Don’t have the time or energy to clean your house? Would you rather have your house professionally cleaned like a 5 star hotel? Sounds like you need Totally Bright’s affordable home cleaning service.
How Often Should You Deep Clean Your House?
Getting Down to the Nitty Gritty of Deep Cleaning
If keeping up with general housekeeping chores wasn’t difficult enough with today’s ultra-hectic lifestyles, you may be finding yourself looking the other way when it comes to how often you should be giving the rest of your home a really good, deep clean. It’s a pickle more an more Aussie’s are finding themselves in with so many demands on your time to juggle.
Experts agree that as homes get busier year after year, we are increasingly losing the battle against allergens and grime.
So, just how much cleaning is enough and how often do you do a thorough cleaning?
Basics Deep Cleaning Checklist
- Microwave (Weekly)
- Bathtubs, Showers, Toilets, Bathmats (Weekly)
- Carpets (Weekly)
- Refrigerator (Monthly)
- Oven (Monthly or when it looks or smells dirty)
- Pillows (Quarterly)
- Skirting Boards (Quarterly)
- Windows, Blinds and Drapes (Quarterly)
- Mattresses and Bedding Protectors (Twice Yearly)
- Shower Heads (Yearly)
Better ways to spend your Saturday?
We get it! Why not put up your feet and book a regular weekly, fortnightly or monthly home cleaning service or even a whole house spring cleaning service with Totally Bright and let us take care of the rest? Call us or book a clean online today.
Kitchen Deep Cleaning Tasks
Refrigerator – the trusty family fridge often gets neglected until something smells or leaks. Ideally you want to clean it out once a month to keep on top of food spills, meat juices that have leaked and rotting vegetables (which can all result in bacterial contamination). Removing all food and washing down all shelves and drawers with an antibacterial wipe will not only deter bacteria from spreading, it will also help to keep track of expired foods.
Oven – In between deep cleanings, a wipe down can keep this area under control and remove drops and splashes. However, if your oven begins to smell like last week’s lasagne (or last month’s) or smells of smoke, it’s an indicator that it’s time for a thorough cleaning.
Microwave – Food splatters and residual moisture may serve as a breeding ground for germs (hello funky microwave smell). A proper cleaning of your microwave and turntable once a week should eliminate any previously overlooked splashes.
Bathroom Deep Cleaning Tasks
Baths and Showers – Keep nasty mould and mildew under control with a weekly clean of baths and showers. Once these nasties take hold, they can wreak havoc on your property and health.
Bathtubs and showers have a warm and moist atmosphere that is ideal for the growth of bacteria and fungus that cause skin infections.
Bathmats – These should be cleaned once a week. A fabric bathmat, like the shower, can serve as a juicy spongy breeding ground for bacteria and fungus. To kill any harmful pests, use a sanitising wash and hang the mat to dry in direct sunlight.
Toilets – Most households will get away with spraying an antibacterial agent over the cistern, buttons, and toilet seat; deep cleaning the toilet weekly with a cleaner and toilet brush to extract stains and mineral deposits is recommended.
Showerheads – These should be cleaned or replaced once a year. Removing the showerhead and bathing it in a descaling product will aid in the removal of internal mineral build-up and restore the showerhead to its former glory.
Bedroom Deep Cleaning Tasks
Mattresses – The good old mattress often gets neglected until its old, grey and lumpy, but ideally you need to give it some love every 6 months. The mattress, like pillows, can absorb and trap body fluids, dead skin, allergens, dust mites, and even bed bugs in its fibres. Get your mattress professionally steam washed every six months to keep it smelling fresh and hygeinic.
Pillows – Since you spend about one-third of your time in bed, it makes sense to scrub your pillows on a regular basis to remove dead skin, oil, dirt, allergens, dust mites, and their nests. Give them the once over every quarter and you’ll sleep soundly and keep dust mites at bay.
Duvets and blankets – Clean thee every six months. If they’re too big and heavy for your washing machine, a good tip is to check if the nearest laundromat has extra-large laundry machines that are ideal for large duvets and blankets.
Living Areas Deep Cleaning Tasks
Carpets – should be vacuumed once a week, with a deep clean every six to twelve months. Cleaning your carpets can be essential as often as twice a year, depending on your lifestyle. A family of small children and/or pets may notice that they need to get their floor coverings washed more often to keep up with stains, dust, and tracked-in grime, so it’s better to hire a professional home carpet cleaner.
Skirting Boards – A quarterly vacuum and scrub over skirting boards with a brush applicator is great and will clear the dense layer of dust and allergens that often collect on this element.
Windows, blinds and drapes – should be cleaned every three to six months. To remove grime, have the windows and drapes professionally cleaned every six months. Every three months, clean and wipe down blinds and woodwork.
If your home needs a thorough cleaning but you lack the time or stamina to handle such a large task, leave it to the professionals and contact our experienced house cleaning team today!
6 Red Flags of a Poor House Cleaning Service
House Cleaning Services - How to Choose the Right One
It’s sad, but it’s true: several house cleaning services are out there trying to make a quick buck at your expense. In reality, it is one of the primary reasons why homeowners fail to reap the many benefits of hiring a reputable house cleaning service.
When people don’t know how to choose a reputable maid service, they often abandon the notion entirely. If you find yourself in the same situation, we are here to help. The trick to avoiding hiring a poor home cleaning service is to recognise the warning signs. What exactly are these red flags you should be on the lookout for? Continue reading to find out.
1. Very Low Rates
We are all aware that both reliability and quality comes at a cost. This is not to suggest that cheap house cleaning firms cannot be trusted; but, if a business offers you a ridiculously low price for their services, odds are they have ulterior motives. It’s frightening to think that these ridiculously low prices could be their means of gaining access to your home in order to rob valuable items or, worse, hurt you.
Startup cleaning companies, on the other hand, aim to sell their services at drastically reduced prices in order to attract revenue and, as a result, the confidence of their customers. As a result, it is not fair to label all low-cost house cleaning services as untrustworthy; rather, take it as a warning sign, do your homework, and then make your final decision. Without conducting a detailed background search on the maid service in question, it is impossible to draw conclusions about the business’s credibility and honesty.
2. They have not been registered.
Legitimate cleaning companies are required by state law to be licenced and to pay taxes. Unregistered home cleaning services, on the other hand, are free to do whatever they want to maximise income by avoiding taxes. Such illegal activities are the first indication that you are working with individuals who lack credibility.
Furthermore, since the company or house cleaner is not a licenced business, it is difficult to keep them responsible in the event of fraud or injury. In this situation, responsibility is quickly diverted to the client, who chose to use an unregistered maid service at their own risk. Before proceeding with any recruiting process, request evidence of identification to insure that the cleaning business is legal and operating in accordance with state laws.
3. Their house cleaners aren't insured.
Unexpected circumstances must be factored in when employing a professional house cleaning service. These may take the form of actual or unintentional injury to the homeowners incurred by the house cleaner, or vice versa. As a result, all parties must be covered in the event of an accident or, in the case of the landlord, burglary, fraud, or property destruction.
House cleaners must be insured and bonded for this and other reasons. It is also necessary to remember that these policies must be updated yearly, so homeowners can request evidence that the house cleaners are properly insured. Simply put, house cleaners that aren’t licenced or bonded by the cleaning company should be avoided at all costs! This is a massive red flag that can not be overlooked when searching for a trustworthy and dependable home cleaning service.
4. They have not been equipped with appropriate cleaning tools and products.
A professional cleaning service is well-prepared; a great one is well-equipped with high-end cleaning equipment and a large selection of high-quality cleaning materials. Of necessity, certain clients request that the house cleaner use their equipment and materials, which they may have chosen based on their personal preferences. Some households, for example, choose to use only items with specific fragrances and/or non-toxic cleaning products. However, m ost professional cleaning services, on the other hand, invest in various forms of cleaning equipment and supplies to insure that they are well equipped to do any house cleaning job.
Getting such spotless cleaning results is difficult without the use of specialised equipment and high-quality cleaning materials. Unfortunately, companies trying to save money will not buy their own equipment/cleaning products, and will instead blame the homeowner’s lack of professional appliances and cleaning supplies on poor cleaning results. It’s a tried-and-true way for poor house cleaning services to get away with substandard cleaning results while still being paid for their “efforts.” When comparing various home cleaning services in your area, bear this warning sign in mind.
5. Cleaners Have Not Been Vetted
You must be certain that the experienced cleaner who will be visiting your home is someone you can fully trust. After all, this person will be entering every room in your house, whether or not you are there. Reputable home cleaning services prioritise the welfare and wellbeing of their clients as well as their homes, and as a result, they hire fair and trustworthy house cleaners. To accomplish this, each cleaner is thoroughly background checked and always comes with glowing reviews.
If the cleaning company you are considering hiring recruits any Tom, Dick, or Harry to be a member of their cleaning staff, your family’s and home’s protection and security are potentially compromised. Aside from that, unvetted cleaners are normally novice or poorly trained, and therefore do not offer reliable service. So, only employ house cleaners who have undergone a thorough screening procedure and are professional and experienced in the cleaning industry.
6. The Company Makes Use Of Subcontractors
To understand why certain cleaning companies subcontract services to individual house cleaners or other companies, you must first understand how much time and resources it takes to run a full-service cleaning company. Investing in quality equipment and cleaning supplies, training house cleaners, acquiring insurance, paying taxes, and so forth are all examples of overhead costs.
On the flip side, when a cleaning company uses subcontractors, they cannot be held directly accountable for bad service, or are liable in the event of injury and/or theft. In fact, the business serves only as an advertiser, with the subcontractor doing all of the work. Clients that are unaware that a third party has been hired to clean their home run a risk of dealing with incompetent and unregistered house cleaners. That being said, if the company can confirm that the subcontractors are properly trained, insured, trustworthy, and so on, one can feel confident in hiring them.
Lastly don’t let the “bad” ones deter you from finding a great house cleaning service. All you have to do is avoid maid services with major red flags and give the green light to a respectable and trusted cleaning company!
Better ways to spend your Saturday?
We get it! Why not put up your feet and book a regular weekly, fortnightly or monthly home cleaning service or even a whole house spring cleaning service with Totally Bright and let us take care of the rest? Call us or book a clean online today.