Real Clean Home

Top 10 House Cleaning Questions

Kathryn Weber — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 16:09:57 GMT

1. Do I dust or vacuum first? Always, always dust first. When you dust, you knock crumbs off furniture onto the floor. Vacuuming will pick this up if you dust first.

2. How can I spend less time cleaning? Did you know that 80% of cleaning time is spent just putting things away and straightening? Spend one day straightening and the next day cleaning. Or, straighten one day, dust and vacuum the next, and do bathrooms the day after.

3. How can I get my kids to clean? Put it on a schedule. Tell your kids that their time to clean is on the calendar and make sure they all have a list of chores to do. When it’s scheduled and expected – and has to be done before having fun – kids are more likely to do it.

4. How can I get my husband to help with cleaning? Tell your husband that vacuuming is like indoor mowing! Really. And, just plain ask. Many women just expect their husbands to see them huffing and puffing and just “know” to help out. Give your husband specific chores to do that he might like. Mine loves to vacuum with our Dyson vacuum because it rewards him visually and picks up tons and tons of hair and dirt. Men love dirty. You might also check out this book: The Lazy Husband: How to Get Men to Do More Parenting And Housework By Joshua Coleman, PhD. He gives tips and suggestions for getting your husband more involved around the house.

5. Should I use more than the recommended amounts of cleaners? That’s a mistake to think that more is, well, more. In reality, you should use less. I usually recommend using half of the recommended amounts that manufacturers suggest because these are at the higher end of effectiveness – which makes you use more product and buy more.

6. Why don’t my dishes come out of the dishwasher clean? There could be several reasons. One might be the water temperature isn’t getting hot enough. It should be about 140 degrees or higher. If the water isn’t hot enough, you may need to turn up your hot water heater higher. Another problem could actually be too much soap. Most people overfill their soap receptacles. More isn’t better. Try using half your usual amount.

Next, check to be certain your dishwasher drain is clean and that food and other items aren’t trapped in the drain. lastly, I swear that grocery store cleaners are horrible to your dishes. They wash the finish right off and dull your glasses and silverware. For that reason, I only use Neu Home care Automatic Dishwashing Liquid. Use it for a week and you will see the shine return to your dishes. If you’ve done everything, maybe you've just got a bad dishwasher. Think about replacing it.

7. How can I make laundry go faster and easier? Get a good laundry sorter . (The link takes you to my hands-down favorite and I own one just like it. Put your dry cleaning in one side and then you can remove the bag, pull up the string and drop it off at your cleaners. This is a great product and has the Amazon reviews to prove it!). Put all the clothes in at the first of the week, do a quick – but full – load each day for the number of loads you have (i.e, one load of towels, one load of whites, one load of darks). Before you know it, you’ll have the laundry done and not spent one whole day doing it.

8. How can I keep my carpets cleaner? It’s easy – don’t wear shoes on carpeting. Leave shoes at the doors and try to avoid eating and drinking in carpeted areas. If you do eat in these areas, get an area rug with a pattern that can take the spills and not show the stains.

9. How can I clean dirty walls? Regular cleaning is the best way to keep walls looking good. If your walls are painted with flat paint, use a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser to get up stubborn stains. This is truly a miracle cleaning product. One of the best ways to keep your walls looking good is to make them “cleanable.” Few flat paints are cleanable, so don’t waste your time with flat paint. Consider painting as many of your walls as possible with cleanable paint and regularly wipe them down.

10. Is there an easy way to keep the house cleaner with less work? Yes, there is. It’s the “Do it when you see it method” of cleaning. If you cleaned whatever you see that is dirty when you see it is dirty, your house will be cleaner and you will not be spending all day working on cleaning the house. You will be doing cleaning more often, but the total time spent will actually be less. Make your motto “I clean it when I see it!”

Show Me the Dirty – Why Men Won’t Do Housework and How to Change That

Kathryn Weber — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 20:58:15 GMT

It’s a tough subject. Getting a man to do housework is not always easy. My opinion is that if both people work full-time jobs, both should divide household chores evenly because, after all, a house doesn’t have a woman’s face painted on it. That means, a home and the work that goes with it, should be a shared experience. Unfortunately, housework is rarely divided fairly.

It’s changing though. After circling the globe, and meeting men from around the world, I do believe that American men are the best men on the planet. Yep, American guys are the big Kahunas, the No. 1 of the male species on the globe – and you can’t change my mind about that. American men don’t slather us in yards of fabric “for our own protection.” They don’t kill us after we’ve been raped because we’ve tarnished their honor and, by in large, they’re more likely to be monogamous than men from other continents.

That being said, they also don’t pull their fair share of the housework load a lot of times. Sure, they’ll insist that they take care of the yard. But not every single day. Housework is an everyday affair. From laundry to meal preparation and clean-up, housework is always there, day in and day out. Now, before you can go accusing your man of not pulling his share of the housecleaning load, you need to be pitching in on the yard and helping him when he needs it, too. Then, you have a real reason to complain if your honey is a honey-don’t instead of a honey-do with a toilet brush.

So what does it take to get a man to pitch in around the house and help with the housework? Make housework and cleaning appeal to a man. If women put cleaning the house on manly terms, women are much more likely to get their hubbies excited about dusting and vacuuming. Heck, put housework on a man’s terms and women might find housework is more appealing to them, too.

It’s all about the tools
Men love tools. They want cleaning instruments that work and work well. Women will tolerate inferior performance and almost take pleasure in how long they can endure working with something that gives them substandard results. I would have been thrilled to marry “Tim the Tool Man Taylor” from ABC’s Home Improvement show. All that growling to rev up ordinary household items like sink disposals and vacuums was right up my alley.

Give a man the right tools to clean with and he will be excited to clean. Hand a man an old string mop and you’ll get a pitiful look in return. Give that same guy a microfiber mop that pulls up fistfuls of his golden retriever, Rusty’s, hair, and you’ll have a guy that will be happy to push that mop over your wood floor routinely. Why? He gets payback in filth for his efforts.

Microfiber cloths are another cleaning tool that men would love. They pick up dust better than any old t-shirt or towel. Microfiber will clean better than sponges, too. They get so much dirt that you can see that it makes using them a rewarding cleaning experience. Get an old t-shirt dirty and a man isn’t going to get excited about that; t-shirts are supposed to be dirty after all.

Microfiber outperforms almost any cleaning fabric you can buy. Purchase a pile of these and you’ll be all set for cleaning windows, dusting, cleaning bathrooms and almost any surface. And when you set your man to cleaning and dusting, give him a tool belt. That’s right a tool belt. Put the cleaning and dusting spray in one pocket and dust cloths in another. Put a plastic putty knife in one pocket to scrape up any soap scum or food particles stuck to the floor before mopping. A tool belt will instantly make him feel more serious about cleaning. I wear one while cleaning and it keeps me organized and not searching for the last place I set the dust spray down.

Visual gratification
It’s also no secret that men like are, ahem, visually-oriented. That’s why the Dyson vacuum could only have been invented by a man. No doubt, James Dyson, was frustrated when he vacuumed, as he says in his commercials, because his vacuum lost suction. But I bet what he was probably thinking was, “Show me the dirt; I want to see some dirt.” Thus, the Dyson vacuum was invented and it enabled vacuumers to see how much dirt and filth they were pulling up from the carpets (OK, and it didn’t lose suction). Ah, the glory of visual gratification.

After having bought one of these beauties, I, too, will never be satisfied with a vacuum that doesn’t gratify my efforts will loads of nasty hair, dust, and debris. I just love seeing all that hair and dust and yuck swirl around as I vacuum. And then I get to dump it out into the garbage, satisfying my need for dirty. Your man could have this experience too. Where’s the satisfaction in a neat and tidy (not to mention expensive) vacuum cleaner bag? There is none. You can’t see anything and who knows if it’s even getting full? Buy a Dyson and your man will empty that vacuum collection cup time and time again, beaming with pride and enthusiasm to show you all the ick he’s vacuumed up. And, frankly, that vacuum is just plain fun to use and makes you want to vacuum. Think of it: a man who wants to vacuum. Tell him it’s indoor mowing and you’ll floors will be clean enough to eat off of.

Lessons Learned
What have we learned about getting men interested in cleaning the house? It takes the right tools. Women can learn something from men when it comes to tools. Invest in the good ones and using good tools makes the job better and maintains your interest in doing the job to begin with. We also learned that it pays to look at dirt. Giving a man the tools that are going to have him seeing dirty – and plenty of it -- will keep any man interested in chasing down dust bunnies. Lastly, we learned what does the cleaning trick for women doesn’t remotely interest men and that by giving men cleaning tools that reinforce him visually, women might also become more interested in cleaning, too.

Tips for Cleaning Granite, Stainless, and Ceran Easily

Kathryn Weber — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 14:57:36 GMT

Today’s new surfaces require special cleaning. Years ago, porcelain stoves and laminate countertops required little effort to keep them clean. A wipe of the sponge is all it took. But, they weren’t nearly as attractive as today’s stainless and granite. Increasingly, though, we are using natural surfaces and stones for countertops and appliances and that range from porcelain to ceramic, from stainless steel to cast iron, from granite to marble. And when it comes to cleaning, it’s become a nightmare. These surfaces, while beautiful, do require more maintenance.

Glasstop or ceran stovetops take their very own kind of liquid paste cleaner. Granite is also a maintenance nightmare if you don’t know how to clean it right, requiring gallons of spray cleaners and three trees’ worth of paper towels. Fortunately, there is an easier way that can handle most cleaning needs for these special surfaces that is as easy as soap and water were for handling the surfaces in our mothers’ and grandmothers’ kitchens.

STAINLESS STEEL
It was most often used for kitchen sinks, but now stainless steel become an extremely popular finish and is used on everything from kitchen counters to refrigerators to stoves, ovens, and microwaves. It’s versatile and practical. However, over time, stainless steel can become dull-looking or lose its original luster.

How to clean: To remove fingerprints from stainless, use a lightly dampened microfiber cloth. For extra stubborn stains or fingerprints, use a mild window cleaner with a microfiber cloth. Do avoid using scouring powders on stainless steel. For all-purpose cleaning, use plain dish detergent and make sure water spills are wiped up right away as water is harmful to the finish of stainless steel.

GRANITE
Nothing is as durable as granite – or as beautiful. It’s tough and extremely handsome making granite a terrific choice for kitchen counters and floors. It resists heat and scorching and is almost impossible to nick and scratch. The problem with granite is getting that shine on it again – especially for that beautiful, deep black granite. To clean, dampen the cloths with a spray bottle filled with regular tap water.

Worried about bacteria on the counters? Don’t be. Microfiber cloths have fibers small enough to pick up bacteria according to a test conducted in Canada that compared cleaning with microfiber and water versus a sponge and disinfectant. The room they cleaned? A men’s urinal. The microfiber tested cleaned 96% of bacteria – cleaning as well as the sponge and disinfectant did! If you have granite floors, use a microfiber mop dampened with water. Soon your counters and floors will be glossy and beautiful and disinfected without harsh chemicals.

How to clean: The most important thing to remember is to avoid using window or ammonia-based cleaners. These will harm granite and its finish. Wiping with a sponge is no good either because it makes a nasty, dull finish. To keep that beautiful, glossy granite shine, the only thing to clean with is microfiber cloth. These cleaning cloths shine without using strong chemicals – so you you’re assured that you aren’t damaging your beautiful stone counters while you’re cleaning.

Ceran & smooth-top Cooktops & Stoves
These beautiful surfaces are wonderful to look at but do require some special treatment – especially with regard to the cleaners used. Ceran and smoothtop stoves usually require a special liquid paste for cleaning. They should be regularly cleaned (about weekly) with this paste to polish the surface, but for daily cleaning, this becomes too tedious.

How to clean: Wipe up spills with a damp cloth as soon as possible, especially if the spill is sugary. Use plastic scrapers to bring up any food particles, or follow the manufacturer’s instructions. For daily cleaning, use a regular sponge and water to wipe up any food particles, follow up with a microfiber cloth to make the stove shine. For deep cleaning, use a cleaner specially formulated for glass tops. Never use scouring pads or cleansers as they will scratch smooth surfaces.

In short, microfiber is a cleaning and polishing wonder. Use it in every room in the house but where it really does some of its best work is on today’s new surfaces. Microfiber levels the cleaning playing field and makes today’s beautiful-to-look-at-but-hard-to-clean surfaces as easy to clean as the ones we grew up with. You can go without using microfiber, but why would you when it makes cleaning easier (especially for today's surfaces), better, and chemical-free?

Seven Reasons Why You Should Clean Your House

Kathryn Weber — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 16:04:12 GMT

Today’s homes are awash is filth and grime. Simply put, our homes are suffering from ADD – attention deficit disorder. Too few homes receive the time and attention they need and it shows. Ironically, we have more cleaning products and tools than ever but the one product that’s hard to package is our will to do it. And we won’t see a package of “will” on supermarket shelves anytime soon. So, we need to find it in ourselves to put the time into cleaning our homes – regardless of whether we do it or we hire someone. That’s right, hire help.

If you are a working woman, you may feel guilty hiring housekeeping help. But, you shouldn’t. If you’re working out of the home, there’s no reason you can’t hire someone to work in your home if you don’t have the time. The way women think, though, is that they “should” find the time even when they’re working and shuffling kids to karate and soccer. That’s wrong to think that way and our homes show it. If you can find the extra money for karate for the kids, surely you can invest in some extra domestic help.

Having a home that is cleaned and cleaned regularly is its own reward. So, we either have to find the time or the money to help us get our homes to a state of being livable. Why is cleaning so important? Easy. Cleaning makes a house a home. Cleaning is the difference between a place to sleep and a place where you really live. That’s only one reason to clean. Here are eight other reasons for cleaning your house.

1. Because it’s the RIGHT THING TO DO for your home.
2. Because you will FEEL PROUD of your home.
3. Because YOU FEEL BETTER in a clean home.
4. Because you’re NOT PUTTING OFF SOMETHING IMPORTANT.
5. Because it helps KEEP YOU AND/OR YOUR FAMILY HEALTHY.
6. Because you can have FRIENDS AND GUESTS OVER ANYTIME.
7. Because your family WILL BE HAPPIER IN A CLEAN HOME

Come on. You know you want to live in a clean house. Now, how can you get it clean and keep it clean? Here are seven easy ways.

1. Be consistent. Set aside one night a week for the whole family to pitch in.
2. Clean as you go. In the bathroom? Flush and then turn around and scrub that commode. Thirty seconds is all it takes to clean a toilet, wipe a counter, or straighten a room.
3. Make a call to a housecleaning service. Another thirty seconds and you could have a regularly-scheduled housekeeping service to come to your home.
4. Involve everyone. Start expecting everyone in the house to help and demand that they do.
5. Straighten every single day. A few minutes here and a few minutes there adds up to some real clean – and straightening is the one chore that takes the most time in housekeeping.
6. Be a pitcher. Toss out junk mail, magazines, and other flotsam and jetsam every single day.
7. Get a telephone headset. Whenever the phone rings and it’s your friend Chatty Kathy, that’s your opportunity to do some cleaning. Put on your headset and clean as you talk. It’s one way to multi-task – and we love to multitask these days, don’t we?

There you have it. Seven reasons to clean and seven ways to do it. Now, what’s stopping you?

Welcome to Real Clean HOME

Kathryn Weber — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 21:04:34 GMT

Hello and welcome to Real Clean HOME at Cleaningtips.com!

I am so glad you are here and joining me on this important subject matter -- housekeeping. Yep, cleaning house is important these days. Why? Because many of us have either been raised by moms who worked and didn't teach us everything we needed to know about housekeeping, or we have simply lost our way in the home arts department -- and our homes show it. Yet, when you think about it, really think about it, a good clean home and a hot meal can transform even the worst day at the office or school.

It's a matter of health and well-being

Everyone is busy these days. But, some of us are busy just for busy sake. We need to prioritize what is really important in our lives, and I for one, believe home is important. It's where we refresh and renew ourselves, it's where we share our sadness and our triumphs, it's where we spend time with people we love and who love us, it's the place that prepares us for each new day. In short, it's our launch pad. With a home that is regularly cleaned we can feel more comfortable, enjoy our time at home more, and have better, healthier lives and happier families.

Making housekeeping easier, more effective

One of the ways we can make our homes cleaner and reduce the amount of time we spend cleaning is by changing how we think about it. Cleaning does not have to equal a mind-numbing, cranny picking, tile-scrubbing marathon that it used to be. The goal of Real Clean HOME is to show you ways to keep the house neater and more organized, ways to keep the house cleaner longer, and help you to spend less time cleaning, yet having a cleaner house. Sound impossible? It's not. By changing the way you go about cleaning, you can get more done in a shorter amount of time and clean less -- yet enjoy a cleaner home. And, I promise to give you all details and specifics on exactly how to do it. I promise.

Thanks for being here and I hope you enjoy the Real Clean HOME blog!

Kathryn Weber is a home and lifestyle expert whose work has been featured in newspapers, magazines, and websites. She is the cleaning editor for BellaOnline and writes the Living Space newspaper column that features ideas on creating more beautiful and enjoyable homes. Her recommendations have been featured in the Dallas Morning News (How to Hire a Housekeeper) and in websites and publications around the world. Kathryn has also published the Red Lotus Letter feng shui ezine for over five years and publishes the Everydayclean.com Cleaning Calendar. For more information log on to kathryn-weber.com and subscribe to her RealHome ezine.