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Angie's Cleaning Tips can now be found at The Property Carer

How to Clean Plastic and Artificial Plants

Plastic plants should be dusted regularly with a good wash about every 2 months. Take the plant out of the container and rinse in the sink, bath or under a gentle shower spray. Gently rub the plants while washing down to loosen any dirt. Turn off tap and lightly shake the plants to remove excess water. Allow to air dry.

As with plastic plants, dust artificial silk and cloth plants often. Silk and cloth plants can be washed with water but need to be checked for bleeding prior to washing. To check if the plant is suitable to wash with water take one of the leaves or flowers and rinse it under water, lightly rubbing it. If it doesn’t bleed or fray than it should be ok to wash the complete plant. Put the plant in the sink, bath, shower or lightly hose down outside. Like the plastic plants, rub plant while washing to aid the removal of dirt. Once washed, shake excess water off and allow to air dry.

Tip: Soaking in saltwater may assist with stain removal on artificial plants and flowers.

Cleaning roasting and baking pans.

We all have a dirty pan or two which we’ve put away for another day to clean. Alas, it is quite simple to clean roasting and baking pans with just baking soda, hot water and vinegar.

Sprinkle the baking tray surface well with baking soda. Combine 1 cup of boiling water and 1/3 cup of vinegar and pour onto the baking soda. Allow the products to work. The fizzing action will remove the roasted food particles.

After letting the pans soak for 10 minutes drain the fluid and wipe the roasted food particles away with a kitchen paper. Next wash the roasting and baking pans in hot soapy water.

To stop food particles sticking, line the trays with baking paper prior to cooking or wrap tray in tin foil. Also if a recipe states heat oil ensure the oil is heated in the pan prior to adding the food, the oil forms a layer which causes a steam effect and stops the food from sticking to the pan.

Mr Clean Magic Eraser will remove ball point pen, crayon and scuff marks from doors and walls.

As a cleaning business with many holiday homes, we often see marks on walls and doors when cleaning. Some of these are wear and tear hand marks, or accidental scuff marks from suitcases but others are deliberate marks from ball point pens and crayons.

Until we discovered Mr Clean Magic Eraser we used many different methods to clean walls and doors. Now all the cleaners keep the Eraser in their kit as it is a powerful cleaning tool that can clean more than walls and doors.

Ball point pen, scuffs marks, mould and crayons all come off best with ‘Mr Magic Eraser’ just damp the sponge and wipe the mark away. Mr Magic Eraser works well on most painted walls, however always test a small spot first to ensure that paint is not rubbed away when you use the eraser. Not all paint is washable!

Methods we used prior to Mr Magic Eraser are:

For a pencil mark or drawing the easiest way to get the mark off the wall is to use an eraser.

Liquid sugar soap is the best for washing down walls with lots of hand marks on. If there is only a few hand marks simply spray some spray and wipe and wipe clean.

Another method is to use Ajax powder/jiff or gumption. Take a rag and put a little of the cleanser on the rag and than rub it over the crayon mark. After rinse the rag and wipe off the residue. Again test spot an area of the wall first to ensure the paint work does not fade.


WD40 can also be used to get marks off the wall. Spray the mark with WD40, let sit for a few minutes than wipe off.

With no hard scrubbing and the ease of use, Mr Clean Magic Eraser if our choice to get the walls looking bright and clean again.

How to Clean Lamp Shades

A small chore often overlooked is cleaning the lamp shades.

There are different types of lamp shades which include: paper, fabric and glass. Before you start to clean your lampshades please turn off the lamp and unplug from the power point.

Paper shades should not be cleaned with water. The best way to clean a paper lamp shade is to use a soft bristled brush and dust gently. Do not use a vacuum as the vacuum’s suction may tear the paper. – I use a paint brush to dust but a shaving brush is also a great dusting tool.

Fabric shades can be vacuumed with the brush nozzle attachment. They can also be dusted with a brush, however for a deeper spring clean, fabric shades should be damp washed with a soapy solution. Before washing the lamp shades remove it from the base. Wash with a sponge dipped in washing up liquid and water. Wipe evenly from top to bottom of the lamp shade and then rinse with a cloth dipped in water again rubbing gently and evenly. Leave to dry away from direct sun light. When the lamp shade is off, damp wipe the lamp base and dry wipe the light bulb.

Glass shades can be cleaned with a soapy rag, simply wipe the glass shade and then rinse with a clean rag dipped in water. Dry off with a cotton rag to remove any streaks. If you prefer you could use a mirror or glass cleaner to clean the glass lamp shade.

How to Clean Glass Stove Tops

Your glass stove top should be wiped down immediately after use, but we all know this does not always happen. The most important thing however is not to reheat and use your stove top until you’ve wiped down any previous spills.

Although your glass stove top is usually heat and scratch resistant you still need to take care when cleaning. Do not use abrasives cleaners or sponges. The roughness of the cloth needs to be kept to a minimum.

If using strong spray cleaning detergent, leave it to settle onto the surface and loosen the spills before your wipe. Cleaners need time to react and lift the dirt. The longer you leave the cleaner the better, however do not let the cleaner dry out.

I like to use a Cerapol Ceramic Glass Cooktop cleaner from Hillmark, this product is easy to use and the company has a scraper to use on cook tops for the burnt on spills. As with a spray cleaner you need to let the product work and give it time to react with the spills.

Once you’ve dampened down your cook top with the cleaning spray or cleaner and let it sit awhile,you than need to take a soft damp cloth and wipe over the surface to remove the cleaner and spills. Paper towel can be used to wipe down the stove top or a washable microfibre cloth. A scraper may need to be used to remove burnt on marks. Please use a plastic scraper or scraper specified for Ceramic Glass Cooktops and use on a damp surface.

Rinse your cloth with lukewarm water and re-wipe the surface until all the cleaner has been removed. Dry the cook top and Voilà your cooktop should look like new.



http://www.hillmark.com.au/Products/Cerapol.aspx

How to Clean Windows.

Windows should be cleaned about twice a year, however if you live on the beach and get plenty of sea spray you will need to clean more often.

Very little equipment is needed for window washing. I like to use a window washer, a squeegee, lint free rag, a squirt of dishwashing liquid and a bucket with water.

Add a squirt of dishwashing liquid to your bucket of water, not too much as you do not want lots of suds. Soak the window washer in the water and run your hand over it to release some of the water back into the bucket.

Wipe the window washer over the windows, starting from the top left corner moving across and down the window. With the window washer move all the small particles to the bottom of the window as not to scratch the window when you squeegee. Ensure the window is wet enough before you squeegee.

Using the squeegee wipe the suds of the soapy pane in a reverse –S pattern. At the end of each stroke, wipe the squeegees blade with a lint free rag. (Cloth diapers are great for this)

Remove any water remaining on the edges of the glass with the rag. A good rag or chamois will not leave streaks.

Hot Tip: Windows at the beachside with sea salt should be washed with water only – no detergent.