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
Posts Tagged ‘tips’
Plastic Deck Chairs
Wednesday, July 7th, 2010Streaking Tip
Tuesday, June 29th, 2010Hello, Efrain here again. You know, I used to have a problem running around naked, but I started drinking Windex to prevent streaking. But seriously folks, I don’t want to make every blog post I write a pane for you to read.
I actually have a tip for you about window cleaning that I learned from a customer this week. If you have ever cleaned windows by yourself, you know that when you finish and you’re doing your quality inspection, every once in a while you will see a streak you need to buff out. The frustrating part is, which side of the window is the streak on? Many times you will spend just as much energy running in and out of the house buffing streaks as you do cleaning the windows in the first place. Well, I love this idea and technique. Use different patterns to clean the windows! On the inside windows, try cleaning all the windows from left to right. On the outside, clean the windows from top to bottom. That way, whatever direction you see the streak, you will know what side of the window it’s on! It saves a ton of time and hassle. Thanks Mrs. W.
So, that’s how you can save a little time if you’re cleaning your windows by yourself. Of course (shameless plug), your time would probably be better spent doing something else. You should just call me to clean those windows for you, and yes, I always do a quality inspection at the end to make sure you are streak-less.
Have a great summer!
Stainless 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
Pane in the glass? Not necessarily.
Tuesday, June 1st, 2010ANOTHER TIP FROM EFRAIN!
It’s summertime and time to stay cool. It’s also time to be aware of the efficiency of staying cool. Lots of folks know that if they feel air around their windows, they have a sealing issue. They know they’re losing energy and probably wasting a little money at the same time. It is often overwhelming to think about doing something about it. Well I am here to let you know there are options and it doesn’t always mean you have to replace all the windows!
Of course, some homes could use a window replacement and if you have the budget, you should know people actually make windows now to be energy efficient. Click Here to see more about energy efficient windows.
Not everyone has a budget for this, but many times complete window replacement is overkill. It may be that you just need to weatherstrip your windows, or re-caulk them. Caulking dries and goes bad after a period of time and needs to be re-placed. Click Here to see how to re-caulk.
Click Here to just have me do the weatherstripping or caulking for you. Don’t you think that would be the easiest in the end?
Oh yes, why did the mushroom go to the party? Because he was a fungi!
Have a fantastic summer!
Working on the Windows
Energy tip from the Handyman
Monday, May 17th, 2010Hello! Efrain here making my first blog appearance ever, so I want to make this interesting. Jeremy mentioned that The Maids customers enjoy seeing tips in how they can be more efficient with their time and money. So, I want to give you a tip that can help conserve a little energy (money too) that maybe you haven’t thought about.
During my years of working construction and Handyman stuff in my own house, I’ve noticed a sealing over site that most people don’t ever notice. It’s around the outlets and light switch plate covers. Most of these are boxes attached to a frame covered over with drywall. But rarely are they caulked and sealed. Air, hot or cold, leaks through these areas. Caulking before drywall will provide a layer of insulation to keep the air you want inside your home, providing a more efficient energy experience.
Jeremy also mentioned that sometimes a little humor can help get my tips read. So, here goes.
“Why did the sesame seed stay in the casino? Because he was on a roll!”
O.k., I should mention I am much better at my Additional Services position than thinking of jokes. So, if you want to see me stop joking around, call me to help you with your projects! Hope your day is going as great as mine,
Efrain
Handyman at work
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!
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