CRESTVIEW — To professional home cleaners, the basics of their trade seem obvious.
But for college students setting up their first apartments or other folks who are new to housekeeping, the pros’ advice can be eye-openers.
And in the long run, it can make life easier — and healthier.
Two North Okaloosa County residential cleaners, April Tucker of AT Residential Cleaning, and Laura Forshaw of Monster Maids, offered these favorite tips:
1. Don’t leave your shower pouf dripping over the faucet or the shower head, Tucker said. “They’re constantly dripping and leaving hard-water stains. I hang mine from the shower curtain rings after I shake it out.”
2. Unplug and clean. The four electric burners on your stove actually unplug, Forshaw said, letting owners open the top like a car hood.
“You can actually pull them out and it lifts up, but a lot of people don’t know that. I clean a lot of houses and people see me do that and say, ‘Oh my God, I didn’t know you could do that.’ They’ve been trying to reach through that little hole in the drip pans and clean up stuff that spills.”
3. Get a vent hood over your kitchen stove, Tucker said. “When they’re frying food, it creates ‘sticky dust’ and that is so amazingly resilient. I told our roommate, ‘Justin, we’re never frying in the kitchen!’”
4. It may be cumbersome, but every now and then, “pull out the fridge when you sweep,” Forshaw said. “If clients have animals you can make a small kitten with the amount of fur I pull out. I find a lot of lost articles. You’d be amazed what I find. Money, too.”
5. Install hardwood or tile floors. They are not only easier to maintain than carpet, they’re healthier, too, Tucker said.
“There’s so many bad things about carpeting I can live without,” she said. “They get stained, they trap odors, especially from pets.
“I live happily with area rugs. I can take them up and take them outside and clean them. Carpet makes the air so dirty.”
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: North Okaloosa professionals: 5 tips for keeping homes tidy