Home Hygiene and Family Health - Tips and Best Practices

Ms Sue Chetwin, chief executive of Consumer NZ, said in a meeting that 68% of people who attended their latest home survey picked healthcare costs as their biggest concern for the future. Home ownership costs and water quality were close behind.

Health care costs can be reduced by preventing diseases caused by unclean atmosphere in the home premises. This means that maintaining a clean home environment is an important point you should always keep in mind. Unclean homes can contribute to unhealthy children and disease-prone aged family members.

How to keep the home perfectly clean is however a million dollar question! Over 3 million children (below 5 years) die annually due to environment-related causes, a data collection with the World Health Organisation (WHO) revealed. It is therefore advisable to do away with air pollutants, mould, contaminated water, household waste, and accumulated dirt & debris from our homes. However, we need not pay heed to the countless advertisements that solely promote a wide collection of antibacterial cleaners waiting to be sold in the supermarket shelves.

So what should you use other than the antibacterial stuff to clean the surfaces in your home to get a clean and healthy environment? Regular detergent, if possible environment-friendly, and water are sufficient to maintain hygiene, provided you follow the correct home cleaning procedures. 

Child health and home hygiene

Inadequately maintained indoor and outdoor areas in your home with overcrowding and clutter can adversely influence a child’s mental focus and physical development capabilities.

A health research published in a recent edition of the Journal of Neuroscience clarified that excessive clutter will lead to over-stimulation and eventually cause slower learning attitude in toddlers. It also said an overcrowded environment makes the children lazy and withdrawn.

A clean home with neatly arranged rooms emanating a pleasant smell, will contribute greatly to your child’s academic performance. Also a clean, germ-free home will improve the immune system of the child.

About 5,000 students in high school were surveyed in a recent study, which confirmed that children living in clean homes obtained higher grades than students who were not. Almost 80% of the students who got top grades revealed that their home had a clean and pleasant scent, while over 30% (with poor grades) admitted that their homes were not kept orderly and had an unpleasant odour. It’s thus clear that a clean home environment is inevitable for the better future of your children.

How to efficiently manage your home cleaning

It’s a challenge for working class parents to manage daily housekeeping and cleaning of their homes. For them, money is not much a big issue, but time is. They need to look for reliable, quality cleaners to maintain their homes in perfect shape. They will be happy if they can get a security checked and dependable cleaner who’ll clean their house safely in their absence too.

Even if one person in the family is a home maker, you’ll find that a Herculean effort will be needed to maintain a house with kids and elderly people. If it really feels beyond you, cleaning companies in New Zealand such as Select Clean can provide help on an hourly or calendar basis like weekly or fortnightly cleaning. They also have special cleaning packages to suit the seasons and particular occasions.

Check out various home cleaning activities and price ranges at Select Cleaning. You can visit their website to know their cleaning standard, company’s security measures, and the training they provide to home cleaners in New Zealand and Australia. Also, watch a comprehensive video on all their home cleaning tasks & house maintenance ideas. Get your free home cleaning quote now by calling Select Cleaning on 0800 000 907 and give your children one less thing to complain about!

Quick Fixes and Home Improvement Skills Every Adult Should Know

  

To be part of a well-functioning place to call home, you have to be able to fix damages/ breakage or should know how to make them alright by hiring a professional home maintenance service.

Today we want to discuss some simple house maintenance activities every adult should master so they can manage their homes in good condition without spending much.

Unclog a smelly and blocked drain

Blocked drains can be cleared with the following easy technical method. First, remove the stopper by loosening the horizontal rod that goes into the drain pipe. Now bend a piece of stiff wire to make a hook, and use it to locate and fish out the clog. A wad of hair and soap scum near the top of the drain can be easily removed this way without applying any chemicals.

If the drain is still clogged, you can unclog it naturally using household items. Pour quarter to half a cup of alkaline baking soda onto the drain. Add one cup of white vinegar after 20 minutes. The acidic vinegar and the alkaline soda generate a chemical reaction resulting in the release of oxygen which will be forced into the mix and scour the drain pipe. Finally when the chemical reaction is over, pour enough boiling water into the drain to flush it clean.

The baking soda-vinegar method is environment-friendly and the cheapest cleaning idea you can ever try. This way you can also avoid using harsh chemicals that may leave odours and residue in your sinks.

Precautions while hanging wall art and mirrors

The wall art or a mirror can enhance your home decor by highlighting a focal point or an architectural detail.

You can easily learn how to hang up artwork or mirrors properly in their right place. Here are some safety measures to be observed to display them properly without damaging the walls.

First of all check and find out if it’s a masonry wall or a cavity wall. You should be more careful with cavity walls, which can conceal all manner of pipes and electric cables.

Also, never drill directly above or below light switches or plug sockets because you’re sure to find electric cables there. Take precaution using an electronic tester, which can detect electric current and the metal of a pipe behind the wall.

How to manage patching holes in the wall

Normally people have a tendency to ignore holes in a wall. Patching holes is not a difficult task if you read the hints given below.

Lightweight spackle dabbed on with a fingertip and a damp rag is all you need to plug pinholes in your home’s walls.  When it dries, touch up with an artist brush and a little leftover paint. Wipe off all excess spackle surrounding the hole.  For textured walls, you can apply the spackle with a toothpick so it won’t spread beyond the hole and spoil the texture.

To patch a big hole in drywall, you need some expertise in handling tools. Attempt the DIY procedures only if you are ok with that.

Set a screw that won’t stop turning

We know it’s frustrating to see a stripped screw that spins and spins endlessly without getting tightened. Of course, there are a few ways to deal with the screw that just spins in place.

Remove the stripped screw and try using a wider screw if it fits with the hinge so you can fix a wobbly cabinet door. If the hinge allows the small screw only, then stuff the screw hole with wooden toothpicks coated in wood glue. Once the glue is dried, cut the protruding extra portion of the toothpick with a knife. Now you can easily tighten the screw which won’t spin again.

These DIY home improvement skills that everyone should know how to do are brought to you by the training department of Select Cleaning, New Zealand's most reliable home cleaning service.

Quick, Easy and Eco-friendly House Cleaning Ideas

Several years of experience in the home cleaning sector combined with the willingness to employ new technologies only can make a cleaning service reliable and efficient. Double check the details before booking your house clean.

Today we’re providing you some home cleaning tips and tricks which will help you a lot in daily housekeeping routines.

Cleaning your floors and bathroom

Firstly, sprinkle some cleaning powder over the tile surface so that it covers all the grimy grout. Take white vinegar and water in fifty-fifty proportion in a spray bottle and spray over the tile floor. Now scrub the surface with a wet cleaning brush to form a paste on the tile and grout.

The powder, spray solution, and water will combine to loosen all dirt and grime. Wipe down the surface after 5-10 minutes to see that your dingy tile and grout have attained a new look. This method can also be used to clean counters, cabinet fronts and soap scum in the shower.

While cleaning granite, marble or other natural stone countertops, never use a cleaning solution, which contains vinegar, bleach, or acidic substances like lemon and orange. These substances will break down the countertop's sealant and make it vulnerable to stains.

Toilet cleaning

Pour two cups of coca cola into the toilet bowl and around the rim of the bowl, and leave it overnight to get the best cleaning result. The carbonic, citric, and phosphoric acids in the coke can break down the built-up stains.

Finally, you can finish up the toilet cleaning with a spray and wipe down with undiluted hydrogen peroxide.

Mould menace

Minimise mould formation in your house with the help of clove oil.  Take one litre of water in a bucket and add three drops of clove oil. Use this solution to wipe down mould affected areas and get rid of the menace as clove oil destroys mould spores.

Oven cleaning – make your own natural oven cleaner

Baking soda can be effectively used to clean your oven in a safe, natural way. Spray the whole oven down with a water bottle so that it is damp, and pour on a thick layer of baking soda, especially on the bottom, until there is about a quarter inch layer of baking soda paste on the bottom.

Make sure that the oven is off during this cleaning process. Let the baking soda paste remain like that for a few hours to loosen the grime in the oven. You can engage yourself in other works during that time. Now when you come back, wipe up the paste with a cloth and all the grime comes with it. Sometimes you may need to repeat the entire process for a really dirty oven with stubborn grime. Ensure that no traces of baking soda are left inside the oven once your cleaning is over.

Handy home tips

• The tops and creases of Roman blinds can be effectively cleaned using a vacuum cleaner with a brush attachment.
• Remove dead skin cells from mattress by vacuuming it, giving special attention to piping and crevices. This will prevent dust mite infestation.
• Does the smell of garlic stick around on your hands? Remove the smell completely by first rubbing your hands against a stainless steel sink and then washing with soap.
• Apply a dab of nail varnish on the top thread or onto the stem of the thread of a button on your dress and leave to dry. This way you can prevent the buttons from becoming loose or undone.

Select your home cleaner wisely 

Select Cleaning (serving New Zealand & Australia) also do spring cleaning and moving cleans, but don’t do steam cleaning, carpet cleaning, ceiling cleaning, and window cleaning. They can arrange to have these special tasks done for you by quality cleaners who are known to them.

Select home cleaners in New Zealand use their own product and equipment to ensure that you’re least disturbed during the cleaning process. Also, your house will be looking and smelling far better with Select Cleaning compared to the result achieved by DIY cleaning.

Call the most reliable Select Cleaning service on 0800 000 907 to get affordable quality cleaning New Zealand- now available in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Tauranga and Hamilton.

Concern on Cleaning Industry Standard and Some Quick Home Cleaning Tips

Recent figures released by NZQA show that cleaners in New Zealand have been getting inadequate training for a long time. Out of the estimated 30,000 people employed in the cleaning sector across New Zealand, a very low percentage of cleaners had received an NZQA qualification suitable for undertaking a commercial cleaning job, including following basic levels of infection control precautions, the NZQA release said.

Actually there needs to be a National Standard for the home cleaning sector and the $1 billion commercial cleaning industry.Poor standards of cleaning affect New Zealand businesses as well as individual residences. People are falling sick because of unhygienic cleaning procedures.

We can assure you that SelectCleaning invests time and money to ensure their home cleaners have clear-cut knowledge about various surfaces such as wooden, stone, ceramic etc. They have been appropriately trained in the “SelectCleaning way” to ensure consistent high-quality cleaning. Naturally, they know the best cleaning method to be adopted professionally for all areas in your home and they do it in the most hygienic and efficient manner conforming to all quality standards.

The Select Cleaning home cleaners are chosen after conducting proper selection processes and security checks to ensure that they are honest and capable of undertaking your cleaning in a professional manner. Additionally, they are not just normal cleaners, but they are SelectCleaning Franchisee owners who really care about the quality they provide.

How to clean your house pretty fast

Allot a small amount of time each day to keep your home looking and smelling fresh. Knowing some quick cleaning tips will go a long way in accomplishing this and it will also save you hours of cleaning on the weekends or when a guest arrives with short notice.

Here are some easy cleaning tips, which will soon become a habit, if you practise them regularly:

First of all switch on some music when you do the cleaning. It’ll give inspiration and energy to do the task without boring you.  

Bedroom - ensure to make your bed each morning, and tidy up clothes and other items on the floorrather than creating piles of clutter accumulating each day.  It may take only a few minutes to do them, but will make a world of difference in your daily life.

Toilet & Bathroom – clean the toilet every few days so it won’t accumulate much dirt. Apply disposable wipes on the surfaces, including the toilet seat and handle, and use an effectivebowl cleaner.

It’s ideal to clean the bathroom everyday as you use it. For example, do a quick wipe on the bench and sink after brushing the teeth. Don’t forget to quickly sweep the floor after washing your hair.

Kitchen – never allow your kitchen to become a storehouse of dirty dishes. Here also follow the clean after use procedure. Wash or stack dirty dishes in the dishwasher immediately after everybody finishes eating. Also give a quick wipe on benchtops and tabletops after each meal. Similarly, remember to clean the stove top and sink regularly after cooking.

Weekly and fortnightly cleaning schedule - Vacuuming, dusting, and mopping the floor can be done on a weekly basis without fail. If you do it sincerely every week, it won’t take more than 30 minutes to complete the whole thing.

And strictly follow these fortnightly cleaning tasks too: wipe down the windows and mirrors. Wash commonly used surfaces such as door handles, remotes and the bin. Allot sufficient time for cleaning your refrigerator properly to wipe out all germs.

Call a SelectCleaning Franchisee owner today on 0800 000 907. Currently they service Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga, Wellington and Christchurch.

Hygiene Matters, Cleaning Industry News and Select Cleaning Advantage

The key to reducing the incidence of spreading a disease from an affected family member to others is to keep the home premises cleaned to the highest standard possible. In such medical cases, there is a need for methodical cleaning and disinfection procedures to be followed effectively. 

Easy tips to maintain cleanliness and hygiene at home 

Cleaning-clothes and sponges too have life period- replace them accordingly. These cleaning materials should be considered specific for particular areas, and are never to be exchanged. Don’t use the same cleaning cloth or sponge for the bathroom and the kitchen because it’ll carry the harmful bacteria and other germs from one place to the other.

Clean your bed sheets and blankets regularly and wash the towels daily. The bed sheets carry plenty of germs and can spread them easily among the family members. Clean them more often, at least every three days to make sure they are germfree.

Wash the dishes on time and clean down the benches and countertop perfectly after the meals because infectious germs easily spread through the food. Also make sure to clean the kitchen rubbish bin daily.

Special attention need to be given to toilet cleaning also. An unclean toilet is a haven for large colonies of bacteria and germs. The toilet cleaning jobs include, sweeping & mopping the floor, cleaning the tub, cleaning the toilet, and cleaning the sink, walls & windows. If you are not sure about achieving cent percent cleanliness in the bathroom and toilet area, it’s advisable to call a professional home cleaning company in New Zealand to do the job for you.

Home cleaning industry news

The cleaning sector in Auckland and other major cities is growing aggressively and faces new exciting challenges on a constant basis due to various factors like economic growth and changing business dynamics.

One of the latest trends in the home cleaning industry is the popularity for eco-friendly cleaning or the green cleaning concept. Green cleaning is “a marketplace phenomenon that is being driven by customer demand and the overall trending of the broad marketplace for environmentally preferable products and services,” the Worldwide Cleaning Industry Association remarked.  

People are now more knowledgeable about the bad effects of chemicals used in the supplies and processes of home cleaning. So, home and business owners these days are particularly looking for cleaning services which follow environment-friendly cleaning approach. 

SelectCleaning does a better job

Select Cleaning has a knowledge sharing mechanism by which all its home cleaners are well educated to clearly understand different surface types and their cleaning requirements. This way, you can rest assured that your cleaner knows the most efficient and effective way to take care of every spot in your house.

Select Cleaning team members are aware of the green cleaning concept in the cleaning sector and strive hard to minimise the negative impact on our environment from petrochemicals and solvents. Their home cleaners do their best to select the ideal cleaning products, world-class systems and processes that don’t harm people and our eco system as a whole.

You can call them now on 0800 000 907 and experience the Select Clean difference today. Currently their cleaning service is available in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Tauranga and Hamilton.

Kiwis’ Cleaning Habits, Hamilton Property News, the Meth Threat, and More

Here are some interesting facts about New Zealanders’ general home cleaning habits and the overall attitude to housework. 

A recent survey, which quizzed more than 500 Kiwis on their household cleaning habits, said over 45% actively avoid the task of cleaning the toilet, while 22 percent would rather have dinner with their in-laws than cleaning the loo.

It’s found that the Kiwis mostly spend up to four hours in a week doing household chores, and it is women who actually do more house cleaning work than men.

Majority of the respondents also hinted that they judge friends on the state of their toilet, and admitted that they would rather hold on than use a toilet they thought was dirty, even at friends’ houses.

With the previous generations, women used to spend about 2.6 times longer on housework than men, but things have changed in the modern era, the survey had revealed. Women (3.9 hours cleaning) now spend just 0.5 hours longer on cleaning chores than men (3.4 hours).

New Zealanders are very much conscious about cleanliness. Almost everybody surveyed agreed that they do a quick whip-around clean before guests arrived.

New Homes Planned in Hamilton East

Meanwhile, a recent news report said Housing New Zealand and Waikato-Tainui are working in partnership to deliver new homes in Hamilton East, redeveloping the Jebson Place site.  The building site also covers the area bordered by Old Farm Road, Cassidy Street and Dey Street.

"A lot of careful thought has been put into the design to ensure the new homes planned are attractive and a good fit with the neighbourhood. The partnership will also provide the right types of social housing properties needed in Hamilton and increase the city’s overall housing supply,” says Housing New Zealand’s General Manager Asset Development Patrick Dougherty.

Mr Dougherty further said that all the homes would be attractive, easy to maintain, fully carpeted and insulated, and filled with light. The homes would be located on landscaped sections with private outdoor living spaces.

While, Waikato-Tainui CEO Donna Flavell opined: "There will be a mix of properties – some affordable and some for the open market. It was always our intention to see the redevelopment create a vibrant and diverse community."

Meth Contamination Threat

Now, regarding the meth threat, environmental chemist Dr. Nick Kim, a Massey University scientist, advised people not to panic if their house tests positive for methamphetamine, as it is unlikely to do them any harm. A news report on 17 June by Radio NZ quoted Dr. Kim as saying that methamphetamine residue was a very low health risk and people were misinterpreting Ministry of Health guidelines on cleaning up houses where the drug, known as P, had been used.

However, if you don’t want to take risks, and have concerns about the meth contamination threat, you need to call a quality home cleaning service in your locality. Ensure that the cleaner uses standard practice to remove all traces of meth residue from the floors and walls of your house.

For effectively cleaning up residential properties situated in Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga, Wellington & Christchurch, you may call Select Clean verified cleaners on 0800 000 907. Your home cleaning task is carried out by local, dedicated owner operators of Select Clean who bring all the cleaning materials, tools and equipment they need to complete the job.

The Need for Creating a Workable Home Cleaning Schedule

A research about people’s housekeeping behaviour published recently said only one in three persons has a set home cleaning schedule. The rest, that is around 62%, admit that they do the house cleaning chores as and when they find time.  In the survey, about 42% said they want to do it as fast as possible because they always have other important commitments to attend to.

Today everybody leads a busy life and it naturally gets in the way of house cleaning routines too. More people thus attempt the cleaning task when they have time rather than pre-planning in advance. Also, several people now depend on a professional home cleaning service to do it most efficiently. Oven cleaning, toilet cleaning and window cleaning are normally outsourced.

A whopping 67% of people who attended the survey said cleaning the oven is the thing they disliked most. Around 47% ticked toilet cleaning and 41% stood against window cleaning as their top dislikes among house cleaning tasks.

We know that the word cleaning makes you feel a bit nervous. Try to make monthly, weekly and daily house cleaning schedules and you’ll see that it becomes little bit easier and sensible that way. 

Make a list of cleaning chores that need to fall on your daily house cleaning checklist. Making beds, managing the dishwasher, washing & ironing the clothes, bathroom cleaning etc., - say anything that could get out of control if ignored on a daily basis, should be on your daily house cleaning list.

Dusting and vacuuming the living rooms, thorough cleaning of the countertops in the kitchen and may be removing unwanted items from the refrigerator etc. can fill up the weekly cleaning schedule. Then for the monthly cleaning tasks, include closets, pantries, the fridge, laundry rooms, guest rooms and garages etc.

Economic growth hints good prospect for the cleaning industry

Westpac’s Acting Chief Economist Michael Gordon said a couple of months back that the New Zealand economy is something of a sweet spot so far this year. His introduction to the bank’s latest Quarterly Economic Overview states: “The economy has been growing at a steady pace for some time, and a strong pipeline of building work and an improvement in dairy prices will help to keep that momentum going.”

Economic experts at Westpac are hopeful that annual GDP growth will reach 3% over the next couple of years. They attribute this high growth rate to a wave of building work progresses and higher dairy prices providing the much needed relief to rural regions.

The above growth rate is also confirmed by Euromonitor international’s home care in New Zealand report published in April, 2017. It says a housing boom is expected to drive growth this year. It clarifies that home care is expected to positively benefit from the expected increase in new build houses, especially in the Auckland region, as well as the continuing strong overall population growth rate of two percent.  In accordance with this population growth and building construction growth, laundry care and home cleaning sectors will be witnessing overall growth.

Ask the Select Clean experts what cleaning schedule you should follow to maintain proper order in your home. With a bit of home organization and know-how, you can prevent the daily cleaning chore piling up.  Scheduling the house cleaning task and dividing it among family members is a great idea to work together and finish the work fast.  Call the home cleaner professionals at times and on special occasions so that any mistakes in your cleaning technique will be compensated and your house will sparkle again.

Unleash a Sense of Imagination to Organise and Declutter Your Home

From the bath area to the home office, these creative home organising and decluttering ways will help you a lot to live a simplified, uncluttered life. Now onward you’ll feel getting organized is so much easier and fun.

Good to make a list and give away one item each day to reduce the unwanted things gathering dust. If you are working from home, it’s good to have a separate room for office supplies and crafts. Ensure office stationery such as file folders and notepads are all neatly arranged. Also minimise your writing instruments and physical files (paper documents) by creating digital files and folders.

Place different sizes of recycling bins - including small ones for expired medication, beauty products and dead batteries – at different places such as the bath area, bedroom, kitchen and all other locations where there is a possibility of clutter buildup.  For organizing a cluttered space, pick up the loose items and put them in matching bins and boxes, differentiating them with labels for easy identification.

Decluttering basics

The key to getting and staying organized is to act according to the well known saying that everything in your home needs a place. If you struggle to find a place for everything, it’s time to get rid of unwanted things, the less used items which you unknowingly keep for no purpose at all. Don’t put back in your cabinets something you know you don’t need and don’t love anymore- auction it or give it to charity. 

How to identify which clothes you can easily discard?  Do this funny hanger trick. Arrange your clothes in the wardrobe with all the hangers in the reverse direction. Once you use a dress and washed it, return it to the closet with the hanger facing the correct direction. After a few months, you can find out what clothes you wear a lot, and what you don’t! This will give you a clear picture of which items are to be trashed.

And for arranging things in their proper place, try to keep likes with likes; say keep all your dishes in one cupboard, and all your cups in another. And remember, though it’s a simple and easy method (Throwing out what is not in regular use, and keeping a box or bag for temporarily storing them before selling off), it’s actually the easiest way to keep your home neat and orderly.

The basic principle of decluttering is to start modestly, not over ambitiously. Pick up an easy spot first, for example, a drawer, a kitchen cabinet, a little stack of items, and try to make it neat and tidy. Once you manage it nicely, your confidence level will build up and also increase the energy and enthusiasm to try out further decluttering tasks in the house.

Decluttering woes

There are plenty of tempting organising materials, from cute wicker baskets to mini chalkboard labels, and from lovely looking containers to stylish baskets etc., available on the market via online and retail stores. However, before ordering these stylish items, just declutter and organise your home and find out what storage you actually need. Otherwise you end up spending money and creating more clutter!

Decluttering your home can be overwhelming if you approach it unplanned. For everyone, the most productive day starts the night before, as mornings are short lived with busy schedule. Try doing little bit organising and decluttering by utilising a few minutes in the evening to prepare yourself for the next day. This way you know exactly where everything is when you’ll be rushing through the morning hours. It’ll be a great relief to find the right makeup kit or medicines without hunting and pecking for them through piles of clutter.

With the Select Clean providing you professional home cleaning service, you need not to live in chaos anymore! We can get your home perfectly clean and organized without much ado! After our dedicated house cleaning process, you’ll find it cakewalk to organise it. Our blog will guide you to delutter efficiently and establish simple routines to keep your home sparkling. Call us now on 0800 000 907 to book a cleaner or for a free quote.

Identify the Often Neglected Areas in Home Cleaning

Instead of organising and cleaning the house, some people have a tendency to keep on searching for more innovative and easy-to-do cleaning ideas. However, when it comes to practically doing the task, they feel their mood has changed!  If you fit into that category, then it’s better to hire a professional home cleaning service in New Zealand to do the job for you.

A clean home is very pleasant and evokes divine feeling, whereas a dusty and unkempt house makes you feeling guilty and irritated. It’s also a matter of hygiene to keep your house clean at all times.

Given below are some areas often forgotten while cleaning your home yourself or by some cheap service providers:

1. Some areas where dust accumulates due to continuous neglect are under the bed, and behind the sofa, curtains and doors.

2. Grease in the kitchen cabinets: there will be traces of grease visible as sticky, yellowing or darkening grime accumulated in the kitchen cabinets over time. Just giving them occasional quick wipe down with a damp rag will not suffice to properly degrease. Stubborn grease and oil stains need special cleaners to get completely removed from the cabinets.                  

Here’s a DIY degreasing method: Utilise the grease-busting qualities of white vinegar to clean your kitchen cabinets. Spray few drops of vinegar into clean, dry cloth and wipe down the cabinets. Then dip the cloth in warm water, and use it to rinse the cabinetry after squeezing the water out from the cloth. Finally dry the area to a shine, using paper towels.

3. You don’t know how many bacteria colonies reside in the kitchen sink:clean the kitchen sinks with a powerful anti-bacterial cleanser at least once in a week. These sinks accommodate more disease causing germs than your bath area!

4. Identify less used items in your house and dust them off: Have a look at the curio cabinets, framed photos on the wall, other decorative items in every room, and the frame of those table lamps- they are less used items and so gradually become super dusty! Dust these ornamental items thoroughly once in a while to prevent persistent dust mites generating allergens in your home. Dust and dirt that accumulate between the creases of a sofa are often neglected where homeowners or residents do all the cleaning.  Only a professional home cleaning service has the knowhow to smartly clean such neglected spots in your home.  

5. Decluttering can reduce the amount of dust particles inside your home. Dispose of old clothes, unused toys, damaged electrical & electronic items, and other less used items that have begun invading common spaces in your home. They form storehouse for dust and dirt.

Select Home Cleaning provides friendly professionals you can trust

If you’re a busy professional and don’t have the time and energy to manage your home cleaning, it’s a great idea to hire a cleaning service. It not only saves your relaxing time, but prolongs the life and good looks of your home and its interiors also.

Select Clean surpasses home cleaning industry standards in New Zealand for affordable, quality cleaning services, while maintaining personalised service standards to clients. Timely service, best quality products at the lowest possible price, perfect cleaning standards, and honest and direct approach in all our dealings make us the clients’ favourite choice. Even though we don’t do carpet cleaning and window cleaning, people used to call us to have those works done by other professionals recommended by us. That’s the level of trust and beliefs vested on us by our clients and professional contacts.   

We value the trust and beliefs vested in us by our clients and professional contacts and provide a dedicated cleaning service with an honest and direct approach in all our dealings. 

How to Deal with Moisture & Mould Problems in Your Home

Surveys had revealed that many New Zealand homes are poorly insulated and cause health problems- latest survey being the HRV State of Home Survey which interviewed over 1400 New Zealanders, also found out that 56% of landlords refused to do anything about poor insulation when contacted by tenants. The survey was conducted by Buzz Channel in collaboration with a Professor of Sociology at Auckland University of Technology, on 20^th July, 2016.

The survey revealed that the presence of excess mould is a cause of worry in around 50% of the rented homes in New Zealand affecting the health of the tenants. And as a result, the renters take more sick leave than the national average, the survey said. 

Addressing the mould issue

You can find traces of mould behind the bed, in the bathroom or dotting the kitchen ceiling, and if not controlled, it’ll creep into every nook and cranny.

Being a responsible home cleaning service, Select Home Clean in New Zealand regularly publishes efficient mould removal methods on their blog site.

If you have rented a house, you should first check it thoroughly to ensure that there is no mould problem in the house. If you notice it later, landlords may not accept they're responsible for the mould because there is no clear-cut responsibility laid out in the law. And tenants will have to go through housing tribunals or the courts to prove their case.

If you see that there are leaky taps, broken gutters or windows that don't seal properly, immediately report the matter to the landlord and get it repaired. It’s also important to call professional home cleaners occasionally to perfectly clean your house so that the possibility of mould developing is avoided.

How to get rid of mould in your home

Mould is classified according to the place where it occurs, like non-porous, semi-porous and super-porous. If the mould has heavily infested a super-porous surface, such as a textile, carpet, clothing, cardboard or furniture, you may need to discard that item because the mould can't be removed completely.

First, vacuum up the mould with a vacuum cleaner that has appropriate filter for absorbing the mould spores. If the filter is not a good one, you may end up making the problem worse by spreading the spores and mould vapours around.

Next, remove all the left over traces of mould with the help of diluted vinegar.  Prepare a solution of vinegar and water in the proportion of 80:20 in a large container, and then pour it into three buckets. Dip a microfiber cloth in the first bucket and clean a patch of mould. Before using this cloth on another colony of mould, clean it in the second bucket and again in the third bucket also to remove all mould spores so as to avoid cross-contamination. This way, repeat the process till the mould presence has been completely removed.   

If the use of vinegar has left streaks on the cleaned surface, clean it further with bleach to remove discolouration.

When to call the mould removal experts

If the mould affected area is comparatively larger, it’ll be dangerous to your health, releasing toxic spores and vapours, possibly resulting in hypersensitivity or allergic reactions with itchy skin rashes, and asthma and flu-like symptoms. In such instances where the mould covers an area greater than three feet by three feet, it’s advisable to call professional home cleaners to deal with the mould problem.

Get a free house cleaning quote today by calling the Select Home Cleaners on 0800 000 907.

Don’t Make Life Complicated with Home Cleaning- Life Is Supposed to Make You Feel Good!

Your time is precious and it need not be stressed over the housework, but in our case, home cleaning is our profession and we love to do it to get your home looking just the way you like it.

Follow these steps to make your home smell good: 

• You’ll get sweet smell in your home by simmering water in a saucepan with citrus slices and herbs, such as lavender or mint. 
• If you face a stink near the kitchen sink, put a small lump of lemon-scented dish soap, a lemon piece, or a few lime rinds down into the garbage disposal, then run the water, and turn it on. Sometimes the smell may not have been fully removed, so try pouring in half a cup of baking soda and run warm water. 
• Place sweet smelling candles (without burning them) in the linen closet, or any other place where you have fabrics stored. The lovely fragrance of the candles will be slowly absorbed by the fabrics, giving you a rush of sweet smell every time you open the door. The added advantage is that the linens will also carry the scent with them wherever you use them. 
• Try to grow at suitable locations in your home indoor plants such as geraniums, corsage orchids, eucalyptus, Arabian jasmine, gardenias, or Cuban oregano, etc., which will purify the air in your home in addition to emitting nice fragrances. 
• Prepare something in the oven if you have guests at home. The welcoming aroma of fresh baked items fills the house with yummy smells to everyone’s liking. 

How to clean windows and glass effectively

Select Home cleaning service doesn’t provide windows cleaning. However, they have some good tricks and DIY tips to make your windows and glass surfaces sparkle.

Select Home Cleaners recommend natural solutions to give you the best cleaning, without any health hazards to the kids and elderly people. They also take steps to reduce the negative impact on our environment from petrochemicals and solvents. Natural ingredients like vinegar, baking soda, lemons, and borax are good cleaning agents, so you can rest assured that better results can be obtained without chemical cleaners.

While you can use vinegar to remove built-up water stains on glass, you need some soap which acts as an emulsifier to clean up a bit of dirt and dust on exterior windows or sliding doors. Natural toilet cleaners designed for lime and rust deposits also can be used to remove hard water spots on the outside of windows.

After spraying down the mirrors with cleaning solution, you can use a newspaper to perfectly clean the glass and windows. Finally, use a microfiber cloth to get rid of any last streaks from the glass surface.

Advantages of professional home cleaning

Every nook and cranny of your house needs utmost care when the house cleaning is done. The professionals know which places are to be cleaned thoroughly and which places need less care - less time working on the easier places gives them more time to focus on important areas in the house.

So, whether you’re looking for a regular home cleaning, a spring clean or some specialised jobs such as oven cleaning, refrigerator cleaning etc., Select Clean is there to take the hassle away. Get a quick quote now by visiting their Website or by calling them on 0800 000 907. They service Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga, Wellington and Christchurch- affordable, security checked and award winning home cleaning service.