Housecleaning tricks from TCS

20 Expert Home Cleaning Tricks: Tips from a Baltimore Cleaning Service

20 Expert Home Cleaning Tricks: Tips from a Baltimore Cleaning Service

With over 20 years of experience running a cleaning service in Baltimore, we've gathered a wealth of practical tips and tricks to help you keep your home naturally clean and fresh, without relying on harsh chemicals. Read on for our easy and inexpensive DIY recipes!

Naturally Freshen Your Home's Scent

You don't need to rely on chemical-laden air fresheners to make your home smell inviting. Try these simple tricks for lasting fragrance:

• Lavender Sachets: Put lavender packets inside clothes and linen drawers to stop moths and keep contents smelling fresh.
• Essential Oil in Drawers: Place a drop of your essential oil directly onto the wood in dresser drawers. The wood absorbs the oil and releases the scent gradually.
• Hanging Herbs: Hang packs of aromatic herbs from door handles or in a sunny window.
• Pine Needle Pillow: Pack a pillow with pine needles, then put it among the sofa pillows to freshen the den.
• Porous Pottery Jar: Place a porous pottery jar filled with essential oil near a sunny window. The heat will dissipate the oil, releasing the scent. Replace oil often.
• Winter Simmer Pot: Simmer a blend of cloves, cinnamon sticks, and dried orange peel in 4 cups of water to give a warm scent to your home on winter days.
• Light Bulb Aroma: Top a light bulb with a drop of your favorite essential oil. The heat from the bulb will release the aroma for hours and hours.

Sparkling Pine Floors

Pine floors add warmth and beauty to a home, but they also require special care. Here's a DIY floor cleaner recipe that's both effective and gentle:

Ingredients:

• ½ cup soap flakes
• ¼ cup washing soda (sodium carbonate)
• 1 cup salt
• 2 cups water
• 2 tsp pine essential oil

Instructions:

1. In a saucepan, place the soap, washing soda, salt, and water and heat gently, stirring until soap, soda, and salt have dissolved.
2. Cool mixture to lukewarm, then add the essential oil. Stir well and pour into a jar.
3. Pour two to three tablespoons of the mixture into half a bucket of hot water, stirring well. For large areas, you may need to double the amount.
4. After cleaning, rinse the floor with half a bucket of water into which you have poured a cup of white vinegar.

Tackle Baked-On Oven Grease

Cleaning the oven can be a daunting task, but with our baking soda and washing soda recipe, it becomes much easier:

Ingredients:

• 16 oz Baking soda
• ¼ cup washing soda

Instructions:

1. Mix the ingredients.
2. Wet the floor and walls of the oven and generously sprinkle the mixture on the surface. Repeat and let sit overnight.
3. In the morning, wipe the mixture and the grease away, rinsing to remove any filmy residue.
4. For stubborn, burned-on stains, scour with salt and an abrasive pad.

Chlorine-Free Toilet Bowl Cleaner

Say goodbye to harsh chemical bleaches and hello to an easy, eco-friendly DIY toilet bowl cleaner:

Ingredients:

• 1 cup borax
• ½ cup white vinegar

Instructions:

1. Flush the toilet to wet the bowl.
2. Sprinkle the borax around the toilet bowl, and drizzle with the vinegar. Leave for several hours before scrubbing with a toilet brush.

Streak-Free Glass Cleanser

For crystal-clear, streak-free windows and mirrors, try this simple yet effective DIY glass cleaner:

Ingredients:

• ¼ cup white vinegar
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 2 cups warm water

Instructions:

1. Mix the ingredients in a spray bottle and shake well to dissolve cornstarch.
2. Spray onto glass surface. Wipe dry with a clean cloth or newspapers, buff to a streak-free finish.