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Household items that you can forget to clean.

by Cleaning Tips

Out of sight out of mind is the saying.  If you can’t see it then others won’t see it and does it need to be factored into your cleaning routine

There are some items in the home that we can just forget to clean.

The Bathroom Extractor Fan

When we the last time you eve though to you yourself I must give my extractor fans a good clean. Extractor fans are one of the most annoying things to clean in your home, they are up high in bathrooms so often out of sight.  But they collect dust and lots of it! The dust soon clogs up and they no longer become effective!  Take a duster or hoover nozzle to them weekly stretch up high and give them a dust. If the dust has really built up get up there with an old mascara brush or ear bud to release the dirt.

Devices/TV remotes

We spend so much time on our devices these day but how often do you clean them? Simply wipe then daily with a antibacterial cleaner and a microfiber cloth to keep those germs at bay. Just think your phone can often be put on some very dirty coffee tables when out and about. Did you know that your phone carries more germs than a toilet seat?

Lights/Lamp shades

Light fittings are highly neglected when it comes to cleaning. Make a point monthly of simply giving them a wipe using a microfiber cloth or duster. Make sure the light is turned off as you don’t want a nasty accident. For lampshades grab a lint roller and go over them do gently pick up any settled dust.

Door frames

Dust really settles on internal door frames so make a point of a dry dusting session weekly to and go around all your door frames. You will be surprised at what you see on your cloth!.When people visit your home they can be sneaky and do the door frame test so be prepared!

PVC around doors and windows

As much as we clean our windows and doors sometimes the frames can be neglected, grubby finger marks and marks from opening and closing and coming in and out can easily occur.  I find a damp cloth and a tiny amount of cream cleaner work really at keeping PVC looking really clean and bright.

Brooms, hoovers and dusters

Things that clean for you need to be cleaned!There’s no point cleaning with a dirty tools! Soak your broom and duster heads in water mixed with washing up liquid and dry naturally outside or on the windows sill and then with your hoover make sure you empty the dust or change the bag weekly and give it a rinse through.

Washing Machine

Mould and residue can build up inside your washing machine, so run some white wine vinegar through it on a regular basis or some specialist washing machine cleaner. If your machine needs a deeper clean CLICK HERE

Shower curtain

I get so many questions about shower curtains have an orange effect on the bottom. This is often caused by limescale.  Take your shower curtain down every so often and pop alone in the washing machine with white wine vinegar rather than detergent.  After use always make sure you pull it and allow it to dry keeping your bathroom window open so it can really air dry.

House plants

You may think its a bit bizarre to hoover your house plants but dust really does settle on those leave.  Give them a light nozzle hoover or wipe over with a micro fibre cloth.

Behind the loo

You may keep the pan and the seat nice and clean but how often do you get on your hands and knees and get right to the back of your toilet?  Get down and dirty weekly to keep your toilet in tip-top conditioner and dust free. Have you read my guide on how to give your toilet a proper clean

I would be really interested to know what you forget to clean?

Thanks for reading
Lynsey Queen of Clean xoxox

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What are some of the dirtiest items in your home?

by Cleaning Tips

Everything we touch daily is covered in millions of living bacteria but not a lot of us know how often we should clean the items we use all the time. Some bacteria is actually good for our immune system but on the other side of the spectrum some can make us really sick. Germs can spread from person to person and from person to surface. Hand washing is so important and so many still go to the toilet and do not wash their hands.

Did you know?

Your bed

That you sleep in every night is covered in dead skin and your pillow case can contain more germs than your toilet seat.and your sheets can contain more germs than your bathroom door handle!  How disgusting is that. I am always asked about yellow pillows and this explains all, always use pillow protectors and ensure you wash your bedding at least one a week.  Fresh air in the bedroom too can really help and keep the bacteria from spreading and go deeper and deeper into your mattress. You should turn your mattress every six months and get a new mattress every seven years. Over time your mattress can become heavy from dead skin, gallons of sweat and millions of dust mites so make sure you hoover your mattress too or use a mattress cleaning system.

TV remote

Is one of the most commonly overlooked household objects that nearly everyone comes into contact multiple times per day. Your remote gets dropped on the floor, lost in the couch, coughed on, sneezed on, spilled on, and covered with any number of sticky messes. Most remotes are not designed to be easily cleanable and some TV remotes with a lot of nooks and crannies can’t be cleaned well even if you try to do so. ensure you wipe over your TV remote daily and spray with an antibacterial cleaner.  Always wash your hand when you come into the home or after using the bathroom to help keep the build up or germs and bacteria at bay.

Mobile phone and tablet

It’s a well-known fact that phones and tablets are dirty objects, but just how unclean are they? each square inch of your phone or tablet contains roughly 25,000 germs making it one of the filthiest things you come in contact with on a daily basis. That’s something to think about the next time you press your face to your phone. I tend to wipe mine over a few times a day with an antibacterial spray plus I also remove the case and place this in warm soapy water.  If your out and about having a coffee use handy handbag cleaning wipes to clean the table before you put your phone down and have an area in your handbag just for your phone or tablet.

Makeup Brushes

This is an important one. You need to be cleaning your brushes and sponges at least once a week. Among the nasty bacteria living in the bristles on sponge is Streptococcus, which can cause strep throat, scarlet fever and impetigo. If you are suddenly suffering from acne, pimple or an outbreak of spots then your makeup brushes could be the problem. Wash with baby shampoo or swirl in some olive oil.

Dish Cloths

The most important thing you need to know is that your dish cloth is most likely dirtier than your toilet flush handle or button. Soak daily in bleach or an antibacterial cleaner.  Sponges can go in the dishwasher too.

Washing Machines and Dishwashers

You would think that because these are constantly filled with soapy water then they are clean  but your wrong. These items keep your cloths and plates clean so they need to be cleaned on a regular basis. Think of all the dirt they pull off daily! A dishwasher can contain E.coli and pathogens that lead to infections of the urinary tract and skin. You should place a cup of vinegar and run through a hot water cycle weekly add in a drop of lemon juice too to create a fresh clean smell and with your washing machine keep the seal clean and run an empty cycle weekly..Read my Washing Machine Care feature and How to look after your dishwasher

Toothbrushes

In my opinion you need to change your toothbrush monthly as they are pron millions of oral bacteria. Did you know that when you flush the toilet chain and don’t put the lid down first, particles of toilet water, including faecal matter can spray up to 6 feet and land on your tooth-brush! Gross!  But this is true try to keep it in a cupboard or as far away from the toilet as you can. Its important to give your bathroom an Intense clean once a week, take a look at how I do mine CLICK HERE

Good habits like taking your shoes off before walking through the house and washing your hands after using the bathroom or touching raw food can help the amount of germs that build up in your home.

As always Thank you for reading
Lynsey Queen of Clean xoxo

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Stop clutter coming into your home.

by Home Organising

Are you fed up with the constant stream of clutter coming into your home? I hate having loose items on the side that really don’t have a home and I am sure you do too.

A few ideas

I have put together a simple list if ideas to hopefully stop clutter clogging up your home.

Make sure you have plenty of bins so you can put rubbish in them straight away rather than leave lying around.

Empty your bag or coat pocket as soon as you come home so the rubbish is dealt with straight away.

When you receive items through the post that come in big packaging break the boxes up straight away and take straight out to the recycling bin.  You don’t want these lying around taking up room.

Have a recycling box by the back door and empty this daily.

Do one extra organising job each day on top of normal cleaning. For example clean out a drawer or cupboard that’s become cluttered this way it doesn’t get so out of control.

Cancel any magazine subscriptions that you no longer need,  stopping the need of unwanted magazines and leaflets coming in.

Register with MPS online to stop receiving junk mail. https://www.mpsonline.org.uk. alternatively add a note to your front door alerting people not to put junk mail through.

Only purchase what you need.  Stop buying on impulse and bringing items into the home that you don’t really need.  When you visit the shops list the items you need and stick to it.  Don’t be tempted with offers.

Say NO to useless freebies that you pick up at exhibitions and trade fairs  How many branded pens do you really need.

Ask for receipts via email.  Most shops are offering this service these days and it is such a great idea.

Don’t pick up takeaway and restaurant menus as most are available online.

When the children bring in letters from school with important dates on, add into your phone calendar or dairy and disregard the letter.

Avoid going to sales, most of the time you impulse buy for the sake of it.

Buy a good mesh shopping bag that easily fits into your hand bag rather than having a store cupboard full of empty carrier bags.

Reducing filing by scanning and saving copies of warranty documents, important receipts, letters etc. One back up hard drive or flash drive takes up far less space than piles of paper.

Put things away. You quickly see whether you have room or not and if you don’t, something has to go.

Follow this rule. If something comes in, then something goes out.

If you need a bit more motivation check out my 50 things you need to throw guide.

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The many uses of Bicarbonate of soda in the home

by Cleaning Tips

As you can see from my Instagram posts I use a lot of Bicarbonate of soda in my daily cleaning.  This idea came from my great Nan who always had pots of it around the kitchen and I have memories of watching her sprinkle it all over the house.

Its a natural chemical free way of cleaning so with this you know you are being good to the environment and your home. Keeping toxins at bay.

Mattress 

Bicarbonate of soda will eliminate nasty smells so a monthly sprinkle on the mattress will keep you nice and fresh.  Lightly sprinkle over the mattress and leave for approx one hour.  Then using the mattress attachment from you vacuum, vacuum up the bicarbonate of soda.

Carpets and Rugs

Again like the mattress this will help eliminate any smells, lightly sprinkle onto the carpet area, you can use sieve if you like and spread evenly.  Leave to sit for approx 1 hour and then vacuum up. Make sure you vacuum in a few different directions so as you don’t leave any in the carpet pile.

Kitchen sink

Cut a lemon in half and sprinkle Bicarbonate of soda onto the lemon half so as you cover the whole half and then give the lemon a tiny squeeze. A fizz will appear now gently run the lemon half all over the sink and then rinse with boiling water.  This will give your sink a fabulous shine and smell.

Tupperware

Spread an even layer over stained Tupperware and leave overnight with boiled water and watch this disappear.

Whitening agent

Add a spoonful into your wash with your whites and watch your whites comes back to life. This works particular well with white trainers and converse.

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Fridge

Add a small bowl of Bicarbonate of Soda and leave this in the fridge to keep nasty smells away.

Plug Holes

Pour 200 ml of bicarbonate of soda down the plug holes every week along with boiling water to keep your sink and systems fresh.

BBQ Grills 

Sprinkle Bicarbonate of soda onto BBQ Grill and this will help loosen the grim and enable less scrubbing.

Grout

With a toothbrush or a sonic Scrubber mix Bicarbonate of soda with a little Lemon and use to clean the grout in between tiles.

Mugs

Bicarbonate of soda works great on tea stained mugs.  Sprinkle into the bottom, leave for 15 minutes and then rinse with warm water.

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