cleaning

October 19 2020

Quarantine Cleaning Tips that Will Be Useful Forever

Ellen Bruya Residential News cleaning, homeowners

Quarantine Cleaning Tips that Will Be Useful Forever – During those days when many areas across the country urged us to stay home as much as possible, we turned to new cleaning practices inside our homes to ensure the utmost safety. Many of us sought out the best ways to make sure we were disinfecting properly.

As time went on many great cleaning tips were shared all over the internet to help our fellow mankind better get through our days at home. From the super popular trend of laundry stripping to getting caked on gunk off of pots, to correct practices for sanitization. There are some cleaning tricks that are so good we think it would be good to continue doing them as a new part of routine cleaning. Quarantine Cleaning Tips that Will Be Useful Forever

Here are Some Quarantine Cleaning Tips Worth Holding Onto

Cleaning and Disinfecting are Different Things

In efforts to not just keep homes clean, but ensure every outside germ was being killed, many of us found the proper way to disinfect our homes. We learned that cleaning and disinfecting mean two different things and that there are many ways to improperly disinfect a home. While cleaning is the practice of removing surface dirt, disinfecting is the practice of ensuring all living organisms present on a surface are killed especially bacteria and viruses.

The trick to proper disinfection: you have to clean the surface first before disinfecting. Disinfecting is more than buying the popular wipes and using them. You need to use a cleaner to get the surface dirt first, then use the wipes right after cleaning so that the disinfectant can just get right to work on the important stuff.

This is great information to know especially if someone in the home comes down with the cold or flu.

Giving the Cleaner or Disinfectant Time to Work

Spraying solution on a surface and then immediately wiping it away does a little bit to remove gunk from a surface, but much more can be done when the solution is allowed to sit for even just a few minutes and eat away at what is on the surface.

Not allowing enough contact time has actually been referred to as the #1 cleaning mistake most people make.

This is good info to know anytime. We all want our houses to actually be clean. When you buy a new cleaning product make sure to read the instructions, they will tell you how much contact time should be used.

Washing Reusable Grocery Bags

Since purchasing food is essential, grocery stores stayed open all through the pandemic. Even before the pandemic the grocery store was a likely place to pick up whatever seasonal germ was going around. If you use cloth bags, those can be a home for germs picked up at the store.

To keep those bags clean and from sharing germs you can drop some of them in the laundry if they are cotton, or handwashing if they are a nylon blend.

Keeping the Mattress Clean

A few studies found that a large number of us spent more time sleeping during stay at home orders. That extra time in bed had people beginning to realize they may not be cleaning their mattress enough or wondering why they never did it at all before now.

The best mattress cleaning measures include vacuuming thoroughly every time you change/wash your sheets (which is ideally once a week or at least twice a month if you just don’t have the time). You should also have your mattress deep cleaned every 12 to 18 months.

Leaving Shoes at the Door

Now this one is not really new, but it was always hotly debated. Now that the pandemic has made us more aware of how germs spread, we realized that items we carry outside with us really do bring a significant amount of germs into the home, especially on our shoes ( and even our coats and handbags).

Leaving your shoes at the door keeps a large amount of those outside germs from coming into the parts of your home you spend most of your time living and relaxing in. Did you know this is where most of the gunk on your floors comes from every day? Even when most people are at normal health.

Want to make cleaning the floors in your house easier? Just leave those outside shoes at the door, and of course, get a yearly professional deep cleaning.

Need additional help on cleaning your home? Maybe you need to sell? Give me a call! I’d love to help price and prepare your home in Snohomish County for a fast sale.

September 7 2020

13 Places to Clean Come Fall – Fall Cleaning Checklist

Ellen Bruya Residential News cleaning, fall, home, snohomish

The beginning of Fall is a great time to get your home clean and prepped for the oncoming months of colder weather. Things that have taken a rest or backseat to enjoying those warm summer days. Now that summer is winding down and the weather will be milder soon it is a great time to make a fall cleaning checklist of things to accomplish to get ready for the shift in seasons.

Here is a Fall Cleaning Checklist to Get You Started

Clean and Store Outdoor Furniture

In some locations you can enjoy being outdoors year round, here in the Pacific Northwest, we love the outdoors, but we may not be itching to sit on the back deck when fall storms begin. Pick a day that is forecasted to be dry and not too cold to clean up the outdoor furniture and place it into storage.

Make sure to look for any stains on pillows, cushions, rugs, and even fabric umbrellas. Now is the time to treat fabric stains instead of leaving them to sit until next summer. They will be much harder to remove after sitting so long and may not come out at all.

If you do not have a large enough space to store your outdoor furniture, protect it by covering it up. You can purchase outdoor furniture covers or weatherproof tarps and tie downs. If you are leaving metal furniture outside place a tarp underneath it to protect the legs from staining the surface it is on with rust.

Tune Up and Put Away Gardening Gear

In the same way you prepare your garden for colder months, you should also prepare your tools. Clean each tool, make any needed repairs, and put away until warmer days come. Don’t forget about winterizing the lawnmower.

Take Care of Gutters and Downspouts

It is the famous time of year when the trees turn beautiful colors and leaves fall everywhere, including the gutters. Clogged gutters can cause significant damage if left unattended. Gutters should be cleaned routinely during the fall to keep them clear.

Winterize Outdoor Water Features

All outdoor faucets should be covered with those Styrofoam covers, fountains should be turned off, automatic sprinklers should be blown out, and if you have a pool it should be winterized as well.

Wash the Windows

If you didn’t do this during spring cleaning now would be a good time to give windows an exterior and interior wash. It is also a goodtime to clean the curtains if you haven’t yet.

Chimney and Fireplace

As you prepare to more frequently use the fireplace on chilly days it is best to make sure the fireplace and chimney are clean and ready to go for all of the extra use. Your fireplace and chimney should be inspected yearly anyway.

Smoke Detector Batteries

This is a very important task that should not be neglected. Smoke detectors can and do save lives in homes all across America every year. So make sure those batteries are fresh and test the detector to ensure it still works.

Clean or Replace HVAC Filters

In addition to a yearly servicing and cleaning, it is important to change out your central air filters. It improves the air quality in the home, helps reduce dust, and reduces wear and tear on your furnace.

Deep Clean the House

If you have been more relaxed with routine cleaning in the summer, now is the time to give everything in the home a deep cleaning. Make sure to get places rarely cleaned.

Bedroom:

Vacuum under furniture, bring out the cozier/heavier winter linens, clean and flip the mattress, have carpets and rugs cleaned. Store away summer clothes and bring out the fall and winter ones. Don’t forget about wiping down closet walls and cleaning the floor.

Bathroom:

Scrub away any mold and mildew in the shower stall, clean out cabinets and get rid of old product, put shower curtains and bath mats in the laundry if possible, clean fixtures including the lights doorknobs and switches, replace your toothbrush, consider a professional tile and grout cleaning.

Living Room:

Do a thorough dusting including the tops of tall furniture, high shelves and baseboards. Clean electronics and remotes. Wipe down walls and remove cobwebs. Send out rugs for cleaning and have carpets and upholstery professionally cleaned.

Kitchen:

Empty the pantry of expired food and wipe down the shelves, clean appliances, clean the vent hood, have natural stone counters professionally cleaned as well as tile.

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More Tips for Homeowners and Buyers

August 17 2020

Creating a Healthy Workplace with an Office Cleaning Plan

Ellen Bruya Commercial News cleaning, healthy, office space, workplace

A Healthy Workplace! As things begin to open back up and employees return back to their office buildings we will all no doubt have the level of cleanliness on our minds with a healthy workspace. Making more sure we are diligent to give high touch areas a quick freshen up every few hours.

Experiencing a little bit of nervousness as we return to work is something nearly every one of us is experiencing and it is not uncommon or overdramatic to feel this way. When it comes to keeping the office clean there is a basic method that always brings success: having the right tools, an organized plan, and a team of trustworthy cleaners.

This office cleaning checklist can come in handy to help you with a solid and successful method of creating a healthy workplace that everyone will feel safe working and spending several hours in:

Use the Correct Office Cleaning Process

While our natural instinct is to disinfect every surface in sight, the CDC actually recommends a different method of simply cleaning the surface instead of constantly disinfecting it.

What is the difference between cleaning and disinfecting?

Cleaning should be performed for routine health and wellness. Surfaces should be washed down with a safe green cleaning solution or with simple soap and water to keep them free of everyday dust and dirt. This will also remove germs from the surface by picking them up from the surface when wiped with a cloth.

Disinfecting a surface means to use stronger chemicals to kill germs. The CDC recommends that strong disinfection is only necessary when someone infected with illness has been in the office. Disinfection is not necessary for routine daily cleaning.

Note: when either cleaning or disinfecting it is important that you read the instructions carefully on the bottle of cleaning solution that you are using. Never mix cleaning supplies you have no experience mixing as it can lead to a harmful chemical reaction. The CDC has disinfecting guidelines here.

Getting the Right Tools

Cleaning requires tools to make the process go smoothly and successfully. Basic office cleaning tools should include the following items:

Gloves: we suggest using nitrile latex-free gloves as latex can cause a sensitive or allergic reaction with some people

A high-quality all-purpose green cleaning solution spray.

Disinfectant: for those times when germs from illness may have been in contact with a surface. This can be in the form of wipes or spray specifically labeled as disinfectant or a correctly diluted bleach solution.

Trash bags.

Personal Protective Equipment for use when disinfecting such as a properly rated respirator mask and protective gown to wear with the gloves.

Starting a Safety Cleaning Plan

When thinking about your safety cleaning plans it is good to have common germ hotspots as a top priority.

Think about the typical everyday use and flow of the office. Run through what a day in the office looks like in your head. This will help you to identify any commonly used spots and any spots that could be closed up to make cleaning frequently easier.

Walk through the office area by area and note the high-touch areas. Some common high-touch areas include tables and desks, countertops, chair backs, doorknobs, light switches, cabinet pulls and handles, elevator buttons, keyboards, and phones. Every office has its own highly used items take your time and think about what items in your office space are high-use and high-touch. Don’t forget the conference rooms and supply and mailrooms.

Developing a Cleaning Plan

Putting together a regular routine scheduled plan for cleaning and disinfecting is the best way to ensure you are staying on top of and doing your part to provide as healthy and safe of a work environment as possible.

No cleaning schedule is perfect and what works for one office space may not work for another. You may need to tweak the schedule you first plan on a few times to make it work smoothly, but a practice of daily cleaning for high-touch areas and intermittent disinfecting along with deep cleaning and sanitizing periodically of all areas including soft surfaces like window treatments, upholstered furniture, and carpets is the way to go.

When to Increase Cleaning Frequency

Sometimes you may need to adjust the frequency of the office cleaning plan. Times to increase your cleaning practices would be:
During local outbreaks of transmissible disease or illnesses
During “peak” cold and flu seasons which generally falls around back-to-school time
During large parties and events held in the office
When an employee goes home sick or right after they call in sick with something highly contagious
Promoting Office Hygiene

Right now during the pandemic, we find most employees are very willing to jump on board with helping to keep the workspace a clean, healthy, and safer one. Here are some ways you can encourage staff to chip in on cleaning and safety efforts:

Encourage frequent and proper handwashing as well as personal respiratory health measures
Communicate that it is more than okay to work from home or call in sick when feeling ill
Let employees know where they can access cleaning supplies and keep those areas well stocked
Place hand sanitizer and wipes in strategic high traffic areas for frequent use
Continuously communicate a plan to keep socially distant, ask employees to frequently wipe down their workspaces as well, and clear and repeated information on all office safety measures
Consider switching out fixtures for touchless ones such as faucets, paper towel holders and light switches.

With the right plan of attack, you can provide a safe and worry-free work environment for everyone in your office. A great launching point is professional office deep cleaning. Please contact us anytime to have your office space thoroughly cleaned. Snohomish County Commercial Real Estate