The Cleaning Biz Blog

Sunshine Cleaning

Suicide may be painless, but in the world of black comedies, it’s the cleaning up afterwards that really hurts. After her hesitant Sylvia Plath biopic, director Christine Jeffs has latched on to a solid if unexceptional script by first-time writer Megan Holley, focusing on two sisters who set up a business to disinfect crime scenes in a New Mexico backwater.

Played by Enchanted’s Amy Adams, Rose Lorkowski is an ex-cheerleader and now single mother whose dismal domestic situation is not helped by looking out for her feckless sister Norah (Young Victoria’s Emily Blunt). Throw in Steve Zahn as Rose’s married lover Mac, and Alan Arkin playing the same kind of grouchy grandpa as in Little Miss Sunshine, and Sunshine Cleaning has performers perfectly qualified for a misfit comedy.

Where Jeffs and Holley mess up, however, is in the details; the bile and blood-soaked aftermath the sisters frequently have to clean up is simply too icky to generate laughs, while a subplot involving Norah’s lesbian attraction to the daughter of a suicide victim is poorly developed. Admirers of SherryBaby, Waitress and other small-town tragicomedies will want to take the time to salvage some well-tuned performances here; Adams shines in a blue-collar setting, playing off Blunt’s amusingly sullen posturing, and Arkin is reliable as ever.

(15) 91min. General release from Fri 26 Jun.

Eco Friendly Cleaning Solutions

White vinegar, bicarbonate of soda, lemons, and olive oil, are all you need to keep your wood floors sleek, stainless steel germ-free and shiny, and bathroom tiles squeaky clean. And the added bonus is there’s not a harmful chemical in sight.

White vinegar: A natural disinfectant, stain remover and reduces mineral and lime deposits. It’s a diluted ascetic acid and a substitute for more aggressive ammonia-based cleaners. You can use white wine vinegar, but white distilled vinegar is cheaper. Don’t use malt vinegar!

Sodium Bicarbonate: When mixed with water it forms a slightly alkaline liquid, which cuts through grease and dirt on almost any surface. Used neat it’s slightly abrasive and can be used to scrub problem stains. Often vinegar and soda are mixed together for maximum cleaning strength.

Lemons: The citric acid in lemon juice makes it perfect for bleaching, disinfecting, deodorising and removing grease.

Olive Oil: Great alternative furniture polish. Don’t worry about using the extra-virgin type, the most basic will do.

Some Ideas

Keep toilets clean and fresh - put 8 tablespoons of soda in the bowl. Leave overnight.  Put the lid down!

Dab some essential oil on a light bulb. When on, the heat will diffuse the fragrance creating nice smelling room at little cost.

Clean microwaves and ovens with a cloth soaked and rinsed in equal parts of vinegar and water.

For wood flooring or furniture, mix one part olive oil and one part lemon juice. Rub on furniture or apply with a spray bottle, then polish with a dry cloth.

5 time saving cleaning tips

A clean home is a happy home and while no one particularly enjoys going through their home keeping it spotless to keep it in tip-top condition, it is something which must be done on a regular basis. Here are top 5 tips to help you save time while keeping your home spotless.

Once you have eaten, then scrape off any remaining food from the plates, this will not only stop the remaining food from hardening and sticking to the plate, making washing twice as long but it will also get rid of the odour associated with left over food.

Set yourself certain tasks to do on certain days, such as window washing, vacuuming, and polishing your knick-knacks e.t.c. by getting into a routine and spreading out the laborious tasks you will find that you are able to save time by doing jobs much quicker.

Get a container and keep all of your cleaning supplies together, this way you know where they are and don’t have to go rummaging for them and you can carry them round the home easier.

When working on cleaning an area of your home then work from the top downwards, this will save you from disturbing dirt higher up and having to clean lower down all over again.

Never use a duster when cleaning, dusters do nothing but throw the dust around the room which causes you to have to work even harder. A far better method for cleaning and removing dust quickly and efficiently is to use a damp cloth or one of the newer types of duster which attracts dust to stick to it.

Are you looking for a Cleaner or Cleaning Lady? Then why not check out our Directory of Cleaners

Removing Red Wine Stains

Quick Tips for Cleaning Red Wine Spills

It’s one thing to not cry over spilled milk, but it’s an entirely different thing to hold back tears when a full glass of red wine leaves its mark on your white carpet! What can you do to remove red wine stains from your carpet or area rugs?

The First Response

When red wine is spilled onto your carpet, white wine can be your true companion. White wine will neutralize red wine and will make it easier to lift the color off of your carpet. Simply pour white wine over the stained area and very gently blot the liquid up with a thick towel (be very careful not to rub as this will force the stain into the carpet fibers). Once you have the majority of the spill blotted up, take your favorite carpet shampoo and clean as you would if the wine stain were a bit of dirt on the carpet.

A Host of Tried and True Stain Removers

A few other red wine stain removers include: Club Soda, Salt, Scotchgard’s Oxy Carpet Cleaner and a must-have product called “Wine Away.”

Club Soda

Club soda can be poured on the stain and the carbonation will help to lift the stain from the carpet fibers while the salt acts as a buffer to keep the stain from setting.

Oxy Carpet Cleaner

Scotchgard’s Oxy Carpet Cleaner works well to lift stains and provide a stain protector to the area of the carpet it was used to clean. It is available at places like Asda for about £3 - £4.

Salt

Salt can be poured on the spill to keep the wine from setting until you figure out which method of clean up you would like to go with.

Wine Away - Stain Remover

Wine Away has been tested and recommended by the Good Housekeeping Institute and is even endorsed by Gourmet magazine. It is truly a wine world wonder that every red wine lover should have stowed in their cleaning cabinet.

Finally, whatever you do don’t let the spill sit for long before taking action, the longer it sits the more difficult it will be to lift the stain from your carpet.

Tips for using common substances to help you clean glass and silverware

Put a piece of aluminium foil into a container large enough to hold the silverware item you wish to clean and add hot water and a small amount of salt. Put the silverware into the solution for a few minutes and it will begin to sparkle and shine.

Use the juice taken from a lemon when cleaning silverware and buff to a shine with a clean soft cloth. You should dip cotton buds into lemon juice to get into all the nooks and crannies of hard to clean areas and store silverware in airtight plastic containers.

Air freshener sprayed and wiped on a mirror will leave it clean and sparkling as well as smelling nice.

Dry glass with old newspapers, this not only leaves them smear free but if you put a little bit of furniture polish on it, it stops mirrors steaming up in bathrooms.

If you want to save money when cleaning your windows buy a cheap brand used for car windscreens and pour it into a spray bottle, it works the same as top window cleaning brands but costs a lot less.

Mix a 1/3 cup of white vinegar, 1/3 cup of rubbing alcohol and 1/3 cup of no-suds ammonia in a spray bottle and top up with water. Use this mixture for any type of glass including mirrors.

Using dishwasher powder and dryer sheets to help clean your home

The fabric conditioner sheets which we use in the tumble dryer can be put to good use as a cleaning aid as can dishwasher powder, try them to make life easier when it comes to cleaning.

If you are having trouble removing stubborn baked on food from pans then fill the pan with boiling water and place a dryer sheet in it, leave it soak for an hour or two then pour off the water and clean the pan, you should find it comes off much more easily. If particularly stubborn then leave to soak overnight with more hot water and another dryer sheet.

You can use a dryer to sheet to easily clean dust and pet hairs from blinds, fans and air conditioning units, not only will it make cleaning much easier but over a long period of use it will leave a protective coating for even easier removal.

Use a sheet on your TV and monitor screens to help eliminate dust and static build up.

Another way to remove burn on food from pots and pans is to cover the area with just enough hot water and dishwasher powder to make a paste and allowing it to soak overnight before cleaning the following day.

To clean copper pans and make them shine first clean them in dishwashing soap before taking half a lemon which you have poured salt on and use it to scrub the copper. Remember to keep adding more salt as you clean.

Using baking soda to make cleaning easier

Besides being useful for cooking, bicarbonate of soda can also be really helpful when it comes to removing stains. Here are just a few of the ways it can be used when it comes to cleaning.

To remove grease more easily from the cooker or back splash put a little baking soda on a damp sponge or cloth and watch the grease vanish.

If your carpets or rugs smell a little stale then sprinkle some baking soda over them before going to bed and leave overnight before vacuuming.

Baking soda is excellent when it comes to making baths and sinks sparkle without the need for scrubbing.

Pour a quarter of a cup of baking powder down your drain quickly followed by 1 cup of vinegar, the two will react together and when you wash it down with hot water it keeps the pipes clean and clear.

If you find yourself inundated with small insects sprinkle a little baking soda down where they run and this will help get rid of them.

Putting some baking soda in a burnt pan while the pan is still hot and allowing it to soak in hot water will work wonders in helping to remove the burnt mess from the bottom.

If you have odours in your fridge open a tub of baking soda and place it in the fridge with the lid off, stir the contents of the soda every once in a while to help remove the odours and leave your fridge smelling clean. The same works for your microwave but put the soda in some water and switch the microwave on for a minute or so.

Tips for sparkling tiles

Clean, shiny polished titles look wonderful in the kitchen or bathroom but after a while, they lose their sparkle and can look grimy and dirty. Here are some tips to bring the sparkle back.

If your tiles have gone a little rusty, then this can be removed quite easily with kerosene.

Very often dark and stubborn stains will gather on porcelain tiles, sink or bath. Using a little bit of lighter fluid on them will remove most of the dark, stubborn stains.

If plastic tiles are looking a little dull and in need of a spit and polish then try cleaning them with a solution of vinegar in water, to bring back the sparkle polish them with a soft towel.

An easy way to loosen dirt on tiles in the bathroom is to let the shower run on hot for 5 minutes before wiping them.

If you come across any stubborn stains on ceramic tiles, mix some scouring powder and a little water into a paste and leave it on them for roughly 5 minutes before scrubbing them with a nylon pad, allow them to dry before polishing.

Grouting between tiles can become discoloured, to help reduce this wash them with a solution of 2 tablespoons of bleach in a quart of water. Once it has dried, apply acrylic sealer.

Mildew can easily be removed from tiles by wiping them down with a solution of ammonia and water.

If you have tiles around the fireplace then the chances are that soot will cover them, if this happens it can be removed using a mixture of lemon juice and salt then washing.

I Can See Clearly Now

The abseilers have been to clean my windows this morning.   They were due last week but the weather was so windy they would surely have been blown away.   I live on the 7th floor of a modern tower overlooking the Thames, and the management company send these heroic window cleaners round quarterly.

Is there anything so wonderful as clean windows?

Clean your PC Screen

Your computer monitor will invariably over a period of time become smudged with fingerprints and dust, with a little care and thought you can soon have your monitor sparkling like new without a smear in sight.

You should never use a window cleaner or any solution which contains ammonia to clean your screen, the perfect solution to clean your screen is using one that you would clean your eyeglasses. This is usually as solution which contains rubbing alcohol and should be used on a soft clean cloth, it is best to spray the solution onto the cloth instead of spraying directly onto the computer screen.

If you just want to remove dust from your screen, then use a slightly damp cloth and dry with another. For best results wipe back and forth across the screen but if you have an LCD screen such as seen on a laptop or flat screen monitor then don’t use an alcohol-based solution, instead you will have to buy a commercial LCD solution designed specifically for your screen.

Never use any cloth which is abrasive as this could lead to you scratching the screen and doing it permanent damage, even household cleaners can scratch your screen. If you are in any doubt about the type of your screen or unsure if it has been treated with anything always consult your manual for advice.