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Cleaning Myths vs. Facts
Cleaning Myths vs. Facts
Can Microfiber Cloths Revolutionize Your Skincare Routine?
by Amy Sardone on Oct 11, 2024
Microfiber Cloths Aren’t Just for Cleaning the House
Are you ready for a new twist on using microfiber cloths??? Washing your face. Yes, you read that right – the house cleaning pros at Speed Cleaning are bringing you a beauty tip! After doing a little research online, we couldn’t wait to share this tip with our readers.
Microfiber cloths (we’re referring to the fluffy type here, not the smooth ones) are made up of super-fine split strands that create an extremely soft cloth. But don’t let that softness fool you – the split fibers create crevices and fingers that grab and trap dirt and bacteria. When used on skin, the fibers collect dead skin cells as well.
While a good-quality microfiber cloth feels very soft to the touch, it’s capable of removing makeup with just water and acts as an exfoliator. This exfoliation from such a soft cloth is what most online reviewers rave about. They do recommend starting out with a very light hand when cleansing, especially on your face, until you determine the right touch for your skin type. You can choose to use just plain water or your favorite cleanser.
Microfiber cloths marketed as washcloths are sold in the beauty section of stores and online. They’re the same material as cloths sold for house cleaning and car care, but they’re generally smaller in size and cost more. (No surprise there!)
Speed Cleaning’s Microfiber Dusting and Cleaning Cloths would be a great choice for personal care. Each cloth is a generous 16” x 16”. At that size, you could cut one up to make four smaller cloths for even more savings! And with Speed Cleaning’s four-pack, you can set some of the cloths aside just for house cleaning.
Whether you’re using your microfiber cloths for dusting, cleaning, or personal care, the same rules apply when washing them: no bleach or fabric softener. We also highly recommend allowing them to air dry rather than putting them in the dryer to maintain the fiber integrity and softness. They line dry very quickly. Washing them with only other microfiber cloths or other non-linting items will prevent the cloths from picking up lint. These cloths are just as grabby in the washer as they are when cleaning!
We encourage you to do your own research online to determine if using a microfiber cloth for personal care is right for you. Who doesn’t love learning about additional uses for everyday things!?
Cleaning Myths vs. Facts
8 Tips for Cleaning Window Blinds & Shutters
by Amy Sardone on Oct 11, 2024
Whether you’re cleaning for guests at the holidays or just playing catch up after neglecting your blinds for too long, these helpful tips on window blind and plantation shutter cleaning should make the job easier and more successful. Our expert contributor is Jim Jones of Mr. Maid, a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania cleaning service.
1. Use a feather or microfiber duster for dusting each week to clean your blinds or shutters. Dusting regularly will prevent you from backbreaking work later.
2. Wrap a sock or cloth around a ruler to clean thin, narrow blinds easily. This is especially good for metal blinds that are fragile and easy to bend.
3. To keep dust at a minimum, rub a fabric dryer sheet onto both sides of the slats. This will not prevent dust but it will cut down on the amount that clings to your blinds or shutters.
4. For a quick dusting (when family or friends are about to pop in), slip a sock onto each hand and rub between each slat which will clean both sides of the blinds quickly simultaneously. (Or use a microfiber dusting mitt!)
5. When your blinds or plantation shutters have been neglected for some time and are extremely dirty, lay an old sheet or newspaper under them before beginning your cleaning efforts. This will prevent double cleaning duty by catching the dirt before it lands on the floor.
6. When you are vacuuming your floors, if you have one, use the brush attachment to clean blinds and shutters. This is great for removing dust from hard-to-reach window treatments on tall windows. Some cleaning services provide this type of cleaning at an extra charge.
7. Use a paintbrush to clean extremely dirty blinds and plantation shutters. Dip the paintbrush into hot soapy water, oil soap, or plain water for extra cleaning power. Be sure to use a dry cloth to remove excess cleaner and clean the brush often to prevent transferring dirt.
8. You can clean the slats with a cloth or towel if you do it on a regular basis. Spray the towel lightly with dust remover, close the blinds or shutters, place the towel over the slats and rub side to side. Reverse the slats and do the other side to complete the job.
Now that you’ve got those blinds and shutters clean, how about the windows??
Cleaning Myths vs. Facts
Question: Are Feather Dusters Effective?
by Amy Sardone on Oct 11, 2024
Do feather dusters really work? Does your feather duster seem to stir up more dust than anything else? If so, then read on, and we’ll let you in on what the cleaning pros at Speed Cleaning have learned about feather dusters.
First, only 100% ostrich-down feathers reliably attract dust. Yes, ostriches have down feathers just as geese do. And just like the goose variety, ostrich down is softer, more pliable, and more valuable than run-of-the-mill feathers. Forget cheap synthetic dusters, brightly dyed chicken-feather dusters, or even regular ostrich feathers. They don’t work. Ostrich down works, but it’s not cheap. Expect to pay more for a good ostrich-down duster.
The length of the feathers isn’t of primary importance; softness and flexibility are. Don’t get too large a duster for normal households. Two-foot-long feathers are almost impossible to maneuver into tight spots without knocking over almost everything in sight.
To avoid stirring up dust, it’s essential to use the right dusting technique.
Pull the feathers along the dusty surface, using a steady, even stroke, and come to a dead stop at the end of the surface. The dust is attracted to the feathers by static electricity.
Shake out accumulated dust from the feathers by tapping the duster against your ankle every once in a while. The dust settles to the floor, where you can later vacuum it up.
By the way, feather dusters only work well when used to maintain a basically clean home. If your home (I mean other people’s homes – not yours, of course😂) hasn’t been dusted in six months, you (I mean they😏) must remove the accumulated dust with a vacuum or by wet-cleaning with a cloth. Then a feather duster can be employed on a regular basis.
Even if you have an ostrich-down duster and use it skillfully, you’ll still have to polish and wipe occasionally. For example, you may be able to dust a seldom-used end table with a feather duster for weeks at a stretch, but eventually you’ll have to reach for the furniture polish and a cloth to remove dust thoroughly and to enhance the surface shine. It’s the same with baseboards. You can dust them most of the time with a feather duster, but they’ll need an occasional swipe with Red Juice and a cleaning cloth to stay clean. And you would never use a feather duster on a dining table that’s used three times a day. That table needs furniture polish and a polishing cloth or a good wiping each time you clean.
Bottom line: Yes, a feather duster works well IF it’s a high-quality product and the correct technique is used. Give one a try!
Cleaning Myths vs. Facts
by Amy Sardone on Oct 11, 2024
If you have wood or other hard-surface floors in rooms besides the kitchen and bathrooms, and if you have one or more dust bunnies of any species, you should own a dust mop. (Kitchen and bathroom floors should be wet-mopped.) The floor attachment to a vacuum does a pretty good job of removing dust and debris from hard floors, but the vacuum doesn’t “wipe” the surface of the floor the same way a dust mop does. Imagine vacuuming the top of a dusty glass table instead of wiping it with a cloth, and you will understand the difference between vacuuming and dust-mopping a floor. Also, a vacuum doesn’t restore the floor’s shine the way a dust mop does.
The best treatment for floors is a combination of both: vacuum the floors most of the time, and dust-mop only occasionally. If your home has a rug over most of the hardwood, the hardwood is usually exposed for a foot or two around the edge of the rug. In such rooms, a dust mop isn’t as effective as a vacuum. If you get a dust mop, though, make sure it is small enough to fit into that border without touching the carpet. This works usually if you just turn the dust mop sideways and push forward as usual.
ECO FRIENDLY FLOORING
Do you have cork or bamboo floors? Our microfiber wet/dry mop is perfect for this use. It comes with a microfiber dry dust mop pad and microfiber wet mop pads that you can use slightly dampened with your favorite appropriate cleaner or better yet – just plain water. You can swap the pads out and finish your floors quickly. Check out all the floor care products online!
Cleaning Myths vs. Facts
3 Things to Know about Disinfecting and Sanitizing Because . . . Here comes cold and flu season!
by Amy Sardone on Oct 11, 2024
Cue the “Theme from Jaws” . . . the viruses are sneaking up on us! We often think of something as clean if it looks clean. But there’s that other kind of “clean” that we have to be vigilant about at all times and especially during cold and flu season. Today we’re talking about hard surface hygiene, a term borrowed from the American Cleaning Institute. You know – countertops, toilets, door and cabinet handles, floors, keyboards, etc.
Consider this, most people use disinfectants incorrectly. This can cause a “superbug” that is 12 times more resistant to antibiotics by spraying and wiping with harsh chemicals that only kill the weakest bacteria, leaving behind the strongest, toughest germs, research shows. The surviving strong mutate and multiply, creating a super bug environment that is even harder to clean. Here are some facts:
1. Pathogens (illness-causing microorganisms) are invisible, so when you clean a surface with the intent to kill as much of the nasty things as possible, wipe down the entire surface. Be thorough. Have you ever seen a demonstration of how far vapor from a sneeze or droplets from a flushed toilet travel?
2. There is indeed a difference between disinfecting and sanitizing. Disinfectants, which can also be called antimicrobials, kill most pathogenic microorganisms when used correctly. The problem is, disinfectants are rarely used correctly, creating a worse environment rather than eliminating the problem. Sanitizers kill some of the pathogens, reducing their numbers to a safer level.
3. Remove visible dirt/food/spills on a surface before disinfecting or sanitizing to give the pathogen-killing agent the best chance to work on the surface itself. Or be liberal with your use of a cleaner with a pathogen-killing agent built in. Check the product label for how long the surface must stay wet in order to kill bacteria and viruses. This is where most products fail when dwell time is ignored. Dwell time is just not practical for most general cleaning, therefore making things worse rather than better.
For every day cleaning, the safest method of cleaning up spills, crumbs, and household grime is to use a nontoxic all purpose cleaner like Red Juice and a microfiber towel. Our heavy duty cleaner – degreaser gets the job done without harsh chemicals that only kill the weakest bacteria. The microfiber towel picks up the grime and holds it in the towel, rather than smearing it around the surface, like when paper towels are used in cleaning. For a healthier way to disinfect tile floors, grout, showers, and more consider our amazing steam cleaner, the Vapamore Steam Cleaner.
We’ve talked in previous posts about the fact that microfiber cloths are so incredible that they even pick up bacteria and viruses. Speed Cleaning has wonderful, high-quality cloths and dusters that last through hundreds of washings. That makes microfiber a good choice for cleaning around the house during cold and flu season.
Oh, and don’t forget a flu shot. We hope you and your family stay well! So, do you feel armed and ready???
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