Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with cleaning

Web template for cleaning business?

zeikka — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 06:39:17 -0800

Where can I find simple, yet professional and elegant web template/ Wordpress theme for cleaning business? I'm helping someone who's starting a small scale residential/ business cleaning service. I have domain and cheap hosting for her, but would like to find nice web template to use.

Wordpress theme would be ideal as I'm not very experience web designer or don't have experience with complex publishing system. Free would be great this as is very small scale.

Faint of butt

ignignokt — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 12:14:09 -0800

While I was driving him home from the vet yesterday, the cat took a dump in his carrier, which was made of cloth. (He was in the front passenger seat.) After taking care of that, I noticed it still smelled like cat feces in the car. I didn't see any stains on the seat, and I had to go, so I just rolled down the windows and went to work.

Later that night, it still smelled like cat poo in the car, but I had a bad, tiring day, so I left it alone and hoped it would be better today.

Unsurprisingly, it's not. So, I guess some secret poo liquid got onto my car seat. What method for getting rid of it and the smell maximizes efficiency and minimizes effort?

Smudgy Stainless

yellowcandy — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 08:37:52 -0800

Stainless steel everywhere. What's the best way to clean it to be free of fingerprints and smudges? We inherited a kitchen that is pretty much wall-to-wall stainless steel (cabinets, countertops, sink, fridge, etc.). The smudges and fingerprints make me crazy. What's the definitive word on cleaning it?

I really hate dusting. Like, A LOT.

Kimberly — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 11:34:12 -0800

Does anyone in the Denver Metro area (or even better: Aurora) have a recommendation for a house cleaner for bi-weekly cleanings? We prefer not to use Merry or Molly maids, someone who has their own business is preferred. I'm checking out Craigslist and following a few other leads, but personal recommendations would be great. If you can tell me about how much you spend either in this thread or via mefi mail it would be appreciated.

Thanks!

how can I clean this couch?

helios — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 11:54:31 -0800

My landlord just bought a brand new sofa (this beige model) for my apartment, and I seem to have ruined it already by letting my friend sleep on it for a few days using dark-colored sheets. The area under the head/pillow is now slightly darker than the rest of the sofa; it looks as if it's always slightly wet. The cover can be dry-cleaned but will be expensive; what are the chances of it working? Are there any easier/less expensive alternatives?

Help me clean a window.

Frasermoo — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 07:31:27 -0800

What is the best way to clean my window with a hose? We have a large window at the front of our house. It's too high up for me to get to it with a ladder, and I have tried extension poles and it leaves terrible streaks and really didn't get the job done. I want to use my hose to spray down the windows, maybe with an attached bottle for spraying soap as well.

Anyone done this?

Too much dust in apartment

Aanidaani — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 10:13:24 -0800

Dust, dust, everywhere! I recently moved to a new apartment on the 12th floor of a high rise building in Philadelphia and find that dust accumulates all over everything like crazy. Is there something I can do to slow it down? I generally keep my windows open all day, which I'm sure contributes to my problem. I've looked at a few room air filters, but I don't know about their efficacy--has anyone else had experience with this?

Sadie the tidying lady?

mjao — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 01:08:07 -0800

I know how to--and rather enjoy--housecleaning. But I suck at tidying. my brain just doesn't work that way. As a consequence, I'm clean but quite messy. How do I look at a room & figure out the most efficient way to make it look neat? Share with me all your approaches and strategies.

What to do with the Apple II?

niles — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 18:27:18 -0800

What do I do with several Apple IIs (and a Commodore, and maybe a few other "vintage" comptuers) that I have? Nostalgia has finally given way to practicality, and I need to do something about the basement shelf overflowing with computers older than I am - but I have absolutely no clue how to do it. It seems wasteful to throw out a perfectly working Commodore 64 (in the original packaging!), or any of several models of Apple IIs with boxes of related 5.25" disk software. I read about a team at MIT creating cheap computers out of Apple IIs for developing countries, and while I can't find any further information for them online, donating to a cause like that would be awesome. Short of that, what else can I do to clean out the house? What's the best thing to do with these computers?

Metamess Prevention

magnoliasouth — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 10:04:25 -0800

What are some tips on preventing electric range messes? I'm not talking cleaning them, but preventing the messes in the first place.

You see, I am buying a new electric range and it is to be delivered tomorrow. I have 5 adults (three are young adults) in this house right now and it's a battle getting them to clean up after themselves, but that's for another post. The point is that I'm trying to come up with creative ways to keep my new stove nice looking and to prevent filth altogether.

I know there are a lot of seriously safety minded folks out there and while I'm not feckless I'm also not overly concerned with it, so ideas such as disposable drip pans, or oven liners, are fine by me.

Are there any other tips out there? Also I'm really looking for stove-top ideas since that appears to be the biggest problem.

better mopping

bookdragoness — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 22:38:30 -0800

Mopping - is there a better way? Am I just doing it wrong? I hate mopping. It's such a hassle in my current apartment because the sink isn't big enough to put the bucket in to fill and I have no squeegee lid for it.

I sweep/vacuum the linoleum floors regularly, but the actual mop-on-floor part gets neglected (3x in 2 years?). I'm trying to be a better grown-up and mop it more often, plus get rid of sticky/slippery parts.

I have a string mop. I've tried the sponge mops that have squeezing parts built in and dislike those even more. I've tried using the kitchen sink as a 'mop bucket'; I've washed off spots by hand with a rag; I just don't have a real setup for mopping and this half-assed one isn't working.

I believe that if I get something that makes it less of a detestable chore that I'll do it more often. It worked that way with my vacuum
(went from el cheapo to a Dyson and now magically vacuum >10x more often).

Should I just break down and get a bucket with a squeegee lid attachment? Are Swiffers really that awesome? Is there just a better way to do it that doesn't require so much effort?

Bonus: shedding cats
Double bonus: litter boxes in two of the three linoleum rooms - as much as I try, not all the litter gets picked up by sweeping and vacuuming

Landlord unwilling to return cleaning deposit

monkeystronghold — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 16:00:15 -0800

My former landlord returned substantially less money from the cleaning deposit than expected. Should I bother with small claims court? I've left my rental home of two years, and I'm now having trouble with the landlord. At the time of move in, I paid a $500 damage deposit, and $125 pet fee, and a $500 refundable(?) cleaning deposit/fee. Check in condition agreement documented the home problems pretty thoroughly. Now, 30 days after move out, she sent a refund that kept the entire $500 depost for cleaning. It stated that she had paid $12 for 99 hours of cleaning.

Some additional information:

- The Rental Agreement is a standard form and says "Non-Refundable Fee". She crossed out the "Non-Refundable" part at the time of signing, changing the text to read "Cleaning". All other correspondence refers to this as a "Cleaning Deposit". Verbally, she said this money would be used for cleaning if the house was not cleaned upon vacating.

- I sincerely believe that I left the house as clean as when I moved in

- The house had been abused by the previous tenants. Carpet riddled with cigarette burns. The hardwood floors are untreated wood painted with wall paint. Holes in doors. Etc. This was not a house of refinement. I have emails to her documenting things we found to be broken, in addition to the move in report that accurately assesses the condition of the house.

- I requested a move out walkthrough on multiple occasions, and she never responded. The assessment that she sent stated that she paid for 99 hours of cleaning. The gap between my opinion (clean as when we moved in) and hers (99 hours of cleaning?!) is vast.

I tried to call to discuss it with her, calmly, and she got very upset and hung up. All correspondence since that time has been in writing.

I've lived in many rentals and never had a problem, so I have no idea what I should do next. Is small claims court worth the trouble? I'm in Oregon if it matters.

Did cleaning my old plastic toys make them unsafe?

Anonymous — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 12:47:33 -0800

Should I dump my old toys, or give them to my toddler to play with? I have a large box of Fisher-Price "Little People" and various related plastic/wood toys from 30-40 years ago that were well-loved by me and my siblings. They were very grimy, so I dumped them in a sink full of warm soapy water and used a scrub brush to try to get the dirt off. That did nothing. I then used a Magic Eraser, which did really well getting the old grime off of the plastic.

My husband wasn't so happy about this - he reminded me that the Magic Eraser is just very fine sandpaper, and what I did was remove very fine layers of plastic from each toy. Now I wonder if I have rendered these old plastic toys unsafe for my small child to play with.

Renting in New Zealand - Pets urine on carpet. Smells. Pet hair

Anonymous — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 08:13:10 -0800

I'm currently renting a flat unit in New Zealand which I will be moving out next month. My current rental agreement states that I do not need to have the carpet professionally cleaned before I move out. I have two cats in the house and the question was raised with the property agent before I moved in. They have agreed to let me have the pets in the house and on the rental agreement, it also states that they are okay with it. The property agent did an inspection of the house recently and they have asked for me to have the carpet clean by a professional carpet cleaner because they can smell cat urine. This was not raised previously in the previous few inspections. I suspect this could be due to the fact that I'm moving out for good. I do know that my cats have made a few accidents on the carpet which I have already tried my best in cleaning up the area. The smell does remain but it's not strong. the carpet is discoloured slightly as well. My questions are: Is it reasonable for the property agent to request for the carpet to be professionally cleaned? If I disagree, am I in any way in breach of the tenancy agreement? I am thinking that since the property agent allows us to keep pets in the house, wouldn't the cat 'accidents' be the normal wears and tears of having a property rented out?

How should I clean an interior brick wall?

bfranklin — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 06:27:53 -0800

How should I clean an interior brick wall? I have exposed an interior brick wall that had been living behind wood paneling for many years and it looks filthy. I've already cleaned my exterior brick with muriatic acid with great success, but I am hesitant to even attempt to use it inside. Pressure washers aren't happening -- this isn't in my basement.

Googling comes up with suggestions of dish soap and elbow grease, but I doubt this is going to work based on my experience cleaning the outside of the house. Does anyone have firsthand experience in cleaning interior brick? What products/strategies should I use?

Help! My shower is growing things!

bluloo — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 08:23:55 -0800

How do I a) get rid of this mold in my shower and b) prevent it from coming back? I'm a college student, and this is the first apartment I've lived in on my own, and thus have no idea what the best course of action is. I should preface this question by saying that we are pretty bad about keeping up with the cleaning throughout the apartment, but especially the bathroom... although until now mold hasn't been an issue in our bathroom.

I share a bathroom with one of my roommates, and I subleased my room to someone for the summer. When I got back last week, I found a lovely ring of mold around our shower. The shower is one of those cheap vinyl shower/tub combos, and the mold has sprouted in a line where the shower wall meets the tub, along the caulking. I know that my other roommate (who has her own bathroom in the master suite) has had a lot of problems with mold. The landlord has come by twice or so in the year that we've lived here and recaulked with supposedly anti-mold caulking. (And, if it matters, we are the first people to live in this newly constructed house). I just finished cleaning the shower with Tilex Mold Root remover, but all I succeeded in doing was stripping the caulk down a layer in a few spots. What should I do/what products should I use to eradicate the mold? What preventative steps should we take to keep it at bay?

Bugs in the system

Iteki — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 11:36:55 -0800

Mass sterilisation of keyboards, what are my best options? Have about 50 computers in my care, and in use by the public. Having just seen yet another user sneeze into their hands and then continue typing I am reminded that my keyboards must be beyond gross by now.

While I thank my filthy workplace for my robust immune system, I would still like to be able to sterilise the keyboards about once a month or so. Apart from the boogie-men of msrs and the piggyflu, the Norwalk-like winter puking bugs are a genuine problem where I am.

If worst comes to the worst I guess I will just throw them all in the dishwasher once a year, but I am hoping omone can shed some (UVC?) light on a better solution. Any truth to those magic wands for example? If so, where to get? I only find dodgey looking yahoo-store links

My car is melting. (Melting!)

6and12 — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 08:23:04 -0800

What's the best way to clean the tarry, semi-melted center console of my 2001 Honda Accord? Years of South Florida heat have started to take a toll on the interior of my Honda, specifically the black, rubber-like material that surrounds the cup holders and shifter in the center console. The same material also lines the little alcove in front of the shifter. I learned the hard way not to keep jewel cases or anything else in there because the black material tends to come off on anything left in there for more than a few hours. This material also tends to act like flypaper, catching little bits of dust, hair, or anything else flying around in my car. Occasionally I get the interior detailed, and they always manage to get this stuff semi-clean. I've tried a few car interior products, but haven't had any luck myself. Can anyone suggest a good product for cleaning this type of surface?

Leather purse cleaning

demiurge — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 20:58:50 -0800

I need advice for cleaning a water stain on a leather purse. A drop of rain fell on my fiancee's purse and caused a stain. The purse is made of very soft leather and I did not expect it to leave a mark after drying, but it has been several days and the dark spot is only slightly lighter. You can see pictures of the spot here and here. I assume it was only a drop of rain since it was raining lightly that day, but the only other possibility would be a drop falling from a overhang.

I know nothing about leather care and I got conflicting advice from different sites from a Google search. Can you give me any advice on how to return the purse to its original condition based on your leather experience?

Curse you Pepsi!

sporaticgenius — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 18:45:03 -0800

How do I clean this gunky stuff off my floor? Please save my sanity and help! I have been given the wonderfully pleasant task of cleaning out an old garage.

It has tile floor - the peel and stick kind. I moved a piece of furniture and found an awful gunk. Judging from the cans nearby, I'd say it's alot of pepsi that was spilled and left for a year.

I tried spraying on a cleaner and moping it up... The mop stuck to the floor.

So far the only thing that has worked is getting down and literally scraping it off. It doesn't come off easily scraping it, it's hard and when scraped off because very sticky and sticks to my tools.

Any suggestions that will save my back and my sanity? I know you can steam clean carpet, is there an equivalent for peel & stick tile floor? Please help...

Out, damned spot!

fantine — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 14:55:12 -0800

How can I clean my besmirched kindle? Stain on white Kindle case. Do not want!

Ok, I just got a kindle and it's awesome. However, i've gotten it a little dirty and I prefer it clean.

I was trying to clear up a little mark with the spit-and-fabric technique when unfortunately, some reddish/pink dye from my skirt (cheaply made, alas) got onto the white border. I tried scrubbing with windex, a damp paper towel, and a washcloth with soap Toni avail. There remains a faint (but real) light pink stain on the upper left corner.

How can I clean this properly? I'm guessing a thin coat of white out maybe be folly, but would that work? Any and all guidance apppreciated.

Why are formal clothes more likely to be dry-clean-only than casual clothes?

madcaptenor — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 06:57:23 -0800

Why are formal clothes more likely to be dry-clean-only than casual clothes? I went to a wedding last Saturday, and I'm going to another one tomorrow. Both times I'm wearing a suit. The suit, of course, is labelled "dry clean only". This is inconvenient for me, since all my other clothes are machine-washable, but I'll do it.

This got me thinking: why are "formal" clothes, in general, less likely to be machine-washable? Are there reasons having to do with how the fabric is made? Or is this purely a status thing -- that wearing clothes that need Special Cleaning makes you more important than the people who can just throw their clothes in the washer and let them spin around? I'm hoping there's people who know more about fashion than I do who can answer this.

A quick Google indicates that there exist machine-washable suits: here, here, and here are press releases disguised as newspaper articles about them. (It's telling that these come up higher on Google than places where you could actually buy them.)

How do I clean my Fujitsu scansnap ?

Kevin S — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 15:30:25 -0800

How do I clean my Fujitsu scansnap ? I was startled to discover that the counter on my new scansnap 1500 has already exceeded 2000 pages. The manual specifies a cleaning every 1000 pages using Fujitsu's little bottle of stuff called F1 PA03950-0352 which cost around $18.00 with an additional $7.00 or so for shipping.

A little surfing reveals that the bottle contains "Anion surface-active agent 0.5wt%". Another "hit" for a different Fujitsu scanner says that it is ispropyl alcohol.

Is there a home remedy that would do as well, like ispropyl alcohol from the drugstore?

Not that it's all that much $$$, but it is annoying.

Thanks

Smells like teens' spirits

chalbe — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 12:13:01 -0800

Help me get the vomit smell out of a cotton canvas messenger bag. Long story short, I woke up one morning to find my cotton convas messenger bag covered in vomit. It must have been soaking in it for at least 7 hours. After some quick googling, I tried the following steps over two weeks to clean it but the smell still persists:

1. Washing machine with detergent and hung dry
2. Dry cleaned
3. Sprayed all over with Febreeze
4. Soaked in hot water with vinegar for 6 hours
5. 2nd trip in washing machine + extra vinegar and hung dry
6. And lastly, two days left in the freezer to try and draw out the smell

What am I missing? Is my bag doomed to a life of smelling like an awful mix of vomit, Febreeze, and vinegar?

Help me make a happy house

cloudsandstars — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 19:12:07 -0800

Is it possible to be a domestic goddess AND have a full-time job? If so, how? It is my heart's desire to be a frugal yet excellent housekeeper and cook. However, I have a demanding full-time job and a 45-minute (one way) commute so I don't have a whole lot of extra time to devote to accomplishing all that goes into keeping a peaceful, clean, comfortable, organized, efficient home. I am married and thankfully my husband does help with the chores and the lawn. I just can't seem to get a system established for some reason. We don't have children yet, but do plan to in the future, so I'd like to get my routine together before then (and yes, I know a kid will throw things out of whack, but at least I'll have some practice under my belt). To put this all in a nutshell, I would like to be able to succeed in keeping things clean and organized, doing laundry/ironing, planning meals (possibly including gardening), and creating (and staying within) a budget, and other stuff with enough time left over for visiting with family, pursuing leisure activities, and getting 7-8 hours of sleep each night.

I'm interesting in hearing your suggestions on blogs/websites/forums I can visit for ideas, inspiration, and motivation to assist me in achieving (and maintaining) this goal. Also helpful would be great books or magazines on the subjects pertaining to the art of homekeeping. Or tips and tools you may have personally used.

Thanks in advance!

P.S. I have looked at FlyLady, but I don't think it's really my style - a little too "momish" for me at this point in my life.