Essential Cleaning Principles
by Great Green Cleaning — May 16, 2016 in Cleaning & Organizing
When you’re hired to clean homes, apartments, and large businesses all over the city, you’re bound to know a thing or two about cleaning in the most efficient way possible. These aren’t your average cleaning tips– these are essential cleaning principles that you do NOT want to clean without.
1. Clean top to bottom, inside and out.
This could be considered the golden rule of cleaning. Never work against gravity! Things like dirt, dust, and crumbs will always fall as you wipe surfaces and move things around. Would you clean your floors before you clean your ceiling fans? Of course not! The same applies everywhere else.
You always want to clean inside of things first like cabinets, drawers, baskets and bookshelves. If you only give things a superficial wipe-down, you’ll be left with that “almost-clean” feeling– not to mention the dirt and dust will spread as your things get used.
It can also be quite helpful to pick a direction like ‘left to right’ when you feel overwhelmed and don’t know where to start.
2. Work smarter, not harder.
This rule is about being creating and building good strategies as you go along. No two homes are created equal, so cleaning is never an exact science, but if you think outside the box and consider all options you’ll save yourself a lot of hard work.
Some examples:
- If something is labor intensive, pace yourself instead of racing to the finish.
- Stubborn dirt? Let it soak in solution instead of scrubbing hard.
- With a lot of objects in the way, clear the entire surface to clean it instead of moving each object as you go along.
- Remove drawers from a desk or dresser for easy cleaning, instead of struggling to get the back corners and sides from odd angles.
Different strategies can be devised for different types of situations. Just remember: work smarter, not harder!
3. ‘Looks clean’ is never clean enough.
When dust and dirt is left behind because it’s out of sight or too hard to reach, it still impacts air quality and the health of those who have to breathe it. This is important because poor indoor air quality can lead to serious health defects and should not go ignored.
Just dusting is not always good enough either, and brooms can knock dust back up into the air. It’s much better to use a vacuum cleaner that can reach every corner and crevice of your space, as well as underneath and behind stationary furniture.
But that’s not all! After you’ve removed as much dust as possible you’ll want to wipe down everything top to bottom with a good natural disinfectant. This includes ceilings, walls, and floors. And of course, you can take preventative measures with a proper air filtration system- this will minimize dust and clean the air you breathe.
Clean by the rules!
Remember these three essential cleaning principles and it will transform the way you clean. Make sure you subscribe for more great cleaning tips and share this article with someone you think could benefit.
Here’s a quick graphic you can save or print, so that next time it’s cleaning day you’ll have your home lookin’ spiffy in a jiffy!
