Cleaning Techniques and Stain Removal for Dummies

You rarely have to worry about overdoing it in your cleaning habits. As long
as you get the cleaning solutions and equipment right, there isn’t a wrong
way to wash a wall or scrub a floor. But there is a technique to follow if you
want to achieve optimum results. Here are some tips for efficient cleaning:

 Start at the far side of the room when you wash a floor or shampoo a
carpet, so that you don’t walk back into the clean or wet area.
 Use a handled tray to help dust shelves. Off-load the items on a shelf
whilst you clean both the shelf and the ornaments.
 Wash walls from top to bottom and you’ll be able to wipe away drips
as you go along.
 Use long, firm one-directional strokes when you sweep and use hand-
sized bristle brushes. Resist the temptation to rub quickly back and forth,
as this can simply rub dirt back in.
 Make your duster into a small pad and keep turning it over so that you
always present a clean section to the furniture.

Certain techniques can save you time and effort. Use the following tips to
help do both!

 Spend the first 15 seconds in a room you’re about to clean looking

around. Train yourself to home in, not on dirt or stain problems, but on
areas that don’t need attention this time around. The mirror has no
smears or dust? Great. You just saved yourself three minutes!
 To sweep a room using the fewest brush strokes, start at each corner
and work to the centre. Only then get out the dustpan.

Using these tips, specific to certain jobs or tools, can help your cleaning go
more easily:

 Dustpan: Wiping a dustpan with a damp kitchen roll (paper towel)

makes dirt stick to it more readily.
 Cleaning solution: Apply what you need to a cloth rather than directly
to the surface to be cleaned to reduce the amount you use and save
your furniture from getting over wet or just over-exposed. Remember
your rubber gloves if you have sensitive skin!
 Cobwebs: Take care to lift off cobwebs. Get your duster brush under
the web and gently lift it off intact to prevent bits of web breaking free
to stick on the ceiling or suck them up quickly with the long attachment
on your vacuum-cleaner.
 Rooms: Begin on one side of the door and work your way around.
When you return to the door, you know you’re done.