Lockdown leads to extra cleaning up, especially for celebrities like Victoria Beckham who are tackling their own chores while their domestic staff are furloughed. But those who aren’t familiar with household chores may find the whole experience daunting, even stressful. This is why I, as a former professional cleaner, have decided to share my five top tips for people not used to cleaning.
- The most important rule of cleaning is to use protective rubber gloves – always. This may seem extreme but using your bare hands may result in damage to your skin. I’m someone who suffers from eczema so kitchen gloves are a must for me. Gloves keep your skin protected from chemical cleaning products.
- Don’t make the mistake of using kitchen wipes for your bathroom. It may seem like an easy option, but with the wrong wipes you could end up damaging different surfaces. Even worse, if you apply anti-bacteria wipes to the antique oak table, you’ll be in big trouble.
- Thirdly, please do not try to mop dirty floors without hoovering first. Hoovering cleans away every small crumb and hair, and not doing this will leave you with more dirt later on. Also make sure that you use a cleaning product that will protect your flooring. Floors are not all made of the same stuff (wood, stone, tiles etc), so check you’ve got the right product for that material.
- Micro cloths are a must-have. But don’t make the mistake of using only one for each room – you’ll end up spreading dirt and bacteria across the room you’re trying to clean. It’s a great idea to have three different cloths for each room, such as the bathroom, kitchen and living room, and get them in different colours so you won’t mix them up. Most importantly, make sure to wash your micro cloths weekly so that they stay clean and germ-free.
- Everyone loves a dishwasher, but you MUST rinse your dishes first or they won’t get clean.
