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Common Spring Cleaning Myths Debunked It's coming up to that time of year - the cold harsh days of winter are (finally) over and the sun is starting to make a daily appearance again. What better way to welcome in the new season and prepare for a happy summer spent with family and friends than cleaning out last winter from your home? Despite people's good intentions to spruce up their living quarters, a host of distracting myths surround the yearly spring clean. Rather than helping get your house spotless, some of these common beliefs actually stop you from getting rid of the grime and germs. Here's a quick run-through of some of the more well-known myths and the truth behind them. Photo courtesy of Alan Cleaver. Tips for inside your home Myth 1: Any surface can be cleaned with vinegar. Although vinegar is a fantastic alternative Eco-friendly cleaning agent for certain surfaces, it can cause irreversible damage on others. Diluted vinegar is best used on plastics, ceramics and glass objects - it's great for cleaning and deodorizing. However, avoid using it on items with porous surfaces like unsealed grout and stone. Why does it do more damage than good on these? It's all down to its acidic base. Here's five things you should avoid coming into contact with vinegar: 1. Waxed Floors - Vinegar's acidity will take away the shine and sheen as well as the dirt. 2. Carpets - A lot of people recommend vinegar for removal of pet related stains from carpets, however all it does is mask the odor, the origin of the problem will remain. 3. Hardwood Floors - Vinegar damage is very easily noticed on hardwood floors, the acid damages the finish on the floor, leaving it dull. 4. Stone Surfaces - Vinegar can cause etching damage. Very often, stone can be kept looking it's best by using water and a soft cloth. If in doubt, get into contact with your local stone supplier. 5. Unsealed Grout - Vinegar can slowly wear away grout, especially on grout that needs to be resealed. Myth 2: Ink Stain? Use hair spray. The myth that hair spray is the best product to remove ink stains used to be true! However, modern day hair spray has a different set of ingredients than predecessors. Ink stains actually respond to alcohol - a few years ago hair sprays had a high alcohol content. Nowadays, go straight to using rubbing alcohol to rid yourself of those unwanted ink marks. If you're stuck and you have hair spray on hand, give it a go! Sometimes it works, depending on the stain and on the fabric stained. Good results can be achieved on Polyester, just be sure to thoroughly rinse your item afterwards. Myth 3: Bleach cures everything Bleach doesn't actually clean - it just disinfects. It's great for removing stains but general day-to-day dirt? Try a more gentle product first. If you feel you need a stronger disinfectant, bleach the surface afterwards. Counter-tops in particular need a good cleaning with a softer cleaning product, simply to remove dirt and stuck on food. If not removed prior to bleaching, germs can linger on food particles - rendering your bleaching efforts useless. For everyday use, bleach can be a very tough agent to use, not only is it strong on surfaces, it also has very heavy fumes. If you don't use it in a well ventilated area it can make you sick. Although fantastic at disinfecting, bleach has many side effects other than its strong fumes. Contact with skin and clothing is irritating and very harmful to your upper dermis. If mixed with other cleaning products it can produce toxic results. As well as all of these negative points, if used on the wrong items, bleach can remove colour and damage surfaces! Once again, great disinfectant but with many downfalls - use with caution. Myth 4: Cleaning carpets damages them Due to a few inexperienced companies not cleaning carpets correctly and a widespread use of rental/cheap do-it-yourself cleaners on the market, a large section of homeowners now have a bad view of carpet cleaning. Worried about the dangers that can arise from bad workmanship - mold, shrinkage and bad odors - they neglect any form of carpet cleaning. Which means their carpets become playgrounds for dirt and germs. Carpet cleaning is an essential part of spring cleaning, just imagine all the mud, snow and general dirt being brought into the house on the bottom of your family's feet. Now imagine it being there a year later! The common issues that arise from carpet cleaning are due to inexperienced cleaners leaving a carpet or rug wet for too long. This can be easily avoided by hiring a well-respected company - like this Waterford Contract Cleaning. or this company that specialises in Waterford Contract Cleaning of business carpets - leaving your carpet clean and spotless for years to come. Tips for outside the home Myth 5: Newspaper is best for spotless windows and glass. A good option if you're on a budget but there are a few negatives to this method as well. Newspaper can leave smeared ink on your windows and frames (a nightmare to remove), it really struggles to not fall apart when wet (usually a necessity in cleaning glass!) and in modern times, it makes more sense to recycle newspaper than filling it full of chemicals and dumping it. There are better options available - my own personal favourite is distilled water and paper towel. The best part is, it doesn't require much of either to have your glass sparkling! Myth 6: Always clean wood with furniture polish Although polish brings a great shine to your favourite wooden pieces, it is best saved for special occasions or a monthly clean. For best results, regularly dust your wood surfaces with lint-free microfiber cloths. Some people skip on the furniture polish entirely! The interaction between the wood and the polish's chemical composition can actually end up attracting more dust, a catch 22 scenario of the cleaning world if you will. Over-polishing can eventually end up dulling the finish of your wooden surfaces. The best advice for polishing is checking with the manufacturer - they know the composition of the wood they use and which furniture polish has the best formula to bring out the best of your surfaces. This is definitely the best option for those one-of-a-kind or expensive pieces. Myth 7: Throw out the leaves and you're done When it comes to spring cleaning, it's not all about the inside of the house. With warmer weather arriving, you can finally get outside and do all those odd jobs that you've avoided all winter. An important upkeep task for your property is cleaning out your gutters. However, most people simply get rid of the leaves debris and move on to the next job. This year, take an extra few moments - it could save you money (and hassle!) in the future. Remove built up debris, give them a wash and flush out those downspouts. Check for leaks and cracks and then make sure everything is draining properly. These extra few measures could be the difference between a quick fix-me-up job and a full replacement of parts. Myth 8: Cleaning grout is a difficult job Most people consider this one of the most difficult to finish jobs on the to-do list. However, it doesn't have to be. Remove as much dirt as possible using water then try a pH-balanced cleaning product. For the more Eco-friendly or for those on a budget, try the traditional concoction of baking soda with vinegar - guaranteed to make an improvement. However, if you really don't have the time or inclination, ask your local professional cleaning company to add this to your services required. It can be very time-consuming and boring to do yourself and sometimes homemade solutions just can't match up to the high-powered systems favoured by professionals. Want to try and spruce up your home with some wonderful fresh flowers? Try Waterford Wedding Flowers - they do so much more than just wedding flowers!
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