Sweeping Hands
There’s no need to keep filling your house with strong-smelling chemicals when you can use essential oils and leave your home fresh-scented instead. Here are the best ones.
At Sweeping Hands, our cleaning technicians always follow a thorough cleaning checklist to cover all your cleaning needs. Check out our services and book now.
If you have no previous moving experience, you may get stressed by many things, especially when it comes to cleaning.
Where should you start? Do you really need to clean so thoroughly? Luckily, here you’ll find the answer to those (and more) questions so you can move on and relax.
What better way to know what you should clean than checking the whole house first? Even if you’ve previously toured the home when buying it, you can plan a new visit to look for areas that need some cleaning.
As you walk through the rooms, you can write down whatever you notice—for example, hard-to-reach cobwebs, tough grime, or dirty windows. Also, if you’ve acquired a pre-owned house, consider double-checking the bathroom and kitchen, as they can be dirtier than expected.
Now that you know your new house cleaning needs, you can pick the adequate supplies. If you need a tool or product not already in your pantry, plan your cleaning session with enough time so you can get everything beforehand.
Following the first tip, you’ll know almost precisely what to bring. However, always expect surprises! Locate the nearest store for all those unexpected products or tools you may need during the cleaning session.
Take advantage of your high spirits and start with a challenge! Usually, bathrooms (and kitchens in pre-owned homes) are the rooms that require more time and effort to clean, so they are a good starting point.
Pro tip: If cleaning a multiple-story house, focus on one floor at a time to avoid losing time carrying around your tools.
Any place that stays closed long enough develops a stale smell. Besides, cleaning a newly acquired house requires many cleaning solutions, creating dangerous vapors.
You can open doors and windows to disperse hazardous fumes and help stale odors disappear. Also, if your house has air vents, clean them to achieve better airflow and air quality—you may need a screwdriver, though.
Although you could think that walls on a new home come spotless, it doesn’t hurt to inspect them closer.
In a pre-owned house, you can look for greasy kitchen walls; also, if there were kids, you may find stains or crayon marks on some rooms. Even walls in newly built homes could need a good cleaning as mold can grow on them.
It may take you a little longer to check and clean dirty walls, but remember that you’ll hardly have the chance to have full access to your walls again.
Wiping light switches, door knobs, and handles in a new place could seem silly at first glance. However, remember that construction workers, real estate agents, and previous potential buyers (or former owners) were roaming the house before you.
All those surfaces could be riddled with germs and bacteria from being frequently handled and touched. Set aside a little time and disinfect all high-touch surfaces.
Overseeing every single thing when moving to a new house can be overwhelming. However, professional cleaners are ready to tackle all those daunting cleaning tasks for you.
If you are in New Orleans or surrounding areas, you can let Sweeping Hands take a little load off you! Our move-in cleaning package covers all the points needed to enjoy a new and spotless home. Book with us now!
You may think cleaning a dirty microwave is daunting, especially if your chili bowl just exploded inside it. Luckily, here is an effective and easy way to leave your microwave sparkling clean again—no matter how messy it is!
Although reaching for a bottle of all-purpose cleaner seems like the simplest choice, you might want to keep it natural when wiping inside kitchen appliances. In this case, you can use white vinegar (its acidic properties make it perfect for dealing with grime) as your main cleaning agent.
So, it’s time to make a powerful DIY cleaner for your microwave. Just mix two tablespoons of vinegar and two cups of water in a microwave-safe bowl. If you are not fond of the vinegar smell, add a few drops of your favorite essential oil.
Now, use a plastic scraper (or something similar, like a spatula) to remove as much dried food gunk as you can. Doing so will reduce the amount of grime, preventing a bigger mess when you need to wipe further ahead.
Note: Feel free to skip this step if there aren’t that many stuck-on food bits in your microwave.
When you’re ready, place your homemade solution inside your microwave and let it run on high for five minutes. Don’t worry if the interior starts to look like a sauna; the steam buildup weakens the stains and spills stuck on the walls.
Once time’s up, let a few more minutes pass to let everything cool down and steam build up even more.
After checking if you can touch everything without getting burnt, take out the bowl and the turntable. Then, wash the turntable in your sink using warm, soapy water and a sponge.
To keep up with your microwave interior, you’ll need to dampen a microfiber cloth with lukewarm water (you can use room-temperature water, but it won’t be as effective). Then, wipe the grime from the walls and door. Rinse or change cloths as necessary.
If you find hard-to-reach places while cleaning, dip a medium-bristle toothbrush into your vinegar mixture and use it to scrub the slits. However, make sure you wring the excess water before scrubbing, as it could damage the electronic insides of the oven.
Particularly greasy microwaves and stubborn spots need special attention. To tackle those issues, mix three parts of baking soda and one part of water until making a thick paste. Then, spread it over the stubborn areas and wait five minutes to take effect.
Next, dampen a microfiber cloth with warm water to wipe the pesky grime. Rinse any residue with another dampened cloth.
Finally, dry your microwave with a clean cloth—and don’t forget to put the turntable back in place!
Do you want a clean microwave but don’t have the time to do it? Sweeping Hands is ready to help you! Our professional cleaners are prepared to tackle even the most stubborn grime in your microwave and the rest of your house. Schedule your service now!
When it comes to cleaning chemicals, combining is not recommended outside of a few exceptions. The following cleaning substances can be life-threatening if mixed. Be careful!
At Sweeping hands, we prioritize your satisfaction and safety over everything else. Book the best cleaning services now!
Freeing your shower head of mineral buildup and hard water stains may be a little too hard—or even downright impossible—with regular cleaning products.
So, if you’re looking for an effective way to tackle this chore, you’ve come to the right place! Check out the following methods to clean your shower head with vinegar.
There’s no need to spend all your time and effort scrubbing your shower head when you can use this trick! All you have to do is follow these simple steps.
Pour white vinegar into a plastic bag and attach it to the shower head with rubber bands. Be careful not to fill the bag too much, or it could overflow, spill, and make a mess all over the shower—if the vinegar level is too low, adjust it until covering the whole fixture.
Ensure the bag is correctly attached to the fixture, and let it rest for 30 minutes. Once the time’s up, remove the bag and pour the vinegar down the drain. Then, let hot water run for a couple of minutes to rinse and flush out the remaining mineral deposits from the fixture.
By now, the vinegar should have loosened the buildup, so a light scrubbing is enough to remove the remaining minerals.
Grab an old toothbrush and scrub the fixture—focus mainly on the holes to make sure the shower head isn’t clogged—then, all you have to do is rerun the hot water to rinse.
Repeat this step as many times as necessary until no deposits remain.
Once you’re done cleaning the fixture, you can give it a finishing touch by polishing it with a microfiber cloth. That’s it! Your shower head should now be clean and look as good as ever.
If the hassle-free method didn’t work as well as you would have liked, don’t worry, there’s another method for you to try! Follow this simple guide to clean your shower head more thoroughly.
Fill a bowl with white vinegar and carefully remove the shower head. You can do this by wrapping a cloth around the nut and twisting it off with a wrench—the fabric will protect the shower head finish from damage!
Put the shower head in the vinegar and let it soak overnight. If the fixture is made of metal, you can simmer it in a pot with white vinegar for fifteen minutes.
Note: If your shower head is brass, gold, or nickel coated, you should only leave it for half an hour. Otherwise, the acidity of the vinegar could damage the finish.
Once the time’s up, rinse the shower head with clean water by holding it under a faucet. Then, use an old toothbrush to scrub it thoroughly—you can also use a needle or safety pin to poke the holes to remove anything that may be stuck there.
Once your shower head is squeaky clean, reattach it—you can wrap plumbing tape around the pipe to prevent leaks—and run the hot water to ensure all the residue comes off. Then, polish it with a clean microfiber cloth. That’s it! Your shower head should now be spotless and as good as new.
Now that your shower head is nice and clean, you can keep cleaning the rest of your house! However, we know that cleaning takes a lot of time, but you don’t have to do everything on your own. Sweeping Hands is here to help! Contact us to set up your clean-up.
Do you keep washing your clothes only to find them discolored and full of tears after you take them out of the washing machine? Be careful! You could be committing one of these laundry mistakes.
There is no need to stress over all your cleaning chores! We’ll take care of everything. Book your cleaning service today.
