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    4Jul, 2016
    Are Professional House Cleaning Services Really Worth Your Hard Earned Money?

    House cleaning is very important. It is however a challenge to have the house cleaning conducted effectively so that every section of the house can be adequately clean. Effective house cleaning ensures that the house is properly cleaned at all times. Every section of the house deserves to be cleaned. If you stay in a clean house, you will be sure to have good health as you will be able to escape the dangers caused by germs to your health. During house cleaning, it is important to note that every bit of the house cleaning requires special treatment. Different materials in the house are cleaned using different house cleaning methods. It is also an important to know that different house cleaning chemicals are also suitable for cleaning different materials and surfaces in the home. In this way, you will be able to maintain the life of your house hold items.

    When I first joined Ev as he started a house cleaning business I had no idea what I was getting into, but I loved the idea of working for myself. Two things were bothering me a little. First, I was concerned with job security. Second, I secretly doubted my basic cleaning skills. Cleaning had always seemed like drudgery and I wondered if my skills were up to par with the pros. Ev guaranteed that cleaning would give me time to spend the way I wanted. I was ready to take a leap of faith, so I decided to try it.

    Because of the increase in demand for professional house cleaning, prices have come down too as competition among rival companies gives householder more choices and better value for money. There’s a lot of money to be made in professional home cleaning, or any cleaning services come to that. Ever heard the saying ‘Where there’s muck there’s money?

    You can have a house cleaning service come clean for you once or twice weekly if you cannot afford a daily house cleaning. This will provide you with time to do the daily chores such as doing the dishes and laundry, while you allow the house cleaning service to do the larger more complex chores.

    Baseboards and ceiling fans are often over looked by house keepers. Both of these items tend to collect dust over time. Baseboards are easily missed however they take very little time to clean. Just a quick wipe whit a damp rag as your house cleaner is vacuuming will do the trick. If the baseboards are wood, then the house cleaner should take the time to polish them once a month or so. This will keep them looking nice and shiny. Ceiling fans are easy to keep up with once they have been thoroughly cleaned. A feather duster usually does the trick for weekly cleaning.

    Why do you clean your house, aside from health concerns? Because a clean house is a possible reflection of your good qualities as a person or individual. If your home is maintained organized and clean, then people would have the impression that as the owner of that house, is also clean and organized. Most of the time, some people refuse to have visitors because they feel that the status of their homes are not suitable for visits. If a professional home cleaning service is hired, you will be ensured that no matter how many people visit you or take a look inside your house at whatever time, you will always have a clean home to accommodate them.

    A house cleaning company is the best firm to contact if one is in need of some quality housekeeping or maid services. Here are some reasons why one should take the action of contracting this type of company.

    Many people go into house cleaning business because they are not satisfied with their current job. They think that going into a business will be easy because they think that cleaning houses is easy. The truth is if you are not used to cleaning your own house then you might need to research on how to clean houses of other people. This article will provide some tips on how to succeed in your job as a house cleaner.

    House cleaning jobs are for people who know how to clean professionally and who has enough knowledge to clean other people’s houses. People who want to enter into this industry must do research regarding some aspects to do with house cleaning. If you want to enter this job profession then you must know what kind of house cleaning job you would want to do.

    13Jun, 2016
    What Makes A Good Bathroom Extractor Fan?

     

    https://youtu.be/1Z_yYDMaEbo

    The single most important aspect of an extractor fan is, of course how much air it sucks out of the bathroom. Known as the ‘extraction rate’ the amount of air actually moved is described using two units of measure: metres cubed an hour (m3/hr) or Litres per second (L/s).

    Now I’m not saying manufacturers deliberately make it difficult for end users to assess the relative power of different extractor fans, but they certainly don’t make it easy either! Some quote extraction rates using m3/hr while others uses L/s. Very rarely, unfortunately, do they quote both, making it difficult to compare models.

    In order to convert the numbers, simply multiply m3/hr x 0.277.

    There is a fairly complex calculation using the volumetric capacity of a room and number of ‘air changes per hour’ which will give you the exact ‘required’ extraction rate. However, in the real world this is rarely necessary and as a pretty good rule of thumb, for an average sized domestic bathroom you should be looking for an extractor fan offering at least 21L/s or 75m3/hr.

    However, the better extractor fans now available offer 26L/s or 95m3/hr. For the small premium that these fans attract, the higher extraction rate is definitely worth it, clearing steam from the bathroom much more quickly. If a manufacturer or reseller does not make the extraction rate readily available don’t buy it – it’s being hidden for a reason.

    Install the correct bathroom fan for the situation

    This may sound obvious but it is amazing how often an extractor fan is asked to do a job it wasn’t designed to do. The most common problem is that of the fan being ducted over too long a distance. Long duct runs are a problem for extractor fans, as air pressure increases with every centimetre of ducting. Air pressure acts as an invisible barrier to the air being pushed along the duct – the longer the duct run, the greater the air pressure, the greater the resistance.

    Standard axial fans should be ducted no further than four or five metres and the duct run should be kept as straight as possible because bends and kinks increase the air pressure and resistance. Any further than 5m – and a lot less if the fan is not particularly powerful (80m3/hr) in the first place, then the extractor fan will simply cease to work – the vented air will back up in the ducting and steam will remain in the bathroom.

    If your installation requires a longer duct run you must use a centrifugal fan. The impeller design of centrifugal fans is such that they generate much greater air pressure. They also tend to be more powerful – the average four inch centrifugal fan vents at around 110m3/hr (compared to 95m3/hr for a top end axial fan). It may be said that centrifugal fans blow as hard as they suck!

    Always, always have your bathroom fan installed by a Fully Qualified Electrician

    This doesn’t need too much explanation, but it’s worth elaborating a little. We found that in 97% of cases where an extractor fan was deemed to be faulty or not working correctly it had been installed by the home owner (or friend/father/son etc etc) and not by a qualified professional.

    In my humble opinion this is fairly conclusive but let’s consider something way more important – Electricity, whether delivered at 240v or 110v is potentially lethal – it can kill you. Incorrectly installing an electrical item is extremely dangerous both for the unqualified installer and *anybody* who thereafter uses the device. Any danger is multiplied ten-fold in the bathroom where water is present.

    In short: always, always have your bathroom extractor fan installed by a Fully Qualified Electrician.

    5Jun, 2016
    Cleaning Grout Between Tiles – Floors, Bathroom, Shower, Kitchen

    Grout that gets dirty, grimy, or has any build-up of black, brown or gray mildew or mold can be very unsightly and embarrassing. It can be very hard to clean between tiles properly because grout is porous and it’s hard to get into the small spaces to scrub it clean.

    Standard bathroom and kitchen sprays often won’t clean it properly, despite a lot of scrubbing. White and gray-colored grout with dark tiles can be a nightmare, as any discoloration really shows. It makes the entire bathroom, shower recess, or kitchen look grimly and neglected.

    This article reviews your options — including natural and relatively mild home remedies using natural ingredients. It also includes bleach cleaners for stubborn stains, heavy mold and mildew build-up, and resistant black marks.

    Your tiles may be dirty and stained for a whole host of reasons and it pays to have some alternative weapons in your arsenal for fighting against dirty and discolored grout.

    Once it has been cleaned, it pays to clean it regularly as a preventative measure. Regular spraying with lemon juice, vinegar, or alcohol keeps mold and mildew at bay. Always quickly clean up any spillages of liquids and foods that can stain — such as curry, coffee and red wines. Treating the areas when wet makes the stain much easier to remove.

    This article provides tips for routine regular cleaning to keep your lines clean and sparkling.

    Best Methods

    Baking Soda and Water

    • Add a little baking soda to some water and make a thick paste.
    • Use the toothbrush to apply the baking soda paste to the grout, and rub vigorously.
    • For deep stains, leave the paste on and scrub again.
    • Redo areas that remain stained, and use a little lemon juice to remove the last residues.

    Vinegar, and Baking Soda and Vinegar

    This is the best way if you want to avoid using harsh chemicals.

    1. Add some white vinegar to a spray bottle.
    2. Sprinkle the baking soda along the grout lines.
    3. Spray with vinegar and while the baking soda is fizzing scrub with an old toothbrush. The alkaline baking soda reacts strongly with the acid vinegar to produce a powerful fizzing bleach action.
    4. Wipe the grout with a damp sponge.

    Hydrogen Peroxide

    1. Mix about a cup of hydrogen peroxide with two cups of warm water. Add to a spray bottle.
    2. Thoroughly spray the stained areas to wet with the peroxide and leave on for about 5-10 minutes.
    3. Use an old toothbrush dipped in the peroxide mixture to scrub along the grout lines to remove the last remnants.

    Lemon Juice

    Fresh lemon juice is a strong acid and bleach.

    • Simply squeeze some fresh lemon juice and pour along the grout lines. Leave for about ten minutes.

    This will clean any dark marks or stains in the grout line. Citric acid works in a similar fashion.

    Alcohol

    Stained grout caused by mildew and be cleaned with rubbing alcohol added to a spray bottle.

    • Simply spray the shower tiles with alcohol. The alcohol kills the mildew and removes the stain.

    Bleach and Baking Soda

    This combines two powerful cleaning actions.

    1. Make a paste by combining half a cup of bleach with one and a half cups of baking soda.
    2. Scrub with an old toothbrush.
    3. Let it sit on the grout for about ten minutes, then remove it with a cloth and hot water.

    Chlorine Bleach

    1. Dilute following the manufacturers instructions.
    2. Add to a spray bottle and soak the grout lines.
    3. Leave on for 5 -10 minutes and then rinse off.

    Oxygen Bleach (Powdered version of OxiClean)

    This bleach is non-toxic, does not produce any fumes, and is safe for fabrics and colors, unlike many stringer bleaches.

    1. To clean floor tile grout, mix the recommended amount of oxygen bleach with some warm water and mix to dissolve.
    2. Pour the solution onto the floor tile and spread out so that the lines are filled with the bleach solution. Leave the solution on the grout for least 15 minutes (30 minutes or longer for bad stains).
    3. Scrub the stained areas lightly get rid of any residue, adding more solution as required.
    4. Once the grout is clean you can add a little bleach to the mop water every time you clean.

    Always clean any food, wine or coffee spillages up quickly before it has time to satin the grout.

    Grout Cleaning Machines, High Pressure Sprays, Steam Cleaners

    For badly stained floor tiles, you may need to hire a special purpose grout cleaning machine that using high pressure sprays of steam cleaning. Special chemicals enhance the power of the machines to remove stains.