Some of you know I'm a fledgling in the landlording business. Cleaning a house for rentability is of tantamount importance to successfully obtaining a good tenant. A clean home, place of business, dojo/dojang is important on many levels.
Here are my top three cleaning tips and I hope everyone else will share some:
NOTE: I strongly support the least invasive, least caustive, least expensive, no-nonsense products. My oldest is very sensitive to chemicals and we all have allergies and asthma-like problems, so scented products and harsh chemicals and expensive cleaners just aren't options for us.
1. CLEANING STAINLESS STEEL SINKS (from a close personal friend and professional housekeeper - this is a trade secret):
-Save the sink for last.
-Scrub it using a steel wool pad until all water spots and stains are up.
-Thoroughly dry the sink.
-Spray with Old English, Pledge or other furniture polishing oil / wax (some people smear olive oil, but it can turn rancid and doesn't work as well) and let sit for a while. Remember stainless steel is porous and will pull everything into it.
-Wipe up extra oil / wax and discard.
-Buff the sink. It's beautiful and will repel water and other objects.
Extra tip: Keep a rag with a little polish / oil on it in a tray under the sink so when you use the sink, dry it again and wipe it out with the oily rag.
2. LAUNDRY STAINS (This was passed to me from a woman who swears by the Queen of Clean - I've never read her stuff, but this really works):
-Buy a Fels-Naptha soap bar; they cost about $1.50 + tax. This is a detergent bar that looks like, well, a long bar of soap, but you don't use it on your person nor should you use this on dry-cleanable fabrics. It's inexpensive and lasts forever! It's much safer than other stain removers I've had (on fabrics and to have around children).
-Dampen fabric appropriately.
-Peel off some of the paper wrapping from the bar
-Rub the bar right on both sides of the stained fabric (like you would a crayon) and let sit for about 10 minutes.
-Launder as usual.
-Check the spot before you put the garment in the dryer; if a little of the stain is still there, reapply and relaunder.
This works on just about everything I've ever had happen to clothes - spaghetti sauce, blood, grass, chocolate, some pen and pencil, even some old stains. I've never been successful at getting oily stains out of fabric, but I hear that Fels-Naptha is a great last step in the process.
3. GENERAL SURFACE CLEANING:
I just got the best tip from a former tenant. Mr. Clean Magic Eraser is a WONDERFUL product to use on all kinds of surfaces. I used it on walls I've previously tried cleaning with 409, hot soapy water, diluted bleach, you name it. I thought I'd just have to paint over the dirt, crayon, magic marker, spaghetti sauce splatters (I have kids), fingerprints, etc.
This sponge is just incredible - I used one sponge to clean about the equivalent of a 10' x 10' wall, my counter surfaces and my kitchen faucet.
I have to say that I don't know if these sponges have any detergent or solvents in them or not. No cleaning solvents or detergents or any chemical ingredients are listed on the label. If they do contain such, they are odorless and did NOT irritate my hands. I rather think that it's the SPONGE that does the job, since I used nothing but clear water. They don't last terribly long, but with what I just saw it do, they are WORTH THEIR WEIGHT IN GOLD when it comes to a cleaning product. Speedy, effective, and relatively inexpensive. A package of two at Safeway (arguably the most expensive grocery store around) cost me $3.50.
So I would use this on walls and trim, counter surfaces, ceramics, chrome or other faucet materials, metal surfaces.
Here are my top three cleaning tips and I hope everyone else will share some:
NOTE: I strongly support the least invasive, least caustive, least expensive, no-nonsense products. My oldest is very sensitive to chemicals and we all have allergies and asthma-like problems, so scented products and harsh chemicals and expensive cleaners just aren't options for us.
1. CLEANING STAINLESS STEEL SINKS (from a close personal friend and professional housekeeper - this is a trade secret):
-Save the sink for last.
-Scrub it using a steel wool pad until all water spots and stains are up.
-Thoroughly dry the sink.
-Spray with Old English, Pledge or other furniture polishing oil / wax (some people smear olive oil, but it can turn rancid and doesn't work as well) and let sit for a while. Remember stainless steel is porous and will pull everything into it.
-Wipe up extra oil / wax and discard.
-Buff the sink. It's beautiful and will repel water and other objects.
Extra tip: Keep a rag with a little polish / oil on it in a tray under the sink so when you use the sink, dry it again and wipe it out with the oily rag.
2. LAUNDRY STAINS (This was passed to me from a woman who swears by the Queen of Clean - I've never read her stuff, but this really works):
-Buy a Fels-Naptha soap bar; they cost about $1.50 + tax. This is a detergent bar that looks like, well, a long bar of soap, but you don't use it on your person nor should you use this on dry-cleanable fabrics. It's inexpensive and lasts forever! It's much safer than other stain removers I've had (on fabrics and to have around children).
-Dampen fabric appropriately.
-Peel off some of the paper wrapping from the bar
-Rub the bar right on both sides of the stained fabric (like you would a crayon) and let sit for about 10 minutes.
-Launder as usual.
-Check the spot before you put the garment in the dryer; if a little of the stain is still there, reapply and relaunder.
This works on just about everything I've ever had happen to clothes - spaghetti sauce, blood, grass, chocolate, some pen and pencil, even some old stains. I've never been successful at getting oily stains out of fabric, but I hear that Fels-Naptha is a great last step in the process.
3. GENERAL SURFACE CLEANING:
I just got the best tip from a former tenant. Mr. Clean Magic Eraser is a WONDERFUL product to use on all kinds of surfaces. I used it on walls I've previously tried cleaning with 409, hot soapy water, diluted bleach, you name it. I thought I'd just have to paint over the dirt, crayon, magic marker, spaghetti sauce splatters (I have kids), fingerprints, etc.
This sponge is just incredible - I used one sponge to clean about the equivalent of a 10' x 10' wall, my counter surfaces and my kitchen faucet.
I have to say that I don't know if these sponges have any detergent or solvents in them or not. No cleaning solvents or detergents or any chemical ingredients are listed on the label. If they do contain such, they are odorless and did NOT irritate my hands. I rather think that it's the SPONGE that does the job, since I used nothing but clear water. They don't last terribly long, but with what I just saw it do, they are WORTH THEIR WEIGHT IN GOLD when it comes to a cleaning product. Speedy, effective, and relatively inexpensive. A package of two at Safeway (arguably the most expensive grocery store around) cost me $3.50.
So I would use this on walls and trim, counter surfaces, ceramics, chrome or other faucet materials, metal surfaces.
