Cleaning Tips

To most people, cleaning the house is a chore. That’s why we engage full time helpers or professional cleaners to help us out.

But cleaning up need not be as time-consuming as we often thought it to be. Here are some tips and ideas which may help keep your house clean with minimal fuss.

Tip 1: Clean From Top To Bottom

Simple as it may sound, but most people are simply not systematic enough when cleaning the house. By doing your floors last, you will not be shaking down dust onto every thing that you have just cleaned.

When vacuuming, start from the farthest point of the room and out to the door. Instead of wiping or scrubbing in a circular motion, do it in straight lines.

Tip 2: Break Up The Area Into A Grid

It is useful to visualise the entire area broken up into a grid of smaller areas. This way, you won’t miss out cleaning any thing, nor will you clean the same area over and over again.

Tip 3: Cleaning Your Blinds Quickly

Wear a pair of cotton gloves and clean the blinds by hand – simply run your fingers across each horizontal slat. You can choose to add a small amount of cleaner for added efficacy.

Tip 4: Let Your Socks Help

Wear a pair of micro-fibre socks around your house. Once the pair you are wearing gets dirty, throw them into your washing machine and change into a fresh pair. This way, all the dirt and dust are actually picked up by the micro-fibre, and you’ll be surprised at how clean the floor actually feels after that!

Tip 5: Cheap And Good – Baking Soda

Faced with graffiti or your child’s doodles all over your wall? Try scrubbing lightly with a damp sponge and some baking soda.

Why do we love baking soda as a multi-purpose household cleanser? Because it is cheap, non-toxic, and oh so versatile.

To name just a few uses of baking soda:
– absorb unpleasant odours with a small bowl of baking soda placed in the fridge, cupboard or shoe cabinet
– wipe clean surfaces with a damp cloth and a sprinkling of baking soda
– remove smells from containers
– remove grease or marks from the floor with a damp cloth and some baking soda
– soak pots and pans caked with food bits overnight in baking soda and hot water, and wash them out the next day
– soak combs and hair brushes in a baking soda solution
– to avoid or clear your kitchen sink clog, pour some baking soda down and rinse through with hot water

Tip 6: Using Toothpaste

Surprisingly, the cleansing power and abrasive texture of toothpaste can be put to good use in the house. Just remember to use the regular white version, instead of that gel toothpaste.

The following are some of the ways to use toothpaste:
– erase watermarks on wood with a damp cloth and a little toothpaste
– remove permanent marker stains from wood
– get rid of fishy smells, garlic odour, durian smells from your hands
– wipe away lipstick stains or mascara smudges from your mirror or glass
– clean off tea or coffee stains from your favourite cup
– polish your kitchen tap, bathroom faucets and fittings
– scrub the whites of your shoes with toothpaste to make them even whiter

Tip 7: Our Favourite – Lemon

When dealing with grease and grime in the kitchen, our go-to solution is always the humble lemon. A fantastic kitchen helper, the lemon is actually a natural, mild disinfectant.

Use a cut lemon and rub it all over your greasy pan (which you have just used to fry your morning bacon). The acidic lemon juice will soften the grime and you will be able to wash away the left over bacon bits easily.

We also can also use the lemon in the following ways:
– clean our blender
– clean our microwave
– clean and disinfect our wooden chopping boards
– polish knives with rust spots
– polish tarnished copper cookware
– clean and deodorise plastic containers with stains and smells

These are just 7 cleaning tips out of the many more we have to share with you. Do bookmark our website and stay tuned for more!