Tuesday, May 02, 2006

Spring Cleaning

     My last article talked about using microfiber only for cleaning windows and mirrors. One reader emailed "Caution: many automobile mirrors (the ones on the outside) are plastic with a metal-like coating. It is neither very hard nor very thick. I don’t use microfiber on my car mirrors." Thank you Jeff for taking time to write!

     See http://www.goclean.com/floorcareguide.htm for information on floor care and further discussion of microfiber. This "wonder material" will get you wondering where the shine went on most surfaces.

     Several people have emailed lately asking where to start with spring house cleaning. They have improved with keeping the clutter picked up and improving on their organizational skills. Congratulations! I love to hear the stories!!

     When you spring clean here are the main areas to focus on:
*Remember what I feel is important may not be important to you. These are areas when left unattended could be costly, time consuming difficult to repair and very probably all of the above.

Cabinets: This was the worst area. Neglect causes the wood to warp, crack and turn grimy from cooking oils and oil on your fingerprints.  Our Wood Care http://www.goclean.com/wood-care.htm restores the graying to cabinets when they dull and it covers scratches and water ring marks on furniture.

At least yearly (twice is best) whether you use my wood treatment or another

  1. Clean them first (you can dilute our wood cleaner 6 parts water to 1 part cleaner as a regular cleaner) or dampen a cloth in a vinegar and water solution.

  2. Treat with your wood treatment. If your time is short consider doing just a section of cabinets weekly. They only take a few minutes and will save you considerable time and money in the long haul.

Next up – Open those freshly cleaned cabinet doors and poke around. Oops, been awhile huh? Children love scrambling around inside cabinets so let them pull everything out. By age six they are old enough to use a damp rag to wipe them out.  Don’t have kids? Offer to baby-sit the neighbors for the afternoon ( Clean cabinet shelves yearly – at least the ones containing food.

Baseboards – they may be out of sight but they aren't out of dirt's mind, Baseboards and the unrelenting black marks in the carpet in front of them.

!) Clean baseboards with our diluted Wood Care
2) If you have black marks spray with Ion-A-Clean http://www.goclean.com/ion-clean.htm or your cleaner. Wait 10 minutes and blot.
*This is a sit down job and I don't mean in an easy chair. Let this little task go unleashed and you will have a nightmare on your hands cleaning this area.
3) Pull your furniture out as you go wiping the walls and doing a thorough job vacuuming as well.

     If you still have energy left tackle the closets. If you live in a damp area this is a yearly must. It affords you the opportunity to treat carpet for mold and mildew and rid the closet of musty smells. There is a product called Pure Ayre www.pureayer.com/marine.htm that works quite well removing all kinds of odors. Remember there is a cause for musty odors – play Sherlock Holmes until you get to the cause. Pulling things out of your closets also gives you a chance to carefully check the walls and carpet for any leaks in the plumbing of your home. Look for dark spots on the walls and feel the carpet for dampness.

     I had a lady email me about some dark spots on the floor in her kitchen that would not come out. I told her it was a mold growing and the dampness had to be coming from somewhere and to check the plumbing. It ended up her dishwasher was leaking and draining onto the floor underneath the linoleum. It had softened the wood underlayment to the point where the floor was close to collapsing. This was the top floor of a two story home. It is important to check your walls and floors yearly for problems, which is easy to do as you are cleaning.

This article may only be reprinted giving full credit to Mary Findley and her website at http://www.goclean.com. Copyright @2006 All rights reserved worldwide.