Secrets of a cleaner please ?!

[tellmeyourtips]

I'd like to get better at cleaning my own house and thinking of doing some cleaning as a business once the littlest one is in school.
This is what I use at the moment for cleaning spread across the week when I have a chance, please tell what you use as a professional cleaner ?

Bleach toilet, spray bleach, bathroom, sometimes also brush grout with scrubbing brush, do tiled floors with a few sprays of dettol antibac spray and wipe over with kitchen roll.

Hoover all over ignore corners and spray mop wooden floors----

Wipe everything with cheapy baby wipes as a kind of damp dusting( great for marks) Cleaning wipes gave me sore hands even with gloves. Use for kitchen cupboards and wipe appliance and under stuff too ( kitchen not weekly, maybe monthly)

I totally ignore all limescale have tried vinegar but hasn't done much , viacal stinks.

When I have time I dust high with a fluffy duster, like the lamp shades and corners. Again this is monthly approx .

If I was employing a cleaner I won’t want them to use baby wipes or just wipe the floor. I would expect things to be cleaning properly.

Many cleaners don’t use bleach due to restrictions from their insurers.

I would be very annoyed if my cleaner was using loads of unnecessary chemicals, wipes and kitchen roll instead of cleaning properly with cloths. I don’t need a germ free floor but I do want proper damp wiping/dusting and not baby wipes. It’s terrible for the environment and for health.

For your own health you would not want to be working with lots of unnecessary chemicals all the time if it was your job.

@TheProvincialLady I know, I'm just saying how I do things at home for ease as I have two small children . I have no idea how a professional would damp dust ? I've never had a cleaner myself. Hence asking for tips!

Personally I never use bleach or disposable wipes.

I damp dust using cloths I carry a spray bottle of water which I use to keep the cloth damp.

I use Splosh cleaning products for surfaces, again with reusable cloths. Hard floors I damp mop every other day and use diluted surface cleaner once a month or so (but I don’t have animals or small children). Living room and hallway have a quick hoover daily. Each room gets a thorough hoover once a week and that’s when I get into the corners, edges and under furniture.

An ostrich feather duster for ornaments and high up.

I follow TOMM and find it really helpful.

Oh I’m sorry to be dim!!

When my children were small I used FlyLady which helped a lot. But you are definitely better off using washable cloths and simple cleaners rather than wipes and sprays. They leave loads of residue which attracts more dirt.

I use a cream cleaner for things that need scrubbing but otherwise it’s washing up liquid and e-cloths, and a vinegar based toilet cleaner from the health food shop which keeps my loo limescale free and clean. No bleach based toilet cleaner ever managed that.

@TheProvincialLady @LadyDanburysCane well then Ladies 😆 I will give this a go. I must have a very dusty house, because I will go through so many clothes to damp dust with real clothes rather than throw aways. I have 50 microfibre cloths from weaning the baby, so I will give it a go. Do you rinse out the same one ? I'll have to take a a photo of one wipe of my furniture in my bedroom and I do it weekly . Maybe it is the residue attracting more dust or the dog and two sticky fingered rugrats.

I do hoover main areas such as kitchen, playroom and hall daily and others twice a week, but only a general hoover. I need to do the edges.

Try the liquid cleaner Koh available online. Used with microfibre cloths it cleans everything, floors, windows, kitchens, bathrooms, it even cleans carpets. It's environmentally friendly and doesn't bring me out in a rash. We recently had a new cleaner start working for us and she was very dubious of it at first but she now buys it for her own house.

Unlike other cleaning products the cloths you use need to be dry. If they are wet the Koh doesn't work. Like you I have loads of microfibre cloths and I get through a couple most days. I throw them into a basket near the washing machine and wash them with the tea towels when the pile of clean cloths gets low.

I also have an issue with never vacuuming the edges of a room or cleaning the corners of hard floors. That's why I have a cleaner! I stay on top of 90% of it and then she comes in once a fortnight (or did pre-CoVid) and does a proper job on all the corners, edges and details.

Work downwards. So, start Dusting away the ceiling cobwebs and light fittings, then wipe/dust sides and work surfaces, and finish with floors. Otherwise if you do floors first, they end up dirty/dusty again.

Let the chemicals do their job. If a spray says "leave for 5 seconds" before wiping. Then leave it for 5 seconds. Knowing your chemicals and knowing what they do is important too. So knowing the difference between degreaser and polish, and bleach and antibacterial spray. Best use of chemicals speeds the process up. Also means you can use less chemicals, and when you do be aware of ventilation and any PPE (gloves, masks, etc.)

Oh and clean your tools! Change the hoover bag regularly, have a few cloths so if one gets dirty you can use a new one, and have the right tools for the job. Windows are so easy to clean with the right products, but will be difficult to clean and end up smeared if you use the works things.

I use Koh and an anti bac spray. Toothbrush for around the taps and shower screen.

Wood floors. Hoover then go around edges with the crevice tool. Wash with floor cleaner I use eco 3 and hot water. Then go over with spray swifter and method almond wood floor cleaner, this buffs the floors and leaves them smelling lovely. Windows, mirrors, oven door, front of fridge, outside of glass shower cubicles.. Dettol a I bac spray and a microfiber glass cloth it is a glass one green or just water with that cloth. Dusting, get the minky pink dusting cloth, just that and water. High dusting, get a static feather duster type thing that extends. Shower, flash bathroom. Areas of mould. Cif black mould remover. Areas of grot or stubborn grime at bottom of glass. The pink stuff paste, also used for oven hobs and cleaning sink, or elbow grease cream cleaner. Microfiber cloth to wipe these and then an extra dry one to buff the chrome fittings and sink. Toilet, wiped with kitchen roll and disposed. When clean, spray stairs with diluted zoflora to sanitise stairs and freshen them. Same with handles, light switches etc.