Check out (pun intended!) these hotel cleaning secrets
My friend is a head housekeeper in a fancy hotel and her bedrooms and bathrooms are always gleaming!
Me: "You must spend all your time cleaning?"
She: "Nope, I just have some quick tricks I take home with me from work!"
She has a family (2 kids, one husband and a dog). I asked her what were the secrets to her quick-yet-efficient cleaning and she gave me these tips that can help us all at home to have a hotel-like bedroom and bathroom.
Clear the clutter first
Empties the bins, removes the bedlinen, towels, and anything else lingering. In the bathroom, clear up the bathmats, shampoo bottles, and everything on the counters or toilet tank. It removes the temptation to just wipe around these items or picking them up and immediately placing them back down on a wet surface that will leave circle marks.
She uses microfiber cloths
She swears that the secret to great dusting is a proper cleaning cloth and it's microfibre all the way.Failing that use one that is 100% cotton- like and old t-shirt or pillowcase but you must dampen it slightly. Beware - polyester creates more dust. No point in creating extra work for ourselves now!
Making a bed real quick!
Changing bed linen can be time-consuming, especailly a king or super king! No matter which corner we start with, we almost always stupidly put the long end of a fitted sheet on the short end of the mattress.She suggests marking the inside seams with a fabric marker to highlight right or left corners. Simples!
Hoover BEFORE you mop
Leave the hoovering to last and always hoover or sweep before you mop. Wet hair on the floor is hard to remove. When the time comes to mop, start from the far corner and make your way to the door and leave! No footprints.
Give the cleaning products time to do their job
Let your products do the work for you. Spray the tiles and the toilet and leave them to do their job for a few minutes. Use that time to clean the mirrors, windows, cabinets etc... Then go back and wash off the sprayed surfaces. You use less energy and it's more time efficient!
Directional hoovering
Most people start with furthest part of the room and hoover themself out, but if you hoover "into" the room over the high-traffic areas and then hoover out, you get the most walked-on spots twice- not the other way around!
Favourite cleaning product?
I was conviced she had some secret 'hotel cleaning spray'. She doesn't. Her secret weapon: white vinegar and water. Apparantly it even cleans the residue left behind by 'real' cleaning products! Fill up a spray bottle with one part vinegar and three parts water.
Don't forget your toothbrush!
She says a small brush can get into those tiny cracks in the bathroom like around the bottom screws of a toilet, around the edges of taps etc...
Make a mini cleaning cart
Ok, then a basket / bucket - a cart is a bit of a stretch! Fill a bucket with all of your cleaning product, cloths and brushes. It will keep everything together, cutting down the amount of time it takes to get the job done. Keep it in the utlity room or under you sink so you know where everything is when it's time to shine!