a microfiber cloth and plain water after you have removed the curtains. Ensure to wash the hooks, strings and other attachments before fitting the curtains back.

Condition 1

If you notice that the mould has affected only the base and corners of the curtain, then do the following.  Mix half a cup of white vinegar with one cup of warm water and pour it into a spray bottle. Mix well and spray the cleaning liquid on the traces of mould. Wait for 20 minutes and wipe the area with a plain cloth to remove the mould.

Condition 2

If mould is spotted at many areas of the curtain, get it hand washed perfectly. Put the curtain in a bathtub with water and 1 cup of vinegar. Wash it carefully without spoiling the thermal lines. If the wet thermal material (coating) starts to stick to itself, then it’s difficult to save your costly curtain.

Now, take out the curtain from the bathtub and hang it to dry in a straight position without folding. You may also spread it flat over a clothes horse. The drying should be done in a well ventilated area, and on a sunny breezy day, it’ll be quick to dry without getting damaged.   

Prevention is Better than Cure

Even after washing properly, you may find mild traces of mould stain in the curtain as it’s not possible to completely wash away the whole mould presence. However, you can be rest assured that the washing will ensure the mould spores are dead and won’t grow any further. Again, consider the saying that prevention is better than cure. Make sure that your windows don’t suffer from condensation and that the conditions for mould growth are always avoided.

Call professional house cleaners for weekly, bi-weekly, monthly or occasional home cleaning to get everything done efficiently and thoroughly. This will prevent cleaning issues such as mould and mildew, stains etc.

Home Maintenance Checklist for Autumn Months

The weather is now excellent in this autumn season as temperatures are a little cooler than summer. Here are a few home maintenance activities for March to May autumn months. Never use cleaning materials that are harmful to plants and animals. Make sure that the home cleaners use mostly Eco-Friendly products.

March:

Caulking and weather-stripping - Check for worn caulking and weather-stripping around doors and windows. They are the ones that reduce entry of cold air into the home during winter. Cracked or worn weather stripping should be replaced with new stripping. Same way, worn and ragged caulking has to be removed and re-caulked with branded products. Properly weather-stripping the gaps will seal all air leaks and thus pay for itself in terms of energy savings.

Get rid of the clutter – Cluttered homes generally create tension and bring in negative energy. De-clutter your home efficiently. Never keep too many furniture in the living room. Magazines and newspapers are not to be piled up in the bedroom or living area, they have to be kept in the storeroom. Don’t pile up things on the coffee table! Clear, unimpeded traffic flow will keep your mind free and fresh, that’s why clutter shouldn’t be allowed at any place.

Neat and clean exterior - Remove piles of leaves and dirt in the courtyard and garden and prune back trees, shrubs & vines. Trees should not obstruct light from entering into your living room.

April:

External surfaces - In addition to routine home cleaning and maintenance, give attention to clean the outside of the house in the month of April - Wash down all external surfaces including windows, driveways, and fencing etc.

Fire Alarms - Check all smoke and fire alarms when turning the clock ahead for Daylight Savings. Change the batteries of the alarms if necessary.

Tree-planting - After thoroughly cleaning the garden, make sure to plant seeds & bulbs for spring and summer fruiting. April is the ideal time to do that.

May:

Clean gutters - Replace old or damaged gutters with new ones. Better to purchase gutters with built-in leaf guards. Never compromise on quality regarding gutters, and drains etc. as there are plenty of cheap varieties available in the market. Take only the good quality products.

Clean fireplace & wood burners - In the fall, it’s advised to have your chimney inspected by a home cleaning expert and give it a professional cleaning. Ensure that all the ash from the fireplace and any stuck on stuff on the walls and the bottom of the fireplace are completely removed. Once the cleaning is over, inspect it for yourself and see to it that everything is sparkling clean.

Clear autumn leaves & dead wood - Rather than calling a landscaper or a house cleaning company to do the fall leaf cleanup, it’s recommended to do the task by the DIY route! The reason is cleaning of the autumn leaves and dead wood is not a onetime process. As leaves will be falling regularly covering a longer period of time, the cleaning has to be done two or three times. With proper tools and a well thought-out plan, leaf cleanup won’t be a difficult task for you and the family members.

 
Select Cleaning offers fantastic home cleaning job- extremely honest and reliable service. Security is never a problem with Select Cleaning Company as all their professionals are police checked and verified. The advantage here is that you get a high-quality cleanup at a cost effective price. Their home cleaners in New Zealand and Australia are continuously trained with the latest technology in the field. Each of their cleaning professional is a SelectCleaning Franchisee owner who takes pride in doing the home cleaning perfectly every time conforming to the SelectCleaning standards! Call them now on 0800 000 907 for an obligation-free home cleaning quote to experience it for yourself.

Welcome This Autumn with a Dust and Dirt-free Home

Thoroughly cleaning the home at the end of the summer season, particularly in places experiencing dust storms, can be termed as summer cleaning. With the advent of autumn season, even the people most indifferent to home cleaning feel a sudden urge to move furniture, clean windows, remove all unnecessary items and give their home entirely a novel look in order to welcome the colourful brightness of autumn. 

The start of autumn seems to be the busiest time for the home cleaning professionals as it is the perfect period to give a little overdue attention to the dust pile in the corner, the dirt which accumulates throughout the summer season and those hidden closet disasters. Professionals at the Select Home Cleaning are ready to help you!

How Is Autumn Cleaning Useful?

As the temperature cools down and we head towards autumn, the one thing we all dread is home cleaning. However, health experts recommend removing old make-up, replacing pillows, cleaning the windows and giving the refrigerator a thorough cleanup. These certainly benefit our health in various ways.

• Remove allergens and bacteria- throughout the summer season our house gives shelter to dust, dirt, bacteria and mould which cause harmful allergies, especially to children and elderly residents. A thorough cleaning of the house helps remove these bacteria and other allergens.
• Psychological benefit- moving around in a clean house reduces stress and helps get rid of psychological disorganization. A dirt and dust free house enables you to lead a comfortable life.
• Improves physical fitness- health experts often recommend cleaning our homes ourselves as it is a kind of physical exercise. It stretches your muscles, burn down calories and increases efficiency.

Do I Need A Professional Autumn Clean-Up?

However doing the entire autumn cleaning job ourselves might not be a great idea. Though the regular chores can be handled by us, there are certain processes of autumn cleaning that should be left to the experts for the best results. We face the issue of cluster flies in autumn when they start moving into homes and other buildings to survive the coming winter. If the main house structure and its surroundings are kept neat and clean, the flies won’t enter the area. Autumn cleaning is a heavy task and an important one too. Investing in a professional home cleaning company, hence, will be a wise decision.

The most important advantage of professional cleaning is that these professionals do their work most efficiently. They clean almost every nook and corner for the autumn cleaning with the best equipment and products available. Cleaning the house with the experts helps to convert it into a much better place than before. Home cleaning companies may also provide some extra cleaning works without additional charges.

Why Select Home Cleaning?

Select Home Cleaning is an expert in the field of home cleaning, providing the best service in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Tauranga and Hamilton. They have trained professionals who provide safe and environmental friendly cleanup to ensure the best result and ultimate customer satisfaction. Their credentials are verified, and they are an affordable home cleaning service provider. For any matter related to cleaning your house and its premises, consult the Select Home Cleaning team right now.