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Housekeeping

Find cleaning advice from other Mumsnetters on our Housekeeping forum.

Cleaning Advice

11 replies

homeiswheretheheartis1 · 28/05/2014 08:50

Hello,

I'm new to the forums and wanted to get some advice on housekeeping. So as it's getting on to summer now and it won't be long before people come round for family meals and BBQ parties I'm going to be giving the house a thorough clean, and I mean thorough. I'm going to start off with out bedroom. We live in a detached bungalow and our bedroom needs a jolly good clean. But where should I start and how should I go about doing it?

For a start I have a weak immune system and currently on tablets and vitamins for it as well as living a more healthy and active lifestyle so things can be hard and stressful for me at times. We also have our pet rats and tortoise living in the bedroom with use, so we are limited to the chemicals we can use. This is a little plan of what I am going to do:

  1. Sort out under the bed and throw away anything not needed.
  1. Sort out and clean the wardrobes and cupboards.
  1. Sort out and clean the drawers.
  1. Dust and sort out the bookshelves.
  1. Clean the windows and net curtains.
  1. Clean the carpet.

I also have some questions to ask you:

  1. What is a good way of getting rid of ammonia?
  2. What is a good way of cleaning wallpaper?
  3. What is a good way of cleaning wardrobes, cupboards, drawers?
  4. What is a good way of washing net curtains?
  5. How can I keep the dust away?
  6. How can I keep the ammonia away?
  7. Do you have any other advice?

Any questions please feel to ask.
Many Thanks,
Helen x

OP posts:
wowfudge · 28/05/2014 19:54

Hi there - sort out and tidy before cleaning.

Anything you haven't worn or used for a year which is in good condition, send to the charity shop or sell on eBay. Winter clothes should be washed/dry cleaned and I have a couple of big cardboard Ikea storage boxes I put them in to free up hanging space for summer stuff. In the autumn, summer stuff goes away and winter stuff comes out. Be ruthless - do you really need all of the rest of it? Bin the junk.

I don't keep anything under the bed, but if you don't have drawers under there, box it up to keep it clean and dust free. You can get flatter boxes with wheels designed to go under the bed.

Damp dusting is a good way of getting rid if dust without creating dust in the air. Use a lint free cloth and dampen it with water under the tap. I use old cloth napkins that are no longer good enough to use as napkins.

I just use warm soapy water on a cloth, well wrung out, to clean the tops if bedside tables, handles, light switches and dressing table top. Same for both sides of doors, skirting boards and door frames.

Start from the top and work down when dusting - dust the tops of tall furniture and picture rails.

I don't have nets so can't advise you, but I know you can buy sachets of stuff you put in the wash with them to keep them white.

For windows I have an e cloth set - one cloth for cleaning and a special one for buffing so you don't get streaks. You really do not need to use anything other than water with them.

Drawers - empty them, give them a wipe, let them dry. I use scented drawer liners or cedar blocks to keep things smelling nice and keep moths away. I prefer those and old-fashioned lavender bags/scented bags to chemical moth repellents. Some of them are too strong for my taste though - I like a fresh smell rather than a strong perfume.

Is the ammonia from the rats? I wouldn't like that - is it coming from their cages? I think probably the only thing you can do then is change their bedding regularly and keep them somewhere well-ventilated where you can open the windows regularly. If there is pee on the carpets then invest in a carpet cleaner and clean up accidents straight away.

I dust and hoover the whole house weekly in one go - some areas I hoover as they need it as well. I try to keep clutter down and have stuff stored in boxes and behind doors in cupboards, etc so the place looks tidy and isn't full of dust traps. I also open windows regularly to get fresh air in. I hate air fresheners as the chemical/constant pong irritates me. You could try Neutradol or little bowls of bicarbonate to absorb smells.

Hope that helps - that was an essay. Oh and I put a piece of cotton wool with a few drops of essential oil in the hoover to make the place smell nice. We have a dog and I don't want the place to smell 'doggy'.

CurlyhairedAssassin · 28/05/2014 20:01

Sorry if this sounds rude but for god's sake, the first thing you need to do is get the rats and the tortoise out of your bedroom!!!

Do people really live like that? Confused

BiscuitCrumb · 28/05/2014 20:14

Curly blush I thought the same.

Why would you have rats and a tortoise in your bedroom?

Okay so you have them... But seriously can they not go somewhere other than the bedroom?

1 and 6... I have no answer but get them out of the bedroom.
2... I don't know, sorry.
3... Empty everything from cupboards, drawers and Hoover them out. Use the opportunity to get rid of old things you don't wear anymore. Once hoovered use a damp cloth and wipe them out. Do not put the clothes back in until it's all dry.
4... I don't have nets but my mum used to hand wash hers and she also used to buy this net curtain whitener (I'm pretty sure you'll find it in the laundry aisle of your local supermarket).
5... You can't. You need to clean regularly. Use a damp cloth to dust 2-3 times a week. Hoover 2-3 times a week. Air your bedroom, open your windows every day even if it's only for 10 minutes.
7... Wash your bedding weekly. Make your bed every day. Move the animals out of the bedroom. or get rehome them (sorry I'm not an animal lover). Declutter. Bedrooms are for relaxing and sleeping, do not have lots of stuff in there.

TheUnemployableLeech · 28/05/2014 20:28

I have net curtains and just put them in the machine on a 30 delicate. I do gather the tops of them (that have the plastic hooks sewn in) together and put them inside a pillowcase and then tie this as tight as possible with UNCOLOURED!! string so that the hooks don't catch on the rest of the curtains when in the machine.

Then an extra rinse and hang back up to dry.

TheUnemployableLeech · 28/05/2014 20:30

Blush should you really hoover and dust 2-3 times a week? I thought I was doing well at almost once a week.

BiscuitCrumb · 28/05/2014 20:38

I do because I 'like' cleaning. I don't really 'like' cleaning. I just can't live in an 'unclean' room. If I see bits on the carpet they have to be hoovered. Maybe I'm just weird.
I think if you have pets or allergies you need to Hoover more often.
I have neither but know in my home I have to Hoover 2-3 times a week.

homeiswheretheheartis1 · 28/05/2014 20:54

Thank you for your help. Can I really just say that the pets are no way in bad condition!!! Actually before we moved our next door neighbours did it really get on with us, we have no reason why they against us but they were. So anyway they called up the RSPCA and told them the animals were being neglected when they never actually came round there house. So the RSPCA came round and inspected the house and the pets. They told us that they weren't sure why the callers had told them that but the animals were in perfect condition and to keep up what we were doing for them?

Anyway we brought an ammonia testing kit this morning and it turns out there is no ammonia, we just thought there was but obviously not. But because we've moved very recently and then had to stop the moving process two days after moving in because my mother had cancer and it got really worse all of a sudden. Unfortunately, we had to put everything to one side and put everything away quickly

OP posts:
homeiswheretheheartis1 · 28/05/2014 20:54

Oops, didn't finish. So yes the pets are in fine condition and there's no ammonia. Thank you to the people that gave us cleaning advice

OP posts:
coffeetofunction · 28/05/2014 21:54

The looong essay covers just about every thing Wink

I kinda think that in RL people can't always & should Hoover, dust/polish excessively, 1-2 a week is more than enough especially if you have a struggle with your system.

I would suggest that if you have people coming over there are ways to quickly spruce things up & "keep on top"

I have baby wipes in dressing table just to quickly wipe round any make up marks ect. harpic white bleach round the toilet bowl with a quick flush makes bathroom smell clean. Hoover the rooms their gonna see. Flash us great for cleaning walls. Baby will make anything stainless steal clean & shine.

homeiswheretheheartis1 · 28/05/2014 22:03

Thank you coffeetofunction for the advice :)

OP posts:
wowfudge · 29/05/2014 11:59

If I dusted and hoovered twice a week, I would never get to sit down outside of work! I do run the hoover round the living room and hall a couple of times during the week, but not bedrooms and other areas. It's a home and so what if it looks lived in. That is not to say it is a dirty hovel that needs cleaning because it isn't

I thinkhomeiswhere means baby oil for stainless steel, but with microfibre cloths you can polish things up without using that or cleaning products.

The key, I find, is having things you do regularly, i.e. weekly, then building in other tasks every couple of months or so such as cleaning the oven, cleaning the inside of windows, cleaning kitchen cupboards out so that you do not have to have a massive spring clean to get on top of things.

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