Looking for some clever cleaning tips? Take a look at some of the best cleaning secrets from hotel housekeeping… 

1. They clear the clutter first

Maria Stickney, the Housekeeping Manager at a Radisson Blu hotel, likes to clear the clutter out of a room so she can start with a blank slate. She empties the bins, removes the linens, towels, and anything else left behind.

In the bathroom, she clears the towels, bathmats, bottles, and everything on the counters. ‘This removes the temptation of just wiping around these items or picking them up and immediately placing them back down on a wet surface, which can leave ring marks,’ she says.

2. They prefer microfiber cloths – but reach for clever substitutes in a pinch

The secret to efficient dusting is a proper cleaning cloth. ‘Microfiber is the best,’ says Agustin Canongo, the Director of Housekeeping at Loews Vanderbilt Hotel in Tennessee.

‘If you don’t have one, use a rag that’s 100 per cent cotton — like a (clean) cloth nappy, an old pillowcase or an old T-shirt – and dampen it slightly.’ Be sure to avoid using polyester cloths – they can actually create more dust.

3. They know the trick to a quickly made bed is in the tags

Making a bed that’s larger than a twin can be time-consuming; no matter which corner you start with, you almost always realise you put the long end of a fitted sheet on the short end of the mattress.

A hint, ‘tags always go on the bottom,’ says Emma Anderson, Best Western’s 2014 Housekeeper of the Year. ‘With king sheets, the tags are on the left. With queen sheets, they’re on the right.’ Anderson also suggests marking the inside seams with a fabric marker to denote right or left corners.

4. They give drapes a good whack in between deep cleanings

Dust particles will only continue to circulate around the room over time. ‘The best way to dust drapes is to whack them with a hand towel,’ Stickney says. A towel this size is heavy enough to make a good impact, but light enough that your arm won’t tire. What about the drape attachment on your vacuum? ‘It doesn’t get all the nooks and crannies like a towel,’ Stickney explains. Knock out all the dust on to the floor and then vacuum it up.

5. They vacuum before they mop

Always vacuum — or sweep — before you mop. ‘You do not want wet hair on your floor – it can be difficult to remove,’ Stickney says. When it’s time to mop, start from the far corner and make your way to the door.

6. They do the bathrooms last

‘It’s best to start in the bedroom (rather than the bathroom) to minimize bacterial transfer,’ Stickney says.

7. They know that cleaning products take time to really work

Let your cleaners do the work for you. ‘Spray the shower walls and the toilet and leave them to do their job for several minutes,’ Stickney says. Use that time to clean the mirrors, windows, medicine cabinet, and whatever else is in the room. ‘Then go back and wash off the surfaces, using way less elbow grease.’

8. They vacuum the opposite way 

Your mother may have taught you to start at the furthest part of the room and vacuum yourself out, but Anderson has a different method: ‘Vacuum into the room over the high-traffic areas and then vacuum yourself out, so you hit the most walked-on spots twice.’

9. Their favourite cleaner is probably in your kitchen cupboard

‘You’d think that we’d have some crazy secret weapon up our sleeves, but the best thing we have is white vinegar and water,’ says Canongo. ‘It cleans well and even clears cloudiness from residue left behind by other cleaners.’ Fill a spray bottle with one part vinegar, three parts water.

10. They always have a toothbrush on hand

You certainly don’t need to clean every inch of your house with a fine-tooth comb, but Stickney does support the use of a toothbrush once in a while. ‘I have several small brushes to get into those hard to reach spots in the bathroom,’ she says. ‘Around the bottom screws of a toilet are the hardest parts to get.’

11. They corral their tools

Housekeepers keep everything they could possibly need on their handy carts. Take a cue from them and make yourself a mini version. Fill a plastic bin or bucket with all of your cleaning supplies, rags and brushes. ‘A caddie keeps everything together, cutting down the amount of time it takes to get the job done,’ says Anderson. Keep it in the laundry room and grab it when you need it.

From House Beautiful

As our society becomes more homebound and hygiene-conscious, we’re paying more attention to keeping things clean in the bedroom. While most people probably don’t “season” their sheets, many of us aren’t cleaning our beds as often as we should be.

Sweat, skin cells and tiny prowlers

Is that just plain gross or is it a bigger problem? According to respiratory expert Professor John Blakey from Sir Charles Gairdner hospital in Western Australia, “If you didn’t wash your bedding for a year it would be more than two pounds heavier just because of dead skin.”

It gets worse. Little microscopic dust mite arthropods (like spiders), thrive on these skin cells, particularly on pillows because they love the humid environment. “More than 10% of the weight of the manky pillows will be hundreds of thousands of dust mites and their droppings,” Blakey says. Even if that doesn’t unnerve you, it can be problematic for the millions of Australians who have asthma. Dust mite allergy can also cause all-year-round hayfever-type symptoms.

Other microscopic lurkers that flourish on sweaty old bedding include bacteria that can alter the lungs’ microbiome and lead to infections or interfere with inhaled drugs, says Blakey, along with allergy-causing fungal spores such as Aspergillus fumigatus that can trigger asthma. And to complete the cycle, it’s thought these little spores, which are most commonly found in pillows, might feed on dust mite droppings.

Bed bugs are not as common in Australia as they are elsewhere, but infestations are increasing, and the resulting red welts could be mistaken for eczema. Even skin conditions such as eczema and dermatitis can be exacerbated by bacteria that lurk in unwashed bedding, according to dermatologists Dr Steven Shumack from Central Sydney Dermatology. Exposing infected skin to sheets can also cause reinfection. Other nasties to look out for that can hang out in sheets and pillowcases are staphylococcus and scabies.

So, freshly laundered bedding clearly has more perks than the exquisite smell of clean sheets. But when and how should we clean it?

Sheets and pillowcases

Although there is no hard and fast rule, the consensus is that sheets and pillowcases should be washed each week. “I’d be a little worried if people weren’t washing their bedding approximately weekly,” says Blakey, and only a hot wash will kill mites and fungi. The National Asthma Council recommends washing in water hotter than 131F. Failing that, they suggest hot tumble drying for 10 minutes or washing in cold water with a product containing tea tree or eucalyptus oil.

Opening the windows and airing sheets in the sun are recommended. Shumack suggests people with skin conditions wash even more often, adding that ironing sheets and pillowcases can also help sterilize them.

It should be noted that sweat – and urine – contains urea, which can react with cleaning products and form compounds called nitrosamines which trigger asthma. The best evidence so far in this regard points to bleaches, so it is better to avoid cleaning agents that contain chlorine. Pouring bleach into a bathtub to clean filthy pillows as in the TikTok video “might well make someone wheezy”, notes Blakey. People with skin rashes can also react to certain cleaning products, says Shumack. This can be alleviated by making sure the bedding is rinsed well after washing to avoid any residue.

Pillows

The Good Housekeeping Institute suggests pillows should be washed every six months. But as they are hotspots for dust mites and their teeny friends, Asthma Australia recommends washing and drying them thoroughly each month.

Most pillows will come with cleaning instructions on their tags, so it’s best to follow the manufacturers directions – but if you’ve cut your pillow tags off (or never had them to begin with) down and synthetic pillows can typically be machine washed, while memory foam pillows should be soaked with gentle detergent, rinsed, gently squeezed then left to air-dry.

To keep mites away, the National Asthma Council recommends covering pillows, as well as mattresses and quilts, with mite-resistant cases – which is no substitute for washing them regularly.

Asthma Australia suggests replacing pillows when you notice they’re starting to lose their lustre, while some manufacturers suggest doing this every couple of years.

Doonas

Doonas – and likely other covers like blankets – can also collect dust mites, so these should be at least aired, and ideally washed, regularly. Many doonas and covers are dry-clean only, so pay close attention to the manufacturer’s directions.

While some manufacturers suggest replacing doonas every five years, there’s no hard and fast rule about this, and the lifespan of your duvet will likely depend on how often you wash it.

Either way, if you do want to get rid of your doona or pillow, Friends with Dignity gratefully accept them.

There are other options, too. “The crafty ones among us can upcycle them into large floor cushions, door stops or use for packing and moving,” says Ryan Collins, head of Circular Economy Programs at Planet Ark. Unfortunately, they are not recyclable so will otherwise need to go in the bin.

The mattress

“If you can’t remember when you bought your mattress, get a new one!” says Blakey. He also recommends vacuuming your mattress when you’re hoovering the floors, and for sensitive people, using allergen-impregnable covers to help avoid contact with dust mites and their droppings.

Disposing of mattresses can cause other problems, though. Collins says 1.6 to 1.8 million are thrown out every year in Australia alone. Only half are recycled, so the rest end up in landfill. This is a problem because they are hard to compact and take up a lot of space. And most of their components, such as wood, foam, fabric and steel springs, can be recycled. “By not recycling these materials we’re wasting the resources, energy and water that went into making the product in the first case,” says Collins.

Many councils around Australia provide mattress recycling services, although there may be a fee, and some mattress retailers or brands have a return service. If the mattress is in good condition, it can be cleaned and reused or donated to charities. Householders can search RecyclingNearYou.com.au for drop-off and pick-up services, and businesses can search BusinessRecycling.com.au.

Even though these measures can help keep mites and other little lurkers at bay, all-round cleanliness certainly helps. Blakey says not to forget about exposure from other sources like sofas, rugs, clothes and office chairs. “Just having a clean bed isn’t going to be a cure-all.”

from The Guardian

Hiring just the right housekeeper can be life-altering for the busy family. Now this may seem to be a little over-the-top, but I am serious. Think about your life-whether single, a couple or a family-you have no time. No time to keep your home as organized or clean as you would like. No time to do the smaller tidying jobs that would make a huge difference.

“I am still learning about my home. If you can’t do it yourself, find good service people and treat them well.” — Terry (mom to our Human Resources Coordinator, Louisa)

Hiring just the right housekeeper can be life-altering for the busy family. Now this may seem to be a little over-the-top, but I am serious. Think about your life-whether single, a couple or a family-you have no time. No time to keep your home as organized or clean as you would like. No time to do the smaller tidying jobs that would make a huge difference.

Do you ever casually go about your day, popping into the kitchen for a little peanut butter toast and then the next thing you know you’re turning over the toaster oven because it’s been so long and you just can’t take the crumbs anymore?