Town and Country Staff are converts to the new housekeeping trend of cleaning without chemicals!
It’s better for the planet, better for families, and better for you!
The Old Ways Can Be The Best Ways!
Did you know that you can clean so many parts of a home with white vinegar, bicarbonate of soda and some warm water? The smell of vinegar usually evaporates as the water dries but you can add a touch of essential oils, such a lavender or chamomile, to leave a lovely aroma.
Walls and Doors – to clean walls and doors all you need is a bucket of warm water and a splash of vinegar.
Windows and Glass – take an empty spray bottle and fill 50/50 with vinegar and water. Spray directly onto windows or glass and polish with a dry cloth.
Mattresses – put some baking soda into a shaker and add a few drops of an essential oil. Lavender is good for sleep and tea tree is a natural disinfectant. Shake the mixture over the mattress, leave for an hour and then vacuum off.
Drains – to keep drains smelling sweet, put some bicarbonate of soda down the drain followed by two cups of warm vinegar. Leave for 30 minutes and then pour boiling water down the drain.
Lavatories – Just neat vinegar – pour some warm vinegar into the loo and then put some in an empty spray bottle so you can squirt it all over and under the rim. Leave for a five minutes and flush!
Stainless Steel and Chrome – Dissolve 2 tablespoons of bicarbonate of soda in 1 litre of water – wipe onto fixtures and then rinse.
Cleaning the Washing Machine – for front loading washing machines add two tablespoons of bicarbonate of soda into the detergent draw and half a cup of vinegar into the drum and run a normal hot wash. Keep an eye on the machine as you may find it suds up a lot due to the soap residue in the machine.
Wood Floors – for Sealed Wood floors only, take a microfibre cloth and polish the floor with a tiny amount of vinegar and olive oil – then buff with the cloth.
Should We Use Steam Cleaners?
There is no doubt that Steam Cleaners can be absolutely fantastic! The power of steam can kill up to 99% of germs whilst making surfaces gleam and shine. Housekeepers everywhere will tell you that steam cleaning can be a great help – but we would always suggest that you make sure that the surface you plan to clean is suitable for steam cleaning.
New Eco Products on the Market
Cleaning without chemicals is big business!! As this trend has become more popular so more and more ‘eco-friendly’ cleaning products are coming onto the market. Some of them are good – some not so good! It can be easier to use something from a bottle but why do that if a bucket of warm water and some vinegar is just as good?!!
There will be some surfaces that you cannot use vinegar or lemon on, such as granite and marble, so please do make sure what you are using is suitable for the housekeeping job you are doing.