The Best of Heloise’s Cleaning Tips
Heloise is one of the most well-loved and known columnist and TV personality. She has appeared on The View and Late Night with David Letterman among others. She writes an advice column for Better Homes and Gardens. She’s the guru of cleaning tips and tricks and we, at Garcia Green Cleaners, admire her greatly. In this article, we’ll give you some of the best of Heloise’s cleaning tips so you can use them yourself.
- When it comes to your computer, lay a place mat over it when it’s not in use to prevent dust, dirt and pet hair from getting on or in it.
- Microfiber cloths can be your best friend. Keep several in your car, preferably under the front seat. You can use them to dust off the dashboard, radio and steering wheel.
- In the bathroom and kitchen, microfiber cloths, can clean and shine the chrome, they’ll make your mirrors spiffy and are great for wiping down the sinks. When the cloths become dirty, just toss them into the washing machine. They’re reusable!
- For a good metal window blind cleaner, you should use 16 oz. of tap water, 1 tbsp. clear ammonia (non-sudsing), and 1 drop lavender, mint or other essential oil. Fill a spray bottle and label it. Use old cotton socks to wipe away the grime. If your blinds are super dusty, you should consider vacuuming them first. Spray the sock with the cleaner, not the blind. Wipe horizontally first and then wipe vertically.
- For your fridge or pantry, go through just one shelf at a time and get rid of all the expired food, food you’ll never use or anything that’s less than a single serving.
- Make it easier on yourself during the weekday by setting your table for breakfast the night before. Put out cereal boxes, sweeteners and other non-perishables.
- After your family finishes with their morning routines, use a dry terrycloth hand towel on the mirror and bathroom faucets to wipe away spots of lather so they don’t build up.
- Go through magazines and catalog piles. Discard outdated issues about three or five at a time. Toss away junk mail daily.
- Freshen up your throw pillows by tossing them in the dryer, one or two at a time, on the air cycle.
There you have it – some of the best cleaning tips from Heloise, the household cleaning tip queen. We hope you find them helpful and can use them in your daily life. Remember if you need a great cleaning, Garcia Green Cleaners is available. We just opened a new office in Austin. The phone number there is 512-705-2812.
10 Cleaning Tips you Must Know!
We love sharing our cleaning tips with you. We love it almost as much as we love to clean your homes. In this article, we’ll share 10 cleaning tips you must know. We hope you enjoy them.
- Circle your way around when cleaning the kitchen. Start to the right of the stove and move clockwise around the room. Why? Well, the stove is typically the dirtiest part of your kitchen. Saving it for last keeps you from spreading dirt and grease around the room.
- Keep your oven extra clean by lining the bottom of it with a nonstick oven liner. It can be wiped down with a paper towel. You can then put it in the dishwasher and reuse it over and over.
- Get rid of paper towels. Instead, you should use microfiber cloths. When wet, they sanitize and can clean floors, counters, glass and tiles. They’re reusable. You can just machine wash and hang to dry. They cost about $5 for a 2-pack.
- Are mold and mildew attacking your shower curtain liner? You should throw it in the wash with some towels. They’ll help scrub it clean. Then, you can hang it back up to dry.
- Sanitize your sponges. Put them in the microwave for a few minutes. Then, you can watch as the microbes sizzle away.
- Clean small toys in a laundry bag. Yes, you can put those nasty –looking legos or other small toys by placing them in a laundry bag first. They’ll come out clean and you don’t have to worry about your kids’ playing with bacteria-ridden toys.
- Clean fan blades with a pillow case. You probably have some extra pillow cases lying around. Use one to slide onto the blades of your ceiling fans. Then, wipe the blades off inside the pillow case. That way you don’t get dust in your face.
- Choose the right broom for the task. When indoors, choose a broom with finer bristles to pick up smaller dirt particles. When outside, use a broom with stronger, stiffer bristles. They work better to clean up porous surfaces.
- Use salt to clean your iron. Yep. That’s right –salt. Pour salt on your ironing board. You might want to use a pillow case to make cleanup easier. Iron the salt with the steam option off. The dirt on your iron will stick to the salt, making it easy to clean your iron.
- Turn your hydrogen peroxide bottle into a spray bottle. Replace the bottle cap with a spray bottle head. You can use hydrogen peroxide to clean all sorts of things like windows, tubs and even toilets.
We hope these cleaning tips give you some great ideas to make cleaning your home easier. We’ll feature more cleaning tips in the future. If you need help getting your home clean, please call us in Austin at 512-705-2812. We’re always happy to help.
What to Look for in a Maid Service
Garcia Green Cleaners is very confident in its maid service. We are a good company with good cleaners. If you choose us, you won’t have to worry about receiving a good cleaning for a good value. However, what should you look for in a maid service? Here we give you some things to contemplate.
Are the maids bonded and insured?
You want to make sure that the maids have had a background check and, if something goes awry, you will be compensated. You want them to be insured in case they break something or get hurt in your home. That way you won’t have to use your homeowner’s insurance.
What types of services do you provide?
Some maid services don’t do windows or laundry. You should know that up front. Garcia Green Cleaners does indoor windows and laundry for an added fee. We put that on our web site at www.garciagreencleaners.com. Please contact us for services offered and to get a quick quote.
What are my payment options?
You should know if you are allowed to pay with cash or check or if you must use a credit card. Garcia Green Cleaners prefers credit card payments. We don’t charge you until the service is complete. Checks are accepted but for services that are under $100. Cash is accepted and it goes directly to the maid. Tips are also appreciated by our maids, but they are not mandatory.
Do the maids have their own supplies or will they be using mine?
Our maids have top of the line supplies like Method hardwood cleaner and Meyers glass cleaner. We use Dyson vacuum cleaners, and also soft head mops. You can also request for the maid to use your products by providing them yourself. We are happy to work with your products if that’s your preference. We do charge a $5 materials fee per maid so, if you’re using your own supplies, call the office at 512-705-2812 to see if you can get that waived. It shouldn’t be a problem.
Are your maids punctual and professional?
Yes, our maids are punctual and professional. They are on time and ready to work. They will leave your house very clean. Remember, the first one to two appointments should be longer than subsequent appointments because they’ll be more thoroughly cleaning your home. If you are not satisfied, remember that we offer a 100% satisfaction guarantee.
We hope that these questions have helped you decide to choose Garcia Green Cleaners as your maid service. We’d love to help you keep your home clean.
How do I Clean a Toilet?
In this article, we’ll teach you how to clean the toilet. No one likes to clean toilets, but it’s necessary. A clean toilet doesn’t smell bad and it prevents bacteria from spreading. To correctly clean the toilet you’ll need both a toilet cleaner and a disinfectant. In fact, we recommend the following materials:
- Gloves,
- Toilet brush,
- Toilet bowl cleaner,
- And disinfectant spray.
First, you should take everything on the toilet off. If you have pictures or books or tissue boxes on the top, take them off so you can clean the toilet. You can clean these items later before you put them back on. Keep them somewhere safe where they won’t get sprayed with the toilet cleaner and disinfectant or water while you’re cleaning the toilet.
Take the clean gloves and put them on. We suggest that you use a dedicated pair of gloves for the job. You don’t want the bacteria from the toilet being spread to other household cleaning tasks. If you must, buy your toilet-cleaning gloves in a different color than your other rubber gloves so they don’t get confused.
Next, you should wipe down the toilet with a damp sponge. Give it a once-over with hot water. You should wet with water and wipe around the tank, lid, seat, base and exterior of the bowl. This might be enough to remove the dirt without specialty cleaning products. If not, you can clean with a disinfectant or toilet bowl cleaner later on.
Now you can apply with a toilet cleaner to the inside of the bowl. Toilet cleaners help eliminate stains, rings and mineral deposits in your toilet. Squirt the cleaner on the inside rim of the toilet bowl, allowing it to drip down the sides of the bowl and in the water. Read the instructions on the cleaner because some cleaners require time to sit for maximum cleaning effect. If so, take a short break and then continue.
It’s time to scrub the bowl with a toilet brush. You should use a brush with firm bristles. Scrub the bowl thoroughly and pay attention to any mineral stains that have accumulated at water level or the back of the bowl. The more thoroughly and firmly you scrub the bowl, the cleaner it will get. To get the most out of your toilet bowl cleaner, dip the brush in the toilet water and grab some suds to clean the bowl. It will give you extra cleaning power.
Once the bowl is scrubbed and clean, you should flush. This rinses the bowl. You should continue to scrub as water drains from the toilet because the motion of the water alone might not be enough to rinse the dirt away. If you have persistent stains, repeat the process of applying toilet cleaner through rinsing the bowl. Do it as many times as you need to to clean the toilet bowl.
Now that the bowl is clean, you can clean the rest of the apparatus with disinfectant. Clean the bottom, the top and all around the toilet. Don’t forget the handle because it has bacteria on it too. Once it’s sparkling, wipe up the residue with a dry cloth and then you’re done.
All you need to do is clean the items that were on the toilet before you started cleaning and then put them back where they belong.
If you need help cleaning your toilet or don’t feel like doing it yourself, Garcia Green Cleaners can help. Give us a call in Austin at 512-705-2812. We’re happy to take care of this for you!