Spring cleaning is here and if you want something clean, really clean, you'll have to move it. To get those seasonal cleaning jobs done quickly, here are some ideas that can help get you started.

• Move oriental rugs and other large area rugs outdoors in the late morning to air out. Hang them over a clothesline or lay them over clean deck railings and use a broom to thoroughly beat out the dirt. Don't leave them out in the sun too long.

   

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• Move your refrigerator, oven, dryer and washing machine just enough to clean behind them. Hint: If you can't reach items that fall behind an appliance, use a long nozzled vacuum with a knee-high pantyhose secured by a rubberband. The pantyhose will prevent the item from getting sucked up into the vacuum.
  
  
• First, turn off your light then remove the lightbulbs and light casing on ceiling fans. Put a washcloth in the bottom of a sink filled with warm soapy water to line the sink and prevent damage to your light casings. Then wash and dry your light casings. Hint: In most ceiling fans, you do not need to completely remove the screws that secure the light casings.
  
  
• Move furniture away from walls and take down pictures and other items. Wash painted walls with a slightly damp soft cloth and dry with a towel.
  
  
• Remove your aluminum and vinyl mini blinds and wash them with warm soapy water in the bathtub or outdoors on a clean surface. Dry with a towel to prevent water spots, then hang your blinds over furniture or deck railings lined with towels for the cords to dry.
  
  
• Scrub your waste baskets using soap and water and a clean, stiff brush. Rinse with a mild disinfectant then move them outside to dry in the sun. Hint: Put several wastebasket liners in the bottom of your basket so it's effortless to reline it.
  
  
• Remove vacuum nozzles and attachment tools from your vacuum, wash in warm soapy water and rinse with a mild disinfectant. Let them dry completely outside.
  
  
• Wash brooms and dry mops in warm soapy water and a cap full of ammonia, rinse, then place outside to dry.

 

About The Maids Home Services

The Maids Home Services, founded in 1979, was rated as one of the top 25 fastest growing franchises in Entrepreneur magazine. It is one of the oldest and largest residential cleaning franchisers in the United States and Canada, serving over 650 territories in North America. For more information, visit The Maids Home Services’ web site at The Maids Home Services.