It’s the time of the year again where every Singaporean Chinese household will start their preparations by getting organised and doing a thorough spring cleaning before Chinese New Year. It is believed that this will clean away all the bad luck and bring in good luck to the family for the coming New Year.
However, we admit that we hate cleaning too, simply because there’s too much work involved! Sharing your concerns, Ninette Herberger, our cleaning expert at Helpling, who worked for more than a year in luxury hotels, like the Adlon and cleaned for A list stars like George Clooney and Jennifer Lopez has put together a Spring Cleaning guide for the big clean.
Before starting:
With spring cleaning you can really bring your home back on track, but this takes time and can’t be done in 2 hours. So plan piece by piece and not all at once! Go through your cleaning cupboard to make sure you have everything you need before you get started.
Kitchen
Dirty stoves and ovens:
Burnt, crusty spots, on the stove, are best removed by dissolving a dishwasher tablet in warm water, rubbing the mixture on the warm stove and leaving it for a couple of hours. Then simply wipe it off! Same thing with the oven. For an all round oven cleaning, fill a baking tray with water and a few drops of washing up liquid. Set at 100 ° C, allow the heat to evaporate the grease and scrub the surfaces when finished.
Give kitchen appliances a shine:
Over time kitchen appliances get dusty and sticky. This layer can be removed with a soft damp sponge that you dip in a little baking soda for devices made of chrome or stainless steel (e.g toasters).
Getting rid of stains in microwave:
Put a glass in the microwave with water filled with lemon juice in it, put it on high for 5 mins before wiping.
Bathroom
Yellowed, moldy shower curtains:
Did you know that you can wash shower curtains? Things to note here: 30 ° C without detergent, on a fine wash, without clothes.
You can do this at the start, whilst you apply yourself to the rest of the bathroom.
Mold around the shower and bath:
Sometimes it’s simply unavoidable to get rid of mold stains in the bathroom, but did you know that you can remove them with a little tea tree oil. Take a Q-tip, soaked in the oil, rub into the affected area and say goodbye to your stains!
Bedroom
Bed bugs (mites):
Rotate your mattress every 2 weeks to prevent mite infestation. For spring cleaning, shake the mattress properly and then hoover. You can also rent specialist vacuum cleaners for dust mites in DIY stores.
Floor:
Scratches on your Parquet Flooring: Ninette Herberger recommends rubbing a walnut over the affected area; the oil from it would help to restore the colour.
Animal hair on the carpet:
Animal lovers can relate to having your cats or your dogs spending 70% of their time lying on the carpet or the sofa leading to unsightly balls of fur everywhere. For the hair that isn’t so easily removed with a vacuum cleaner, take a rubber glove or scotch tape to remove the hair.
Living room/lounge:
ur porcelain dishes in the living room display case shows discoloration and stains?
Some porcelain dishes should not be put in the dishwasher. Luckily, for such cases, there is a simple home remedy: take a cork, dunk it in oil, then salt. In a circular motion, go over the discolored or dirty surfaces. Then rinse the porcelain thoroughly by hand.
Get vases really clean:
Have your flowers stood too long in the vase? It can quickly form a dark coating which isn’t so easy to remove. There are special glass cleaner balls or beads that you can buy online. These small metal balls are added, with a little water, into the vase and all you have to do is twirl them around until the dirt is no more.
Clean curtains and blinds:
After cleaning the windows, you’re now off to the curtains. Put half a pack of baking soda into the washing machine with your curtains and watch that greying disappear! To dust blinds, put an old sock onto your hand and run it over the slats.
With these tips, you should be well prepared for spring cleaning. When finished, you can (once filled with flower petals and a few drops of rose oil a bowl, for example) have a great fragrance in the home and having it look great.
