A team from the Australian Future Fibres Research and Innovation Centre at Deakin University created their stain-proof solution from the material sand is made of – tiny particles of silica. To further improve their solution they added chemical steps to increase the durability of the solution, to prevent the solution diminishing during washes.

#5 – Removing stickers from glass, wood or metal surfaces.

Stickers can come to be on any surface for many reasons, does your glass TV stand have a plethora of stickers on the top or did your child put a sticker of their favourite cartoon character on the dinner table?

The best, most effective way to get rid of these stickers is to first resist peeling them straight off. This will invariably lead to a mess of paper and glue left behind on the surface with no feasible way of removing either. Soak the sticker and immediate area with a damp cloth or sponge. Keep applying pressure for at least 2 minutes and assess how lucid the sticker has become. If you feel it is still firmly stuck on then apply the damp cloth or sponge again for another 2 mintues.

Once you’re happy the sticker has become loose carefully peel off the sticker with your fingers. DO NOT use a knife or other sharp instrument as you risk damaging your surface or inflicting injury on yourself or others. Once you have removed whatever you can apply a damp cloth or sponge again, for another 2 minutes. With the remaining glue or paper left over, use a blunt but soft material, such as a wooden fish slice, to gently scrape away the residue.

#4 – Streaks on your windows

Streaks on glass occur when water residue is smeared onto the surface, trapping dirt within. The theory of obtaining streak free windows is to simply remove all water from the surface. For this you will need a squeegee, a bucket of warm, soapy water and a cloth.

Use the cloth in the water to clean the window completely of all dirt and grime. Using neat washing up liquid can remove any stubborn grease marks left from fingers. Use a dry cloth to dry the window as much as possible, then use the squeegee, rubber side first, to move the spread the water over the surface of the window. This will allow the water to quickly evaporate and leave your windows sparkling clean.

#3 – A blocked sink

The sink that most commonly gets blocked is the kitchen sink. This is due to the nature of material going down the plug, such as grease/fat, other foot items and hairs. Over time these can come to clog and block the sink at numerous places like in the U-bend.

It is advised to employ the services of local professional plumbers to unblock the sink, though, with sinks, prevention is better than cure. Sprinkle a few teaspoons of salt down the drain followed by a rinse of cold water once every few weeks.

#2 – Dirty blinds

Blinds can be a nightmare to clean because of where they are positioned. Dirty blinds can be more than just dusty, and can be equally hard to clean. An easy method to clean blinds is to take them down, if possible. Once you have taken them of their brackets you can use a damp rag or sponge to clean down the blinds.

For those stains that just will not shift you can put your blinds in the bathtub and rinse well with warm soapy water, agitating the water as required. Please note that this should only be performed on materials suitable for hand washing.

And our #1 cleaning nightmare is…

#1 – Red wine stains

Red wine stains can be the most noticeable cleaning nightmare in the home, not only because of it’s bright visuals but also because of it’s pungent smell. Red wine is notoriously difficult to remove, especially from lighter coloured carpets.

Begin by sprinkling salt over the effected area. This will absorb some of the colour from the stain. Once left for a short while (10-15 minutes) brush or hover the salt away and use a biological detergent to remove the rest of the stain.

You can read more of our cleaning tips on our cleaning tips page.

1. Dust on the Christmas tree: Storing the Christmas tree for over 320 days in the loft or garage is bound to attract dust in abundance. Before erecting the tree, give all the elements of the tree a good, hard shake outside to get rid of all the dust.
2. Glitter, glitter everywhere: What seemed like a good idea at the time may just turn out to be a curse; glitter. Many a time people will garnish their decorations with glitter which becomes loose in the storage boxes. When unpacking the following Christmas it’s usually the carpet with more glitter on than anything.
3. Dirty, discoloured plates and cutlery: As #1, plates and cutlery get grubby and discoloured when left to sit for lengthy periods of time. Before use give them all a thorough cleaning and rubbing down. Cutlery can have polish buffed on to give it that extra sparkly look.
4. Party Poppers: No one can resist popping a party popper, so don’t think they’re going to go to waste. Just remember; never buy more than what you’re prepared to clean up. You could get more than you bargained for come the big clean up.
5. The bane of wrapping paper: Cleaning as you unwrap may not seem like the best way to keep the fun and excitement of unwrapping presents, but it does save a great deal of time and effort compared to cleaning it all up after everyone has had their fun. Keep a bin bag or two at the ready before everyone dives in.

Maid2Clean can ensure you’re party goes with a bang, with a pristine home. Even after the party Maid2Clean can be there to help. We can provide the cleaning services you require to get you back on track after the messiest of all holidays.

Cleaning companies and agencies should have insurance in place already and this documentation should be available on request. This can make costs from companies and agencies appear higher than that of private cleaners, though less risk is involved.

The general rule of thumb is to make sure you feel happy paying the amount requested but also that the cleaner is getting a fair rate for their work. At Maid2Clean, we have a public liability insurance for all of our cleaners. Despite this we can still offer cleaning from as little as £8.50/hour dependant on the hours you require and the area you live in.

Domestic cleaning was once considered a luxury, a service only for those few who had more than enough money for their needs. In recent times, however, cleaning services have become a service available to all and one that provides essential help to those in need.

Maid2Clean: How Long It Takes To Clean Your Home.

One night, after an hour solid of ironing, my shoulder began to ache quite severely. The sheer weight of the iron coupled with a litre of water made for a heavy appliance for ironing with. The more tired my shoulder was, the worse the quality of ironing became. Upon discussing with a family member, I was informed about a product I never before heard of – a steam generator.

The basic idea is simple. Keep water in a separate container. The water is where a lot of weight is and the water is not needed until it is made to steam. The water contained in the steam generator is heated and any steam produced is funnelled though a pipe until it escapes at the bottom of the iron – exactly the way a conventional iron would work.

The price of said product quickly came with a bang. The average price for a steam generator being over £100! Compared to a conventional iron of under half that price. Still, “the price must dictate quality”, I told myself. The model I purchased was a ‘Philips GC7420′, for which I purchased for around £95.

Unusually giddy at the prospect of ironing – what ever will come next? – I rushed home to give it a whirl — whereby I was immediately caught unimpressed. It wasn’t that it was bad, by any means. And I would certainly say there was an improvement over my old, heavy iron. But the gains were minimal, and for such a cost. Was it worth it?

I reassured myself that it was just my over expectedness and high expectations. I gave it at least two weeks before I would cast a solid decision. With each session of ironing that passed I fell more and more out of love with it. Sure, it weighed less than my original iron, but not by much. The shoulder ache still arrived, albeit a little while later than before. The problem was that the weight of the conventional iron helped iron creases out, whereas the steam generator required me to apply force to iron tricky creases out. Hardly a problem solver.

It may have been the model I chose or how I foresaw it as marked improvement over my old, heavy iron, but I just can’t see the appeal of choosing a steam generator over a regular iron, especially considering the price hike. I won’t rule out purchasing another steam generator in the future, but for now I’ll stick to my old, arm-aching, trusty iron.

As winter draws ever closer, you may find you spend the majority of your time in your home. Because of this you’ll soon find things get a little cluttered and, before long, madness can ensue. Make the most of Autumn to get ready for the cold winter months, when the last thing you’ll feel like doing is cleaning!

Chimneys

One of the first things to get used in the winter months is the fireplace. If your home has an active chimney it’s imperative to get it cleaned – you may risk flooding the house with smoke otherwise.

Clothes

Your wardrobe will inevitably change going into the winter months, with t-shirts and shorts out and cardigans and jumpers in. Use that spare suitcase to hold your summer clothes in the loft during the winter, or use this as an opportunity to strip back on the tatty or unused clothes you have lingering.

Deep Cleaning

It may be prudent to use this time to perform a deep clean in your home. Empty cupboards and draws and get rid of clutter. Wash curtains and clean ceilings. Anything you can clean before winter arrives the better.

Maid2Clean’s cleaning services

Maid2Clean offer both one-off and regular cleaning, and can help you get your home ready for winter. For a free, no-obligation quote please use our online contact form, email us at services@maid2clean.co.uk or phone us right now on 0800 043 0233!

Organise

1. Make sure you remember everything you’ve learned. Don’t start putting paper in the wrong places again, and don’t simple hide things away. This is the first disaster route you could step down. Instead get a clear picture in your mind and visualise how you are going to keep you space clear.
2. Employ labelled boxes for your storage. Transparent/translucent plastic containers with lids provide the perfect place for storage, allowing you to peek inside without opening the box or even getting it out of its place. Specially designed cardboard storage boxes provide an efficient, easy and cheap solution and what’s more are kind to the environment!
3. Get nerdy with you needs! Define different sections of drawers and cupboards for different things to live in. This will ensure you maintain a viable filing system and you’ll generally find you actually want to keep the system clean, for personal pride of appearance. Follow this step and you’ll gain much free time you never even knew you were wasting!

Stick to your schedule

4. The longer you can keep your schedule up the easier you’ll find it is to follow. Don’t pile on the pressure though. Make sure your schedule is easy to follow and give yourself plenty of free time in between chores.
5. Always allow for unforeseen circumstances with a flexible schedule, should you not be there for emergency situations, or if you’re caught outside all day long and simply don’t have the time to complete your daily tasks.
6. Get creative – you can even get the kids involved! Make a clutter busting rota with each day of the week on, perhaps with alternating weeks. Jot down the most important tasks and plan around them, leaving space for any spur-of-the-moment tasks that may pop up during the week.

Enjoy all of your new free time

7. Remember what you’re doing all this for: More free time! It’s no good if you find you never get a second to sit down because of your new regime. As long as you can effectively implement your new clutter busting routine and follow it well you should find bags of time now open up in front of you, perfect to spend doing what you love doing.
8. If things aren’t going your way you should review and restructure your routine, hitting the most important tasks and delegating work to your ever helpful workers (if they haven’t all run off by now!).

Turn to the experts

9. If you are in the situation where you just simply cannot keep on top of all the cleaning chores in your home there is a simple, elegant solution. You can hire a cleaning agency to do your cleaning for you. This is where Maid2Clean can provide the answer.
10. Get in touch with Maid2Clean: We can provide you with the only cleaning service you will ever need, and will always strive to keep you happy and your home clean. Offering the complete fundamental cleaning service including dusting, sweeping, ironing, polishing, cleaning internal glass windows, vacuuming and mopping. Whatever your need ‘you’ve got it maid’ with Maid2Clean!

We offer our services to the majority of the West Midlands including surrounding areas. Notable locations include Nuneaton, Bedworth, Hinckley, Tamworth, Solihull, Coventry, Atherstone, Southam, Kenilworth, Warwick, Leamington Spa, Bulkington, Fillongley and Meriden. To find out if we cover your area, or to find out how much time you could save in your home, contact us today, we eagerly await your call!