Well how in the world is everyone doing out there anyway? I know, it’s been awhile since you’ve heard from me, but it’s time I share my tip spotlight with the new guy. Plus, I’ve been busy handing out awards and recognizing all our great ladies for meeting their goals. (Look for my post next week on that) For now, I thought an outdoor cleaning tip might be nice seeing as how summer is here and a lot of folks are keeping those patios clean for outdoor fun. I did a video on how to clean plastic deck chairs. If you’ve ever been frustrated cleaning them and are looking for a little advice, check this out.
Cleaning Plastic Deck Chairs -- powered by eHow.com
Archive for the ‘Cleaning Tips’ Category
Plastic Deck Chairs
Wednesday, July 7th, 2010Stainless Steel
Tuesday, June 15th, 2010I really wanted something clever for my title on this one, but it’s just not coming. But check out my awesome transition on this one. (I could have typed: “Steel another tip from Sandy”, but I didn’t want to insult anyone’s intelligence).
First, I want to give a shout out to all the folks on coast who are being affected by this horrible oil accident. I can’t even imagine all the changes coming from having such a big environmental change. You are in our prayers. Also, all the folks who have been working around the clock for over two months now. What an amazing problem to fix with such amazing pressure. I feel for all you folks, I truly do. We are all hoping for the best with the most minimum of impacts. Well, here at The Maids, we have our own oils to clean in environmentally ways as well.
There are many ways to clean stainless steel, but we like to use a polish because it is more environmentally safe than aerosol cleaners. Basically, you want to clean the oils off the surface, then use a polish to buff and clean the steel. Check out my video on how to clean stainless steel:
How to Polish Stainless Steel Appliances — powered by eHow.com
Showers, caulking, mold, and Cinco de Mayo
Wednesday, May 5th, 2010Happy Cinco de Mayo 2010! I love blogging on the Holidays because I learn so much in my endeavor to bring you a piece of trivia and cleaning tip at the same time. For example, according to Wikipedia, did you know that “since the Battle of Puebla no country in the Americas has been invaded by an army from another continent”? So, there was a growing problem that grew to a battle situation. With the help of some handy neighbors, Mexico was restored to it’s natives, and now the world can celebrate the culture of Mexico!
Just like mold. Seems like it grows into a situation where only war can break out sometimes. Well, sometimes it does. Many times mold will grow into the caulk of the shower and you will need someone to re-caulk it before your cleaning the shower feels as clean as it can be. Caulking naturally peels over time, and of course less than professional caulking will result in premature peeling as well. (Did you know we have a professional that can do that? Click here) Once re-caulked, you can celebrate the feeling of a clean shower once again. (With a little help from our Handyman and our Maids, you can really feel like celebrating)
There are some things you can to prevent mildew. The easiest thing is to open the shower door after your shower and let it air out. The best thing is to take the time to remove excess water off the walls and floor with a squeegee. It takes a minute but it is so very effective. Another step could be to mist down the shower with a neutral disinfectant.For our customers, if they call us, we will provide a bottle at no charge.
Here is a link of what’s going on around Austin for Cinco de Mayo. (I know it’s over, but it’s time to start planning for next year) Hope you have a great weekend, and see you at Baby A’s for the celebration!
Oscar Night and Toilet Talk
Tuesday, March 9th, 2010Hello! Jeremy here again. Well, Oscar night has come and gone and I found myself as excited about it as I did the Academy Awards. So having gone to bed early that night and getting a good nights sleep, I was thinking about how our own Sandy Robinson is the only one I know who has “how to” videos on the internet to help people with cleaning. I’ll be looking for more, and if you know any, send me a comment. As I contemplated how I might make the transition from Oscar night to toilet tips, many ideas crossed my mind. Then, one of my favorite albums came up on my Ipod Nano. Neil Youngs, Rust Never Sleeps. And you know what? Sandy has a great video about how to clean rust out of a toliet. (Pretty Smoooooth) Check this out, another celebrity video by Austins own, Sandy Robinson, E.D.S.
Removing Rust in the Commode -- powered by eHow.com
Water Spots in the Shower
Thursday, March 4th, 2010Well, that just about says it. Those water spots just keep coming back in the shower and it can be quite frustrating to think you cleaned them, and then they reappear like you haven’t done any work. Well, I have found a way to clean and prevent. Here’s some more cleaning tips for you. Wiping down shower doors with a small amount of lemon oil on a regular basis will prevent spotting. A good squeegee on the glass will go a long ways towards prevention as well. When water spots form from being left for long periods of time, they require an acid base cleaner, like LimeAway or CLR, to be removed. We do not provide such cleaners as we find they can be unsafe to use and have the possibility to cause costly damage. (However, some customers will provide them and we can use them sporadically). Of course, having The Maids come clean on a regular basis is a pretty nice prevention plan as well. Have a great day!
Super Bowl, Super Clean
Thursday, February 18th, 2010Well congratulations to the Saints. They weren’t the Cowboys, but it is nice to see a team win whose city really needed a morale boost since the devastating winds and floods of the Katrina hurricane. Not to be confused with a moral boost, which some would argue is still coming, though I would never dream of entering that argument. So I say yeah! Right on Saints. Now, we just get a hurricane in here, whisk Jerry Jones away and we’ll be looking at a Super Bowl party here in Texas. Well, I’ll probably go ahead and start the party anyway.
O.k., I know I’m a little late with this, but I got distracted handing out more awards to our teams. Hey, speaking of hurricanes and sports teams, you can imagine I get a lot of comments about the speed of our four person cleaning team. “They came in like a hurricane”, or “A tornado came through here and took away all the dirt” are some popular comments. I know sometimes seeing something done so quick makes some folks nervous. Well, I can understand that if your favorite team is someone like the Raiders, but we operate a Super Bowl worthy team here. So while there may be a flurry of activity, it is the most surgical type cleaning systems you will ever see in Austin. So specific that we have an error free rate of 99.5%. Allow me to elaborate.
Our team is a group of people linked together for work. The benefit here is the accountability to each others success. Meaning, the performance of one, generally reflects the performance of all. While this may appear unfair to some, it does boost ones personal standards to a higher level. So, first of all we find the team is not only prompted to take a better look at how they’re cleaning as individuals, but also has an interest in helping each other out by spotting their work as well. There’s an interesting article that explains further here, but this is the basic principle.
A team of people cleaning will also clean more efficient than an individual. After years of comparison and study, I can tell you this for a fact. Between the morale of the team (members building each other up) and the different skill sets of each of the people, the process is just plain more powerful.
Here’s a link to The Maids International that describes our team better.
The clean team website has a list of tips and rule # 13 says: “If there are more than one of you, work as a team. You’re what the biologists call a “superorganism.” If your partner gets done ten minutes faster, the team gets done ten minutes faster. And that is a wonderful thing. You can’t stop being vigilant for one moment about what will speed up or slow down your partner’s progress.” Good advice.
Yes, we get in,we clean, we get out sometimes in what seems to be like a hurricane, but the big difference is when it’s all over, the clean up is already done.
A hand few of our teams
Scum Talk
Friday, January 29th, 2010If you really knew me, you would know that I in no way approve of any kind of scummy or potty talk in my household. I expect cleanliness at every edge and corner. One way to do that is with soap! I have been asked many times how a person can cut down on soap scum. Well, some advances in science are good for home cleaning and I want to share with you something I have found out the past few years. When I use liquid body wash, I won’t have soap scum. Can you really believe it is that simple? Just put a little of the soap on a wash cloth or better yet a “pouf,” a nylon mesh wash cloth, and that’s it. That’s why we see fewer groceries stores shelves with soap bars! Speaking of bars, it’s off to the taco bar for me. Have a great weekend!
More Celebrity News
Tuesday, January 19th, 2010Jeremy here again. Everyone is thinking about celebrities this time of year because of the Academy Awards that just happened. I don’t have a T.V., so I don’t care have no comment on whatever and whoever happened this year, or who is in bed with who. Hey, that reminds me. Sandy Robinson, expert dirt spotter (E.D.S.), has a video on making bed tips. May sound kind of silly, but this question comes up more than you might think. Now you can rest easy knowing that when you wake up you will be able to start your day making your bed the way Sandy, E.D.S., does. If your the kind of person that doesn’t make the bed, you can rest easy knowing that when you wake up, you’ll be starting the day off just like I do. Have a great week!
How to Make a Bed -- powered by eHow.com
Local Celebrity
Tuesday, January 5th, 2010Good Morning! Jeremy here again. Sandy is a humble expert in home cleaning and dirt spotting. While she has an impressive record, I know most folks don’t know the full list of what she’s done because, well, she doesn’t brag on herself. So I will. We are so appreciative to have her at The Maids going on over 14 years now. She is one of the big reasons why we can confidently brag about having the best quality service in Austin. She wrote our book (and for many around the country) on quality housecleaning!
Well, she also did some self help videos I want to share so you have some great tips on cleaning, but also to brag on her. Here’s one on cleaning kitchen tile. Enjoy!
How to Clean Kitchen Tile -- powered by eHow.com
Cleaning, the flu, and pigs
Tuesday, October 6th, 2009People ask, how does your Healthy Touch Deep Cleaning System help us with flu and virus protection? If you are armed with regular cleanings from The Maids, you’ve got a defense against common winter ailments. It isn’t only what we clean, but how we clean that gives your home the healthiest, most thorough cleaning. By cleaning your kitchen and bathroom floors on hands and knees, we do a much better job on grease, germs and bacteria. Besides cleaning all kitchen cabinet, appliance and counter surfaces, we also use special brushes to clean out the little crevices where germs and bacteria gather. In the bathroom, we use a grout brush to remove mold, mildew and stubborn soap residue so unhealthy spores are eradicated. We disinfect all bathroom surfaces. We even brush clean the toilet seat hinges every visit to be sure bacteria and hidden germs are eliminated. We clean and disinfect phone receivers, light switch plates and door knobs which is a great way to stop the spread of germs. And of course, all team members are fully trained to ensure that you receive only the highest quality clean possible.
These days the swine flu has been the popular sickness to remind us of the season. Also known as H1N1, which sounds like a Star Trek disease to me. At any rate, here are a few more tips we post around our office that I thought you might find helpful as well.
If someone in your home has cold or flu symptoms, take extra caution using these cleaning tips to keep your home healthy this fall.
- Everyone in the home should wash his or her hands regularly in warm soapy water. For quick disinfecting, use alcohol-based antibacterial hand sanitizer. Make an effort not to touch your mouth, eyes or nose without first washing your hands.
- When cleaning, always wear rubber gloves to protect yourself.
- Regularly use a household disinfectant on any surfaces that are commonly touched like doorknobs, appliance handles, remote controls, light switches, phones, and facial tissue box covers.
- Use a disinfectant in all bathrooms. Use a disinfecting cleaner on toilet handles and seats, faucets, showers, tubs and sinks. Follow proper usage instructions listed on the product’s label.
- If multiple toothbrushes are kept in a common container, either put them through the dishwasher or purchase new ones.
Here’s to a healthy, happy, holiday season!