Tag: cleaning tips

A New Book to Help You Declutter Your Home and Life the Feng Shui Way

A New Book to Help You Declutter Your Home and Life the Feng Shui Way

If you want to free yourself from clutter, you may be interested in a new book called 10-Minute Declutter: Hundreds of Tips to Organize Every Room of Your House by Skye Alexander (Fair Winds Press/Quarto Group, September 2019). This decluttering book takes an unusual approach, 

Get Organized with Help from the New Book, 10-Minute Tidy Home

Get Organized with Help from the New Book, 10-Minute Tidy Home

If you can’t get enough hints and tips for organizing your home and your life, you’re in for a treat with Sara L. Hunter’s new book, 10-Minute Tidy Home: Hundreds of Easy Tips to Straighten and Clean Every Room of Your House (Fair Winds Press/Quarto 

7 Cleaning Tips to Extend Carpet Life

7 Cleaning Tips to Extend Carpet Life

7 Cleaning Tips to Extend Carpet LifeCarpets look good when they are new. However, this look can disappear quickly if maintenance is not done well and after a few years, you have no option but to replace them. However, you don’t have to replace carpets every so often. To extend their life, here are 7 cleaning tips that you can embrace to keep them looking good longer:

1. Keep the Dirt Outside
Dirty carpets carry numerous dust mites as large amounts of dust accumulate underneath each year. They contain different indoor contamination and allow mold to grow in damp areas causing allergies to children. Due to the health hazard they pose, it is critical that you keep your carpet clean and free from damage. One way of doing this is by removing your shoes when entering the house. This ensures that dirt is left outside. It also means that you reduce the rate at which your carpet gets dirty. This reduces the number of times that you vacuum your carpet hence extending its lifespan.

2. Place Mats or Rugs in High Traffic Areas
Carpets, just like roads, wear out more in areas where traffic is high. Some common high traffic areas include coach, bed, table and doorway areas. Placing rugs on sections where your feet rest can help protect the carpet underneath, thereby reducing its rate of wearing off. Consider buying mats and rugs that are designed specifically for walk-off – with properties such as high water absorption. With time, these rugs or mats need to be cleaned to ensure they don’t collect debris that can eventually move to the sounding carpet areas. If their specialized properties become less effective, replace them to continue maintaining your carpet.

3. Vacuum your Carpet Frequently
Frequent carpet vacuuming extends the life of your carpet because it reduces the accumulation of gravel and dirt that cause your carpet fibers to wear off. Consider vacuuming your carpet two to four times a week, particularly in areas with high traffic. A lot of dirt that accumulates on carpets is dry soil, which is easily removed by vacuuming. To ensure that soil and dust are sucked out of the carpet, ensure that your vacuum cleaner is in good condition and that its settings are right.

7 Cleaning Tips to Extend Carpet Life

4. Remove Stains as Soon as you Spot Them
While it is not possible to stop spills, you can be able to always clean them up as soon as they happen. Failing to clean spills as soon as they happen causes them to soak into carpet padding and fibers, causing damage. When the spill is left to set in and dry, it becomes a permanent stain. This is worse if the substance that spilled is acidic because it could eat the carpet fibers away. Clean any solid stains on your carpet and sop-up any excess liquid to prevent this kind of damage. Always act fast and soak the spill up when it is still fresh to keep it from ruining your carpet. Also, let other people in your home understand how important it is to clean spills right away. Where possible, consider keeping all drinks and snacks in the kitchen area to reduce spills.

5. Get a Professional to Clean your Carpet Regularly
Professional maintenance is a critical part of extending the lifespan of your carpet. Most carpets need to be cleaned by a professional every one to two years. It is like having an oil change for your car. On a regular basis, call on professional carpet cleaners to give your carpet a comprehensive clean. A professional carpet cleaning company like Carpestology Brisbane will give you a reliable service that your carpet needs to last longer. Avoid the temptation to do it yourself. You may think it will save you some money, but not having your carpet cleaning done professionally could cost you much more in the long run.

6. Get Supplemental Carpet Cleaning Tools
If you find that you are always lacking time to do the slow vacuuming job in your house, you may want to get tools that can help you do the job remotely. For instance, get an automated carpet robot that can intelligently and diligently work its way around the house, cleaning the floor and carpets. Though such robots are incomparable to regular vacuums such as these Riccar vacuum cleaners, they can assist in getting rid of debris and dirt that accumulate on your carpet before you find time to do a full-blown vacuuming job to eliminate all the smaller particles that can get left behind.

7. Rearrange your Furniture Occasionally
Over time, having your furniture placed on a single location can get your carpet worn out in some areas. A trail tends to develop and dirt builds up in areas that have high traffic. To keep this from happening, move your furniture around, rearrange your house occasionally so that common areas get to shift and the traffic pattern changes. This extends the life of your carpet because by shifting commonly stepped areas, new traffic paths are created.

How to Make Laundry Day Easy

How to Make Laundry Day Easy

Laundry sits on top of the most boring and annoying house chore list to many. It gets worse in a big household where there are tons of items to wash weekly. Though today, most people use machines to wash laundry; storing and sorting the dirty 

How to Keep Your Home Spic and Span

How to Keep Your Home Spic and Span

You have probably heard of the saying that “a clean home is a happy home.” This can be very true indeed. It’s hard to feel relaxed and comfortable if your home is filled with dirt, clutter, and pests. Not only is it uncomfortable, but it 

Spring Cleaning Tips: Indoor Light Fixtures

Spring Cleaning Tips: Indoor Light Fixtures

Spring Cleaning Tips: Indoor Light FixturesTwo weeks ago I started my annual spring cleaning and have been dedicating a minimum of 4 hours every week to cleaning, organizing and down-sizing things around our house. I go through this process twice a year during the spring and fall seasons.

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How many of you take the time to take down all of your indoor light fixtures and give them a good cleaning? Have you ever noticed how dirty they get? The ones in the kitchen not only get dirty…but they get greasy too! If you haven’t cleaned them lately, its time to do it!

Go around your house and take down all of those glass globes from your ceiling fan lights, bathroom vanity lights, hallway lights, kitchen & bathroom lights, etc. If you’re really in the cleaning mood I recommend tackling your porch and deck lights at the same time!!!

Before I start the process I gather up all of my cleaning supplies and equipment. Here is what I recommend that you have on hand:

Old Hand or Bath Cotton Towels
Microfiber Cleaning Cloths
Mr. Clean Magic Erasers (for cleaning)
Krud Kutter All-Purpose Cleaner
Dawn Dish Liquid Soap
Old Plastic Placemat or Rubber Sink Liner
Small Plastic Bowl (to hold screws)
Step Stool or Small Step Ladder

Lay out a clean towel onto your counter-top or table top. Go around your house and take down all of your glass light fixtures, globes and sconces. Place the screws into a plastic bowl (so they don’t get lost) and lay all of the dirty fixtures onto the towel.

Line your kitchen sink with a sink liner or an old plastic placemat. This will protect your glass items from chipping or cracking while you’re washing them. Fill up your sink 1/3 of the way with warm, soapy water. I like to use Dawn Dish Liquid Soap as its great for removing the grease, especially from the light fixtures from your kitchen. You should wash one item at a time!!!

Mr. Clean Magic Eraser and Soapy Water to Clean Indoor Light Fixtures

Mr. Clean Magic Eraser and Soapy Water to Clean Indoor Light Fixtures

Use the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser to scrub down the item. I find that they’re great for removing built-up dirt, debris and grease. Rinse clean with cool running water. If you have “filthy” pieces that aren’t coming clean I recommend that you lightly spray them down with Krud Kutter All-Purpose Cleaner. Let the solution sit on them for 5 minutes and then use the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser and soapy water to scrub them down. Rinse clean.

I like to personally lay out a separate cotton towel onto my floor and then lay all of the clean pieces on top. I let them air dry for an hour. If they’re damp or have any streaks…I polish them up with a microfiber cleaning cloth. Once they’re completely dry you can put them back up!

Spring Cleaning Tips: Indoor Light Fixtures

You will be AMAZED at how bright the light looks again in the rooms that you’ve cleaned! Furthermore, you’ll be really surprised at how dirty these indoor light fixtures can get in the course of 6 months to a year.

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40+ Ways to Use Packing Cubes Around the House

40+ Ways to Use Packing Cubes Around the House

Packing Cubes were invented to help you stay organized when traveling. They’re great for organizing your under-clothing, tops, shorts, cosmetics, toiletries, kid’s toys and all of those other items that you pack when traveling. * Complimentary Packing Cubes Received for this feature. This post may contain 

13 Money Saving Ways to Achieve a Clean Home

13 Money Saving Ways to Achieve a Clean Home

Battling with stains, dirt, grime and bacteria at home requires special cleaning solutions, but they don’t have to be the most expensive on the market. We are here to present to you our top 13 money saving ways to achieve a clean home! Read the