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Q: Can you use steam mops to clean sealed engineered hardwood floors?
A: As a general rule, the hardwood flooring industry does not recommend using steam mops on wood floors of any type. The manufacturers have recommended cleaning practices and solutions, and using other products and machines will void your warranty. Contact the manufacturer of your flooring to get their cleaning recommendations.
Summer’s here, and with it, the increased awareness of, and need for, sunscreen. We need the protection, but our tile floors? Not so much. Fortunately, there are easy ways to clean up when we accidentally slather and spray SPF on surfaces other than our skin.
Clothes
While that’s definitely good news for you and your kids, it sounds like the family wardrobe didn’t make out as well. But don’t fear; most commercially available bug sprays and sunscreens do wash out relatively…
From her many jobs as cook, cleaner, grocery shopper, chauffeur and social director, mom typically receives just one day off a year - Mother's Day.
In a 2000 national survey by American Cleaning Institute, 82 percent of moms said that they would like to see the housework vacation that they enjoy on Mother's Day happen more often.
"Today's mothers have to juggle so many more responsibilities than they did when the first Mother's Day was celebrated in…
For best results, always read and follow label directions on cleaning products. Labels will give specific instructions for types of surfaces the cleaner should or shouldn't be used on, how much to use and how to use the product. Also, read and follow the use and care guides that come with fixtures, appliances and other surfaces.
Do not mix cleaning products. Products which are safe when used alone can sometimes become…
Get the jump on seasonal cleaning!
It's fall, so how about getting started with spring cleaning?! While that may sound like a contradiction in terms, stop and think about it. Warm summer months means vacations away from home and more time spent outdoors. But while you were out enjoying yourself, dirt and grime didn't take a vacation. They sat around the house, accumulating and multiplying. And, now, with the winter…
Writing letters, arts and crafts, homework, making a grocery list … it doesn’t really matter how it got there. But if you take a close look around, you’re bound to find pen, marker, pencil or crayon markings on walls, desks, tables and furniture. Here’s how to remove those stains on a variety of surfaces.
Painted Walls and Painted Wood Furniture
Test the washability of the surface by first washing an inconspicuous area. Use a nonabrasive, all-purpose…
Living/Dining Rooms and Bedrooms serve up different types of challenges. Dust and dirt tracked in on shoes ... spill and stains on carpets and upholstery ... rings on wood surfaces. But here again, there are products that meet the challenges.
Use rugs or mats at all entrances to catch dirt and grit that can build up on floors and carpets.
Choose a soft cotton cloth or paper towel for cleaning glass surfaces. Fabric softener on cleaned cloths can leave a…
If you or your child have allergies or asthma, you already know that many things can bring on, or "trigger," an asthma flare or episode. Some things that trigger asthma attacks are called allergens. Some people get symptoms from only one allergen - like dust mites. For other people, more than one kind of allergen can trigger an episode.
Tobacco smoke is an asthma trigger. Avoid smoking in a home where a person with asthma lives.
The…
However long it takes you, ACI has a few suggestions for addressing the ABCs of spring cleaning.
A is for Asthma and Allergy Triggers
During this challenging winter, many of us were snowed in with our pets whose dander is one of the most common triggers. Compound that with a few months of everyday dust and the tiniest unwelcome guests who seek shelter in our homes during cold weather, and it’s time to do away with the "A."
Have an allergen control plan. Clean one…
This independent consumer research study was completed in January/February 2008, on behalf of The Soap and Detergent Association (SDA), by International Communications Research (ICR).
Do you regularly engage in spring cleaning?
This survey question was asked of 1,013 American adults (507 men and 506 women) and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percent.
Results:
Yes (77%)
No (23%)
Insights:
The number of spring cleaners is up. In polls taken in 2002 and 2007…