Sometimes, a cleaning project needs a little more than a hand tool to get the job done. Sometimes, you need the power of a machine. That is why every homeowner who is serious about keeping a clean house should own or rent regularly a carpet cleaning machine. I personally own a Bissell carpet shampoo machine. I keep it is a closet next to my vacuum cleaner and use it on a regular basis. As a result, my carpets always look like new.
My Bissell model is called the 2X Select Deep Cleaner. This model has a 12 row brushing system that allows you to clean your carpets deep down. Other features that I like include the ability to select the level of clean you desire. There are several modes for carpet cleaning including heavy traffic, normal cleaning, light cleaning, and a water rinse. You can choose how much shampoo and how deep the brushes act depending on the situation. This model also has a built in heater to maximize the effectiveness of the carpet shampoos. Most cleaners work better with hot water activation.
There is a TurboBrush attachment that makes it easy to clean carpeted stairs or in between large piece of furniture. I also use this attachment to clean in hard to reach corners. The machine can be used to clean non-carpeted surfaces as well. There is a cleaning mode for cleaning tile or laminate floors. That is one reason that I like this machine in particular. I can clean all my floors without having to change equipment. It can be done with the flip of a switch. Another nice feature is the EdgeSweep. There are small brushes that extend to the sides of the machine that allow you to clean that small strip of carpet along walls that is usually missed with other carpet cleaning machines.
Overall, this is a fantastic machine that I am glad to have in my cleaning arsenal.
Cleaning brushes are one of the most important cleaning tools you can have for almost any cleaning project. They provide more force than a cloth and they can clean deep down in crevasses and in corners much better than a cloth or sponge. There are several attributes of brushes that make one better suited to a particular job over another. You need to consider the shape of the brush, the hardness of the bristles, and the shape and length of the handle.
First, the shape of the brush needs to be considered. Some brushes are rectangular, others taper off at one end into a point, and others are circular. Some brushes are large and others are smaller than a toothbrush. You need to look at the area you want to clean and consider how large it is, if there are corners, sections under cabinets, alcoves, or grout to clean. Once you consider all of those conditions, it will be easier for you to choose the appropriate cleaning brush. Sometimes, one job will need more than one brush. For example, tile and grout cleaning equipment can include a large brush to clean the majority of the tile and grout and a smaller one to get into the corners and under cabinets.
The bristles hardness is another factor to think about carefully. Soft brushes are appropriate for some cleaning projects where you are concerned about scratching whatever it is you are trying to clean. Jewelry for example, should be cleaned with a soft bristled brush like a soft toothbrush. Other jobs require very hard metal bristles. Cleaning your grill will require a brush like that because often the grime is very hard to remove and you are not concerned with damaging the grill since the parts you are scrubbing are made of metal. A medium hard bristled brush is probably the most common and used in the most types of cleaning. Medium hard bristles are hard enough to scrub materials, but not so hard that they would damage anything.
Finally, you need to think about the handle. What good is any cleaning tool if it is too difficult to hold and hard to use? Some brushes come with short handles that require you to be close to whatever it is you are cleaning and others have very long handles. If you have a longer handles, sometimes it is more difficult to scrub vigorously, but it does save your knees because short handled brushes require you to be on your hands and knees to use them properly.
Sponges are an essential part of any homemaker’s cleaning arsenal. You probably at least use a sponge to clean your dishes. They are cheap, efficient at scrubbing, and they come in almost any shape or size so it is easy to find one for any job. One thing that most people do not think about when it comes to using sponges for cleaning is the fact that the average sponge sitting on someone’s countertop or in someone’s sink has more bacteria on it than the average toilet. What?!?! I know, when I heard that statistic, it made me want to go throw away the sponge in my kitchen.
Sponges can carry up to ten million bacteria. They can even carry some of the scarier germs like Salmonella, E-Coli, or Staphylococcus. People have been known to die from infections of these bacteria. Do not be discouraged, though, there is a way to sterilize your sponges so that you can continue to use them safely. First, remember to go through this sterilization procedure once every other day so. I would recommend that you put your sponge in the microwave for 2 minutes on high. This will kill about 99 percent of the offending bacteria. I would also run your sponge through the dishwasher each time you run it. The high temperatures and soap will help to sterilize your sponge.
Once you get over the fact that sponges can carry around germs and things that will make you sick, then you can concentrate on the fact that a sponge will clean almost anything. Their flexibility makes it easy to get into hard to reach areas, and they can be used with any kind of cleaner. Sponges will not scratch like the bristles of a brush, and they are reusable. You can use the same sponge for quite a long time before replacing it if you are careful to rinse it out after each use. Overall, sponges are a great cleaning tool.
One tool that many people forget when it comes time to do some spring cleaning is a good pair of gloves. There are several reasons why you might want to wear gloves while cleaning. First, you probably do not want to touch or come in contact with many of the things you will be cleaning. When cleaning grout or the tile in a shower for example, there could be mold and mildew present. You do not want to touch these things with your bare skin if you can help it. This is especially important if you have allergies. People with allergies can have severe reactions to mold and/or mildew.
A second reason that you should wear gloves while cleaning is that you do not want your skin to get dried out from contact with various cleaners. No matter what kind of cleaning products you use, they will probably dry out your skin if you immerse your hands in them for any amount of time. The harsh chemicals we use to clean bathroom or kitchens can be very damaging to skin.
Finally, the chemicals in cleaners are sometimes toxic. If you are not wearing gloves, it is easier for you to touch your eyes or mouth without thinking about it. The possibility for ingesting or getting chemicals in your eyes is significant. When I am wearing gloves, I am less likely to touch any part of my body. It is as if the gloves are a physical reminder that I am handling that could be harmful to me.
A simple cleaning project that you can do daily that will make a huge difference in the overall cleanliness of your home is to dust. It does not take long, and you will be amazed at the difference in how clean your house is if you dust often. Furniture, ledges, and pictures, gleam when they are free of dust. Dust can cast an overall dinginess in your home. Even if you scrub your floors, vacuum, and clean your windows every week, your home still won’t seem as clean as it will if you dust often.
There are several methods for dusting. Some people just wipe things down with a clean rag and others use feather dusters. I myself do not like using feather dusters because I feel that they just push the dust back up into the air. After a little while, it just settles again. If you use a cloth, you can do so with or without the help of furniture polish. Of course, you cannot use furniture polish on every surface, but it is good for wooden furniture, baseboards, window ledges, etc. Be careful not to use too much. It is not necessary to cover an entire tabletop with furniture polish. If you spray a little on the cloth and then wipe down the surface you are trying to clean, that should get the job done.
If you use furniture polish, I would recommend only using it once a week or a little less. The rest of the time you can use a clean rag alone. If you keep up on your dusting regimen you will notice the overall cleanliness of your home get better. In addition, if you suffer from indoor allergies, you will notice a difference in your health as well.
Brooms are a tool that you can use in almost any non-carpeted room in your house and even outdoors. They are an essential cleaning tool for every domicile. A general definition of a broom is a collection of bristles that are attached to a handle so that they are parallel. To go along with your broom or brooms, you will need a dustpan. There are many different kinds of brooms including ones for indoors and ones for outdoors. Some of the qualities that differentiate brooms are the materials of construction, shape of the broom head, and length of the bristles.
Brooms bristles originally were made of cornhusks, but the materials have become much more varied as the years have passed. Plastic is a popular choice because it is durable yet flexible enough that you can easily sweep under the edge of cabinets or around the legs of chairs and tables. Sometime, the corn brooms are too stiff and it is difficult to get into corners. The fibrous strands of a corn broom, naturally trap even very small particles of dirt. On the other hand, plastic brooms are often treated with chemicals that help attract dirt and dust.
Some brooms are put together so that all the bristles are the same length resulting in a shape where the broom is straight across the bottom. Others are put together such that some of the bristles are shorter than others and you get an angled bottom. The angled bottom allows for easier reach into corners, around furniture, and under cabinets. Some people think that the angled broom bottom actually helps the broom’s function. The angled bristle shape allows you to reach further with the broom and still get good leverage.
