Viewing entries by
Charlotte Anderson
Thinking about starting a window cleaning business but not sure where to begin? You’re not alone. With low startup costs, flexible hours, and real income potential, it’s no surprise more people are turning squeegees into side hustles (or even full-time careers). In this guide, we’ll break down everything you need to know—from gear and pricing to legal steps and finding clients—so you can turn your idea into action and start building a business you actually enjoy.
Chicago's safety tale is as layered as its deep-dish pizza. While it may not be a secret, some neighborhoods in this regard bear high crime rates; painting the whole city by the same brush will surely be doing it injustice. In our blog, unpack the numbers, navigate through the myths, and understand the real pulse of safety in reality: the Windy City. Here's to just trying to figure out if Chicago is as dangerous as headlines scream or if there is more to the story.
At Sparkly Maid, we understand that deep cleaning goes beyond a mere routine of bringing life into your space-one, for instance, that is clean, inviting, organized, and well-conducive. Below, you will find a professional guide crafted with the aim of helping you achieve unparalleled levels of cleanliness across your home.
Declutter: At Sparkly Maid we start with assessing your belongings. Things that serve no purpose or have not been used recently must be discarded. This practice will not only help clean the place but will lighten up your mind as well.
Dusting: Lightly sweep all surfaces with microfiber cloths or dusting wands. Pay particular attention to less apparent surfaces, along the top of picture frames, the bottom side of furniture, and even those too-easily-passed-by air vents.
Upholstery: The vacuum should be used on all fabric surfaces, including sofas, chairs, and curtains. For the removal of stains, consult the instructions manufactured or employ a professional-grade upholstery cleaner to first test on an obscure area.
Windows and Mirrors: Sparkly Maid believes this should be done with a solution of distilled water and white vinegar to leave it streak-free. Professional cleaners may add a dash of isopropyl alcohol to give it an evenátu shine. Clean both sides of windows for maximum transparency.
Floors: After the elimination of loose debris by sweeping or vacuuming, a thorough vacuum should be done, especially on carpeted edges and under furniture. As for hard floors, clean them with a cleaner suitable for your floor type, then go over them with a dry mop or cloth to take way any residual moisture.
Refrigerator: Sparkly Maid clears out contents and discard expired or suspicious materials. Clean each shelf and drawer with mild soapy water. Heavy deposits can be cleaned off with a paste of baking soda and water. Allow to dry everything before restocking refrigerator with food.
Oven: Soak racks in soapy water. Apply an oven cleaner or a heavy paste of baking soda to interior, allowing it to stay overnight if necessary. Scrub carefully; make sure all surfaces are cleaned to avoid any form of taste contamination.
Stovetop and Range Hood: The stove should be cleaned with a degreaser or some vinegar-mixed baking soda paste. The range hood needs to be disassembled for proper cleaning; its filters can often be washed or replaced.
Cabinets: Take everything out of the cabinets and wipe the interior down with disinfectant. Also, this would be a very good time to rearrange the items and to line each shelf for easier cleaning in the future.
Floors: Once the upper surfaces have been attended to, carefully vacuum or sweep the floor. Mop with a solution specific to your floor type; make sure to leave no residual marks.
Toilet: By hiring Sparkly Maid you can be sure we will use professional-grade cleaning solutions and disinfectants. Scrub all surfaces, including underneath the rim and the base. For the hard water stains, one can try using a pumice stone, but this should be done with caution to ensure that there is no scratching.
Shower and Tub: Apply bathroom cleaner to tiles and grout; let it sit for mildew or soap scum removal. Scrub with a grout brush for detailed cleaning. Rinse surfaces well.
Sinks and Mirrors: Sinks Clean grout with any of the solutions above. To clean sinks, use a cleaner designed to combat mineral deposits. Mirrors A cleaner specifically for glass or the above vinegar solution* will keep it clear and free of streaks.
Grout: For grout, special attention or care needs to be taken. A grout cleaner or hydrogen peroxide mixed with baking soda will whiten and sanitize it.
Bedding: Completely strip beds and launder all linens in the hottest temperature recommended. Vacuum mattresses, possibly using a mattress cleaner or sprinkling baking soda to absorb odors.
Closets: First of all, serious decluttering should be done in preparation for actual cleaning. Organize remaining items, dust shelves, and vacuum the floor. Dusting: This place is so full of dust particles; make sure to dust everything, even in places underneath the bed, inside the drawers, and on top of wardrobes.
Air Vents: Cleaning or replacing filters in these can help in maintaining air quality.
Baseboards: These are commonly overlooked and should be wiped down or vacuumed frequently.
Light Fixtures: Clean bulbs and fixtures using a soft cloth or appropriate cleaning tools for optimum light output.
Electronics: Utilize cleaning products for electronics only, to avoid any damage.
At Sparkly Maid, we always remember that deep cleaning is not just getting rid of dirt but an act of creating an environment in which the details scream of care and quality. This checklist is intended to help you go through every step necessary to ensure that your homes are not only clean but a haven for comfort and hygiene.
Bleach can be one of the strongest disinfectants out there, mostly because of the strong smell it leaves after use and makes it not feel as fresh in the house as it is supposed to be. Below, find a step-by-step guide on just how to get that smell of chlorine out and give your home back to its natural ambiance.
But first, a brief understanding of why bleach odors linger on:
Chemical Composition: Bleach de-composites to release chlorine gas, the origin of the smell, known as sodium hypochlorite.
Porous surfaces: Materials like grout, fabrics, and even wood will absorb the bleach. It perhaps retains the smell hours or even days after cleaning.
Long exposure to bleach fumes makes irritation of the respiratory system, eyes, and skin easier. This underlines that odor removal is not only a matter of comfort but for health reasons.
Ventilation
Open Up: Right after bleaching, open all windows and doors for some fresh air.
Air Circulation: The fans are used to pull in the fresh air and also push out the air that is carrying the bleach.
Neutralizing the Area
Vinegar spray: Spray an equal amount of mixture, water, and white vinegar in a spray bottle. Acidity in vinegar has the power to neutralize chlorine gas. Sprays in that area but takes a lot of care not to mix both bleach and vinegar as they can release harmful chlorine gas.
Baking Soda: Sprinkle baking soda over the area in which bleach was used. Let it stand for a while to absorb the smell, then vacuum or sweep up.
Vinegar
Odor neutralization: Other than the spray in the initial phase, always have bowls of white vinegar undiluted in the rooms. In due course of time, vinegar will absorb the smell of the bleach automatically.
Personal Safety Note: Never mix vinegar with bleach. Apply each one of these methods at different times.
Baking Soda
Air Freshening: Like vinegar, baking soda may be set out in bowls to soak up odors from the air.
Scrubbing Paste: Mix baking soda with water into a paste and rub vigorously onto surface. Marvelous in removing odors of dirt on grout and tiles.
Activated Charcoal
Natural Deodorizer: Activated charcoal rates very highly in odor absorption. Place some in bags or containers and set them in those areas where the smell of bleach is strongest.
Essential Oils
Aromatic Odors: Put oils like lavender, eucalyptus, or lemon in a spray bottle full of water to mask, but actually neutralize odors. Essential oils have also been known for their natural disinfecting properties.
Homemade Odor Eliminators
Homemade Sprays
Citrus Spray: This includes a mixture of water and lemon juice or essential oils like lemon or orange in a spray bottle. Spray it into the air for a refreshing scent.
Hydrogen Peroxide: A 3% solution has the capability to oxidize most odorous compounds. Care should be taken, however, when using this product because it may have a bleaching effect on some fabrics.
Boiling Spices
Natural Air Freshener: Boil spices like cinnamon or cloves with water, or even slices of citrus fruits, so that their steam fragrance diffuses up into your house and displaces the bleach smell.
Air Purifiers
HEPA Filters: These will be able to capture particles in the air, which include bleach molecules, thus mitigating odors quite well.
Odor Neutralizers
Specialty Products: Too numerous to count, are designed to counteract the odors of chemicals. Look for those on the shelves that have on their label their application specifically against bleach or chlorine-type odors.
Sparkly Maid Tips To Use Bleach Safely
Bleach: Minimize the use of bleach; instead, use less odor-emitting kinds of cleaners, such as hydrogen peroxide or vinegar, where that may be acceptable for the specific cleaning being done.
Dilution: Bleach should always be diluted with the recommendation of the manufacturer to reduce its pungent smell.
Sealing Surfaces
Grout and concrete: Once clean, seal the surface so odors are not absorbed again over time.
Sparkly Maid Recommends Regular Cleaning Routine
Maintenance: Incorporate smell-removal steps into your cleaning periodically so that the bleach smell isn't building up over time.
Advanced Techniques
Ozone Generators
Ozone Treatment: Ozone has the effect of oxidizing and neutralizing odors. This treatment, though actually dangerous to human health when done in high concentrations, asks for great caution. It can only be conducted in unoccupied spaces.
Professional Services
When to Bring in the Pros: If the odors are chronic, or your area is fairly big, you're going to need professional odor removal. They can do thermal fog treatment or another more industrial service.
Removing bleach smell from your house or apartment or clothing is done through a combination of immediate actions and natural remedies, sometimes requiring advanced techniques. The moral bottom line: handle it fast by airing out, employing natural neutralizers such as vinegar and baking soda, and considering preventative steps for the future. The following strategies will help you keep your house fresher, safer, and more pleasant.
Remember that as effective as bleach is for disinfection, its pungent smell requires special attention so that it will not make your house identifiable with the unbearable fume of cleanliness instead of comfort or tranquility. Follow these steps, and you'll be enjoying all advantages of cleanliness in your home without that untoward whiff of chlorine hanging around.
Additional Tips
Quick Intuitive Response The sooner you handle the smell of bleach, the easier that smell is to remove.
Personal Safety First: One should always ensure good ventilation whenever one uses any cleaning agent to avoid inhaling some fumes.
Use Caution Wisely: Bleach should never be mixed with cleaners, but most specifically ammonia because of the dangerous toxic gases the mix emanates.
Lets Talk:
This is now your turn to help out - share any bleach odor removal experiences you may have in the comments section. Have you tried any of these methods? Perhaps you have a home remedy for eliminating that smell of chlorine? Then lets help teach others and share below as a community other options so that we might keep our homes fresh and odorless.
Discover the art of kitchen deep cleaning with expert guidance from One Click Maids and Sparkly Maid. Our latest article unveils comprehensive techniques to turn your kitchen from greasy to gleaming. We delve into the nitty-gritty of tackling stubborn stains, organizing clutter, and ensuring every corner shines. With our professional insights and practical advice, maintaining a pristine kitchen becomes effortless. Whether you’re a cleaning novice or a seasoned pro, these tips are a must-read for anyone seeking a spotless kitchen.
Embark on your journey to a pristine home with expert tips from One Click Maids. This article unveils the secrets of decluttering before diving into cleaning. Discover how organizing your space can significantly enhance the effectiveness of your cleaning routine. From sorting out clutter to strategically preparing each room, our guide offers practical advice for a spotless and welcoming home. Follow these steps and see how a little pre-cleaning effort makes a big difference. Get ready to transform your living space into a haven of cleanliness and order.
Today, most people want to always keep their living spaces clean and tidy. But sometimes, it could be very hard to find the time and also the motivation to do that in a regular basis. Usually people end up not cleaning for the whole month at all, since they’re all caught up with work or life in general. Dirty dishes lying on the counter tops, dusty furniture and a whole lot of stuff floating around. There are a ton of benefits that you could receive when you choose to hire a professional cleaning service company to help you maintain and organize your home, it’s because most cleaning services companies do offer more than just cleaning services to help improve your living conditions at your home, they make your life easier. Before talking about the benefits of hiring a cleaner, it’s best to discuss why you can’t do it in the first place.
Have you recently hired a painting crew to do paint jobs for your interior walls, ceilings and cabinetry? While all these painters do an awesome job in their work, they do leave a ton of mess afterwards and you can’t do anything about it. The process of painting is crucial but the after math is the worst part! You have to bring back your beautiful newly painted home to it’s sparkly clean state after the messy job. You may notice that there are a lot of tape trails and blotted paper mats that the painters left for you to deal with, since it’s not in their job description to put everything back to normal, you need to hire another service provider to do the cleaning for you and they will do it professional leaving your home as pristine as possible.
When you have been living alone or with friends, being an apartment gives you that sense of independence. Away from the warm welcome of your hometown, from your family who cooks you breakfast, away from your comfort zone— that’s a lot to take in but you got to do what a young person in their 20s would do (and probably until your 30s). Apartment living is initially a challenge, you are bound to limited floor space and you get what you get, you can’t really renovate and change the apartment layout to your liking since you’re only renting the space. You have to follow the rules of your landlord and your neighbors are just one wall away from you, but ultimately you get used to the idea of it and the current challenge you’re struggling about now is how to keep your living space in top shape and how to stay tidy.
