7 Awesome Back to School Cleaning Tips for Busy Parents
August 23, 2015 | Cleaning Tips | No comments
Wow. As you survey your home following the ecstatic weeks of freedom your kids have enjoyed this summer one thought goes through your mind. How am I ever going to clean this up? Quite a few of us here at eSpares have kids so we know your pain if you’re dreading the post-summer holiday cleaning. Luckily we’ve got some excellent cleaning tips here to help!
Ironing School Uniform
Ironing doesn’t have to be horribly dull. You can set the board up in front of your favourite TV show and multitask. But if your iron has a sticky residue on the soleplate the effort involved with trying to stop those crisp white school shirts getting dirty marks on them could make you miss major plot points! To clean the build-up of burnt on starch or material from your iron you’ll need to use a soleplate cleaner. Once the soleplate is sparkling, your iron will glide smoothly over school shirts and blouses and have no problem flattening that elusive perfect crease in trousers.
Cleaning Up Outdoor Toys
Garden sandpits, seesaws, and plastic outdoor games are all awesome ways to get your kids outside enjoying the fresh air. At the end of summer it’s very tempting to store these toys away without giving them a clean, but let’s face it, that’s only going to lead to tantrums next year when your kids have to wait to use their favourite toys. Hear us out, there’s no need to scrub for hours. Just grab your pressure washer (or rent one if necessary) and hose down outdoor equipment. Leave to dry in the sunshine then you can store it away. Your future self will thank you!
Removing Sticky Fingerprints
Young fingers are inquisitive. When the sun hits your windows you see just how inquisitive as the pane is a tableau of sticky fingerprints! For easy window cleaning, we love window vacs. A traditional squeegee works too of course, but for convenience, a window vac is best so you don’t have to polish your windows post-cleaning, just suck the moisture off. You can use your window vac to remove grimy finger marks on your kitchen surfaces, cupboards and coffee tables too. But if you’re not convinced, you’ll need a polishing cloth and some elbow grease instead!
Guaranteeing Fresh Smelling Laundry
You’ve finally emptied out your laundry basket, even those annoying stray items in the bottom that need washing on a different setting to everything else. But during term time, turn your back for two minutes and the basket’s close to overflowing again! To keep on top of the never-ending stream of dirty school uniform you need an efficient washing machine that always leaves your clothes fresh smelling. Running a monthly hot wash with washing machine cleaner will prevent damp odours and keep your machine mould and limescale free. That’s a load off your mind!
Sanitising Carpets
From spilled food and drinks to muddy shoes and clothes, your rugs, carpets, and sofas no doubt see their fair share of grime as your children flit from activity to activity. Your soft furnishing may be looking a bit worse for wear by the time the new school year starts and if bacteria builds up on them, they may even start to smell. Luckily, you can remove dirt and sanitise at the same time by cleaning with steam. Good steam cleaners kill 99.9% of bacteria and are helpful for cleaning all sorts of areas around the home including your kitchen and bathroom.
Wiping Down Screens
For a guaranteed hour of peace and quiet keeping the kids entertained with your laptop, smartphone or tablet is a pretty safe bet. But now that the little ones have gone back to school and you’ve reclaimed your tech, you may find it grubbier than when you lent it out. Easily fixed. Get some specialist screen wipes or a half and half solution of water and white vinegar sprayed onto a damp (never dripping wet) microfiber cloth and give your TV, laptop, tablet, smartphone, DVD discs, and video game discs a wipe down. Don’t forget to give the TV remote a wipe too!
Washing Lunchboxes
When buying new lunch boxes and bottles for your kids there’s one crucial stamp to look out for: dishwasher friendly. Dishwasher friendly lunch things will save you time throughout the entire school year so you don’t have to rinse them by hand. Just think what you could achieve with those few minutes saved every day. That’s an extra two minutes you can spend with your feet up at the very least! eSpares Top Tip: The dishwasher can also be used for cleaning baseball caps so they keep their shape – just don’t wash your dishes at the same time!
Once you’ve got the house tidy, the school uniforms washed and ironed and the packed lunches sorted, it seems like you’re ready for the new school year. Unless you have tech-savvy teens. Then you’ll need to check off these back to school essentials to cover all bases before term starts.
Tags: Back to School, Cleaning Tips
