House Cleaning Tips from a Professional

Want to make life easy and keep your cleaning efficient? Check out these house cleaning tips from a pro.

If you’ve ever hired an experienced cleaner to help you get your home looking spotless, you’ll know the difference a professional clean can make. The cleaning angels of the world sure do have the talent and know-how to make short work of cleaning virtually anything in and around the house. They’re also experts at making your home feel brand new again, which is probably something you struggle to accomplish yourself. But – how do they manage to achieve such amazing results?

We asked a real house cleaner to share their secret tips for getting house cleaning done efficiently and to a professional standard.

Tip #1: Buy the right cleaning products and tools

Never fall into the trap of buying lots of fancy products for all your different cleaning tasks. Rather than end up with a shelf full of products you don’t ever use, spend your money on multi-tasking products. For example, a bathroom cleaner that’s safe for use and effective on your fixtures, tiles and floors. Also, a disinfecting multi-surface cleaner, which is perfect for cleaning kitchen countertops, appliances, garbage cans and toys. You get the idea.

When it comes to cleaning tools, you only really need the following:

• A vacuum cleaner
• Mop and bucket
• A toothbrush
• Plastic scrapers
• Microfibre cleaning cloths
• Microfibre feather duster
• Some sponges

That’s it. You shouldn’t need any other cleaning tools to help make your home sparkle. Oh – and if you’re sitting there thinking, “What, a toothbrush?” – You will need it to get dirt and grime out of tight spaces.

Tip #2: Create a cleaning caddy

A cleaning caddy is essential for ensuring you have all the products you need at your fingertips to enable you to clean your home more efficiently. All the pros use them, especially as they are easy to carry around from room to room. It’s important to keep your cleaning products where you intend to use them, as well as your tools – so don’t forget to add the cloths and sponges too.

Tip #3: Vacuum, then mop

As tempting as it might be, you shouldn’t ever mop your floors before vacuuming them. No mop is capable of removing more dust (including fine dust) and debris from a floor than a vacuum. Once you’ve got rid of most of the bad stuff, you can mop the rest away for a sparkling finish.

Tip #4: Avoid scrubbing

Most things can be made clean without a scrubbing brush in sight. As long as you use the correct cleaning product, you can cut down the amount of elbow grease needed. Let’s say you’re cleaning the kitchen. You can spray down the countertops, oven hob and sink, and let the cleaning product soak before you get to work on them. During this time, unload the dishwasher, load the washing machine or do something else. Once you’ve completed your other task, return to your sprayed surfaces and wipe down the least dirty area first. This way, the dirtiest areas get a longer soak, your surfaces will be easier to clean and you’ll save time.

Tip #5: Use salt on red wine spills

Next time you spill red wine on your carpet floor or rug, go into the kitchen and grab some salt. You simply sprinkle it on the spill and let it works it magic for a few hours. The salt will absorb the wine and change colour as it sucks up the spill. After around 3 hours, vacuum up the salt mound and gently wipe away any excess (if there is any).

Tip #6: Always keep lemons in the house

Don’t like scrubbing greasy pans? Then you need to swap your scrubbing brush for a lemon. Once you’ve cooked your meal, leave the pan to cool and then rub a cut lemon all over it. The acid in the lemon will soften the cooked-on gunk, making it easy for you to wipe it off. After wiping away the main chunk of grime, wash your pan as usual and – voila. Your pan will be beautifully clean.

Tip #7: Use Parchment paper to line your refrigerator shelves

This is a great tip for making light work of keeping your fridge clean. When you line your refrigerator shelves with parchment paper, you can save time cleaning sauce leakages, juice drips and all types of spills. You simply replace the paper with new sheets as soon as things get messy in your fridge. It’s so simple yet brilliant.

Tip #8: Stick to a system

If you want to clean your home in an effective and efficient manner, you must have a system and stick to it. Also, always clean one room at a time and get the smaller jobs out of the way first so things don’t become chaotic. When you’ve completed the little clean-ups, you’ll be inspired to move onto the bigger tasks in the high-traffic areas of your home.

Tip #9: Steam clean your microwave

To remove the caked-on bits of food in your microwave, you’ll need a bowl (or measuring jug), vinegar and some lemon oil. Fill your bowl with some water, 2 tablespoons of vinegar and a few drops of lemon oil. You don’t have to include the lemon oil, but it works wonders for masking the vinegar smell. Put the bowl in the microwave and run it on high for 4 or 5 minutes. When the timer rings, leave the door shut for another 3 minutes to let the steam get to work. When you open the door, carefully remove the bowl and turntable tray (they will be really hot) and wipe away the now loosened baked-on food splatters with ease.

Tip #10: Get that ‘new house’ smell

Most of your cleaning products have chemical odours, which can be a little harsh on your nose. To make your house or apartment smell wonderful, you could use an air freshener or make your own all-natural cleaning products. Just mix together some washing soda, baking soda, vinegar and add a few drops of essential oils, such as lavender, lemon or whatever scent you most like. Put the solution into a spray bottle, then give a few things in every room a quick wipe down to leave behind a nice fragrance in each space.

There you have it. A collection of professional cleaning tips for tackling those less than desirable jobs around your home. What are you waiting for? Steal these secrets and go make your home sparkle.