12 Tips from our Professional Cleaners

Image courtesy of Real Simple

Some of our star cleaning pros have shared their favourite tips to help keep your home clean the easy way. From fingerprints on the fridge to stains in the toilet bowl and laundry. Check out these 12 tips from professional cleaners at Simply Spotless Cleaning.

1. Pull the vacuum cleaner slowly

The first of the tips from our professional cleaners has to do with vacuuming properly. What most people don’t realise is that pushing the vacuum forward really only helps you get it into the correct position for the next pull. Pulling the vacuum towards you is the action that removes most of the dirt from your carpet.

When it comes to hard surfaces, vacuums can tend to blow dust and hair around. Consequently, it is useful to use the wand attachment first to pick up the dust bunnies. The go over the floor with the normal vacuum head. Push to get it in position and then pull it slowly to make sure it has time to do its job.

For more tips on vacuuming, have a look at this post: 7 Housekeeping Hacks that will Save You a Bunch of Time

2. Use Brillo pads in the bathroom

Removing soap scum can be tricky. Try using a Brillo pad to scrub if off once every 3 months or so. It will help you to clean soap scum off your shower doors more easily than most things.

Extra tip: rubbing lemon wedges on the areas that build up soap scum can help to prevent it from building up in the first place

3. Freeze things that can’t be washed

You may have heard that the best way to keep your jeans clean is to chuck them in the freezer. Doing so kills the bacteria and keeps them hygienic without damaging the fabric. Hence another tip from our professional cleaners: Put things that can’t be washed easily into a ziplock bag and then put it in the freezer for a day or two.

4. Pour Domestos into your toilet bowl

No one wants to clean, especially when it comes to the toilet bowl. But let’s face it – you don’t want people to come over and see a stained toilet. A simple trick is to pour some Domestos into the toilet bowl and let it sit for an hour. It will froth up and then you can just flush it and it will be clean. Easy.

5. Drip dry your toilet brush before putting it back

Once you’ve flushed the toilet, you may need to give it a quick scrub with the toilet brush to finish the job. But what do you do when you’re done scrubbing. Before I heard about this next tip from our professional cleaners, I would just put it back. Right? Wrong!

I’ve always thought toilet brushes were gross but theres an easy way to keep them clean. When you’re done scrubbing, flush the toilet and rinse the brush off thoroughly. Then, close the lid of the toilet onto the handle of the brush so that the brush itself can drip dry for about 10 minutes. Then put it back in its home.

Extra tip: for a hygienic brush, you could add some more Domestos to the toilet bowl and scrub it again once it’s been cleaned. The purpose is not to double clean the toilet but to clean the brush.

6. Use olive oil to keep your fridge finger print free

Does it drive you crazy when there are finger prints all over your stainless steel fridge? Put a drop of olive oil (or baby oil) on a paper towel and wipe the doors down. Not only will it remove the finger prints, it will help to prevent them from building up.

7. Use vinegar to remove water stains

Water stains and mineral deposits on your bathroom fittings are ugly and hard to remove. So use this tip from our professional cleaners. Soak a paper towel in vinegar and then wrap it around the fitting (e.g. tap) and let it sit for 20 minutes. The vinegar will break down the stains and then you can just wipe them away!

8. Add some cornstarch to your window cleaner

Windows can be tricky to clean without leaving streaks. The answer? Another tip from our professional cleaners: “I add a tablespoon of cornstarch to my window cleaner (use white vinegar as an organic alternative) and mix it in. The cornstarch acts as a mild abrasive that helps to remove marks and leave the window steak-free and shiny”.

9. Get a steam cleaner!

Mopping your floors and wiping down bench-tops isn’t the most hygienic way to clean. Even if you’re using a disinfectant like Domestos in your mopping bucket. By the time you get to the last room, you tend to end up spreading the germs rather than killing them.

Steam cleaners are incredibly versatile and possibly the most hygienic way to clean your home. You can get attachments for a single machine that clean benches, windows, walls, and floors! The steam is a natural way to kill all the germs and they’re actually cheaper than you might expect!

Extra tip: use washable microfibre covers to help save the environment

10. Experience the power of magic erasers

Marks on your walls? Magic eraser. Stains on your bench-top? Magic eraser. It’s literally magic. They act as a mild abrasive but won’t scratch your homes surfaces.

11. Use white chalk to remove stains

This is on of the tips from our professional cleaners that you can use on clothing. Keep some white chalk in your laundry to rub on grease stains before washing clothes. You’ll need to act quickly so the grease doesn’t get stuck in there. Simply rub the chalk onto the stain and leave it for a few minutes so it can absorb the grease.

12. Start at the top

Last, but not least, of the tips from our professional cleaners is to clean from top down. Not only should you start on the top floor, you should clean from the highest point in a room down to the floor. For example, start with your ceiling fan so any dust that falls can be vacuumed up afterwards.

Like these tips? Read more about The Correct Order to Clean you House Efficiently