Cleaning Tips from Wipe Out Cleaning

 

Bathrooms

• Install a hand held shower massager.
• Use it to rinse off walls and tub after every shower/bath to prevent soap scum buildup.
• If you don’t have a hand held shower massager, use Arm & Hammer Clean Shower after you shower. Make sure to spray a liberal amount on walls, tub, and shower doors. This prevents mold and soap scum buildup.
• I use these two methods in my own shower and it works great. I never have to scrub my shower!
• To prevent mildew on showers with tile, wipe them dry after each shower.
• If you have tile walls and floors, wipe up spills as needed. The key is to keep tile as dry as possible.
• To remove rust and other stains on the porcelain in your toilet bowl, try using a pumice stone. Caution, do not get carried away and use it on your Corian. It will scratch other surfaces such as Formica, plastic, and stainless steel.

Floors- Tile, Hardwood, Laminate, and Linoleum Floors

• Do not soak your tile floors when mopping. It is best to use a spray cleaner and a rag. If you must mop, make sure to dry your tile floors after mopping them.
• I use a rectangle mop that uses fitted towel-like mop heads. I also use this mop on hard wood.
• Hardwood and tile floors should not be cleaned often. Hardwood will get dull and the tile grout will get ugly looking.
• Vacuuming, dust mopping, and wiping up spills or spots is all that is needed and will keep your floors clean and in good shape.
• Ask your contractor what kind of spray cleaner is good on your hardwood. Most contractors I talk to recommend not using anything and never using water.
• Zep makes a good hardwood floor cleaner.
• Pergo or Laminate floors should not be mopped either. Use the same method as hardwood or what the manufacturer suggests.
• I use Armstrong floor cleaner (blue liquid) on linoleum. Sometimes I use ammonia and water on my linoleum. Use caution when using ammonia.
• Magic Erasers and white bottom rubber shoe soles are good to get up scuff marks on linoleum. (While your tennis shoe is on, just rub over the scuff marks!)

Kitchens

• Ovens-Use a pumice stone to remove stains, spills, and buildup. Avoid using it on the glass part of your oven door.
• Put foil on the bottom of the oven, it might not look attractive, but it saves a bunch of time cleaning.
• You can use the pumice stone to remove stains in your Porcelain sink. I use bleach or bleaching products also. A steel wool pad is good on stainless steel.
• If you have stainless steel appliances such as a stove, refrigerator, dishwasher, use only a soft micro fiber cloth or paper towel. Stainless steel appliances require high maintenance and must be polished with a soft cloth and a stainless steel cleaner to remain clean and bright. They do stain, for it is Stainless, not Stain-Free. Use manufacturer recommendations.
• For microwaves, put a cup of water in and set timer to get the water to almost boiling. Let it sit so that the steam helps soften debris and makes cleaning easier. I do not recommend using a bleach cleaner in the microwave. Soap and water is sufficient.
• To make everything look bright and shiny, dry appliances, counter tops, sinks, etc…after cleaning with your wet rag. This makes a big difference.

 

Prepping Your House

Before your house is professionally cleaned you should:

• Put away toothbrushes and razors.
• Eliminate excess (more than two) bottles of shampoo or other products in tubs and showers.
• Pick up clothes/towels/toys off of floors.
• Clear sink of dirty dishes.
• Clean up clutter on counter tops, tables, dressers, etc…
• If you have pets, try to confine them to the yard, kennel, crate, or a room that does not need cleaning. This will keep the pet off of wet floors and help control reapplying pet hair.
• To find out if your professional cleaner is doing a good job, check these areas for dust:
• Windowsills
• Baseboards and door trim
• Behind toilet, including water valve