Cleaning

hallo!

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61Yeo58R%2BwL.jpg

The feather duster has always felt so fun to me - when I was a kid I used to dust my Grandma's house all the time! I have my own now :D

This thing is more fun because it works better than the feather duster! It doesn't just get dust in your face, it collects it! Then you can go outside and shake some of it off and it's like new again.
Please tell me this isn't wrong. How often does one replace these things?

I used to have a feather duster and it got dust all up in my face, so I think that was when I made the brave switch to...paper towels. :-/

I have a feather duster, but even w/ dusting spray, it mostly scatters dust around.

I was skeptical of that type of duster, LL, b/c I thought it wouldn't collect dust, but it's good to hear that it does.

afaict it totally works
i don't do the white glove test or anything but i guess i could if it would convince you!

thinking about those magic erasers -- are they to get fingerprints off walls and stuff like that?

OH MY GOD THOSE THINGS ARE AWESOME

But be careful b/c they will remove paint and you'll wind up with off-looking spots.

But they are truly fucking miraculous. I thought they would be a scam, but they are completely amazing.

And don't mind the haterz who say shit about "oh but they're made from *chemicals*! and a toddler touched one and it burned the toddler to the ground!" They are made from glass (not a joke) and that toddler had been scrubbing its skin with the sponge, which is very effective at removing what it rubs.

I get tons of marks off walls just by lightly scrubbing with a damp sponge btw, so maybe try that first?

if i do that there are always drips and slop marks around the place that i scrubbed -- am i doing it wrong? the paint is super matte and shows little marks very easily
i want to paint eventually (know when and where and how i'm starting, but it's just not that time yet) and in the meantime all i see are fingerprints on the wall

i thought maybe the magic eraser would be the solution to my problem

It will probably work better than a sponge. Glad you're going to paint. Super matte paint is a ridiculous thing to use on the walls of rooms where human beings will exist and likely touch things. That comment is directed towards every cheap ass landlord I've ever had.

yeah maybe try a magic eraser gently in an inconspicuous spot first just to see if it works. but they work really well, I use them to get scuff marks out of the vinyl floor all the time...and sometimes I use them to clean the stove when I'm feeling lazy :D

IME the Magic Eraser will fuck up super matte paint and leave shiny spots.

I use a dusting mitt like this:

http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/public/UaGLS1Kucc16ItBF5sA7DTVOgulU-gHfO0SdN9DXRHas51hb399IyGZLsdiAcFEmxiH4CvSRw_5qPyQhNomt6pr6EGsTyvZ8Q0Yo4gF0xrWVMn1z5vpqMLD1lBcyj8oz2SOqt7FKjUQTQDKHHtprmIJBvTqad5d31QUxW2qtZezc73eCQaZTz1vGkWU9KdNU83K29MiNo3D7wRC1AO7IJz7WgrRG_jwPZNuF0Bt__IzliK9tx9zAML6SryzfBMltJstOx_NuILOXgI-xQxuVF3MY4fj4G700SH2zWakRHjgqjohXfNv8iCOS211FF7sdIdcPzzCf2dqtOuxp1on3he70aUUhdgHly3hJ0jZ7aYaOHR0RgO1LidfOC_3O7iocaHzl1mdYuwXV8-YoRxLcB5C1cPOlbyWGTQnlzZbSTmISBp2TIauIa5RaJKD8fNQZrwmuBwKll-jnRth1=s220-c

It's pretty sweet!

ooh I got a microfibre dust mop from the CloudMop line ...damn that thing works great on hardwood floors. Catches SO much dust! Even when you think it looks kinda clean already.

i have a steam mop and i really like it

i bought a mr clean eraser mop - it worked great on my scungy vinyl floor! except I could only use it once becuase one of the little plastic attachement screws was stripped, and it kept popping out of the mop!
so I have to send away to the company and get them to replace it for me. jerks.

on the calendar for tomorrow: mop floors, clean tubs
have already dusted and swept floors 1x this week

if it gets to be too tedious, i may ask you tell me about this steam mop
atm i am still mildly enjoying the physical act of mopping but at the corners of my vision i can see it getting old

i have never been much of a fan of mopping either, feel u LL

i have been wiping down the bathroom sink every day with paper towel ... it's feeling habit forming!

honestly making a concerted effort at tidiness & it's not as boring as i thought

Cleaned the bathroom woodwork with a magic eraser this morning, especially where the cats rub against the door frame and paw frantically to GET IN THERE.

As I've mentioned, we hire a housecleaner to clean every other week. However, IMO, in between her visits certain areas of our house get pretty scrungy, especially the bathroom. I have devised a way to in-between clean the bathroom in about 15 minutes that may be useful to some of you. This is also good for when you you have company coming and don't have time to clean for real.

You will need:
Broom or vacuum
Two rags
Toilet cleaner and toilet brush
Disposable cleaning/disinfectant wipes (like these, but any brand) of at least two more rags
Spray cleaner of your choice

Step one:
Close the shower curtain. You're not going to clean the tub since it's probably fine until the next time you properly clean and closing the curtain makes the bathroom look neater and also hides the 28 different kinds of conditioner you've accumulated in the last six months.

Step two:
Take all of the linens out of the bathroom. Bath towels, hand towels, guest towels, wash cloths, bathroom rugs. Throw them in the hall. PRO TIP: Buy two washable cotton bathroom rugs so you can have a clean one ready to go.

Step three:
Take everything that is on the floor (except the toilet brush) out of the bathroom and put it in the hall. Scale, trash can, space heater, decorative toilet paper cover in the shape of a cat wearing a prairie dress. Then take everything that is sitting on the sink or the back of the toilet (soap dish, toothbrushes, jar of cotton balls) and put it in or on the side of the tub.

Step four:
Put some toilet cleaner in the toilet.

Step five:
Thoroughly sweep or vacuum the floor.

Step six:
Take one of your rags and use it dry to wipe off the sink and the toilet. This and the sweeping with get all of the hair and weirdness that gets stuck to bathroom surfaces and makes wet cleaning so gross and frustrating. Throw the rag in the hall with the dirty towels.

Step seven:
Use the disposable wipes and wipe off the sink, paying extra attention to all the water spots on the faucets. Throw used wipes into a pile in the hall as you go. Wipe off the outside of the toilet, then the lid, seat, under the seat and the rim. (Goes without saying, but don't use those wipes on anything else.) I will often take this time to really get at the light switches and outlets in the bathroom, too, since the house cleaner can be a little cavalier about these (she has other things to do, anyway) and those wipes are good for that kind of thing. You can also use spray cleaner and a rag for this - just make sure you do the grossest part of the toilet last and put that rag in the dirty pile right away.

Step eight:
Use the wipes or a clean rag to wipe off all the stuff you took off the sink and the toilet and put it back where it goes. If you use an electric toothbrush, this is a really good time to pull the brush off and clean all that nasty gunk out of it. Wipe off all the stuff that normally sits on the floor that you put out in the hall back in step three.

Step nine:
Clean the toilet.

Step ten:
Wet the other rag and squeeze it out. Using the spray cleaner, spray a section of the floor and wipe it with the rag. Something like this will make this easier, especially if your bathroom is larger than ours. Spray and wipe until the floor is clean.

Step eleven:
Put all the dirty linens and rags in the laundry. Throw away the used wipes. Put the broom or vacuum away.

Step twelve:
The floor should be dry by now, so put down the clean rug, bring the trashcan and what not back in, and hang clean towels.

DONE. Your bathroom looks shiny and smells clean!

rmde

"of at least two more rags" should be "OR at least two more rags"

"This and the sweeping with get" should be "this and the sweeping WILL get"

i have been doing ^^ that a couple of times per week, only minus the wipes and + the good-smelling vinegar solution i made

just finished sweeping/mopping/wiping (?) the whole place
so glad to be done
enraged at my dog b/c he pooped in the basement

two more weeks til this happens again!!

also that is a good step by step guide carl!!

also i am totally going to get a croissant when i go to the grocery store after FINALLY taking a fucking shower

What is your good smelling vinegar solution?

white vinegar + water + essential oils of my choice (geranium, clary sage, and cedarwood atlas for fresh + woodsy)

when i got the apt cleaned before we left, i overheard the cleaning ladies talking en español about vinegar so i figured it was a good thing to make a cleaner out of...?

feel free to laugh at me if this is not the case

No! Vinegar is a great thing to make cleaner out of. I buy gallon jugs of white vinegar for laundry (put it in a Downy ball and use as fabric softener) and cleaning. I wondered what you used to make it smell good.

I use vinegar on my floors I put some with a little hot water on my microfibre mop, it works a treat. Good for windows in a pinch too!

Carl, that is an excellent bathroom tidying plan.

i got a magic eraser yesterday and it is so weird! am i supposed to get it wet? i opened the package and just started rubbing it on things to see if they if it worked and it did. lots of fingerprints gone. hehehehe.

Yeah, you're supposed to wet them. I need to get some more.

i have to clean my ceiling fans. they are the worst.

i'm afraid to turn them on in their present condition

Tiiiiime to de-mildew my bathroom!! Roommate leaving for a month, tiny quiet little woman subletter coming in, and presumably she's seen the place already but I'd like her to not quail at the sight of the tub.

hmm one weird ceiling fan trick the dust mites don't want you to know

Step 3: Fill a spray bottle with water and 2 tablespoons of distilled white vinegar and use it to spritz the inside of a cloth shoe bag or pillowcase. Put on a baseball cap.

Step 4: Standing on an extra-tall stepladder that puts you about a head above the blades, slip the bag or the pillowcase over each blade, pulling it back to trap dust (you can use the same one for all the blades—just keep maneuvering it to find a clean spot). Use a cotton cloth for residual grime and to dust the base and the light fixture.

that sounds like it'd work
i have been enjoying my vinegar cleaning mixture quite a bit, would recommend to those who need pleasant smells to coax themselves to clean -- it smells great! smelling it is a reward for cleaning. that's the kind of mental subterfuge that works for me :-/

not only pleasant smells, but bonus no contribution to big disgusting company that markets cleaning products almost exclusively to women

Ew, yes. I stick to the oldies but goodies--Pine-Sol, Murphy's Oil Soap, ammonia--but I have the disturbing impression that some products are supposed to smell "floral"?

http://static.navarro.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/f/a/fabuloso_lavender_28_image1.jpg

I usually refer to that as "Grape Fabuloso" because of its uncanny resemblance to a bottle of grape drink, but it's supposed to smell like lavender. Fabuloso also comes in "passion fruits" and "ocean paradise" scents.

A+ for the product name, and for being available at the dollar store, though.

oh i give all of those products a pass for being off brand and cheap, even Gain (because I have never in my memory seen an ad for Gain) -- i'm talking about companies that spend their money on television commercials with women gathering to drink wine and comment on each other's scented candles OR the ones that show women dancing with cleaning products/tools.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqDzKad2Q3M

brownie! i read about a really rad sounding ceiling-fan-cleaning trick that you might want to try?

I haven't tried it yet but I plan to. Though honestly it only works if you have a bunch of old pillowcases lying around.
http://lifehacker.com/5823341/clean-your-ceiling-fan-easily-with-a-pillow-case

oh wait, carl already posted it

lol nvm

the magic eraser people sent me my replacement mop after I had the hassles with the stripped plastic attachment screws

AND

the replacement mop has METAL attachment screws! weeee I'm so exited to use it this weekend.

oh wait, carl already posted it

lol nvm

I posted it! carl has a team ceiling fan eunuchs doing her cleaning

It's true!