Cleaning tricks not always work as we wish

How many times have you heard advice for cleaning everything in the house with baking soda, vinegar or salt?
When it comes to housekeeping, there are several common cleaning tricks that everybody suggests working on, but they actually can create more problems after all. For sure they do help but you should be really careful when applying them on the different types of surfaces.

It is time to break some myths.

1. Cleaning carpet stains with water

It is easy to panic if you see a pasta sauce on the new white carpet and start rubbing with water (or even worse, hot water) but please stop. Actually, this allows the moisture to penetrate into the carpet fibres and fix the stain and basically make it worse. Instead, damp as much as you can, then gently rub with some carbonated water, dry as much as possible and then apply a specialised carpet cleaner.
Therefore, at Variety Cleaning Services we always advise our clients to first contact the professionals instead of treating the carpet stains themselves.

2. Cleaning red wine stains with salt

Sprinkling or rubbing salt on the stains may sound like a working trick but it is not quite the case. It may look as if it works because salt is expected to extract the wine. Rather, you risk to not clean the fabric properly because you can not to clean it in depth. Just follow the tips above.

3. Cleaning the coffee machine with bleach

This is not a good idea at all, because some chemicals can get into the drink. Our professional advice is to only use special detergent and then carefully to rinse the water container as well as all parts which will be in contact with your cup of coffee afterwards.

4. Cleaning with vinegar

This natural cleanser solves many household problems but is not a panacea. For example, vinegar can damage natural stones, such as marble countertops or tiles, as well as the iron (if you clean the limescale residue with it). So have that in mind before you start cleaning at home.

5. Cleaning sticky spots with nail polish remover

If you try to remove the adhesive residue (eg a sticker from the new fridge) with a nail polish remover, you can change the colour of the surface of the appliance. What will really help is applying baby oil or mineral oil.

6. Using a window cleaner to clean your computer screen or TV

Many of the window cleaning detergents have ammonia or alcohol and they can definitely damage the screen of your computer or TV. Furthermore, they can cause blurring and even penetrate the screen due to the very fine layers of the material that is in it. Instead, use a specialised alcohol-free detergent as well as eco-friendly cleaning products.

7. Cleaning rust with bleach

Basically, the application of bleach on rust can aggravate the problem. Instead, use vinegar or lemon juice, leave it for a while to act and remove with a hard brush.

Above all, if all that sounds too complicated and you need help with your house cleaning, just contact the the professional cleaners from Variety Cleaning. We can assure you that your house cleaning will be performed prompt, efficiently and at an affordable price. Get in touch and book your local cleaning team in Reading, Oxford, Guildford, Hemel Hempstead, an many more!