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There is a quotation that says, “ A clutter-free home equals a clutter-free mind.†But let’s be honest, house cleaning can be frustrating and tiring, especially when grout needs more attention due to the dirt stuck there. Most issues that occur with grout are the fact that most of the time we just wipe the surface of the tile. We miss focusing on the grout which comes to the point that the dirt is building up quickly before you know it. The yellowish or brownish stain occurs which is far from its original color.  And when it happens, the chances are high that we give up on cleaning it. 

But did you know that there are tricks that may come in handy for you to make the grout clean again? In this blog, we will discuss that with you.

Materials and Tools That You Need

• Bicarbonate of soda
• Water
• Vinegar
• Brush or Toothbrush
• Spray Bottle
• Baking Soda
• Steam mop
• Chlorine Bleach

How to Clean Grout?

The trick here is to experiment, there are materials that are already in your house that you can use to clean it. But most especially, don’t just think that you are cleaning it because you have to. Sometimes, you need to put some love into what you are doing to ease out your stress.

1. Warm water and [tooth]brush

Using a spray bottle, wet the grout with warm water and brush the grout line then let it dry.

2. Vinegar and warm water

If the first trick above did not work, try using an equal amount of vinegar and warm water to spray to the grout before bushing the grout line. But be mindful that using vinegar should depend on which type of tiles you use for your kitchen tile countertops or bathroom tiles. Vinegar is acidic and there are tiles that are sensitive to acid type materials as it may damage it.

3. Baking soda plus vinegar

You can also try mixing baking soda and water to spray on the grout. Once the mixture stops foaming, you can start scrubbing it using a brush.

4. Chlorine bleach and water

When all ticks above fail, you may also try using chlorine bleach or any commercial grout remover product. 

Once you are done cleaning the grout, always and never forget to mop or wipe it with clean water for safety purposes. For instance, vinegar produces the smell. The same goes if you use bleach, it releases chemicals that may be harmful if not rinsed well.

A Friendly Reminder

Finally, the most important tip of all doesn’t make grout cleaning using chemicals a routine for the reason that it may wear the grout. If you already have cleaned it with chemicals before, try just to do a regular cleaning after.

On the other hand, if you are unsure of doing what’s listed above, you can always outsource professional house cleaners to do it for you. You may also check us out, My Marvelous Maids, and discuss with us having your house for deep cleaning.

Cleaning your house is not just a chore that you do for your house’s aesthetics. It is a must-do task! House cleaning is actually essential not only to make your space clean, comfortable, and livable but also because it is beneficial for your health. On the other hand, despite that we admit this fact, we may be having a difficult time doing it. Some possibilities may be because of schedule conflicts whether it’s work-related or personal.

Fortunately, we have now a solution to this matter. We can now hire a cleaning company or professional housekeeper(s) to clean your house on your behalf. Nowadays, hiring someone to do house cleaning does not necessarily mean you’ll hire them for a full-time position known as housemaids.

Contrary to what many believe, you can now hire professionals to do house cleaning services in a contractual manner. This means that they’ll just come knocking on your door on the dates and times you agreed on to take care of your house’s clutter. With that being said, the main question now would be whether you need a basic house cleaning or deep cleaning.

In this blog, we will give you a better understanding of which of the two types of cleaning you’d need to book.

Basic Cleaning Definition

Basic cleaning, also known as regular cleaning, may be described as doing cleaning tasks that are performed on a regular basis. It is maintaining good cleanliness of your house.

It includes, but not limited to, the following tasks:

• sweeping and mopping the floor
• cleaning the living room, kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, etc.
• dusting and wiping all visible surfaces (i.e. tables, racks, and couches)
• tidying up the house

Deep Cleaning Definition

Deep cleaning involves more focus and attention of cleaning to such areas traditional cleaning doesn’t cover. This is more thorough than regular cleaning which means you or the housekeeper you hired needs to invest more time.

It includes tasks as follow:

• cleaning behind appliances that normally not covered on a basic cleaning service
• oven and microwave
• refrigerator
• windows and frames
• bathroom tiles and glass walls to remove stain and molds
• thorough cleaning on the corners of the room to remove cobwebs
• kitchen tiles or countertops
• under the sink
• under the mattress

With deep cleaning tasks listed, you may notice that this type of cleaning requires more time than usual. Compared to regular cleaning, deep cleaning can be done on a monthly, quarterly basis, or every six months. It depends on your preference as the house owner. Although there are times, your house cleaners may remind you if you already need deep cleaning or not.

What Type of Cleaning do You Need?

When you hire a house cleaning service like us, My Marvelous Maids, you might be thinking of which cleaning service you need. If you are hiring a house cleaning service for the first time, deep cleaning is the best option in most cases. On the other hand, if you are still undecided, you can always consult in order to help you make a decision.

Swimming is a great, fun, and exciting activity that most of us do. Everyone of all ages enjoys it. Regardless of the season, one way or another this activity may be done. It doesn’t necessarily mean of always going to beaches but an outdoor or indoor pool, lake, or even in your own tub this can be done. Well. Aside from the fact that we enjoy swimming, it is also a good exercise for many to increase stamina.

On the other hand, did you know that there are also possible dangers this activity may bring? Yes, that is a fact! With this being said, we must keep in mind that there are safety precautions you must consider first and foremost. It doesn’t matter if you’re tall and the water is only three feet deep, danger can happen anytime. It does not consider anyone. If it happens, it strikes fast which caught us off guard. That is why the word safety must always come along when you’re doing your swimming activity.

If you’d like to know more about this, we would like to share with you an informative website discussing tips and the importance of safety when swimming. It is entitled, Swimming Safety: Tips and Considerations for Pools, Beaches, Hot Tubs, and More.

You’ll not only learn one but many safety precautions for you to follow when you’re engaging in this fun activity.

We would like to thank Los Angeles Homes, for giving us the opportunity to feature their informative article here at My Marvelous Maids.

Let’s start this blog by saying, “Yeah!†as you finally considered hiring a housekeeper or a house cleaning company to take care of your beautiful home. This is awesome! It really is since you you know how beneficial it is for you to outsource a professional house cleaner. On the other hand, the next question you’ll think of is, how often should your house be cleaned.

In the house cleaning companies’ perspective, the automatic answer to the question is “every day!†Yes, the cleaner the house is, the better. But, kidding aside, that question might be a tough one to answer… or maybe not. So, to help you with this dilemma here is a bit of advice we’d like to offer for you to decide on your situation.

How Often Do You Clean Your House?

From a house owner’s perspective like you, doing house cleaning on your own is always done once a week. Whether you do this in the middle of the week, on the weekend, or during your day off from work, it doesn’t matter. What’s important is, you spend a day or two finishing all of your house chores.

But at the same time and most of the time, this routine is not a general house cleaning. You just do this to maintain the cleanliness of your own space. With this being said, you only do a it unless you have plenty of time at your disposal. In most cases, spare time is what prevents you from thoroughly cleaning your place.

And this is where cleaning companies, like us at My Marvelous Maids, come in to give you a helping hand. Our aim is to do these tasks on your behalf. We can offer you these services depending on what you need and your preferred schedule for house cleaners to come.

Daily

A daily house cleaning is ideal for families with busy schedules like a family with a newborn baby, working couples and/or parents who are both busy even on weekends, and house owners who are elderly and need assistance on house chores on a daily basis. There are instances that this is ideal too for Airbnb (but depends on the duration of stay of the property occupants).

This daily setup does not literally mean that the house cleaner(s) come in seven days a week. Usually, it is a Monday to Friday schedule to clean.

Weekly

This is an ideal setup for a family who doesn’t want any interruption on their daily routine. If you have a family like this, then this is a good option for you. The house cleaner you hire will only come once a week or every two weeks (depending on your preference) to take care your house. Dedicated hours or a day will be allotted just for them to come and do the chores on your behalf.

In general, this is the most common setup when house owners hire house cleaners. They are expected to focus on sweeping, mopping, and vacuuming the floors along with tasks like emptying trash bins, cleaning the bathrooms, cleaning the living room, bedrooms, and the kitchen areas. On the other hand, changing bed linens, kitchen linens, and laundry would depend on your agreement with them.

Monthly

Whether you already have a someone that you hire for a daily or weekly house cleaning, it is good if you still consider a monthly house cleaning option. In most cases, monthly house cleaning can be equivalent to deep cleaning.

This is an ideal setup to flourish your house and make it pristine once again. When a house cleaner does a monthly (deep) cleaning, he or she focuses on making thorough cleaning like removing molds/mildews on the tiles in the bathroom and kitchen counters, removing stains on walls, taking care of the glass doors and windows, and other households chores that need labor and time to focus on.

Furthermore, cleaners doing this takes longer than the usual to clean. This can also be tailored fit depending on your agreement with the one you hired.

Occasional or Seasonal

These cleaning services are more popular during holidays, when there’s an event, or when you have short-notice from your in-laws and friends who’d visit your place. An occasional house cleaning usually lasted only for a few hours and maybe you’d need more than just one helper (this will depend on what occasion you are preparing for). But one thing is for sure, whether you hire one or more house cleaner, the goal is to help you prepare and set up your home for whatever occasion you’ll be having.

One good example is during holidays, like the upcoming Holloween, you might be having friends, relatives, or in-laws coming over to your house. You can hire a someone or a house cleaning company to prepare your place for this event. 

And if you’re in this situation this Halloween, we, at My Marvelous Maids, are offering a promo for this event. For just $129, you can book with us for a house cleaning service for 3 hours and we will send you one of our highly trained house cleaner! You may reach us today to book a cleaning appointment!

Conclusion

When hiring someone to take care your home, it is not just a question of how often he or she should come. Always put into consideration too the other factors such as:

• How often do you clean your house on your own? 

If you really have no time to spare, then you might consider a daily house cleaning service. But if you can clean in between your schedule, maybe the weekly cleaning schedule done by a house cleaner is what you need to assure that the areas you might have missed will be polished.

• What is your budget for a professional house cleaning?

Depending on the size of our home, you can determine which set up you’d most need to keep your place in its pristine condition. Furthermore, find a housekeeper of a house cleaning company that suits your budget like My Marvelous Maids.

• Determine on what level of cleanliness you need for your home

This is important if you’d want a tailored fit cleaning service for your house. You should elaborate on what type of cleaning you want so that the house cleaner could deliver and meet your expectation.

Maintaining a house to its pristine condition is a task everyone must not set aside. Our house is a safe space where we live. To be specific, it is like our own world where, as much as possible, we don’t want to bring the problems we face outside. A house is a home—a safe haven. With that being said, it is given that we want a clutter-free surrounding, right? 

On the other hand, house cleaning can be a problem if you’re too busy working and cannot squeeze the task in your schedule. But what options do you have in order to make your home clean? Actually, you have the option to hire a house cleaner to do this work for you.

Hiring a professional or a company that offers house cleaning services may feel like a defeat, but in reality, it is not. Other people think that it is another expense adding to your list when the truth is it isn’t. There are companies or individuals that offer cleaning services that might suit you and your budget. You just have to evaluate if it is something you need at this point.

In this blog, we will share with you the signs that you already need to hire a professional house cleaner.

Availing House Cleaning Services

There is a stigma that a professional house cleaner is expensive. Sometimes, others think that it is a luxury but, in general, this is not the case. There are companies that can clean your home at an affordable rate. However, before you jump in and start scouting someone or a company to do the house cleaning chores for you, it is best that you weigh in first if this is something you’d need.

Things To Consider

There are lists that you can find to check first and to understand why you should book professional cleaning. But aside from that, you can see the list below of the signs that it is now time to hire someone to clean the house for you.

1. Stubborn Stains

Because of your busy schedule, whether it is because of work and other commitments, you cannot remember anymore when was the last time you did a thorough house cleaning. You see unwanted stains (i.e. carpet stains, couches stains, bathroom stains, etc.) and molds everywhere. Furthermore, if an unpleasant odor starts to smell this only means that you need help.

Professional house cleaners are the ones you can outsource to deal with this matter.

2. Allergies Persist

If you happen to experience allergies like a runny nose and continuous sneezing at home than the usual, it only means that you need to do thorough house cleaning. Please take note that aerosol spray is not always the solution if you think it is enough. If you will clean, you have to clean not just the visible surface but also the hidden areas. Besides, if the dust accumulates, dust mites are also there. And this is serious because this insect can harbor diseases.

On the lighter note, professional house cleaners will make sure to clean not just the stains and dirt on the surface. They can do deep cleaning for you to make your house clean and pleasing to the eyes.

3. You Work Longer Hours

We mentioned this earlier, you might probably busy at work. We don’t blame you for this, to be honest. This is understandable, especially that everyone should pay bills before it starts to pile up.

However, you should not let dust also to pile up. Messy surroundings can affect your life physically and mentally. Furthermore, it will also affect your health. So as early as possible, you need to outsource a cleaning service that can be covered by your budget. Check an affordable one, see what services they provide and if they offer the services that you need.

4. You Can’t Clean

If cleaning is not your thing, we don’t judge you. But in reality, there are people who really cannot do heavy house chores—you may be one of them. Ther are those who are recovering from illness, busy from your work (day off is the only leisure time you have), or you have kids to take care of every day. Aside from dedicating a certain time to clean, you also need the energy to do this. The messier the area, the more exhausting cleaning can be. If you can’t clean or don’t have time, you don’t have to force yourself.

You can hire people to do this for you like the cleaners we have at My Marvelous Maids. We provide house cleaning services in Naperville and its surrounding areas. You just have to check whether you’d want a regular or deep cleaning in your home. We even make our process to book for a house cleaning easier for you.

5. You Have Guest(s) Coming

Your home is the representation of your life. While it can be a good topic for debate, but let’s be realistic and see to it that regardless of how big or small your house is, it should be clean.

However, sometimes there are people (like relatives or friends) who would just give short notice that they’re coming over. You’re suddenly caught off guard in the situation, especially when you haven’t cleaned your house yet. You don’t have to worry! Hiring a professional cleaner can be the best solution in this matter.