Dirty Little House Cleaning Secrets – The Refrigerator

Posted by Candice on May 4, 2010 at 23:30 pm

You open it every day – in fact you probably open it several times a day and yet research has shown that Americans only clean their refrigerators once or twice a year and this is usually prompted by a spill or a bad smell emanating from within. Bad smells usually result from missed spills (typically under the bottom drawers) or forgotten foods that have ended up at the back of the fridge. It seems most people don’t clear out the old before adding the new, rather just making space by pushing containers back. When it comes to the fridge most people don’t use the appropriate organizational areas either. Crisper drawers which have specific temperature and humidity settings are used to house soda cans or deli meats. The most common place to store milk is in the door shelves but this is where the fridge is warmest and so it is not the ideal location for milk or cream.

When it comes to food storage it is important to remember that there can be health risks of not maintaining a clean, spill free environment. Bacteria can flourish in spills and leaks from packages of raw meat or chicken can contaminate foods which are eaten raw like fruits, vegetables and cheeses.

The task of cleaning the refrigerator can seem quite daunting – one has to first remove everything. This does of course mean that it is an opportunity to get rid of those moldy cheeses or shriveled fruits and to organize everything that is to be put back in again. As you remove each item check the use-by dates, do the sniff test and check for wilting. Put all the items that are to be returned into a cooler to preserve their freshness.

Here are some tips for cleaning your refrigerator:

1. First unplug the refrigerator
2. Remove all the drawers, shelves and racks and stack them by your kitchen sink
3. One by one spray them with a disinfectant cleaning solution – bleach is commonly used but we prefer an eco-friendly alternative
4. Using a sponge or rag wash down the inside cabinet, the door and all the shelves or compartments which could not be removed
5. Using fresh water rinse the cleaned areas and then leave to dry or dry with an absorbent rag or towel
6. Use an old toothbrush or other small cleaning brush to clean in joins and to clean all around the rubber door seal
7. Don’t forget the face plate to the vented air exchange at the bottom of the fridge – this can be removed and cleaned with a vacuum cleaner before washing in the sink
8. Remember to plug the fridge back into the power supply and then wait until the display shows that it has reached the required temperature
9. Finally replace all the items that were stored in coolers putting them into the correct organizational drawers, crispers etc.

This task will seem less daunting if you do it a little more regularly than once or twice a year so find a schedule that works for you and try to stick with it. If you don’t feel like tackling the task yourself visit Bidmycleaning.com and select it as an add-on to your regular maid service or as part of a deep cleaning.

How The Professional House Cleaners Do It

Posted by Candice on March 19, 2010 at 00:51 am

For the professional house cleaners, their time is money and so they need to be efficient at getting the job done.   We asked some of the cleaners that participate in the Bidmycleaning.com Service Marketplace to share with us how they get the best results in the shortest amount of time. For most it comes down to using the right tool, using good cleaning products and refining methods and workflows.

The Right House Cleaning Tools

1. A caddy or organizer to hold all your cleaning supplies so that you can easily move from one cleaning spot to another.
2. Microfiber or terry cloth cleaning cloths are important as is using a clean portion of the rag for each new area.
3. Squeegee for streak-free cleaning of mirrors, windows and glass doors.
4. HEPA vacuum, important considerations are that it be lightweight and have a long retractable cord.
5. Good quality feather duster for example one made of ostrich feathers for cleaning smaller items and light fixtures or anything that cannot be reached with a vacuum cleaner.
6. Flat floor mop with detachable pads which can be laundered.
7. Toilet bowl mop

Quality Cleaning Products

Good quality cleaning products are ones which require the least amount of elbow grease to get the job done. Despite what one may think effective cleaning does not require chemicals. There are many commercial and home made products which are effective cleaners based on all natural ingredients. You do not need a big arsenal of cleaning products but rather a few key multi-taskers. You will need a good all-purpose cleaner that will also clean glass, a scouring powder and soap scum remover, a floor cleaner and furniture polish.

A Workflow

Ordering the tasks that need to get done so you can proceed from one to the next in the most efficient way possible comes from trial and error. The professionals have typically been doing the job for so long that they have mastered what is required and have found ways to keep time spent on each task to the minimum and avoid covering the same ground more than once. Your home and cleaning style will dictate what is an efficient workflow for you and the more you do the same routine the more efficient you will become.

Should you decide that you don’t want to invest in the right tools or cleaning products and don’t have the time refine your process you can always leave the task to a professional house cleaner

National Organize Your Home Day

Posted by Candice on January 15, 2010 at 00:41 am

January 14th each year is earmarked for National Organize Your Home Day. There are many, many wonderful blogs and resources online to help you get started on organizing – her are a few of my favorites:

I’m An Organizing Junkie
Organized With Style
Organizing With Sandy

For some inspiration it’s always great to look at Before & After pics and here are some great ones from Miss Organized.

Once you get organized it’s a good opportunity to put systems in place so you can keep everything neat and tidy without too much effort. Designate a place for everything. Get some attractive baskets or boxes and place them strategically around your home so that you have a place to store all the items which usually lead to clutter when they are left lying around.

Another thing to consider once you are all organized is a good deep cleaning. If you don’t have the time to complete a more thorough cleaning that your usual cleaning, it can be beneficial to hire a maid service.

Cleaning Up with Crayola

Posted by Candice on January 5, 2010 at 14:45 pm

We have a Bidmycleaning budding Picasso – she is almost four years old and loves to draw especially princesses and mermaids. Fortunately she doesn’t feel the need to take her talents beyond paper and hasn’t drawn on the walls or furniture. She did accidentally get some red marker on the sofa and unfortunately for us it wasn’t a Crayola marker. If it had been we would have been able to visit their complete online guide to stain removal. For each of their products they provide information related to the surface on which the stain has been made, what materials are needed for removal and their suggested procedure for doing so.

We prefer to use only eco-friendly cleaning products and often use homemade cleaning products and their materials list includes typical commercial cleaning products. They do however say that while these are brands that performed most effectively in their tests, other brand products may work equally well. They also do recommend that before trying out the stain removal method, test an inconspicuous area of the material or surface to be cleaned.

If you don’t have the time or are reluctant to tackle stain removal yourself, we have great cleaning companies listed at Bidmycleaning.com who can clean carpets and upholstery.

Green and Clean Holiday Season: The Tree

Posted by Candice on December 2, 2009 at 23:41 pm

This is the first in our holiday season series about how to have a green and clean holiday season. In this first post we look at the tree!

For those celebrating Christmas, the tree aside from Santa and the Nativity is the most recognizable icon. When it comes to the Christmas Tree is seems the debate centers around real or fake/artificial. Just in the past two days I have seen people sharing their opinions on Facebook and Twitter and it seems people have strong feelings on the topic but there is no consensus.

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Read, Respond, Recycle – Cleaning Up The Mail

Posted by Candice on November 18, 2009 at 14:53 pm

The mail we send and receive is probably one of the main areas where we can make a big difference when it comes to doing our part towards going green. Unlike with plastics where it can be difficult to know which ones are OK to recycle, paper is paper and it can all go into the recycle bin.

Now the US Postal Service is making it even easier to recycle unwanted mail. Their new “Read, Respond, Recycle” program will provide postal customers with a convenient, environmentally responsible alternative to bringing home or discarding their mail. The Post Service recycles more than 1 million tons of paper, plastic and other materials.

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San Antonio House Cleaning Update

Posted by Candice on October 6, 2009 at 23:18 pm

BidMyCleaning.com is your trusted connection to reliable house cleaning services in San Antonio including maid service, carpet cleaning and window cleaning.

San Antonio is one of several locations in Texas where we serve individual owners, renters, property managers and realtors looking for housekeeping or carpet, upholstery and window cleaning services.

One of our featured local service providers is Cupid Clean

Cupid Clean

Cupid Clean is an independent, locally owned company completely focused on satisfying every customer with a quality professional cleaning. Each employee is hand-picked for their character and must go through a rigorous screening process that includes a background check, reference checks and multiple interviews. Cupid Clean takes pride in their well-earned reputation for being responsive not only for service issues but for special requests from customers.

A recent customer comment says:

“I have had other cleaning services before but the experience with the people at Cupid Clean was pleasantly different! I was very pleased with the cleaning service Cupid Clean offers, the work quality and the customer service are excellent. I recommend their cleaning services to anyone in need of great quality and awesome detailed cleaning like i did and I will use them again.”

With our featured providers and Bidmycleaning’s Choice program we offer service in all San Antonio cities, neighborhoods and districts. To get instant bids tailored to your requirements from providers in San Antonio just enter your zip code into our Cleaning Calculator at Bidmycleaning.com.

Photo Credit: Corey Leopold on Flickr

CleanWell – Another Essential Oils Post

Posted by Candice on September 16, 2009 at 10:30 am

So in keeping with yesterday’s post about using Essential Oils for house cleaning – today we want to talk about another great application of essential oils. The safety of our families is one of the main reasons for focusing on how to be more green in our homes and when it comes to the safety of our children it can be daunting trying to find products that fit the bill.

With the looming threat of H1N1 flu and the constant PSAs about clean hands being our best defense, it is tempting to resort to Purell or some such product when there is no soap and water available for hand washing. Alcohol and Triclosan are two of the undesirables in these products. Triclosan in particular, breaks down into toxic chemicals including chloroform. There is a better choice – CleanWell All Natural Hand Sanitizer and Hand Soap. Can something all natural and 100% biodegradable really kill 99.99% of germs including MRSA, staph, E. coli, and Salmonella!
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What's Your House Cleaning Style?

Posted by Candice on September 8, 2009 at 10:30 am

When it comes to house cleaning most everyone probably has a dirty little secret – the old adage about sweeping dirt under the rug came from somewhere. House cleaning is a chore that most people view as a necessary evil and this probably leads to crazy shortcuts or unusual ways of getting the chores done!

We all know about going on a binge when it comes to dieting but what about binge cleaning? Yes, the principle is the same -periods of famine and feast – or more specifically periods where you ignore the clutter, dust, dirt and soap scum that is appearing around your house and pretend it isn’t there as it accumulates and then the sudden ‘binge’ where you clean the entire house from top to bottom … with a toothbrush!  This would be fine if you didn’t feel guilty about letting things slide between cleanings but in all likelihood you do. You probably live in fear that a neighbor will knock on the door and will get to see the cheerios lying on the floor and layer of dust on your furniture. It can be difficult to commit to a schedule of cleaning which will mean your house is cleaned on a regular basis but it might be good for your mental health to try it. There are many great websites which can help you figure out a cleaning checklist and rotational schedule to keep your cleaning on track.

Does your family sometimes compare you to the wicked witch of the west because you’re always nagging them about house cleaning chores? Not all family members are always on the same page when it comes to how clean the house should be. You may want your home to be ready for company at all times whereas your spouse might be more inclined to wait until the door bell rings and then rush around throwing things in closets and hiding clutter behind the sofa cushions. In this case your requests to clean up will be seen as nagging. Perhaps a family meeting is necessary to all agree on a cleaning routine for your home and then assign chores and deadlines posted where everyone can see them. Hopefully this will reduce the nagging required.

The only time a cleaning style becomes a problem is where you share a home with others who do not have the same cleaning style otherwise it’s all good. If your cleaning style is complete avoidance then let us help you find a reliable house cleaner in your neighborhood.

A Bathroom So Clean It Sparkles!

Posted by Candice on May 4, 2009 at 23:28 pm

Cleaning A Bathroom

What does it take to clean a bathroom so that it sparkles? Cleaning the bathrooms is typically one of the least favorite chores when cleaning the house. Most people would love to avoid it given the chance, but for a maid service this is an area where they can really show the difference a professional cleaning can make.

Here are 5 Steps to Professionally Cleaned bathroom in just 30 minutes:

Step 1 (5 Minutes)
Remove all items from countertops, shower & tub area and move rugs from the floors.

Step 2 (10 minutes)
Spray down the tub/shower area with an all purpose and/or glass cleaner, either a Clorox-type product or eco-friendly solution. By the time you’ve finished spaying the entire area you can begin wiping down the section you first sprayed.

Step 3 (5 minutes)
Spray the inside of the toilet using and acid-based cleaner and spray the outside with a non acid-based cleaner to avoid discoloration. Use a toilet brush to clean the toilet inside and a scrub page and cloth to clean and wipe down the outside.

Step 4 (5 minutes)
Spray down the sink and surrounding countertops with a non-acid based cleaner and then scrub. Wipe down and buff all faucets. Finally spray the mirror using a glass cleaner and wipe down. Replace all the items on the countertops and shower/bath area.

Step 5 (5 minutes)
Clean the floor with a mop and commercial or eco-friendly floor cleaner and then replace rugs.

Walking into a professionally cleaned bathroom should make you feel like your home is a little like a day spa or favorite hotel. And not having to clean the bathroom yourself will make you even happier.