Tips for Improving Your Holiday Guests’ Overnight Stay

You may have some friends or family members who will be spending the night over the holidays. In order to help them have a comfortable night’s sleep, there are some thoughtful steps that you can take beforehand. Check out these tips for improving your holiday guests’ overnight stay.

Thoroughly Clean Ahead Of Time

Do some deep-cleaning before your guests arrive. Vacuum and dust the entire house. Change out the sheets in the room that they will be staying in. Rearrange the closet to make sure that they have a space to put their things. If you simply don’t have the time to clean your home as thoroughly as you’d like to, consider hiring a professional to do it. This will help you ensure that your home is completely ready for your guests.

Provide Them With Enough Blankets

Many individuals don’t enjoy staying the night at someone’s house because they get too cold or too hot at night. It can be difficult to set the thermostat just right to make sure that your guests will sleep comfortably. You can easily solve this by providing them with enough blankets. Make sure that they have access to comforters just in case they get too chilly and thin blankets that they can use if they are too hot.

Use Plug-in Nightlights

Your guests may have difficulty navigating your home if they need to get up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom or get a drink of water. This is why you should use plug-in nightlights. You should place these lights in outlets in both the hallways and the guest bathroom. This will allow them to easily see where they are going without bumping into things.

Purchase A Few Of Their Favorite Drinks And Snacks

Your guests will probably get hungry and thirsty quite a bit when they are staying at your house. You can easily make your guest’s stay more comfortable by purchasing a few of their favorite drinks and snacks. Show them where these items are located, and let them know that they are free to help themselves to them.

Plug in a Humidifier at Night

If you know that your central heating system tends to make the air especially dry in your home, you might want to keep a humidifier running where your guests sleep (as long as it runs quietly). Sleeping with a humidifier is more likely to prevent your guests from waking up with aching sinuses or a sore throat.

Improve your home’s indoor air quality with professional air duct cleaning services. At GreenPro Cleaning & Restoration, we do not use any toxic chemicals and our cleaning systems produce superior results.

Ideas for Organizing Your Cleaning Supplies

Keeping up your home’s cleaning routine is a lot easier when you have well-organized cleaning supplies. The question is: what is the best way to organize your supplies? The answer will depend largely on your home’s storage options, but your personal preference will come into play as well.

Below, we’ve gathered some brilliant ideas for storing and organizing the odds and ends of your cleaning arsenal.

1. The Basics

A lot of us own duplicate cleaning supplies without even knowing it. Before attempting to organize what you have in the smartest way possible, make sure you’re only keeping the supplies you actually need.

2. Lazy Susan

If you store your cleaning supplies underneath your sink, it can be hard to reach the items stored toward the back. A Lazy Susan is a perfect solution. Instead of fumbling through bottles and brushes, simply spin the item you want to the front.

3. Tension Rod

Maximize the space underneath your sink by installing a tension rod. It’s a great place to hang brushes and the handles of spray bottles.

4. Towel Rod

Add a small towel rack to the inside of your cabinet doors for more hidden hanging space. (It’s a great way to store rubber gloves!)

5. Shoe Organizer

Short on space under your sink? Try an over-the-door shoe organizer. Each shoe pocket can hold most standard-size cleaning supplies and keep them all within easy reach.

6. Baskets with Handles

Store cleaning tools and products that you take from room to room in plastic baskets or caddies with handles. This will allow you to complete your tasks around the house more efficiently. If your kids have chores, make a basket for each of your kids with the supplies they’ll need inside it.

7. Broom-Holder

To prevent long-handled cleaning supplies from getting in the way and falling over, mount them on a wall. A broom-holder with multiple slots will do the trick!

At GreenPro Cleaning & Restoration, we're taking eco-friendly cleaning solutions to a higher standard and striving for cleaner indoor air quality for all of Long Island. Contact us today to learn about our “green” cleaning solutions for attics, crawlspaces, and air ducts.

Did You Know Your Vacuum Cleaner Could Do This?

Most people use vacuum cleaners for what you’d expected: sucking up the dust, dander, hair, and numerous other particles that find their way onto floors and upholstered furniture. However, you may be surprised to find out that your vacuum cleaner can be used for much more than cleaning floors and sofas.

Here are some brilliant, new ways to make use of your vacuum cleaner. Get those attachments ready!

1. Prevent Dryer Lint Fires

Dryer lint buildup can pose a serious fire hazard to any home. At least a couple of times each year, take out your dryer’s lint trap and use your vacuum cleaner’s thin wand attachment to suck out excess lint from the vent.

2. Blow Up an Air Mattress

Have no fear if the electric pump to your air mattress dies. A bagged vacuum cleaner can do the job as well!

3. Find Tiny, Lost Items

We’ve all done it. At some point, we’ve dropped a pin, earring, needle, or some other small object into carpeting and simply could not find it. If this happens to you, stretch a stocking or the foot of a pair of tights or pantyhose over the mouth of your vacuum’s attachment, and vacuum over the area where you lost the item. The vacuum will suck up the item from the carpeting, and the stocking will keep the item from going all the way up into your vacuum cleaner.

4. Re-fluff Carpet Indentations

If you’ve ever moved furniture around, you’ve probably noticed the indentations that furniture leaves behind on carpeting. If an indentation is particularly stubborn, place an ice cube directly on the spot and allow it to melt. Once the water has mostly dried, vacuum over the area in every direction. Note: Refrain from using an excessive amount of ice cubes, as too much water can lead to mold growth under the carpet!

5. Clean Your Curtains

Curtains often get neglected during housecleaning, but they collect a large number of airborne particles, including dust and mold spores if they’re next to an open window. If you have curtains that can’t be machine-washed, use your vacuum cleaner’s upholstery attachment to give them a good dusting.

Vacuum cleaners certainly are handy appliances, but for certain areas of your home, a heavier-duty solution is needed. If your air ducts, attic, or crawl space is in need of a professional cleaning, contact GreenPro Cleaning and Restoration!

Don't Forget These 7 Summer Home Maintenance Tips

With summer just around the corner, it’s a good idea to make sure your home is prepared to handle everything that comes with the season. The most important thing to remember is that in order to properly prepare your home, it’s going to need maintenance inside as well as outside.

Here are 7 maintenance tips you’ll want to make sure to tackle before summer really gets going.

1. Clean, repair, or replace your window screens.

Window screens allow you to let cool, morning temperatures and evening breezes into your home without letting in bugs and birds as well. However, a dusty, grimy screen can prevent airflow from occurring--or worse--can make your indoor air dirtier.

Make sure to take down your window screens to give them a gentle scrub with hot, soapy water. While doing this, look for tears or gaps through which insects might enter and repair as needed. In some cases, replacing an old, worn screen here and there might be the best option.

2. Dust your ceiling fans.

Ceiling fans tend to accumulate a lot of dust, particularly on top of the blades. Dust the body and blades of your ceiling fans thoroughly with a microfiber cloth.

3. Reverse your ceiling fans.

After dusting your fans, you’ll want to make sure that your ceiling fans are spinning in the right direction (counter-clockwise) to properly cool the rooms they’re in, as you may have reversed their direction for the opposite effect during winter.

4. Inspect your deck and balconies.

Check the floor, railings, and pillars of your deck and balconies for any safety hazards, namely signs of rotting or termite damage. That kind of damage should be repaired as soon as possible to prevent any accidents or injuries.

Also, check for any nail heads that may be jutting out of the wood, and hammer any protruding nails back into place. Lastly, check to see if your deck needs to be resealed by splashing a little water onto its boards. If the water soaks into the wood, rather than beading up, you’ll know that your deck should be resealed.

5. Inspect your sprinkler system.

Make sure that none of the sprinkler heads have become buried or knocked off center, and then slowly turn your system on so that you can look for leaks and water pressure issues. Afterward, adjust your sprinkler system’s watering schedule for longer, hotter days.

6. Add mulch to your garden.

Putting mulch in your flower beds allows them to better retain moisture and also helps suppress weeds.

7. Make sure your attic and crawlspace are treated for mold and harmful bacteria.

If your attic and crawlspace are already prone to excess moisture (which many are), the warmth of summer months can lead to extensive mold and bacteria growth, resulting in foul odors and poor indoor air quality. It’s a good idea to get the often-neglected areas professionally cleaned to prevent this issue.

3 Cleaning Secrets That Every Allergy-Sufferer Needs

For people with chronic allergies, a clean house is a must-have. What many people don’t know is that traditional cleaning methods may not be effective enough to reduce allergens and might even aggravate allergies instead of easing them. That’s why we’re going to talk about 3 golden pieces of cleaning knowledge specifically for those in need of a more hypoallergenic home.

Following this advice will help reduce the amount of pollen, mold spores, dust, and dander in your home that trigger annoying and uncomfortable allergy symptoms.

1. Invest in a well-sealed, quality vacuum cleaner with a HEPA filter.

HEPA filters are designed to capture finer particles that would escape a normal vacuum cleaner. This makes them effective at trapping pet hair, dander, pollen, and even dust mites.

However, it isn’t enough for a vacuum cleaner to simply have a HEPA filter. If a vacuum cleaner leaks or if its gasket doesn’t seal properly, some of the particles being sucked up by the vacuum will escape back out into your air supply, making the HEPA filter useless.

In short, investing in a well-made vacuum cleaner can make a world of difference when it comes to trapping allergens.

2. Wash all of your bed linens weekly in water that’s at least 130 F.

The warm, humid environment of your bed makes it an inviting home for dust mites, as does the dander that collects on your bed linens. Dust mites feed primarily on human and pet dander, and they can cause allergic symptoms such as nasal congestion, sneezing, postnasal drip, itchy eyes, and itchy throat.

Simply washing your bed linens will not be enough to remove these parasites. The water must be at least 130 degrees Fahrenheit to actually kill dust mites. It’s also wise to invest in dust-mite-proof covers for your pillows, mattress, and box spring.

3. Use your kitchen and bathroom exhaust fans to reduce moisture.

A moist environment welcomes mold growth, which in turn leads to more mold spores that can pollute your indoor air. Run your bathroom fan for 45 minutes to an hour after showering. Run your kitchen fan while cooking and for at least 15 minutes after cooking. Not only will your kitchen fan help eliminate excess moisture, but it will also help remove harmful byproducts produced by your oven and stove while in use.

5 Bad Cleaning Habits to Break Right Now

We’re all guilty of a few bad cleaning habits. It might just be because they seem like the “easy” way of doing things or because we never even knew they were bad habits to begin with. Whatever the case may be, reversing bad cleaning habits can make maintaining a clean house a whole lot easier.

Are you guilty of any of these bad cleaning habits?

1. Using more cleaning product than directed

Aside from costing you more money in the long run, using an excessive amount of cleaning product can leave the surface you were trying to clean with residue, which then attracts dirt. Only use the amount of cleaning product recommended in the directions, or simply start out with less and use more if needed.

2. Not using the right cleaning product for the surface you want to clean

We’re sorry to have to tell you, Dad from My Big Fat Greek Wedding: Windex is not an all-purpose household cleaner, much less a miracle cure for any ailment. Even gentler, homemade cleaning solutions can cause irreversible damage to some surfaces during cleaning. For instance, cleaning solutions with white vinegar can etch the stone of a marble countertop because of the vinegar’s high acidity.

3. Letting dishes “soak” in the sink

Always try to wash your dishes or load them into the dishwasher immediately after each meal. Allowing dirty dishes to pile up in your sink not only looks untidy, but it also attracts flies, ants, and cockroaches and encourages bacteria growth.

4. Scrubbing dishes before loading them into the dishwasher

In most scenarios, using your dishwasher as opposed to handwashing your dishes will save you time, water, and money, so that’s one reason to let your dishwasher do the “dirty work." Interestingly, your dishwasher will also have a harder time doing its job properly if there isn’t some kind of food residue left on your plates for its cleaning agent to interact with. Next time before you load the dishwasher, rinse larger food remnants off of your dishes but load them still a little dirty.

5. Letting papers pile up.

This can happen quickly due to the amount of junk mail that winds up in our mailboxes. Make it a habit to sort your mail daily and toss junk mail in with your recyclable garbage. Buy your household a small paper shredder for discarding bills that no longer need your attention or other documents that you don’t want to keep but that contain personally identifiable information. Better yet, switch to paperless invoices and statements whenever possible.

How to Make a Realistic House Cleaning Schedule

House cleaning can feel like a monotonous chore that you always run out of time to complete. If you’re wondering why it seems so much easier for some people (even your busier acquaintances with full-time jobs), the chances are that they’ve developed certain cleaning patterns or routines.

What’s the key to effectively building a cleaning routine into your life? The answer is simple: a cleaning schedule that works for you. That can sound a little intimidating to make if you’ve never created a cleaning schedule before, so here are three tips to help set you up for success.

Tip #1 - Don’t Overdo It

In our excitement to make new goals for ourselves, sometimes they end up being a bit loftier than what’s actually practical for us to achieve, given how busy we are on an almost daily basis. When creating cleaning tasks for yourself, dial it back a bit--make the tasks smaller and more “bite-sized” so that you can feel accomplished for completing them and less overwhelmed.

Tip #2 - Set Your Own Standards of Cleanliness (and Don’t Compare Yourself to Others)

What do we mean by this? If you’ve never had a cleaning schedule before and have already struggled with keeping a tidy home, have the expectation that you’ll be able to keep your home looking like an immaculate magazine photograph will inevitably leave you feeling disappointed.

Cleaning your home should be satisfying, and you should feel like you’re accomplishing something that improves your quality of life as well as the quality of life for those living with you. Aim to please yourself when you clean.

Tip #3 - Prioritize the Areas You’d Like to Clean

Since time is precious, when you clean, place a priority on the areas of your home:

• That are most visible to you
• Where you spend most of your time

For instance, if this is the kitchen, dining room, and living room, these cleaning tasks might be your top priorities:

1. Sanitize and wipe down the kitchen counters, sink, and stove top.
2. Clear off clutter from the dining table.
3. Vacuum the living room couch and rug.

That’s not to say you should never clean the areas of your home that see less traffic. Those areas might only be cleaned once every month or two months, as opposed to weekly or biweekly.

There are plenty of house cleaning schedule templates available online, but remember to keep these three tips in mind when adjusting those templates to meet your needs. If you do, you’ll feel much more satisfied by cleaning, and you’ll feel better overall by how your home feels afterward.