How To… DIY

Should you clean before disinfecting?

CDC & EPA guidelines state it is best to clean your home prior to disinfecting:

Clean
*Wear disposable gloves to clean and disinfect.
*Clean surfaces using soap and water, then use disinfectant.
*Cleaning with soap and water reduces number of germs, dirt and impurities on the surface. Disinfecting kills germs on surfaces.
*Practice routine cleaning of frequently touched surfaces.
-More frequent cleaning and disinfection may be required based on level of use.
*High touch surfaces include:
Tables, doorknobs, light switches, counter tops, handles, desks, phones, keyboards, toilets, faucets, sinks, etc.

Disinfect
*Recommend use of EPA-registered household disinfectant https://www.epa.gov/…/list-n-disinfectants-use-against-sars…
*Follow the instructions on the label to ensure safe and effective use of the product.
*Many products recommend:
-Keeping surface wet for a period of time (see product label).
-making sure you have good ventilation during use of the product.

Learn More; https://www.cdc.gov/…/c…/disinfecting-building-facility.html

Maids and Moore are trained and certified with GBAC (Global Biorisk Advisory Council) as GBAC-Trained Technicians for Cleaning & Disinfection.

Call us today for your house cleaning and disinfecting needs
1-844 GOT DUST

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Are you properly disinfecting your home?

With COVID-19 spreading it is more important now than ever to ensure you are properly disinfecting your home. Not properly disinfecting is a waste of product, time, and effectiveness.


CDC & EPA guidelines state:

*Use of EPA-registered disinfectant: https://www.epa.gov/pesticide-registration/list-n-disinfectants-use-against-sars-cov-2-covid-19

*Read the directions: Follow the instructions on the label to ensure the safe and effective use of the product.


*Pre-clean the surface. For a disinfectant product to be effective is advised that the surface be clean before the application of the disinfectant.


*Follow the contact time: Many Products recommend:*Wear gloves and wash your hands: Precautions such as wearing gloves and making sure you have good ventilation during the use of the product


*Wear gloves and wash your hands: Precautions such as wearing gloves and making sure you have good ventilation during the use of the product

*Lock up the product-tighten lids and store out of reach of children

Maids and Moore are trained and certified with GBAC (Global Biorisk Advisory Council) as GBAC-Trained Technicians for Cleaning & Disinfection.

Call us today for your house cleaning and disinfecting needs 1-844 GOT DUST

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How to Clean Marks Off Walls with Flat Paint

A dingy, scuffed wall can be quite unattractive. By cleaning the walls as well as other parts of the room, you’ll be making the place feel and look more appealing. However, bear in mind that walls with flat paint need to be well cared for. You don’t want to be too vigorous when scrubbing flat paint as that could wear down the finish, making for an unpleasant appearance. As such, it’s important to learn how to clean marks off walls with flat paint.

How to Clean Marks Off Walls with Flat Paint

In this article, we’ll highlight how to clean marks off walls with flat paint. It’s a simple step by step process that will have your walls clean and spotless in no time.

Find Out If You Have Flat Paint

Before starting the cleaning process, confirm that you have flat paint walls. This doesn’t refer to the texture of the walls but rather that the wall is a matte finish. Since flat paint doesn’t reflect light, it’s ideal for hiding imperfections in accent walls and ceilings. If your walls don’t reflect light at all, even from an angle and have 0-10 percent gloss, it’s safe to say they have flat paint.

Cleaning Supplies

How to Clean Marks Off Walls with Flat Paint

A household tip to consider is always having cleaning essentials in your home. Here are some of the cleaning supplies you’ll need to gather for cleaning flat paint walls:

  • Cloth or Sponge
  • Touch up Paints and Paintbrush
  • Detergent
  • Foam Cleanser
  • Eraser Sponge
  • White Vinegar

Cleaning Flat Paint Walls

First things first, be sure to clean dirt and stains from flat paint as quickly as possible. The longer you ignore the stains, the harder they are to clean. Here are a few tips for removing scuff marks, smears and smudges from flat paint walls:

Start the cleaning process by rubbing the wall with a clean, damp cloth or sponge. Sometimes plain water will do the trick and remove all stains, allowing you to avoid cleaning products. This will likely work if you deal with stains as soon as you see them.

How to Clean Marks Off Walls with Flat Paint

If plain water doesn’t work, consider adding vinegar to the damp cloth or sponge and scrub the walls gently. If vinegar doesn’t remove the stain entirely, you can try removing problematic spots with an eraser sponge. This gentle cleaning product should remove stubborn stains without damaging the paint. If you still have the original wall paint, you can use a painter’s brush to touch up the stained spot. Alternatively, repaint the entire wall with a new, more durable sheen.

For especially stubborn stains, our team here at Maids and Moore will ensure your home is squeaky clean with no marks on the walls.

Bottom Line

With these few tips, you now know how to clean marks off walls with flat paint. Remember that a professional cleaning company will have the right equipment, training and experience to keep your home looking and feeling fresh and clean. Our team is capable of tackling all types of stubborn stains and other household chores.

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Preparing for a Festive Memorial Day Weekend

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If you’re like us the clean up for guests is just as important as the clean up for when they leave.  We wanted to offer a few tips to make your Memorial Day Weekend the best, without all of the hassles.

Put away all towels:  To save you from having to keep putting out clean hand towels thru out the house as it is used to clean up messes and dry multiple sets of hands.  Simply stock up on a bulk order of paper towels and leave rolls everywhere convenient.  This way you are not washing every towel and rag in your whole house come Tuesday.  Nothing like getting ready for getting out of the shower to the surprise of no towels clean.

No need to wash dishes: To save you from having to wash mountains of dishes.  Purchase disposable containers and utensils to serve in.

~To take that one step further instead of preparing all the food. Ask friends and family to bring their favorite dish in a disposable container this way you don’t have to prepare it and when the yummy dish is gone you can throw it away instead of having to be the sweet host that cleans everyone’s favorite one of a kind casserole dish.

*TIP from the editor: One of my personal favorite hacks, is instead of having chip bags toppled over everywhere and countless bowls for every flavor sitting out that will then need to be poured back in the bag or thrown out.  I simply fold in the bottom of the chip bag and make a bowl.  See an example from Pinterest here

Trash Gone Wild!: Trash will be everywhere. Unless you plan ahead.  Place a container for trash in every imaginable place possible to encourage party guest to throw away their trash.  By placing the cans around the tables, coolers, and food it will encourage them to throw away as they grab another.

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Guest have left what is next?:  Now that your guest are gone. What messes do you have left?  Dirty floors, sticky little kid finger prints on ‘EVERYTHING’, and urine on everything but the toilet.  Who has time for that ?…. Don’t worry we have you covered.  Call us today to get things back in order.  We specialize in “Creating time for busy people”.  By hiring professionals you will be able to get back to your routine and workflow without the hassle.  After all, school is about to be out for Summer ;D. Who knows maybe routine services are just what you need to get back in that routine!  Call us at 1-844 GOT DUST we would love to help you with your house cleaning needs.

 

 

 

 

 

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Preparing for the Holidays

In less than a week, extended family will be parking on your sofas and recliners, utilizing your facilities, and bringing dishes and platters from infinity and beyond.  Here are a few pointers to help you prepare for your families’ arrival and feast.
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1. Forget the space that Tupperware takes up in the fridge. After your festive holiday meals, grab gallon sized and quart sized zip lock baggies instead. This saves space in the fridge and eliminates additional clean up once all the scrumptious left overs are gone.

2. Ahead of time, set out the pretty platters you want to use to display your gourmet cuisines on. Use clear saran wrap to cover the dish to make for an easy clean up.

3. Prepare the guest bathroom.  First, gather all personal items from the bathroom. In place leave fluffy clean towels, wash cloths, and hand towels. Stock up on toilet paper, a new tube of tooth paste and even some new spare tooth brushes. A new bottle of body wash goes further than a bar of soap and 2 in 1 shampoo saves your out of town guests from having to run to the local drug store last minute.

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4. Kid proof your home.  Put all valuables up for safe keeping and designate a room or area in your home as a play area for kids and all of their toys.

5. The Sniff Test. Did you know you can’t discern the true scent of your own home because you are used to it? That makes it tricky to know how your house really smells. But here are our best tips for making sure your house smells GOOD:

*Wash everyone’s bedding. Give animals a bath. Take out the trash and clean litter boxes and animal cages. Again, those things stink even if YOU cannot smell them. Grab your favorite room deodorizer and light a candle!  Of course the aroma of your favorite desserts will also be filling the air. Clean your kitchen and bathrooms thoroughly, using great smelling cleaning supplies. Vacuum carpets and dust furniture — dirt stinks! Of course you can always just call Maids and Moore and we can help create some time in your busy schedule. Call us today to reserve your spot at 1-844-GOT-DUST.

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Cleaning Supplies Too Dirty to be Clean?!

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Nobody likes the smell of a sour sponge.  How about that mop that looks like a dirty Komondor dog. Yikes! Well if you enjoy your pristine home and take pride in your outstanding housekeeping skills, you probably know that the trick is to have clean cleaning supplies.  You do not want to clean your home with something dirty.  The best slate is a clean slate.  Now, if this is something you have never thought about, let’s think about it: As
we clean our counters with that infamous sponge. The same sponge we use to clean the dishes, the cutting board full of chicken juice (yuck), and the spilt chocolate milk that the dog had started to lick off the floor. To then clean the kitchen table with right after dinner.  Yummy! Right?  Makes sense that we’d be spreading germs and dirt.

Okay don’t freak out let’s just apply some basic cleaning habits to stop anymore germ spread and dirt smears.

img_1252Let’s start with our mop.  Mops can be one of the nastiest things in your home, besides your sponge.  If you are using the old bucket to mop system, just like the sponge, this is a place that is damp that bacteria loves to grow on.  By simply soaking your mop in a tub of bleach and water after each use, ring it out till dry and make sure to hang it up in a cool dry place, to completely dry before the next use. Here at Maids and Moore we use the dry mop method.  By using a microfiber mop with washable mop heads we avoid the risk of germ spread and bacteria growth allowing us to change heads from house to house. We also use washable terry clothes to place under the microfiber mop head, to clean four foot sections at a time, with a light mist of all purpose cleaner. This ensures that we are not just smearing dirty mop water and germs from one part of the house to the next.

Back to that kitchen sponge, as we already determined earlier our kitchen sponge gets used more than anything in our cleaning supplies for more than one thing.  It has been proven that a majority of sponges test positive for numerous forms of bacteria that can make us sick as well as be deadly to us.  To get rid of anything that might be lingering on it simply place your sponge in the microwave for 1 minute after using each day.  You can also run it thru the dishwasher by placing it on the top rack just be sure to ring it out immediately after the cycle is finished.  Your sponge should be evicted after 2 weeks in your home.  While this may seem wasteful, it’s better safe than sorry.  Also, be sure to never let you sponge sit in a pool of water. Make sure it is sitting out to completely dry, the sponge should never stay wet.

I know what some of you are thinking.  Forget the sponge I use dish rags.  While this is also a great alternative these too can hold many germs as well. Your dish rag should not sit out after two days for the same reasons, not to mention the smell they get after some time.  If you are washing your dish rags and towels and they smell sour simply wash them with half a cup of baking soda and nothing else and run it through the cycle. Tada! The stink is gone!!

IMG_0900Last but not least, our vacuum.  It gets around from pet hair clean up on the baseboards and couches, dust bunnies all thru the house, dust mites from under the bed, to vacuuming our headrest on our recliners. If you are using a vacuum with bags, be sure to replace them before it gets full.  If the bag is full it loses its power to suction and just pushes the dirt out that won’t fit in the bag throughout different places in your home.  For bag less vacuums, be sure to empty the canister after each use. There is always a chance it could leak and if you have sucked up any live bugs and their families you will just be moving them to a new location in your home you would probably rather them not be. Don’t forget your attachments and rollers these too could use a good whipping down regularly.

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Mold got a Hold on Your Life

It is wet, dark, and humid. Conditions for IMG_1958one of the most common issues that all moms fear. MOLD. While living in Texas has its perks the humidity is enough for that mold in our homes to grow at the speed of light. Like most of us we clean our homes come back in a few days and BAM! the mold is back. No worries we can help.

One of the first tips is to learn how to control the humidity levels in your home in areas such as the showers and bathroom areas. By simply keeping the shower doors and curtains open or drawn back you can make sure that there is enough ventilation to keep the moisture from being trapped.

Once the mold is spotted it should be cleaned up immediately. Mold can cause many health issues and some are a lot more sensitive to it than others. Especially our kids and fur babies.

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To remove mold from hard surfaces, while using soap and water or even some commercial products helps, the best and most effective way is to use household laundry bleach. By simply spraying the affected areas with a solution of 1 cup of bleach to 1 gallon of water you can remove the harmful mold as well as the yucky black stains it leaves behind. Caution in doing so make sure windows and doors are open to provide fresh air as well as to wear non-porous gloves and protective eye ware.

In occasions the mold will get under the sealant and unfortunately once it has it gets into the pours of that sealant and the sealant will have to be removed to get rid of all the mold. So be sure to check all of your sealants in the bathroom area or even kitchen areas for weak spots that need to be replaced. By doing so you could save yourself a lot of trouble and keep your family from getting sick.

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If there is one thing we know its family first. Keeping our family healthy and clean is apart of our family owned and operated mission here at Maids and Moore. We hope this tip helps you to tackle those moldy issues. Of course, if you need help we would love to help.

Call us today for your professional maid needs at

1-844-GOT-DUST.

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Dirty Blinds?! Piece of Cake!

Dirty Blinds?! Piece of Cake!  Like most of us we dread cleaning all of those slats and strings.  Not to mention a whole backside to address.  No one wants to keep their blinds closed all year around with fear of this dust flying everywhere.  Here are a few tips to show you how to make this a piece of cake.

Simply purchase a few microfiber clothes and lightly mist your clothe with an all purpose cleaner.  You do not want your clothe to be saturated as this just smears and reapplies the dust and dirt back onto the blinds.  That is why you want a few clean ones to do your blinds.  Starting from the top with your hand slid into the rag you will swipe left to right on each slat until you get to the bottom.  Then turn your blinds onto the backside and do them the same way. Now take a dry clothe and dry the slats top from bottom on both sides.  Removing any excess dust and dirt. Tada! Your all done!

To avoid this from getting out of hand again, repeat this step once a week. It will become second nature and more of a preventative verses a full on deep blind cleaning each month.

Whatever you do, do not spray your all purpose directly on the blinds.  This will make a streaky, muddy mess, not to mention dirty your windows.  Also, make sure to not use dusters.  Those nifty dusters will just knock the dust in the air now causing all of the blind dust to land on your furniture where as the microfiber rag will pull it away.  Last but not least to save you some dusting time always start with the blinds first and work top to bottom in all you do bringing the dust down and not back in the air.

Now you are good to go!  You will be enjoying high tea with natural light in no time!  Enjoy!!022D6F52-369B-4E45-8EE1-8330EF35C348

 

 

Dirty Shower! Clean it up with Maids and Moore Techniques

Dirty Shower with hard water stains giving you heartache?! Clean it up with Maids and Moore techniques.  While commercial cleaners seem to be the ticket nothing beats the non-toxic way that Maids and Moore cleans their showers.  Simply spray vinegar and allow it to sit up to 30 minutes and follow up with scrubbing down the shower with a Dawn and water mixture.  Rinse and Dry until it Shines.  No harsh chemicals.  Family safe and friendly. Can not beat this quality!!  Call us today for your free quote at 1-844-468-3878 or get a free instant quote at www.maidsandmoore.com

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Properly Vacuuming and Edging Carpets

A common mistake when vacuuming floors is the floor is vacuumed so quickly that the dirt and bugs along the walls never get cleaned up. By utilizing your vacuum attachments in just a quick step you can removed all dirt and bugs from the carpet. Maids and Moore recommends doing this each vacuum or for those of us that vacuum our homes everyday at least once a week.

 

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