Chances are, if you have a walk-in shower, you have glass shower doors! More and more people are going tub-less and opting for a beautiful walk-in shower with stone or tile and sparkling glass shower doors—at least for the first couple of weeks. Then those beautiful glass doors that were sparkling can easily look dingy, streaked with leftover soap and accumulated water spots. It is at this time many people make the fatal mistake of reaching for the Windex to clean those pesky marks off of the shower door but don’t do it!! Windex, while a great option for glass, can ruin your beautiful, and likely expensive, shower doors. So instead of reaching for Windex, try reaching for a different household product.
Chemistry
I’m not the biggest fan of chemistry either but I always find it easiest to remember to do or not to do something if I learn what is behind it. All shower doors come with a coating on the doors to repel water. This coating can be harmed if you use an ammonia-based cleanser on the glass. To steer clear of harming the glass, you’ll want to select a cleanser that is acidic-based or Ph-neutral.
The Cleaner I Like
There is a great variety of glass cleaners on the market but my favorite general glass cleaner is vinegar and water. Use distilled white vinegar and mix it in a 1:1 ratio with water and pour it into a spray bottle.
For Cleaning
I like to mist the shower doors with my vinegar and water solution, then grab one of my microfiber towels, and wipe down the door. This usually only gets about 90% of the water so then I wipe down the door again with a paper towel. Using the paper towel, I feel a lot of friction but that’s how you know you’re getting the doors really well! The microfiber serves to remove any soap scum more effectively than just the paper towel would and it also conserves how many paper towels you use. I’m also a fan of using the Norwex Window Cloth to take the place of a paper towel and really polish the glass shower door.
For Stubborn Buildup on Glass
All glass doors will show wear over time, especially if you live in an area that has hard water. However, this takes a long time for most shower doors. The only shower doors that I have seen that I haven’t been able to clean are one that have had ammonia or other harsh cleanser used on them.
Sometimes there will be a lot of built-up soap. In these cases, I very gently use a wet non-scratch sponge to remove the buildup. If you go in with a brand new, dry, non-scratch sponge and scrub really hard it will still scratch your glass. Beware and use caution!
While I love the vinegar and water solution for regular maintenance, I do find that every so often I need something with a little more oomph to my cleaning and the product that I have found that I really like is Rain-X Shower Door Cleaner. This is a particularly nice product for removing any oil-based soaps that have left a residue on the glass shower door.
So there you have it! What products have you used to clean your glass shower door? Any recommendations? I would love to hear from you!
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The Most Common Cleaning Mistakes I See Being Made Everyday
I am asked by my clients, at least weekly, how I get everything so shiny! The shiny object can be anything from a stainless steel fridge to a glass stove top, to a shiny streak-free granite countertop. In each of these situations, my answer is always the same—microfiber towels!
What are microfiber towels?
Microfiber cloths are made of fibers that are split to make them up to 100 times finer than human hair! Because of this, they are super absorbent—but not just water absorbent! All the fine fibers that make up the microfiber cloth also work to absorb dust and other particles. Because of the super dense nature of these fibers, microfiber cloths can absorb seven times their weight of water! That is why when put into action, the microfiber can absorb more moisture and, therefore, leave your surface that much dryer and shinier than if you used any other cloth.
Where can you use microfiber towels in your cleaning?
So where can you use microfiber towels in your cleaning? The answer is just about anywhere! When using microfiber, I like to spray my cleanser on the surface I am cleaning, wipe the surface dry, and then polish it really, really dry with a clean microfiber towel. (This last part is where the great shine comes from.) For instance, if I am cleaning the front of a glass-front stove, I will use my glass cleaner and wipe the glass surface pretty dry and remove all of the dirt build-up; then I take my microfiber towel over it. While this extra step may seem unnecessary, it is that detail that really does the trick and makes the surface gleam.
Using microfiber but still not getting the desired result?
If you are using a microfiber towel as described above and still not seeing the desired outcome, then the most likely scenario is that you are not drying the surface well enough. If you are cleaning your granite countertop and you have washed and dried it, the countertop should look dry; you wouldn’t describe the countertop as any more than damp. That’s when you want to come in with your microfiber towel and really polish the countertop dry. I say polish because you’ll want to use a little bit of elbow grease! Feeling some friction means that you are getting it completely dry and you will get the shiny countertop of your dreams.
Where Not to Use Microfiber Towels
Have I sold you on the value of using microfiber towels? If so, you are probably ready to throw out all of your other towels and only use microfiber, but don’t! While microfiber towels are great to dust, shine, dry and polish surfaces, I do not recommend using them to clean surfaces that could have a lot of undesirable bacteria present, such as a toilet. Why not? The denseness of these towels that allows them to trap dirt and water also makes them trap bacteria and other particles you’d rather not have hanging around long term. Since microfiber towels call for gentler handling when washing, you cannot get them as clean as you can regular cloths. For that reason, I never recommend using them to clean heavily soiled areas or areas such as a bathroom or toilet.
Taking care of microfiber towels
Speaking of how to care for microfiber towels, you’ll want to make a few adjustments in how you wash these cloths in order to get the best life out of them and to keep them super absorbent.
First, never wash them in hot water. You can use warm water but it is even better if you stick with cool-cold water. Second, do not dry them in a hot dryer! Drying them on a hot cycle will cause the fibers to melt together, reducing their effectiveness. Dry them on the lowest possible setting and when possible skip drying them in the machine and hang dry them instead. Lastly, if you can, try to wash your microfiber cloths with only other microfiber cloths. This will keep them from collecting lint which will in turn keep them from leaving lint behind when you use them to dust.
I hope you find this information useful! If you have any other cleaning questions or topics you’d like me to discuss just shoot me an email at: alainascleaingservice@gmail.com and I will do my best to get back to you.
Disclaimer: All of these cleaning tips have come from my personal experience and that of the clients whom I serve. While the information here should be applicable and safe in most circumstances if you have any doubts be sure to check with the manufacturer for the product which you are cleaning and always test a cleaning product or procedure in an inconspicuous area first!
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Having been in the house cleaning industry for a while now, I’m always surprised by some of the mistakes I see people making in their cleaning. What really surprises me is that it wasn’t oh so long ago that I was making these same mistakes! Luckily, I have learned and improved my cleaning and you can improve yours too! Here’s how:
Cleaning In The Wrong Order
If you are doing a whole-house cleaning, the order in which you clean will affect the outcome of how your home looks when you are done. For instance, I see many people vacuum their floors just to go back through and, for example, clean their kitchen, knocking lots of crumbs on the floor they just vacuumed! Always start high and work your way down. Dust the high areas, moving to lower surfaces, wipe off counters, vacuum and then mop. If your baseboards are dirty, vacuum them, wipe them and then pull out your mop.
Missing Things
If I go into a home, I can usually tell what kind of a housekeeper they are by looking at the bottom of their toilet. Just about everyone will scrub their toilet bowl. A lot of people wipe down the outside of the toilet, but hardly ever do people wipe the very base of the toilet—the flat part that screws onto the floor. Make sure you hit that and you will be doing better than most!
Cleaning With The Wrong Products
Do you pay attention to the back label of your cleaning product that says what its uses are? A lot of people don’t. They think it won’t matter if you use something differently than what’s intended once or twice. Usually that’s right, but not always! Repeated use of an incorrect cleanser will break down the surface it’s being used on and lead to unalterable damage. What are a few of the common ones?
Windex on shower doors—don’t do it! Try distilled vinegar mixed 50/50 with water instead.
Hard cleaners on granite. You need your cleanser to be gentle—and pH neutral. Try sticking with simple dish soap and water!
Polish on surfaces that don’t need it. It is okay to occasionally wax or polish your real wood floors, but surfaces, like a dresser or china cabinet, don’t need to be polished regularly if you are not constantly using them to wear down the polish. Repeated waxing of a seldom-used surface, or using a real wood floor wax on faux wood floors will build up overtime leaving surfaces dull, and sticky in some instances.
Lazy Vacuuming
What is the number one thing people skip when they are vacuuming in a hurry? The edges. Especially on carpet. But the edges are where most of the dirt hangs out! For hard floors, vacuum the entire floor, then take your crevice tool around the edges. For carpet, get all the dirt out of the corners first by using the crevice tool then vacuum the main carpet area.
Skipping Dusting
It may be true that the dust doesn’t really accumulate (all that quickly) but it still will accumulate! This is especially true of furniture near a door that you use frequently and also if you have pets. You can get away with taking a quick pass with a Swiffer duster every other week or even monthly but if you try to stretch it out much longer than that, you are increasing the amount you will have to do later—and remember, if some surfaces get too dirty, they will never come as clean as you want them!
I hope this helps!
Disclaimer: All of these cleaning tips have come from my personal experience and that of the clients whom I serve. While the information here should be applicable and safe in most circumstances if you have any doubts be sure to check with the manufacturer for the product which you are cleaning and always test a cleaning product or procedure in an inconspicuous area first!
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I’ve talked about How To Refresh Your Home’s Decor For Spring of 2022 and I’ve talked about Spring and Easter Vignette Ideas, but what about the infamous spring cleaning that we’ve heard about our grandmothers doing? Is it really necessary to tear our houses apart and give them an in-depth scrubbing from top to bottom every spring?
In short, no. Or at least not as necessary as it was in days gone by. Back in the day when everyone heated with coal, and you could see a cloud of smog hanging over cities, houses needed to be scrubbed to keep the dirt and grime from overtaking the house, but in this day and age, such aggressive cleaning tactics are not needed every spring. However, spring is a great time to look around and tackle at least a few of the in-depth cleaning items that get overlooked (and are often unnecessary) on a weekly or monthly basis.
Walls
Do your walls need scrubbed down every year? If you keep up with wiping off dirty handprints and drips as they appear on the walls then your walls most likely do not need an in-depth scrubbing every spring, except in a few key areas, namely the bathroom. Because of all the condensation that collects in the bathroom and runs down the walls, you will notice that your walls get drip marks on them over time. These drips look are on the yellowish side of the color spectrum and just look gross. But don’t worry—you’re not alone! Most homes have this unless the bathroom is very large or extremely well vented. Take a dampened towel with just a drop of dish soap (not enough for you to even see suds) and wipe it over the walls; this will erase most of these marks, especially if you do this semi-annually or annually.
Pro tip: Lightly wet a mop and in essence mop your walls. This usually is enough pressure to do the trick and is so much faster and easier!
Baseboards:
Speaking of walls, what is at the bottom of the walls that usually misses out on receiving the proper amount of attention? Your baseboards, of course! Take a look at your baseboards. You may need to just take a Swiffer along the top of them, but if your baseboards have marks then you’ll have to get down and wipe them—there’s really no great way to clean them without getting down on your hands and knees. Unfortunately.
Cabinets:
Your kitchen cabinets get dirty, even if they don’t look dirty. Using a lightly wet cloth with just a tiny amount of cleanser on it, wipe all of your cabinets down. Pay special attention to the area around the handles, in front of your sink, by your coffee maker (if you have one), and above your stove and microwave.
Sink:
Speaking of sink, your drain probably needs a good deodorizing! You can buy different options from the store or you can pour about a quarter cup of baking soda down the drain, followed by a half cup of vinegar. Let it sit for a few minutes and then run hot water for a couple minutes to rinse.
Pro Tip: To make your drain smell good, add a little bit of lemon or lime rind to your garbage disposal and then run your disposal.
Coffee Maker:
Most water, even city water, has minerals that can and will build up in your coffee maker over time. Most brands have their own brand of descaler that can be run through your coffee maker to remove this build up. If you want another at-home solution, use a 50/50 water and vinegar solution as your descaler (check your coffee maker manual to make sure this is an approved option—in most cases it is). If your coffee maker has a clean function, run it on a clean cycle; if not, do a regular brew cycle, followed in both cases by two brew cycles of just water. This will prolong the life of your coffee maker!
Washing Machine:
Washing machines need cleaning too! Again, most manufacturers and other companies have specialty cleansers you can buy, or you can revert to our old standby—vinegar and baking soda. I like to spray down the inside of my machine with a 50/50 vinegar and water mix, let it sit for 5-10 minutes, and then come back and wipe down the inside and around the plastic seal. Next, add vinegar (2 cups to a front loading washer, 4 cups for a drum washer) and run a cycle on the hottest and highest setting, followed by running an additional empty load cycle with ½ cup of baking soda, again on the highest and hottest setting, followed by a rinse cycle of just pure water. Check with the manufacturer or your washing machines manual to make sure this is an approved option—in just about every case it is.
Upholstery
If you have pets or little kids, your upholstery needs cleaned! You’ll be shocked at how much additional hair and debris you will extract from your carpets! Vacuum first, then clean with a home-grade carpet cleaner. This applies also to chairs and couches. If your couch has removable cushion covers, these can be washed in the machine but be sure to check to see if they can be dried in a machine or if they need to be air dried. Regardless, when they are about 80/90% dry, put them back on your cushion. This is not something to do when you have guests coming over in the evening!
Air Vents
Air vents collect dust on the outside and the inside. Clean the outside with a Swiffer or a soft brush vacuum attachment. If there is a gray residue left, wipe with a damp cloth. If you have vents that sit in the floor, it is worth taking the cover off and vacuuming the inside and the outside of the vent—whatever is down there is filtering into your air. I realized it was time to clean the floor vent in my dining room after the third person commented on the dozen or so hair bands that my cat had dropped down it!
Air Filters:
Air filters get dirty and when they do they don’t work well, they could even allow dirt to be filtering into your air! Most manufacturers recommend changing your air filters every 90 days, so if it’s been 6 months or a year you are most definitely due!
I hope this helps to shed some light on some often overlooked cleaning tasks! My goal isn’t to overwhelm or make you feel shame if you have never cleaned any of these; rather, I am hoping to shed some light on ways you can get your home looking and in the case with a lot of these, also smelling better, so that when you come home you can truly relax in your beautiful and clean home.
I have mixed feelings about the beginning of the year, part of me is so excited by the prospect of a new year and all the possibilities it holds and the other part is still in mourning because I’m so depressed that the holidays are over! It takes me a while to acknowledge that Christmas is over and I have almost a whole year to go before it comes again. I need a way to cope.
One of the ways in which I cope is by doing a deep purge/organization overhaul of my house, with my husband’s help of course- I am so much fun to live with! Purging your house over the holidays may not be your idea of a good time like it is mine but before you write me off as a crazy try it- you may enjoy it as much as I do!
What an Organized Home Means to Me
First off though I want to say that I am all about functional organization; meaning some of my organization isn’t terribly Pinterest worthy. I don’t buy a container of cereal at the store and then come a home and transfer that into a different container so that when I open my pantry it is a pretty array of white and glass labeled canisters- I am into working smarter, not harder and for me a color coordinated pantry isn’t worth the time it takes at this point in my life. However, having a good organization system that helps me to put groceries away more quickly, find what I’m looking for when I need it, and the ability to tell when I’m out of something, are all things a value so that is where I focus my attention when it comes to organizing.
Our Journey Towards an Organized Home
It all started last year, I had been wanting to do a total overhaul of our basement which had become overrun with boxes, stuff for goodwill, and various items that were “almost” put away, but not quite and were just creating clutter. During the week between Christmas and New Year’s we sorted and pitched, organized and donated- and it felt great! By the end of the week we had transformed a cluttered mess into a nice usable space. My husband, understandably, had been reluctant to spend so much of our time off on this activity but he too agreed that it was time well spent and he was glad we had invested the time into- plus there was now room to set up the ping pong table he had been wanting to play on!
Getting Started
When beginning a purge remember, if you haven’t used it within 6 months to a year it’s probably safe to get rid of it. If you have multiples of something, and can’t remember when you last used one of that particular item, you are safe to get rid of at least one if not all of them. Lastly remember to set up 3 different piles: keep, give away and throw away. It is so much easier to let go of something if you know it is going to someone who needs it more than you do!
This year we weren’t in need of a deep purge in our house as badly as we were in need of a light purge with new organization measures put into place. I had several spots in the house that I had started referring to as “hot spots.” Certain closets like a miscellaneous cabinet in our bathroom, the space under the kitchen sink, and the closet where we keep our games had become totally out of control. In the weeks leading up to Christmas I started keeping a list of little projects that would only take an hour or so but still ended up on my to do list each week, having gotten pushed to the end of the list in favor of something more pressing.
After doing a light purge on these areas, (we did a lot better this past year in not allowing clutter to come into the house so a deep purge was unnecessary), I realized that merely purging would not be enough. I needed storage help! Over the years I have heard a lot of professional organizers say to hold off buying bins and storage containers until after you do a deep purge. I had done this but I had never gotten back around to purchasing storage containers and putting them into use. I finally did, and boy, did it make such a difference! Not only is having nice uniform storage bins more aesthetically appealing, but we were able to squeeze out a lot more usable storage from these areas as well.
You Can Have a Junk Drawer
Another thing: You can have a junk drawer! Having a well organized home means having a home that functions well. This means you may have a junk drawer! Really, it’s ok! You do not want this drawer to contain stuff that should go somewhere else- the random crayon needs thrown out or put away- but you need a place for miscellaneous stuff to live. We should probably call this a miscellaneous drawer rather than a junk drawer come to think of it! Take my kitchen “Miscellaneous Drawer,” for example; I keep birthday candles, packs of gum, the touch up pen for my cabinets, chip clips, pencils and a small notebook in this drawer. I need all of these things in the kitchen, so I keep them there. In my bedroom I have a decorative box where I keep spare buttons, and other such paraphernalia that I want to make sure I have but that is just random. I don’t have a million of these random catch all places but I do have a few, I keep an eye on them so they don’t snowball and it helps to keep all the other clutter under control because this way odd items that I do want to keep have a place to live.
I realize that we are now way past the week in between Christmas and New Years but that doesn’t mean that you can’t start chipping away at areas of your home now! Gretchen Rubin talks in her books of how she implements a power hour every week in which she powers through any unpleasant or annoying task that she had been putting off that week and when the hour is over she stops, check out my post on books to help you build the life you want here). I plan to do this in the form of a “Declutter Hour,” and at the end of every week if there is a spot that has been annoying me to clean it out before it has the chance to become overwhelming. I will rotate through my house to help stay on top of things and tackle and clutter before it gets out of hand.
You can also use this approach to get on top of things. You may not have a week in which you can just purge, but do you have an hour a day or just an hour a week? Make a list of areas that are driving you crazy and start tackling it little by little- you’ll be so glad that you did!
We have reached the holiday season; and with it comes company! With so much to do already before the company comes;(wrapping presents, preparing food, etc.), cleaning can be the thing that throws off your nicely planned schedule. How can you keep from going crazy cleaning before the company comes? How can you keep your house clean for the unexpected guest without quitting your day job or getting rid of the kids??
The answer is routine. I know that’s not an exciting answer, a cleaning routine just sounds like one more thing to implement into your already hectic life but here’s the thing- staying current on your cleaning will save you time from doing a massive but infrequent overhaul. Not to mention it will make you feel better, and breathe easier- literally it turns out because there will be less allergens floating around your house!
Where to Start?
The goal here is to come up with a plan that works for you. If you look up cleaning schedules on Pinterest you will see countless schedules and routines of how often you need to clean certain areas. These schedules are absolutely helpful but don’t feel like a failure if you don’t vacuum your kitchen floor,scrub your sink, and clean your toilets everyday- no one really has time for that!
A lot of people are proponents of cleaning a little everyday. This is good in theory but when studies have been done on this method time management experts have found that it is more efficient to do most things weekly rather than daily; do all your laundry at once rather than a load everyday, do all the vacuuming or dusting in your house at once rather than one room a day. By trying to do a room each day you will lose time pulling out your cleaning supplies and then putting them away each day, rather than just tackling it all at once. However if you thrive on a daily routine, or lack a big chunk of time at any point during the week then it might be worth it for you to do a little everyday and thus conquer the cleaning!
My schedule during the week is crazy. I never plan to do any chores during the week unless I know I have an exceptionally light work week. My rule of thumb for cleaning is the same as for cooking; I try to do one big batch during the weekend and then only very small tasks during the week.
I have found a routine that works well for me and my family at this stage of life. Here’s what it look like:
Friday: I typically work a shorter day than I do Monday- Thursday. After work I swing by the store and pick up groceries and head home. I put the groceries away. I start a load of laundry. I like to then dust, do the bathrooms, vacuum and ideally mop. Now lets be real- very seldom is there time and energy to do all of this Friday evening. In my perfect world yes, but life isn’t perfect so we have to pick and choose.
Cleaning schedules will tell you to clean bathrooms and kitchens once a week, and dust weekly to every other week. This is what I was doing when I realized it didn’t work for me. There is just my husband and myself living in our house right now. We have 2 bathrooms and while we do use our guest bathroom, we use our master bath much more. When it comes to dusting however I am OCD. I CANNOT stand to see dust, hair and crumbs on any surfaces. This bothers me much more than the hair on the back of the toilet. So I went radical- I would do the dusting every week since that’s what bothers me most and I clean the guest bathroom every week if I can, but if not then it goes two weeks.
What areas drive you crazy? For me if my surfaces are dusted and my floor is mopped and vacuumed I feel great- even if my windows and doors have quite a few nose prints from our pets!
Still Struggling?
It is overwhelming- especially if you have a large house to keep clean! Below I have listed some guidelines to follow. Remember though, whatever it is that is the first thing you see when you walk in the door of your home, that is the thing that you need to make time to clean at least weekly, if not more often.
Daily:
Do a quick tidy up before bed. Pitch mail you don’t need, put shoes where they belong and return cords to their homes.
Keep a rag in both the bathroom and kitchen to do a quick wipe after using the surface areas.
Wipe out sink
Squeegee shower doors if you have a glass shower.
Weekly:
Kitchen: quickly wipe off appliances, stove top, microwave, and counters. Scrub sink.
Bathroom: wipe down sink area, scrub toilet bowl, and wipe down outside of toilet.
Clean showers- you can do a quick wipe down while you shower!
Dust all horizontal surfaces.
Vacuum
Mop
Purge fridge as you bring in groceries, and clean any spills.
Sheets
Monthly:
Clean windows
Dust anything hanging on the walls
Wipe down fronts of cabinets- you have cabinets in the bathrooms too!
Lauder floor mats.
Clean the inside of the dishwasher and washing machine.
Baseboards
Vacuum most often used upholstery
Every 3-6 Months
Change air filters
Vacuum all other upholstery
Deep clean baseboards
Spot check walls
Deep clean fridge
Clean oven
Once a year or as needed:
Shampoo carpets and upholstery
Defrost freezers
Clean kitchen drawers and cabinets for crumbs and dust. Clean the cabinet under the sink- you’ll be surprised how dirty it gets!
We are all different, and therefore how, when, and how much we clean will vary. For a more detailed breakdown of cleaning routines, and suggested cleaning rotations for different personalities enter your email in the box at the bottom of the page and I will send you my free in-depth, cleaning schedule with different breakdowns according to your personality!
I hope these guidelines help, again these are just guidelines shared in hopes of making life easier- not to stress you out and make you feel like you aren’t doing enough. Try to carve out 3 hours a week to spend on these chores with an hour or 2 a month to help get through some of the irregular cleaning. If having a clean home is important to you always remember that there are cleaning services and people out there willing to help! It may be worth adjusting your budget to get a little extra help if you are stressing over cleaning that seems like it is never done. Life is about what is important to you- so prioritize accordingly!
