Category : House Cleaning

November 8, 2019 | House Cleaning | No Comment

Fall Cleaning Checklist


It’s that beautiful time of year again! The leaves are changing, the weather is colder, and the hot beverages taste better than normal. Enjoying the fall season is far more than warm coffee and orange leaves. These things would not mean half as much without an organized and clean house to enjoy them on.

The Cleaning Crew Fall Cleaning Chore Checklist will help you prepare your home for the upcoming holiday season and potential house guests.

Kitchen

Windows

  • Wash Windows, Inside and Out – This may be your last chance to clean the exterior windows before bad weather sets in. Call The Cleaning Crew for professional cleaning of the insides, outsides, tracks and screens!
  • Wash Curtains – Pull down any curtains that can be washed and clean them. If you can’t wash them, take them outside to shake the dust off.
  • Wipe Blinds – Wipe down the blinds of the interior windows. This is best done with a dusting glove.

Bedrooms

  • Bring Out Winter Things for Closets – Take this opportunity to reorganize. Clean out the closets and make several organized piles. One for donating, one for keeping, one for trash, and one for seasonal clothes.
  • Prepare For Holiday Guests – Guest rooms should be not only clean, but also inviting. Try setting out flowers or other special touches to make guests feel especially welcome.
  • Clean all Bedding and Bring Out Winter Comforters – Bring out heavier bedding and winter comforters for the cold days ahead.

Other General Cleaning

  • Dust or Wash Light Fixtures – Most light fixtures are removable and unscrew so you can dust or wash them. Make sure to turn the switch off and allow bulbs to cool before you do this!
  • Vacuum Furniture – Vacuum your upholstered furniture and/or dust & wipe down any wooden furniture.
  • Vacuum and Shampoo Carpets – Be sure your carpets are clean before all the winter snow! Make sure you have a great vacuum cleaner (check out a website like cleanthatfloor.com if you’re not sure which to get!) that gets up all the dirt and grime the carpet has been collecting, rather than pushing it deeper into the carpet. You can find reviews of carpet cleaners on Appliance Hunter if your carpet cleaner isn’t up to scratch! It’s a great investment and you’ll never have stained carpets again.
  • Dust the House from Top to Bottom – This means everything from the cobwebs in the corners of the ceiling to the baseboards. Go from room to room and dust everything! Dusting top to bottom is the most efficient way to clean.
  • Test Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Detectors – Don’t skip this step, especially if you have any kind of wood fired heat. Just a simple push of a button is all it takes.
  • Check the indoor heating – make sure that when you come into the winter months that your heating system and furnaces are working properly, by using places like Valley Service (https://valleyservice.net/fargo-services/furnace-repair) this can help to repair or maintain any heating installations in your house.

Brisk and breezy days are best for overcoming the deep-cleaning chores necessary for a clean, comfortable winter home and a wonderful autumn season. Happy Fall!

September 13, 2018 | House Cleaning | No Comment

Cleaning Tips For Furry Friends


No one wants to choose between their pet and a clean home, but no one wants the smell of urine or animal hair all over the place either. Don’t panic though, you can easily check out these reviews of pet carpet cleaners to give you a little peace of mind that you can have both a pet and a clean home. There are a few other things that you can do as well. We’re here to share a few cleaning tips so that you can have the best of both worlds.

Urine Cleaner Recipes

Hopefully potty training your pet was easier than your toddler, but if not, we’ve got you covered. We know that accidents are the rule, not the exception when it comes to animals in the house. Here are a few DIY cleaner recipes you can try next time you find an unwanted wet spot.

  • Homestead Survival recommends 1/4 cup Hydrogen Peroxide, 1 teaspoon baking soda, and a tiny squirt of Castile liquid soap.
  • Hills Pets has a similar solution, but suggests applying the cleaning agents on one-by-one rather than mixing them all together in a spray.
  • While these cleaners can help alleviate the smells, Catcentric.org claims that these cleaners can’t actually get rid of the enzymes that cause the odor and that spraying is not enough. They suggest an enzyme cleaner and “dousing, pouring, and soaking” any area that is effected by animal urine. If you’re not sure where to find a good enzyme cleaner for your carpet then take a look at 10BestCarpetCleaners.com for suggestions.

Managing Pet Hair

  • Diet–>Did you know that what your pet eats can dramatically effect the amount he or she sheds? Experts at PetMD advise to make sure your pet is getting all the necessary nutrients to grow a healthy coat of fur.
  • Grooming–>Use appropriate tools to brush daily, and schedule regular professional grooming to keep your pet’s hair under control.
  • Cleaning–> You can do what you can to minimize shedding, but ultimately, having a pet means you will have pet hair in your home. Dogtime.com did a survey of pet owners and respondents helped to compose a list of various cleaning methods. Using rubber clubs or a slightly damp sponge to help the ball up fur topped the list. Don’t forget that it’s important to get rid of dog hair, particularly if you have someone staying in your home who is allergic to them. You can also use the best vacuum for pet hair to remove any fur that your pet sheds. You can use a vacuum on all types of flooring too, making it really hard for the hairs to hide. You might also find that even if you are not allergic to your dogs, you still end up having sneezing fits due to there being too much dog hair. As well as cleaning, you can make your life a lot easier by also getting an air purifier for your home (you can take a look here at this useful guide to help you get the best air purifier for your home).

Eliminating Pet Odor

  • Erin at Clean and Scentsible shares a great Carpet and Upholstery Refresher as well as several tips for eliminating odor:
    • Clean the litter box regularly
    • Add a few drops of lavender essential oils when bathing animals
    • Dry bathe animals with a baking soda
  • Wash animal bedding and toys on a regular basis (weekly). To make this task a little easier, make sure to buy beds that have removable covers and can be tossed in the washing machine.
  • Wikihow has several great suggestions on eliminating odor. You can use an air purifier or you can use deodorizers like baking soda or vinegar to help reduce odor.

We know you love your pet, but you also love a clean home. Don’t choose between the two. Use some of these helpful tips to keep your home clean and your pets happy.

August 2, 2018 | House Cleaning | No Comment

Chores You Don’t Have Time To Do


Let’s face it. We don’t always have the time to clean our houses from top to bottom. We’re here to help you relax a little bit by knocking some items off your to-do list. Here are some things that can wait if you’re in a hurry.

Mopping

You don’t have to mop every single time you clean. Sweep on a regular basis, and spot clean messes as needed. Leave mopping as a monthly chore.

Dusting

If you take precautionary steps to prevent dust from forming, you won’t have to dust as often. Fabrics shed and create a lot of dust, and your bed can be one of the worst culprits of dust creation. Click here for a list of ways to prevent dust from forming in your house.

Windows

While some people hire a window cleaner, others plan on tackling the task themselves. However, not only can it be tricky if you have a lot of high windows, it’s surprisingly tiring as well. Unless your windows are cloudy or visually unpleasant, this is a chore you can put off for months at a time. We offer seasonal window cleaning if this is a chore you’d like to avoid altogether.

Pipes

Over-cleaning your pipes in the kitchen or bathroom can lead to unwanted erosion. Put this on a seasonal cleaning schedule instead of your regular to-do list.

Making The Bed

There are differing opinions on this chore. Making the bed is really just a cosmetic preference. If you need to save time, this is one activity you can skip.

Microwave

Unless you’ve got stuck on messes, you can skip scrubbing the microwave. You can prevent those messes by making sure everything is covered when heated. So, covering your dish=less work for you.

Hand Drying

Our friends at Apartment Therapy just made life a little easier…

If you’re a fervent hand washer (or a reluctant one-maybe the hand-wash life chose you due to the distinct lack of dishwasher in your apartment), you should know that you don’t have to hand-dry your dishes at all. In fact, letting your clean dishes air dry is probably better and more sanitary than towel-drying, unless you’re using a fresh clean towel for each dish. Invest a little (we’re talking $10) in a dish-drying rack and skip this chore until… forever.

Call Us!

Now that you have official permission to mark some things on your never-ending list of chores, you can take some time to relax. Or, if you’d like to completely hand your list over to us, we’d be happy to take care of it. Call us today at 541.601.6236 to get some chores off your hands.

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