A Cleaning Schedule: How Often Do We Need to Clean?

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Spring is almost here and it is time to do some overall cleaning. We admit there is nothing glamourous about cleaning and we dream of the day when we can afford a housekeeper. Until then, we try to keep up with the house work and clean our home with love. Week after week, we wonder how often do we really need to do certain household chores, especially trouble spots like the bathroom and kitchen.

We find ourselves more relaxed, happy, and balanced when we are living and working in a clean space. What does it take to keep the home looking beautiful and clean everyday? As we do in every part of our life, we create a checklist or to-do list for the domestic tasks. The list contains what household tasks need to be done and how often.

Short-Term (2 days - 1 week):

• Laundry - Usually once a week is sufficient, depending on if your laundry duty includes more than just your own laundry.
• Vacuum. If you start seeing small bits of dirt on your carpet or floor, it is time to vacuum. We put vacuuming on the weekly cleaning to-do list.
• Dusting. We try to put dusting off for every other week, but really dusting should be a weekly chore.
• Cleaning Sinks. It is always nice to have a water-spot-free and clean sink. Also, by Friday there can be an unattractive toothpaste build up on the sink.
• Cleaning Toilets. This is our least favorite task and it can be a little less than pleasant. We clean it at least once a week or as needed (no further explanation).

Medium-Term (1 week - 1 month): 

• Clean Windows. We rotate weeks for when we clean the windows. Cleaning windows can get the best of us because it is very hard to get them streak-free. Either way, we can appreciate when the windows are clean and we can see the beautiful view or sunset.
• Wash Shower/Bathtub. We try to clean the shower every two - three weeks to prevent mildew from growing.

Long-Term (1 month - 6 months):

• Clean Upholstery. We visited one of our friends the other day and he was getting his sofa upholstery professionally cleaned. The representative recommended upholstery be cleaned every 6-12 months for both hygienic reasons and appearances, depending upon use.
• Steam Clean Carpet. It is reasonably priced to rent a steamer to clean the carpet. Unseen dirt and bacteria builds up in carpet and it is important keep it clean, especially if you are prone to allergies.
• Wash Duvet and Blankets. Routinely we wash our sheets, but our duvet on our bed doesn't get cleaned. We love going to sleep knowing we won't be bitten by bed bugs - enough said.

Since cleaning can be a bit dull, we found a couple great posts on how to make doing household chores more enjoyable.

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/spring-is-almost-here-and-109964

The Importance of Using Professional Home Cleaning Service

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House cleaning has been underestimated for a long time. People don’t recognize it as something crucial. Some of them even neglect the fact that regular and thorough cleaning is a must in order to get a healthier life. Home cleaning is often said as an exhausting activity. Not all people have the energy and time to do it. There are also many who refuse to clean their house regularly because they simply don’t know how to do it right. Poor knowledge of cleaning may lead this activity to be ineffective and even useless. Therefore, an integrated solution is needed.

Keeping your home clean and hygiene is very substantial. You never know if the hazardous bacteria, viruses, germs, and others are present to disturb your safety and comfort. The whole family or residents may get the negative effect of a dirty house. But if you simply don’t have the time, knowledge, or experience to clean your house, you better leave it to the professional. You can use professional house cleaning service to ensure your home’s cleanliness and hygiene. There are even more advantages of using this kind of service rather than trying to do it on your own. Professional cleaning company like LondonCleaningHouse always uses the latest technology and advanced products to make sure your house is completely clean and free from environmental hazards. If you insist to do it without any help, the result may not as maximum, especially if your house hasn’t been cleaned for a long time. The trained and professional cleaners are more than capable to make your house feel like new. They fully understand how to treat your house because of their advanced knowledge and experience.

Counting on a professional cleaning service is not only advantageous for general cleaning activity. If you want a cleaning service on something specific, let’s say, your carpet, you can have it as well. Carpet and rugs require professional cleaning service because as the time goes by, those tend to be stained and odor. Removing the stain and odor without any help is almost impossible; therefore, you can ask the cleaning company to do it for you. Some of the companies also offer upholstery cleaning service. You can take benefits from it since cleaning sofa and other furniture all by yourself is not as easy and effective.

http://ansparkle.com/the-importance-of-using-professional-home-cleaning-service

Why is Liability Insurance Necessary?

Many clients ask about the types of insurance we have as a company. Companies purchase several types of insurance to protect their own financial matters, but it also protects the client. One example for a typically business is fire insurance. This type of insurance is used to cover a building in case of fire, earthquake, floods, etc. As a house cleaning service, we purchase liability insurance. It has the same concept of fire insurance, but under different circumstances. IF there are any damages suffered by our services (which is unlikely) this insurance will cover them.

Read the rest of this house cleaning company in San Mateo's blog.

What You Can Expect When Hiring A Maid Service

We found this interesting article for you to read:

Maid services are not for everybody but in a house where all members are working people or a house that's too large to clean oneself, hiring a maid service becomes necessary. Not only are the maids good at what they do but they carry a professional attitude not always found in independent maids.

An adherence to good work ethics is required by services that run a tight ship. This isn't always the case with all services so clients need to look for one with glowing recommendations and one that has been in operation for several years. A good source is through word of mouth and even internet forums which provide real client testimonies on existing services.

What about background checks? Only a few cleaning services actually run background checks on their employees. These are the ones worth checking out because they value client safety and by doing so, reduce the risk posed to them if something goes wrong. The best way to find out which service does run a check is by asking outright. Those that do will be more than willing to advertise the fact and will be happy to provide proof.

How competent are professional maids? This depends on how much training has been imparted and the work culture of the service. Good cleaners are those that make sure employees work fast and efficiently and the only way to do this is either by hiring people with experience or giving them training. As for clients, inform them about what areas need cleaning, problems spots, if any, and other little details that need special attention.

What happens if something gets damaged? A well-run maid service will make sure employees are bonded and insured so if an accident occurs and something suffers damage, it will try to repair or replace it if a claim is made. Most services insist that clients keep floors, chairs and beds free of clothes, toys and other 'foreign' items to make work easier and reduce the risk of damaging objects.

How about discounts? Discounts may or may not be offered but one way to search is to ask services if your house can be used as a training ground for new maids. More times than most, new trainees do a very good job because they're eager to impress their bosses.

Another way to cut cost is to ask services to send maids for only an hour or two. They won't be able to clean the entire house but at least you'll get a clean bathroom, kitchen or living room, useful when you have guests coming over.

What about green house cleaning? As a client, you can enquire about the use of green cleaning products if desired. This point is important if there are family members with allergies, children or pets in the house. Of course, unscrupulous services may claim to use environmentally friendly products but don't. The only way to know for sure is by choosing one that's trusted.

What if the work is unsatisfactory? Good maid services will be happy to send a replacement to do a better job. There are instances where clients fail to specify what needs cleaning. In this case, the fault doesn't lie with the service so if you've had an unsatisfactory experience in the past, make sure you specify details so you aren't held accountable.

http://ezinearticles.com/?What-You-Can-Expect-When-Hiring-A-Maid-Service&id=7926235