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Even if you focus on nothing but natural cleaning products, chances are you will have at least a few harsher cleaners in your home that need to be treated with greater care. The powerful cleaners may be great at keeping your counters and floors clean, but where and how you keep them also plays a part in your life, especially if you have children or pets at home. 

Contain in Clear Bins

Once you’ve found a good spot, whether in a utility closet, a laundry room cabinet or a shelving unit, you should group your cleaning supplies in containers. Doing this will keep your items organised and help you avoid leaks and spills onto various surfaces. Narrow and sturdy acrylic bins are an excellent choice for keeping things on hand but separated by type. If you prefer using an opaque container, you should add a label to the front of each one to show what goes in there, so you won’t have to rummage inside.

Bypass any baskets made of natural materials, metal or fabric. These materials will only make things harder to clean if a leap happens. If using wire shelving to store your cleaning supplies, consider using a liner first to help the bins stay flat.

Use the Back of a Door

If you don’t have a lot of supplies, you can place them on the back of a door in an organiser. Use the sections to sort products by type and add clip-on labels to show what goes inside. Pegboards with hooks may also hold small dusters and rags. You can do the same with a shoe organiser with slots; ensure it’s not made from fabric.

Mount Brooms and Mops

If you’re using a utility closet or some built-in shelves and have some wall space or door space available, you may consider using broom grippers to hang the handles of your mops, brooms, dustpans and so forth. Any cleaning equipment with a thin enough handle can fit on a gripper, staying off the floor. If the handles have a hole, you can use S hooks to loop the tool onto a wire shelving unit instead.

Tote Items in a Caddy

Products you use daily or weekly must be easy to reach and haul around your home. You can use a caddy to take your supplies around the place while corralling your cleaners. Cleaning supplies can conveniently be stored alongside the rest of the products, such as under the kitchen sink. Cabinets under the kitchen sink are the preferred option and a popular place to store your cleaning supplies, but you must ensure the caddy doesn’t lean against any pipes. Avoid storing flammable items there, especially if you have children or pets. Make sure you have child-proof locks on the doors if that’s the case.

Adding a Dumbwaiter

For a substitute for caddies and containers, try using a dumbwaiter to store your cleaning supplies. Many bottles out there are round, making it possible to use a turntable if you want to get the most out of this particular storage approach. They will come in various sizes, making it possible to grab a dumbwaiter that works for your specific needs with a bit of a spin. You can use one of your daily products instead of lugging the whole caddy around. Line up a handful of those on a shelf, and you can categorise your cleaning products by type. Use a divided dumbwaiter for smaller products, such as your scrub brushes.

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Hiring a professional cleaning service for your home is a great way to ensure you have your hands free for a while, dodging the unenviable chores regarding home cleaning. You don’t have to deal with all the cleaning tasks by yourself, as you can simply go home to a clean home with a fresh scent to welcome you. To get the most out of a professional cleaning service, you will need to make things easier on yourself before they arrive. There are a few ways you can make their work easier and your home faster to clean, so let’s point them out:

Clear the Floors

It is often appreciated if you do your best to clear the floors and areas of as many items as possible before the cleaners arrive. This means putting clothes away, children’s toys, shoes, animal toys, you name it. This allows the incoming cleaners to do their job faster and without having to deal with an even bigger mess than they need to. Having clear floors will allow them to mop, sweep, vacuum and do whatever kind of work they need without having to navigate obstacles and step on anyone’s toes when doing their job. This allows your home to be cleaned quickly and efficiently.

Tidy Up the Counters

Take a good look at your kitchen counters and islands, bathroom vanities, nightstands and so forth. These can get cluttered up quickly, especially if more people live in a home. Before the professional cleaners arrive, you should do your best to put away any items that may get in the way, similar to the previous example regarding floor space. House cleaners are usually not instructed to put your items in an order, so if they can’t clean a surface easily, they will most often skip it so as not to disturb what you left on it. Keep that in mind as you prepare for their services.

Put Away Your Valuables and Documents

Professional home cleaners are often vetted and background checked by the company that employs them, but you still need to keep an eye on your property. You need to make sure anything important is removed and locked away, safe from prying eyes and hands. The expensive electronics that are easy to carry or any important documents that may be a huge loss should be addressed, just in case. The same goes for jewellery and any items of sentimental value that you can’t afford to lose. If you don’t have a closet or a safe to lock things in, you should keep the items in the trunk of your car rather than at home until the cleaning job is finished.

Secure Your Pets

This may vary from household to household, but if your cleaning staff and your pets are comfortable with each other, you won’t have to deal with this step. If that is not the case, you should focus on separating your pets from the cleaning staff, especially if this is the first time they visit your home. Better safe than sorry, as they say.

Leave Specific Instructions

If any areas in your home need more attention, you should let the professional cleaning company know about them by communicating directly. Do this in a verbal agreement or using a note left in an obvious location. Communicate what you need, and you will have the best possible service experience, as the cleaners will know what to focus on and what to avoid.

©FK Domestics Ltd

Using the right cleaning agent around the house is vital. As one of the top London Domestic Cleaners, FK domestics pays attention to the health of the occupants and the environment in Choosing the right cleaning agent for specific jobs. The cleaning agent for industrial clean up cannot be applied for domestic cleanup.

And aside from the kind of cleaning agent, we also enlighten people on the suitable products to use for cleaning their homes effectively. And we are going to introduce vinegar as an effective cleaning agent for domestic cleaning. Vinegar is cheap and affordable, non-toxic to the environment, and works very well.

You should ensure that you use the cleaning vinegar rather than the one meant for cooking. The cleaning vinegar consists of 6 percent acidity, which is more effective for cleaning than the cooking vinegar, which is made up of 5 percent acidity. In contrast, the vinegar used for industrial and deep cleaning consists of 20% acidity, unsuitable for home use.

• How To Prepare Homemade Cleaning Vinegar

We can easily prepare our homemade vinegar cleaning spray to save money and reduce our carbon imprint. We encourage using these homemade vinegar cleaning sprays for London Domestic Cleaners as we recommend for our customers.

The hardest part is to get your relatively easy spray container from your closet shopping mall. Now pour a mixture of two parts of vinegar and one part water (add a few drops of essential oil or favourite scent for a more pleasant smell). And as easy as that, you have your cleaning spray for glass and furniture surfaces at home and offices. This mixture can effectively remove dust and leave a shining surface.

• How to Use Cleaning Vinegar to Remove Tough Stains

The above practical tips are effective for cleaning and shining surfaces. But to remove tough stains like grease, grime, kitchen stains and much more, we should use the following Practical steps. We are considering tougher stains like in the bathroom, sinks, and showers.

These stains will require a much tougher cleaning agent. Thus the mixture of vinegar and water will not be enough to remove them. However, you don't have to worry because you can increase the potency of our homemade cleaning agent by adding a portion of our regular dish soap. To achieve this, you should add a portion of dish soap and a portion of vinegar and then dilute them in water to create a more powerful solution.

With this mixture, you can remove dirt, grease, and debris on surfaces in your home. In addition, they are suitable for removing soap scum leftover in your shower, sink, and tiles, leaving your surfaces smooth and shiny. You should note that vinegar alone is potent enough to clean tough stains. However, they may irritate you when they come in contact with your skin. They are not harmful but will leave an unpleasant smell after cleaning. It is best to use gloves when using vinegar alone for cleaning.

• Preparing Vinegar Solution for Cleaning Floor

A homemade vinegar solution can also clean all kinds of floors. A mixture of water and vinegar will clean floors made up of hardwood, laminated surfaces and most floor materials effectively and efficiently.

All you have to do is pour half a cup of vinegar into a full bucket of water. And with this solution, you can mop all floor types easily. So you can see that it is easy to make and costs less than getting some fancy cleaning agent from stores.

• Clearing Clogged Pipes at Home
  Clogged pipes can be a problem in your home. They will prevent water from flowing down the drain and causing an eyesore. You do not have to spend money calling a handyperson or buying a chemical agent to flush the pipe clear. A homemade mixture of vinegar can do the job effectively.

The first step is to pour boiling water down the clogged pipe, pour a mixture of baking soda and vinegar and cover the pipe for about five minutes. However, the mixture should contain an equal solution of vinegar and baking soda (a mix of one cup of each solution). After five to ten minutes, you should remove the plug from the drain, then flush with boiling water for the last time.

• Vinegar Solution for Laundry
  Vinegar solutions effectively remove stains, pet's hair, bleaching and give clothes a fresh smell. Add half to one full cup of vinegar to your washing machine when rinsing, and it will give your clothes a fresh, clean scent, wiping off every debris and bacteria. It is best to apply this method on cloth made up of 100 percent cotton.

As you can see, you can use vinegar effectively for your home cleaning. 

If you are looking for a professional cleaning company, you can contact FK domestics. We offer a wide range of cleaning services at competitive rates. It'll also be best if you join our social media space. You can check out some other content from us to step up your beautiful experience of this amazing world. We want to know your opinions and experience about meditation in the comment section below.

© FK Domestics Ltd

Replacing your regular chemical-based detergents with healthy eco-friendly mixtures is a secure way for you to improve your cleaning routine. While harsh cleaning products have a negative impact on your health, DIY cleansers with natural ingredients are safe to apply. If you wonder whether it is possible to address typical chores with eco-friendly mixtures, you should realise that green cleaning is just as effective as toxic alternatives. Here are four of the most common cleaning tasks you can complete with DIY solutions:

Treat carpet stains – homeowners with carpeted floors are well –familiar with how demanding carpets are. When it comes to eliminating stains from the surface, chances are you are used to applying chemicals, but you can easily get rid of messes with natural ingredients. Ink stains, blood stains, greasy food accidents or even challenging red wine stains can be safely treated with the right DIY solution. White distilled vinegar mixed with water is a powerful remedy against various carpet stains. Rubbing alcohol can deal with blood and ink on the carpet, while baking soda should be your first choice when you want to deal with nasty carpet smells natural.

Disinfect your bathroom – are you used to relying on numerous store-bought bathroom cleansers? With the help of a single eco-friendly mixture, you can disinfect the tub, the shower and the bathroom tiles at once, mixing only a few natural ingredients. Grab a jar and fill it with two cups of baking soda mixed with half a cup of warm water and the same amount of liquid dish soap. Spread your homemade scrubbing paste on any bathroom surface and wait for a while before you scrub grime with a brush. After that, you should rinse the bathroom with clean water as you normally do. In case you are faced with extremely stubborn dirt, add a little lemon juice to your mixture.

Make a powerful glass cleanser – whether you intend to wash your windows or you want to give your mirrors a quick wipe, dealing with the tasks naturally is the smart way to go. Take an empty spraying bottle and mix equal amounts of warm water, white distilled vinegar and rubbing alcohol. That’s all – your DIY mixture is ready to be applied on any glass surface you want to make sparkly clean. Spray the mixture and wipe it clean with paper towels or use a bamboo cotton cloth.

Address the oven – surely cleaning the oven is one of the most dreadful chores you can think of, but not if you make the most of baking soda. Empty the oven, then mix enough amounts of baking soda and water to get a paste-like scrubbing mixture. You can also add a few drops of liquid dish soap to the solution. Cover your oven’s interior with your DIY paste and let it sit for at least 12 hours before you wipe clean with a wet loofah. In the meantime, you can soak the oven’s racks in an eco-friendly mixture of hot water and white vinegar. The ingredient will break through grease, allowing you to scrub it off the racks in no time.

© FK Domestics Ltd

Lending a property is a wonderful way for you to earn some extra cash without investing too much effort in the undertaking. If the house or apartment you intend to place on the market is in a good shape, chances are you find new tenants very soon. Yet you should bear in mind that the cleaner your rental is, the better impression it would leave on potential tenants. To effortlessly find reliable tenants, make the property ready for lending in just seven steps:

Clean the carpet - carpeted floors add extra cosiness to any space, as long as they are dust-free and spotless. One of the first things your new tenants would notice is a grimy carpet, so invest a little time to tackle stubborn spills and unpleasant odours. If you can't afford to spend time disinfecting the carpet, just book a professional carpet cleaning service for your rental. A squeaky clean rug makes a true difference, which improves your chances for quick lending.

Scrub the toilet bowl - surely scrubbing the toilet is not how you wish to spend any of your free time, but a shiny, germ-free bowl is a must when you want to make your rental presentable. Facilitate the chore by sprinkling the surface with baking soda. Wait for a little and scrub stains with a stiff brush. To remove germs completely, use a mixture of equal amounts of white vinegar and water to spray the toilet bowl with. White vinegar is your best bet against bacteria, as well as unwanted odours in the toilet.

Disinfect the showerhead - make your property a desirable place to rent by ensuring a clean showerhead. Disassemble the bathroom addition and soak it in vinegar, so that you can remove germs and hard water deposits. In case the showerhead looks extremely contaminated, you should better replace it with a new one. 

Banish mildew from the shower curtain - let's face it, a shower curtain covered with mould and mildew makes a poor impression, which can lead to losing potential tenants. Ensuring a mildew-free shower curtain is a simple task you can tackle in no time with only white vinegar. Fill an empty spraying bottle with equal proportions of white vinegar and water and spray the solution on the surface. In a few minutes wipe clean with a towel. Vinegar would cut through mildew, allowing you to easily eliminate it.

Get the fridge ready - assuming the fact that your tenants would pay attention to the appliances your rental comes with, make sure that you offer a clean refrigerator. All lingering odours should be banished from the fridge and spillages need to be completely removed. Grab your spraying bottle filled with water and white vinegar and spray the interior of the appliance, then wipe clean with a cloth. To tackle nasty smells for a longer period, open a box of baking soda and leave it in the fridge.

Take care of dust - improve the overall appearance of your property by eliminating dust from any surface you can think of. Don't address just obvious areas like the floors and the shelves, but consider cleaning hidden spots like behind the sofa or even the walls. When it comes to removing dust, you should start with higher surfaces first and after that move on with lower ones. This way you would be able to work faster and provide a dust-free space.

Declutter - if your property has been rented before, chances are previous tenants didn't tackle clutter, which is why you should handle that task too. Throw away broken or useless things your new tenants wouldn't benefit from and rearrange all necessary items. A well-organised space looks more attractive, so try to promote a stylish image of your rental.

The cleaner your property is, the greater opportunity you get to lend it fast. Before you invite potential tenants to your rental, make sure you have completed the most important tasks that provide a picture-perfect interior.

© FK Domestics Ltd

Nowadays, the living room has become a synonym to the apartment itself. Most of us spend a significant part of our time there. We all know those days when you get back exhausted from work, take off your shoes and crush on the coach. Then suddenly, you open your eyes, and it is time to go to work again. 

The living room is also where you welcome your guests and spend time with them. Playing some board games, watching some funny TV show or just drinking a glass of wine (or maybe two, three), this is where all those moments are being shared.

Because of all the above, you will want to keep your living room at its best state.

Unfortunately, this is maybe the place that gets dirty with the speed of the light. 

Cleaning the living room includes multiple small (or not that small) steps that are often either forgot and missed by accident (or due to laziness depending on which one excuse sounds better). This is why you need to build your small cleaning routine for the room and below you can find some tips on how to do that.

1. Start from the top of the room. You will be probably wondering what you will be searching for at the ceiling. Most of the time, it will be clean enough, but you might not notice the small spider at the corner trying to build his mansion there. Wipe the blinds and curtains, or push the latter in the washing machine if possible. You can also use the vacuum to achieve even better results. This way, all the dust that was covering them will be pushed on the floor or the rest of the furniture which you are going to clean next.
   
   
2. Get a moistened microfiber cloth and dust all the shelves and furniture placed on the walls. Temporarily remove all the books and artworks placed on them so you can clean the surface underneath which often keeps a quite good amount of dust. Use the microfiber to collect any leftovers from the books and the pictures. You can also use a small soft brush if needed.
   
   
3. Open all the drawers and clean the insiders using a cloth. You will be surprised how much dust is there too.
   
   
4. Clean the windows. Get a window cleaner and a squeegee and quickly remove all the nasty fingerprints or spots from them. If you are missing the “cleaning tools” you can improvise with newspapers and liquid, which is a mixture of soap and clean water. Even the cleanest windows look better when cleaned again.
   
   
5. Clean sofas, armchairs, and beds. Take the vacuum cleaner, use any additional brush attachments and move slowly around the entire surface. Pay attention to all the places which seem hidden but gather enough dust at the same time. If the covering is made from leather (doesn’t matter artificial or not), then the vacuum cleaner is only the first step, and you will need to use additional leather conditioners.
   
   
6. Clean all other furniture using the microfiber cloth you have already used cleaning the shelved. Start from the big stuff like tables, TV stands, dressers/buffets and then move to the smaller ones like nightstands, for example. Finally, dust the electronics and any light stands left.
   
   
7. Take the vacuum cleaner and first clean all the carpets if present. If possible, take the carpets out of the house and clean them separately since they are like magnets for dust. When finished, move to the floor and use any kind of floor disinfectant to kill any bacteria left.
   
   
8. Disinfect the telephone and all remote controls. People often misunderstand the importance of this step. We are often using them right after we get back home or we have done with the family barbeque, so they gather dirt from many different places. 

© FK Domestics Ltd

Other than money problems, it seems the topic that plagues many domestic relationships is household chores. The difference in the distribution of labour when it comes to cleaning and sanitising leads to quarrels, which may eventually escalate and undermine the relationship.

The truth of the matter is that any partner would feel stressed if they think they are the only one doing chores, or doing way more than the other party. If you find yourself in such a situation, you need to follow some proven tips to remedy it.

1. Set the premises: it should be a partnership

Now, many people believe that the fairest division of household chores should always be 50/50. But that is not an ideal way to look at it. There are some tasks better suited for the man of the house, and there are chores that his lady can better handle. Designating chores to one person without the agreement of the other is often a bad way to go about it. Instead, you should be aiming to create a mutually satisfying arrangement that works for your abilities, schedules and preferences.

2. Agree on your mutual priorities 

Surely there are many things you both agree on: what and how often should be cleaned. However, make sure you have a conversation and ask yourselves what truly matters to you. Don’t try to make the other party see what you feel is important, but just set the mutual priorities. The more specific you are, the better. For example, if both of you agree to deal with vacuuming once a week, you will have no trouble with the chore in the future.

3. See where you can compromise 

Don’t expect your beliefs about cleaning and willingness to deal with chores to align 100%. There are things you will find more important than others, and the same goes for your partner. You should compromise. There are a few different ways to do so: meet your partner halfway on a certain task; do their way for one task, and your way for another; do tasks you cannot agree on together. Granted you already know how you feel about the majority of cleaning tasks, you will find it easy to compromise on the rest.

4. Don’t force time for doing chores

To you, the most logical time for doing chores may be on a Saturday or Sunday, when you have all the time in the world. Your partner, however, may prefer to spend that time doing something else, and instead deal with chores during the weekdays when they get back from work. What matters most is not the ‘when’, but whether chores are done in a timely manner.

5. Make a list of chores 

Writing down the chores leaves no room for interpretation. If it is on the list, it needs to be done. If you don’t make a list, there is always the chance one of you will forget about some cleaning task, or they will simply ignore it.

6. Do not remind, prompt and mention 

Once you have discussed cleaning with your partner, allow them time to do the task. Sure, perhaps it is not a good idea to just ignore them not doing what they agreed, but wait a week or so before you bring it up. That way you will not come across as too pushy and demanding.

There is little doubt that all of these tips should help you and your partner deal with cleaning chores at home without going through many conflicts. Implement them all, and you can handle the challenges of domestic cleaning together.

It is always a great idea to learn more useful cleaning tips. You can do so at FK Domestics Ltd.

© FK Domestics Ltd

If you always use commercial products to get the dirty work around your household done, then you are probably spending a lot. Cleaning solutions aren’t cheap, and when you add the fact that some of them don’t work, you get yourself a recipe for disappointment. Is there an alternative, you might ask? Well, there is! It comes in the form of several all-natural cleaning recipes, which can improve the cleaning outcome of your efforts at home. Following are some recipes you must try out:

• Oven cleaner – when it comes to cleaning the oven, you want to steer away from heavy-duty cleaners, as they contain harmful ingredients. What you can do instead is use baking soda and water. Mix the two components till they form a paste-like compound. Spread it on the interior part of your oven and let it sit there overnight. As you wipe it out afterwards, you will find how easy it is to remove the accumulated gunk in the oven. Adding a little vinegar to stubborn areas will speed up the process even further.
• Carpet refresher – if you wish to introduce a fresh smell in your carpeted room, you can resort to baking soda again. Pour 10-15 drops of essential oil into a cup of baking soda and mix the ingredients well. Sprinkle it all over the carpet and let it sit for half an hour. The baking soda will remove the unpleasant odours, while the essential oil will give the area a lovely scent.
• Fabric softener – the recipe for this DIY fabric softener is a classic. It is much more affordable than store-bought solutions but still gets the job done. What you need to do is basically fill your washing machine with water and then add a quarter cup of baking soda. As the machine reaches the last rinse cycle, you can pour half a cup of vinegar for some further softening action.
• Toilet bowl cleaner – if you think you cannot make your cleaner potent enough to sanitise the dirtiest area of your home, you are wrong. What you need is 2/3 cup of borax and 1/3 cup lemon juice. Apply this paste on the toilet bowl and leave it like that for 2 hours. Scrub with a brush afterwards and rinse.
• Furniture polish – this recipe for furniture polish is an easy one to make, and it comes together in a flash. What you need is 1/8 cup vinegar, ¼ cup linseed oil, 1/8 cup whiskey all mixed in a spray bottle. Spritz this onto a clean cloth and apply it to furniture. The results will surprise you!
• Kitchen disinfectant – don’t use chemicals in your kitchen. Instead, combine orange zest with 3 cups white vinegar in a bottle. Leave it like that for a few days. Then, as you remove the zest, you have yourself an excellent solution, which you can mix with some water and then use to disinfect kitchen surfaces.

All of these solutions are simple to make and very easy to use. They are also the perfect way to ensure that no harmful ingredients are used around your home. Be sure to check them out.

At FK Domestics Ltd we are all about eco-friendly cleaning. Find out more about our solutions by visiting online or contacting us on 020 8363 1966.

© FK Domestics Ltd