The story below is from our March/April 2021 issue. For more stories like it, Subscribe Today. Thank you!
Make your spaces sparkle without cleaning all day.
Spring is just around the corner, and with it, longer days of sunshine and (hopefully) visits from friends and family as COVID begins to loosen its grip. The bad news—the months you’ve spent schlepping at home have been hard on your house. It’s dirty and tired looking, but the thought of tackling a long list of spring cleaning chores makes you tired, too. Choose one or all of these chores below and heed the tips and tricks to do it best, and you’ll reap the squeaky clean rewards.
Shine up your windows
The gray days of winter disguise how dirty your windows really are, but a sunny day will show you just how much grime is blurring your view. That’s the reason why Big Lick Windows’ phone rings off the hook in warmer weather. While owner Juan Jaramillo uses commercial products to clean clients’ windows, he also likes good ole Windex.
“Windex is my biggest competitor,” Jaramillo jokes. If you are looking for a natural alternative, mix one part distilled vinegar to 10 parts warm water in a spray bottle. Once you have your cleaner of choice ready, wipe down the dry window with a clean microfiber cloth to remove loose dirt, then spray the entire surface with your cleaning solution. With a second clean cloth, work the solution onto the window with circular motions. With a third clean cloth, buff the window until dry. Always proceed one window at a time (don’t spray them all at once). Microfiber cloths are a must—Jaramillo sings their praises, as they are less likely to leave streaks or lint behind.
Hack: Clean windows on a cloudy day with no rain, Jaramillo says. If it’s sunny outside, the heat will cause the glass to dry too quickly and create streaks, negating your hard work. Try doing just your first floor, or one main living area if you’re pressed for time.
Clean up your trim
Your wall trim and baseboards are the workhorses of your walls, weathering shoe scuffs, furniture dings and wear from kids and animals. Wall trim gets touched, especially by small hands, and fingerprints make it look grimy, says Alicia Ice, owner of A+ Custom Cleaning, who handles both commercial and residential clients. Choose a room, and clean up the wall trim and baseboards.
“Clean from top to bottom,” advises Ice, who says this is good practice for cleaning any room, and is how her crew tackles cleaning jobs.
Hack: Ice says for white trim, Mr. Clean Magic Eraser pads are your best friend. They shine up trim like new with less elbow grease required, and save you from having to repaint.
Get the gunk out of your grout
Sweeping or mopping a tile floor is sufficient for weekly or monthly maintenance, but to really get things clean and looking fresh, you need to tackle your dirty and stained grout. Tracy Perry is a tile contractor in Roanoke, and installs tile for a living. Perry says she dilutes a cup of white vinegar in a gallon of water, and gets at grout with a scrub brush. You’ll need a brush with stiff bristles that don’t collapse, and you can find one for under $5 at hardware and big box stores.
Ice also mentions steam cleaning as another way to refresh grout. There are many steam mops on the market, but The New York Times Wirecutter website, which conducts extensive reviews on everything from lip balm to laptops, likes the Bissell PowerFresh Steam Mop 1940, but cautions to only use it on glazed tile or sealed stone to prevent damage. A flip down scrubber on the mop targets grout.
Hack: What every tile installer knows is that you have to protect your knees to get down and dirty with tile. Grab a pair of knee pads meant for serious work at a hardware store, and along with a tile brush, you’ll make the job go faster and save your joints.
Clear out and clean your smallest room
“Start with cleaning a small space, like one where clutter and dirt has been building up,” advises Ice. “Make a donation pile, because the fewer items you have to work around in the future, the easier it is to keep the area clean.”
If a desk, laundry room or powder room fits the bill, start there. Clean from top to bottom, concentrating on spots that you’ve glossed over for months. Completely cleaning one area gives you the satisfaction of seeing the results of your hard work—if you spend an hour cleaning a powder room, it will look fantastic. If you spend an hour doing various small chores, it might not look like you lifted a finger, and that’s frustrating.
Hack: Throw out your feather duster. Ice says it moves dust around the room, making more work for you in the long run. Swap it for microfiber cloths, which trap dust and dirt—but Ice says to replace the cloths when they lose their plushness, because they won’t work well anymore.
Refresh Your Cleaning Caddy
Before you get started, make sure you have the right tools. Here’s what cleaning pro Alicia Ice and A+ Custom Cleaning have in their arsenal:
- Murphy’s Oil Soap: A natural cleaner that is good on all hardwoods.
- Mrs. Meyer’s Glass Cleaner: In scents like lavender and lemon verbena, Ice says she feels like it cleans better, with a brighter shine.
- Mr. Clean Magic Erasers: Great for baseboards, glass shower doors, and picking up anything sticky.
- Microfiber cloths: A must have for any cleaning job, Ice says her team uses them for dusting without any chemicals.
- Microfiber mop: A great all-purpose mop for hardwoods and tile.
- The Works cleaner: The gel version is great on faucets and drains to remove calcium build-up, while the liquid version tackles stubborn toilet rings.
The story above is from our March/April 2021 issue. For more stories, subscribe today or view our FREE digital edition. Thank you for supporting local journalism!
