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.   

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.

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.

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.

Quick Home Cleaning Checklist and DIY Cleaning Tips

While cleaning our homes, we have a tendency to leave those hard-to-reach areas, thinking we’ll look at it later. But the problem is that we normally fail to come back to clean those dusty spots! Professional home cleaners have appropriate tools and equipment for cleaning inaccessible places such as ceiling fans, walls and ceiling, place under the bed, and so on. 

Making a cleaning schedule for your home is a great idea. Manage the cleaning works efficiently one day at a time with some useful daily and weekly tips we will give you in this article. Once these tasks are executed in a timely manner, you can freely enjoy the weekends with your beloved family. 

Daily Cleaning Chores:

• Do dishes
• Collect all trash
• Wipe down all hard surfaces like wood or natural stone
• Do a quick pick up

Weekly Cleaning Tasks:

• Sweep, mop and dust
• Do laundry
• Clean stoves and microwave
• Scrub shower and tubs

If you do all those cleaning chores not in an orderly manner, it’ll consume more time and energy. Cleaning as per the given schedule is so much easier and don’t need more than half an hour daily to finish the cleaning task- the main advantage here is that the weekends are free for relaxing and family get together! 

However, setting the house cleaning schedule is entirely up to you as per your special needs. In addition to the daily and weekly schedule mentioned, there are spacialised cleaning (like oven cleaning, fridge cleaning, BBQ cleaning etc.) and seasonal cleaning to keep your home spick-and-span.   Keeping your refrigerator, dishwasher and oven pristine, hygienic and sweet smelling is the foremost thing in kitchen cleaning. 

DIY Home Cleaning & Maintenance Tips

Rather than purchasing costly bathroom cleaners, think about natural home products. Warm a cup of vinegar and mix it with a cup of dish soap. Pour the solution into a spray bottle and you can use this excellent cleaner on tiles and shower doors. Better result can be achieved if you can allow the solution to sit on the tiles overnight, and then clean the next day morning. 

Remove pet hair out of the carpets with a rubber squeegee. It’s more effective and an energy saver method as you need not to run the vacuum cleaner.  

How many times we lost our temper untangling mixed cords and cables! Just cut the coil cords and cables into shorter lengths, and place those into rolls (to keep them separated) made out of finished paper towel, aluminium foil and plastic wrap rolls.  

You can make enough magazine-holder style containers from empty cereal boxes. Use those handy containers now on the study desk of your children, or as your bill holders! 

How to save the cleaning time for your microwave? Heat a small bowl of vinegar in your microwave oven for 5 minutes. Now switch off the microwave and clean it efficiently. The steam of vinegar loosens grime and dry food particles for easy clean up. 

Here’s an easy way to remove static cling from newly washed clothes. Use a couple of dryer balls of aluminium foil to prevent static in laundry. Comparatively they’re much cheaper than dryer sheets.

Use an old toothbrush to brush out dirty spots around spa bath button displays, taps or hinges on toilets etc. 

Professional Home Cleaning

For professional cleaning, you need to choose a standard cleaning package that best suits your requirements. For this, consult with the best home cleaners in New Zealand. 

Common laundry detergents contain fillers that are left behind on your clothes. You may be facing problems with hard water causing lime and calcium deposits on kitchen and bathroom sinks and fixtures. Rust is another issue- it’ll create stains on taps, drains and tiles. To prevent these issues, always use quality cleaning products made with natural ingredients and recommended by professional home cleaning specialists. 

Regarding environment protection, Select Home Cleaning Company doesn’t pretend to be perfect, but they do their best by reviewing procedures and choosing the most appropriate products. Once you ordered a home cleaning task, they’ll come up on time with all the tools, equipment and quality cleaning products – so, it’s no botheration for you and you may even go for shopping or picnic while these security-checked professionals clean your home exceeding your expectations.

Minor Home Maintenance Tasks You Need to Do to Avoid Costly Repairs Later

If you give a little care, you can hear and see signs of potential problems your house gives out as and when some problem occurs. Attend to minor repairs then and there, and avoid the costly repairs later on. For example, serious water damage to your house can be avoided by finding out and repairing clogged gutters and drains, and water leaks anywhere in the house. Same way the life of your appliances and systems can be extended through timely maintenance.

Home Maintenance Checklist - Indoors

If you notice peeling of paints in a room wall, take it seriously. It may be caused by a steamy bathroom or a leaking gutter. If you’re not a technical kind of person, better to call a home cleaning or plumbing expert to check and rectify the problem.   

Does your house creak and groan at night? Creak and groan sounds can be heard as the whole house is cooling down and everything is quiet at night. These mild sounds caused due to temperature fluctuations and with changes in levels of humidity can be ignored. However, if a creaky floor is really disturbing, apply some talcum powder into the seams where hardwood floor boards rub together. The powder acts as lubricant and reduces the noise.

Flush out the water heater to remove all the sediment. Bleed radiators in the hot-water heating system (ensure that the water is not hot when you do it). Vacuum and clean refrigerator coils.

Check for any leaks in the kitchen and bath fixtures and cabinets. Do regrouting and recaulking shower and kitchen tiles in time to avoid water damage. The cracked grout lines on your kitchen counters also should be redone.  Change the washer of leaky water taps whenever you see it.

Outdoors Home Maintenance Tasks

Thoroughly clean the windows, balcony doors and the patio furniture, and seal them with weatherstripping.  Check the caulk on the outside window frame and replace seals and weatherstripping, if required. The patio and balcony furniture are to be stored during the harsh weather.

Check roof, chimney and around vents for leaks. Ensure that the vents are not blocked by pests.  There may be pests hiding in the chimney also, so clean it professionally. Also check for bricks and mortar falling apart inside the chimney.

Your patio can become a spreadsheet of stains and dirt! First declutter the area. Then remove weeds using a garden knife; you may also use weed killer sprays. Clean and reseal outdoor stone tiles at least once in a year, and for the timber surfaces apply sanding and recoating in every one and half years.  Use pressure washing if the patio is too dirty with stubborn stains. Remember to consult professionals because different cleaning solutions are to be used for stone and concrete patios.

Yard and garden cleanups: Prune and maintain trees and shrubs closer than 3 inches from your house. The garden tools are to be cleaned and stored during the winter period. You can prevent rusting of the tools by putting them in a bucket of sand.

Properly clean gutters and downpipes, removing leaves, twigs and dirt. Debris has to be removed before and after winter season. Leaks and backed up water from debris will cause corrosion, leading to costly repairs afterwards. Use a ladder in good condition to reach the roof and be very cautious of slippery roof while you go for cleaning or inspection.

How to Get Reliable Home Maintenance Professionals

You can take the services of local contractors to do outdoor cleaning. Select Home Cleaning Company can refer trustworthy, prescreened contractors in your area if you come within our home cleaning service areas in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Tauranga and Hamilton. Stay tuned to the Select Cleaning website for homeowners’ indoor and outdoor maintenance and cleaning guidelines. This will help you to keep your home in tip-top shape.

Importance of Seasonal Home Cleaning and Maintenance

With the arrival of chilly weather, there sure will be the spread of winter germs in your home. So, what should you do to escape from this menace?!

Prevention is better than cure! In addition to regular cleaning, proper home maintenance should also be ensured on a seasonal basis. You may be finding it difficult to combine household chores and home maintenance works.   

Get your home in great shape with professional home maintenance practice. This includes taking the services of experts such as home cleaners, plumbers etc.  occasionally so as to avoid something major goes wrong in your home.

Did you know that there are less chances of catching colds and flu if your home is well cleaned and kept hygienic during the winter?! 

Tips for Keeping Your Home Germs Free

Your dishwasher can be a source of fungi and black yeast. So don’t believe the myth that dishwasher need not to be cleaned because it’s a Washer!  Thoroughly clean the inside of a dishwasher by running it empty with a cup of vinegar on the top rack -  Clean it like this at least once in a month to decrease the presence of germs.  

If you use gloves for cleaning, remember that they can be very unhygienic if proper care is not given. Change the gloves frequently and ensure that they are kept clean and dry when not in use. Cleaning can be done by putting the gloves in a basin with vinegar and detergent.  This is to make sure that bacteria growth in the gloves is well under control.

If you have gas heating, and not yet serviced the gas hot water and gas heater during autumn, do it now on an urgent basis. This is to prevent gas leakages in the heater, and ensure its smooth functioning throughout the winter when you need it the most.  Take the services of a licensed plumber during summer for maintenance checks so that there will be fewer issues in winter. Release the hot water system valves to reduce pressure and inspect the sacrificial anode rod and replace it if required during summer checks. If you had done these summer checks and servicing on your hot water supply, then there won’t be any further problems in winter.

It doesn’t matter whether you use a wooden or a plastic cutting board- provided it’s cleaned regularly. Plastic boards can be washed in a dishwasher set to approx. 60°C. Bacteria growth in wooden boards is very less, so normal cleaning will suffice.

The most used and frequently touched  items in the house such as door knobs,  light switches, and electronic items like computer keyboards, mouse and TV remote, etc. are to be wiped clean twice or thrice in a month.  Some studies have proved that these items contain more harmful micro organisms than the toilet seat.

Also, don’t use the same bath towel repeatedly without properly cleaning it. Germs easily grow and multiply in a damp towel. Frequent cleaning, and drying after every use, can keep the towels dry and free from harmful bacteria. 

Go for Affordable and Quality Home Cleaners 

Select Home Cleaning Service delivers affordable, first class home cleaning in New Zealand and Australia. After our foolproof cleaning, you’ll feel great to come back from office to a perfectly clean home that smells great. Available now in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Tauranga and Hamilton in New Zealand, and many other regions in Australia. Call us now on 0800 000 907 to get your free quote! 

Regular professional home cleaning  in each season means you are always on track of home maintenance cycle and thus you minimise the risk of illness ad other related issues in your family. 

Do you want the freedom and profitability possible through owning your own home cleaning business?! Join SelectFrachise, part of NZ's multi-award winning Home Services System, which has around 200 Franchisees in its fold.