Have you ever looked at the price for professionals to clean apartments? It can be pricey depending on the amount of square footage of your home. This inspired me to do research on how I can accomplish a professional clean to save money. If you are interested in this, please keep reading to see what I found out.
Professionals cleaners clean apartments by using the proper supplies, chemicals, and techniques. They are paid to clean every square inch of a home and complete it in the most efficient way possible.
Time is an important aspect, and it shouldn’t take you a whole day to clean your apartment. With the right tools and knowledge, you can accomplish a professional clean in a reasonable amount of time. Lets begin on how to accomplish this…
Have all the tools you need on hand
It is imperative that you have all tools required to clean your apartment. For starters, you should have a mop, brush, cleaning solution and spray bottle at the minimum. If you have a rug, you should also have a vacuum.
An efficient way to clean is to have all these items in a centralized location. You shouldn’t be running around your apartment looking for them while you are in the middle of cleaning. They should all be put aside and grouped together so you can grab what you need instantly. You don’t want to waste any time going back and forth trying to get supplies that you need instantly.
I have found that being able to access the items I need is easier when you have them organized. Therefore, I stage all my supplies in the living room. I do this because the living room is the last room I clean from the whole apartment. So, if I end up getting the living room dirty, I know I can clean it at the end. This will eliminate double cleaning, unlike if I were to start with the living room first.
Additionally, your supplies should be in good condition. If you are using an old dirty rag or sponge, then replace it with a new one. These Items are not expensive and should be replaced regularly.
Techniques used by professionals to clean apartments
One interesting technique I discovered is that professionals tend to clean top to bottom and left to right. I never really thought about having to clean in this order. But, I found a video from a credited cleaner who specifies that this order is used for efficiency purposes.
It makes complete sense when you realize that when you clean higher cabinets or appliances, dust and dirt will fall onto anything that is underneath. You don’t want to clean the bottom to just then have it get dirty again. This would be counter intuitive when you want to clean efficiently. Therefore, it is important to always start cleaning from top to bottom.
Additionally, you should clean every room starting left to right. This is another implemented technique that makes sure you are cleaning the whole room. The method allows you to clean everything without having to think about what you should clean next. It keeps you on track by forcing you to work your way around.
Ultimately, you should start at the top and then go down, then keep moving right to the next area. You will make a full cycle of the room doing this. Therefore, it prevents you from missing any area that needs cleaning.
Read instructions on back of liquid cleaning products
You should read the instructions of the cleaning solution that you are going to use. I came to the realization that some cleaning solutions require you to let it sit for a specific amount of time, so it works as intended. This means, spray or wet the surface and let it stand for a few minutes so it can break down dirt and grime.
This will make cleaning easier and save you time when you must use a sponge or rag to wipe off the solution. Every chemical works differently, and you should know how to use it if you read the instructions.
An example of this is when you clean the stove top. You want to apply the spray (or powder) and let it sit on the surface for about 5 minutes, so it breaks down build up. Then, you should use a brush and watch the grime come off with ease because you let the chemical solution do its job.
When I started doing this, I noticed how fast and easier I was cleaning because I let the cleaning solution dissolve the dry food and spills. I’ve learned that I’d rather wait a little then to go hard on a surface stain that takes muscle and sweat to remove. Lesson learned!
Use and “S” pattern to clean all surfaces
I must admit, this method was a wake-up call because I was taught to always clean in a circle motion. What I didn’t realize was that circle motions make you push dirt back to where it started. It doesn’t really “clean”, it just pushes dirt and grime back to the starting location of your rag. So, what you need to do is implement the S motion when wiping down.
For example, If I were to wipe the face of my fridge, I would start top to bottom wiping with an S motion all the way through.
Think of it as a long snake. You start at the top left, wipe all the way right, and then go down and wipe all the way left. Then, you would down again and wipe right and keep going until you reach the bottom of the fridge.
The S method makes it efficient to remove all dirt by collecting it and eliminates pushing it back on to clean surfaces. Additionally, this saves time and energy while you are cleaning. You should be using this method on all surfaces.
Look everything at eye level
One interesting tip that I found is that you should look at everything at eye level to make sure you didn’t miss a spot. An example of this is the space between the microwave and the surface that it’s on.
If you don’t bend over and look at this gap at eye level, you won’t see that it probably requires cleaning. Therefore, you should always look at surfaces or gaps at eye level to make sure you have removed any stains or streaks left behind that you can’t see when standing straight up.
Additional tips that professionals use to clean apartments
Use gentle products – You don’t need to use strong chemicals to clean. There are plenty of gentle products that are not harsh to the environment that can clean properly.
Keep organized – One thing that most people miss is that cleaning also comes from organizing your things. For example, in the kitchen, you should organize all appliances and any products on the kitchen counter. This will give it a clean aesthetic. If you don’t do this after you clean the surface, it will look like a mess and remove the “clean” feeling.