The hard stuff: cleaning solutions for the kitchen

The kitchen is the heart of most homes, and is the place we spend most of our cleaning time. Stove tops, ovens and appliances are constantly in need of cleaning. Here are some tips for making this job easier.

The stove area: 

If you are like most of us, you hate the yellow film that collects on the sides of the stove, on the fridge next to it and on other surfaces like the oven and toaster oven glass doors. It is the dried on grease that can accumulate and seem impossible to get rid of.

I say fight the grease with oil. That's right. Oil. Not soap. Pour some vegetable oil on a cloth or paper towel and apply to the caked on grease. Use a green scrubbing pad to work the oil into the crevices and let it stand for a while. It will liquefy the residue, which can then be washed away with dish soap. You may have to scrub a bit. I like to use a small brush on the refrigerator surface which is usually dimpled, but use a cloth on painted surfaces so as not to damage them.

And remember that if you have stainless steel, to always rub with the grain.

For tougher build up, the black burnt on stuff, I have another environmentally safe solution:

Wood ash. You can collect a coffee can of wood ash from your fireplace, barbecue or burn pile. Also collect some of the charcoal. Or you can use briquettes, (not the self starters!) Remember to use rubber gloves or you will stain your nails. A paste of wood ash and water will quickly remove the film from your oven, your oven door, your fireplace doors, etc. The larger charcoal pieces you can use to scour off the tough areas. The charcoal will scratch however if used on metal or plastic surfaces. It is a bit messy, but an alternative to the toxic commercial oven cleaning products that can burn your skin, eyes and lungs.

I hope this information has been useful to you, and as always if you need help 

contact Merry for cleaning services and carpet shampoo. 

merrydragovich@gmail.com

 608-444-9204

I have openings available on Monday's.

Cleaning solutions: Pet hair problems.

Cleaning solutions: Pet hair problems? I can help.

Pet hair driving you crazy? Dust and dander on TV's and computers and floating everywhere? It is not pretty, or healthy and it can cause problems for your electronics. Here are some helpful suggestions for cleaning up pet hair:

First, I recommend a filtering system for your space. Get a 20" X 20" window box fan. These are relatively inexpensive items available at your hardware or big box store. Look for the kind that has the chord coming out the bottom, not the middle of the fan. Then purchase a furnace filter 20" X 20" X 1".  Place the filter on the back of the fan, when you turn it on, the air pressure will hold it to the fan. Run this filtering system as needed, but especially when you clean or dust as it will filter the dust that is in the air, keeping it off your furniture. (This also works well for cigarette smokers to filter out the smoke.) Then replace the filter as needed. (Also great in bedrooms to filter out dust from clothes and blankets.)

Next, make sure you brush your cat or dog often, this will keep the dust and hair from building up, and your pets love it !

The best products for sweeping up pet hair are the Swiffer Sweeper, Swiffer Sweeper info
and the Bona Mop.
Bona Mop info
Available at Ace Hardware stores.

The Swiffer is a good choice as it picks up dander very well and is easy to use. However, you have to buy the sheets which can get a bit expensive if you need to use them often. (I sometimes use a micro-cloth which works as an alternative to buying the sheets.)

The Bona Mop is great- though a little pricey at @ $20.00, but you get the swivel mop, and two cleaning pads, one for dusting, one for mopping. The pads adhere to the mop with velcro.  I like the blue (wet), mop head used dry, for dusting floors and walls; or use it wet to clean floors, windows, walls, doors, mirrors, cabinet doors, too! The white pad is designed for dusting and is fluffy, great for dust bunnies under furniture.

I highly recommend this product, especially if you have wood floors, as it is designed for wood cleaning. You can get their wonderful wood floor cleaner too, which gives a great sheen to wood floors and is specifically made to protect wood floors.They also have a good product for marble and stone floor cleaning.

It works fantastic to pick up pet hair, and has a multitude of other uses. Also the handle telescopes, making it easy to clean in tight areas. You can easily clean the pads in the washing machine, and they are long lasting and ecologically friendly.

Pet (and people) hair in carpeting and rugs can be difficult to clean with a vacuum cleaner as the hair gets matted in the fibers and wound in the vacuum brushes. If you have this problem, try sweeping the rug or carpet with a broom first. This will pick up the hair and loosen it so you can vacuum it up easily.

I hope this information is useful to you, and as always, 

If you need help, contact Merry Dragovich 
for cleaning services, and carpet shampoo.
Merry's e-mail link