Tag Archives: cleaning tips

Cleaning Tips for Your Four Hardest Working Home Appliances

Occasionally cleaning household appliances like stoves and refrigerators may seem obvious, but what about equipment that does the cleaning, like the dishwasher and washing machine? Give these often overlooked appliances a deep clean with the following tips before the holidays have them working overtime.

Unclog the dishwasher. The cleaner the dishwasher, the cleaner your dishes will turn out after going through a wash cycle. Take a moment to clean the dishwasher’s filter, usually located on the inside bottom of the machine. This detachable filter becomes clogged with food and debris over time, so empty it out regularly to keep it working efficiently.

De-gunk your garbage disposal. Use a natural abrasive combo of ice and salt to loosen grime from the blades. Though it will be loud, run the disposal until the ice is gone. When finished, you can grind up a lemon or lime wedge to deodorize the drain.

Give your washing machine a wash. Hosting out-of-towners during the holiday season? Avoid musty bedding and towels by sanitizing the machine and removing mildew buildup every few months. To do this, run a hot wash cycle without a load and add one cup of bleach to the soap dispenser or directly into the machine.

Give your vacuum more power. Increased foot traffic could have this tool working harder over the holidays. Keep your vacuum maintained with simple fixes like unclogging hoses, cleaning the rotating brush and replacing the filter.

Want to keep your appliances working hard for you? Give them regular attention and their own cleaning now and then.

Minimalist Home Decor: Simplify Your Life

This movement has been around since the early 1960’s. Like a lot of past trends, this one is making its way back into our modern lifestyle. Both in fashion, and in home decor. For some, it’s a lifestyle they decide to adapt for several different reasons; be it less clutter, cleanliness, or even because they just simply like it.

Several young couples today opt to buy a house, rather than rent. As we know, rent prices are steadily increasing while wages are not. However, that is material for another blog. Therefore, investing in real estate becomes the best choice. With this is money-saving mentality, it’s only normal millennials seek out modern lifestyle choices that can be economical yet trendy.

Now that we’ve answered as to why this movement has become a new setting trend, we’ll now give you some examples, and tips on how become a minimalist yourself. Or at least decorate your house like one.

Tip #1: One room at a time.

The purpose is to get rid of clutter. Odds are you’ll have a lot of it in several rooms. Don’t overwhelm yourself with trying to figure out what you’ll be doing with every tiny little thing in every single room of your house. After all you’re trying to change to a perhaps different lifestyle, and doing that won’t happen overnight. It’s a process, don’t rush into it.

Tip #2: Furniture.

If you’re moving into a new house than this might be easier for you, if you’re redecorating than there is some serious thinking to be done. What goes? What stays? Without compromising comfort or livability the essential question to always ask yourself is: “Do I need it?”. Think that sometimes less, is more. Whatever you find yourself thinking could be tossed/donated and don’t need, then do so.

Photo by: Cyril Caton / Flickr: Creative Comons

Tip #3: Clean surfaces, walls, and floors.

Think of it as starting new. Don’t clean the floors and put everything “you think you will need in the future” in storage. Decluttering means getting rid of it entirely. This also means storage itself. Other than perhaps winter gear, there shouldn’t be too much in there. This goes with wall decor too. If you’re into art, then try to think of your living room as an outfit. Does everything match? It is too much? If there the answer for the latter is yes, then donate it or toss it. Keep it simple, and even cleaning will become easier and less of a hassle.

Photo by: Tom Baugis / Flickr: Creative Commons

Tip #4: It’s not all black and white.

Although some people go with the classic white minimalistic type of decor, you don’t have to. The point is for your home to look clean and neat. Solid colors can help you do that. Same goes with the windows, for instance. Many people like to go for the floral, patterned window curtains. But, if you’re trying to stick to the decluttered look, go with clean, neat patterns. Or just one solid, simple color. Going with no curtains at all is also an option. Natural light is great, anyways.

Photo by Jeremy Levine / Flickr: Creative Commons

Well dear reader this is where we end our post. Tell us in the comment section below what you thought, and if you see yourself in the near future being a minimalist or decorating your house like one.

Find the original article here.

De-cluttering Your Home for a More Successful Sale

All real estate experts will agree that preparing your property prior to putting it up for sale is an essential step that will sufficiently augment your chances of a quick and successful deal. A presentable home is far more appealing and will blow out the competition. Keep in mind that emotion plays a high role in the purchasing process. One can fall in love with the design of your place and therefore be willing to dismiss minor flaws. Your goal is to help buyers envision themselves living in this exact home. Selling an estate is not an easy task, so it’s best to take care of the things that are under your control such as clutter.

First Things First

Let’s be honest – there are a lot of things on your agenda. Creating a list of all the tasks you need to tackle is extremely useful. This way, you will avoid the risk of getting lost in the process. Get equipped with enough storage options. Put yourself in the shoes of the potential buyers and mark certain areas that you think might have an influence on their decision. Small improvements might raise the value of your home and help you seal a quick deal. In terms of the interior, you can repair leaking faucets, fix wall cracks and other appliances. You might also consider repainting or replacing old fixtures. Don’t forget the exterior of your home. It is the thing that visitors will spot first. Remove the lawn appliances and furniture from the yard and find them a proper storage place.

Clean The Clutter

The fastest way to get your home ready for prospective buyers is by de–cluttering. This will also help you when preparing to move out of the house. Pre–packing is a perfect way to get rid of the unnecessary items around your home. It will also minimize your stress level. De-cluttering is the time for reconsideration of what things are actually essential to your daily life. Chances are in the process you will find things that you no longer use or that are damaged. It might be easier to deal with one room at a time. The next step is to go through all your possessions. Put some of the bulky or less appealing furniture in storage before showing your home. This way you will free up additional space and make your place look larger. Put your seasonal clothes in boxes. Decide what you want to keep and what you will throw or donate. If you don’t have enough storage space in your home, get a self–storage unit, but make sure it is out of the way when potential buyers come around.

Before Showing Your Home

After you are finished with most of the work, now you just need a few finishing touches. Be sure that your home is clean and tidy. Vacuuming, mopping and dusting as well as window cleaning are the basics. If you have pets that live indoors, send them to relatives or neighbors before the open house so you will have time to get rid of the unpleasant odors and fur that you now realize covers everything in sight. Set a small storage space in the house where the potential buyers don’t have access. You can display valuable items and accessories that add to the overall decor. However, you need to remove pictures and personal belongings such as children’s drawings that will hinder potential buyers from envisioning their own families in the space.

About the Author: Heather Roberts is a content writer from London, UK. She lives in Balham, London with her husband and two sons, and loves planning family trips and exploring new places.

Pool Maintenance Tips

It looks like it will be a hot summer, so you’ll probably be spending a lot more quality time in your pool. As with most good things in life, though, spending too much time together could muddy the waters, literally. Dirt, creepy crawlies and other general funk will unavoidably pollute your pool. You could hire a professional pool cleaner to keep your water crystal clear for the duration of the warmer months, but why bother? Save that money for an extra family vacation and clean the pool yourself! Believe it or not, DIY pool maintenance doesn’t have to be as annoying or difficult as it may seem. If you want your pool to make a splash at your next summer party, just follow these few simple maintenance guidelines on a regular basis, and your family and friends will be diving in before you have time to say “Cannonball!”

One of the first things you need to do is to skim the surface of your pool every few days or so. This will help you keep floating debris from sinking to the bottom, which would make it much harder to get rid of. You will need to use a long-handled net, aka a “hand skimmer.” This tool will help remove bugs, leaves and whatever else may be floating in the water. Skimming efficiently will also improve your pool’s circulation, thus lowering the amount of chlorine you’ll need to add to it. Cleaning the strainer baskets attached to your pool will also need to be done relatively often. To do this, remove the plastic baskets, shake them up and spray them with a hose to remove all stubborn objects lodged inside.

Your pool must also be vacuumed frequently, preferably each week, to again reduce the amount of chemicals you’ll need to add. There are many types of vacuums for pools, but if you have a manual design, you should make sure to work it along the pool’s floor, much like vacuuming a carpet. Overlapping your strokes will yield the best results. Remember to check the vacuum filter from time to time to determine whether or not it needs to be cleaned as well.

Lastly, you’ll need to periodically brush the tiles and walls of the pool, as this will keep algae and calcium deposits to a minimum. If you don’t clean these thoroughly, you may allow the problems to fester and turn into a much worse situation. Depending on the material used for the pool walls (tile, vinyl, concrete, etc.), you’ll need to choose a different set of cleaning tools. Stiff brushes will work wonders for plaster-lined concrete pools, but you should use a softer brush for fiberglass, vinyl and tile walls, since they will spare the grout.

If you are facing common issues like broken pumps or murky water, then you should consult your pool manual before trying to fix the problem. And, if you find that maintaining the pool on your own ever becomes too big of a hassle, go ahead and hire a professional (be sure to tip him!). Happy summer and just keep swimming!

Balham domestic cleaners offer a large amount of cleaning services.

About the Author: Cora Carter is a professional writer. She lives in England with her husband and children. She wants to share her experience with her audience. She has many published articles on various topics such as home and garden, real estate, cleaning etc.