Hello! We’re back with another article! Today, we’ll discuss how to safely store and handle cleaning products.

We all know how important it is to use cleaning products in our home. They help us keep our household hygienic and comfortable.

Besides knowing how to use them, it’s also important to store and handle cleaning products safely. If you have kids or pets, this is even more important.

In this article, we will give you some tips to safely store and handle all your cleaning products. You will save time, avoid accidents and preserve their effectiveness for a long time.

Before we start, remember that Dallas Maids of Frisco offers a professional cleaning service in the Frisco area. Our cleaning service will help you keep your home spotless and you will never have to worry about a dirty home again!

Without further ado, let’s start with our cleaning tips!

When in Doubt, Read the Labels

Always read the label on the cleaning product to understand its proper use and, of course, how to store them and discard them. Follow the directions carefully and, when in doubt, always call the company first.

The labels will tell you what the product is for, how to use it, what not to do, and the safety measures.

The instructions are there to help you! It’s ok to read them as many times as you need to properly understand what you need to do and, most importantly, ensure you won’t get run any risk in the process.

Sometimes, labels will fall off. In that case, always have at hand a permanent marker, sticky notes and some scotch tape. As soon as you notice the label is going to fall off, copy the name, ingredients and expiry date and stick that post-it into the bottle.

Keep Cleaning Products Out of Reach

As we all know, we have to keep cleaning products out of reach of children and pets. Here are some options:

If you have absolutely no storage and you are into DIY projects, you can install a small shelf using floating shelves (which are around $5 a piece). They are also super easy to install! Make sure you have a small edge to prevent them from falling.

If you like buying gallon-sized cleaning products, these probably won’t work for you because they might be too weak. Instead, you might want to use upper kitchen cabinets.

Related: 5 Mistakes to Avoid When Cleaning

Do Not Mix Cleaning Products

As far as handling your cleaning products, make sure you are careful with transporting them. You can use a cleaning caddy or a small utility cart to transport them safely.

When it’s time for the actual cleaning, the most important thing to keep in mind is to avoid mixing cleaning products.

Many cleaning products are perfectly safe to use by themselves. However, they can produce explosive reactions or toxic fumes if mixed with other chemicals.

For example, even though vinegar is quite safe to use on many surfaces, you should never mix it with bleach, as it produces chlorine gas. This can irritate your lungs and eyes and cause breathing difficulties.

Even mixing vinegar with hydrogen peroxide will create something called peracetic acid. This chemical reaction can be dangerous to your skin, eyes and respiratory system.

If you want to read more about the potentially dangerous cleaning products in your home, check this guide from Emily’s Maids.

Separate Incompatible Cleaning Products

As we were mentioning earlier, commercial cleaning products are not meant to be mixed together. When you are going to store cleaning products, you need to separate incompatible products to avoid mixing them by accident.

For example, bleach is a product that does not get along with other common cleaning products (white vinegar, ammonia, rubbing alcohol). These products can create toxic fumes, and you never know when they are going to spill or get mixed by mistake.

You can use your bathroom and your kitchen sink as two separate areas to store your cleaning products.

Related: 6 Features to Look for In Green Cleaning Products

Store Cleaning Products in a Cool, Dry Place

If you live in Frisco, you will have noticed by now that you have big temperature and moisture changes throughout the year.

Temperature and moisture changes can weaken the effectiveness of a cleaning product, and extreme heat conditions can even make them useless.

This is because some products need to be stable in order for their properties to stay active. This is especially true for items such as soaps, which need to be in a solid state in order to work.

Therefore, try to make sure that your cleaning products pantry is as cool and dry as possible.

Cleaning products can also emit fumes that spread to other areas of your home through your HVAC vents. Avoid storing them in areas like basements, garages, or near furnaces or water heaters.

If you don’t have a cleaning pantry or available cabinets in your kitchen or bathroom, you can get yourself a 3-tier utility cart.

This will be perfect to store all your cleaning products while keeping them separate according to the type of product. Utility carts are compact and designed to fit everywhere!

A small cleaning caddy works just as nicely, especially for smaller bottles and cleaning items.

Wear Protective Gear and Proper Safety Measures

Even if they are mostly harmless, it’s always good to use the proper safety measures.

First of all, ventilate the area by opening up a window or a door. It’s not safe to stay in a closed space when using abrasive cleaners like bleach. Turn on fans, if you have them.

It’s important to let fresh air circulate and disperse any fumes that may be building up in the room.

Next, you have protective gear, which is usually safety gloves, masks, and goggles. You should also wear aprons or long sleeves to avoid spilling products on your arms or hands.

Related: We Still Wear Masks

Conclusion

There it is! Our guide to safely storing and handling cleaning products. Speaking about handling cleaning products, there’s no one better to do that than cleaning professionals.

Remember to check Dallas Maids of Frisco if you need maid services in the Frisco area. You can forget worrying about your bleach spilling all over your cabinets or breathing toxic fumes from oven cleaners. Don’t stress! We’ll handle your mess.

Follow our blog for more cleaning tips!

The post How to Safely Store and Handle Cleaning Products appeared first on Dallas Maids® | Maid Service & House Cleaning Services Voted #1 for a Reason.

Hi and welcome back to Dallas Maids! First of all, happy father’s day!

We hope you enjoy your special day spending some quality time with your family.

By now, you are probably having fun with a family activity. But what about your home?

You can surprise your dad by planning a fun family cleaning!

We know you might not have enough time or energy at this point to do some heavy cleaning. And, if you didn’t have the time this week to read a deep cleaning checklist that you could use for father’s day, that’s ok.

This is why we wanted to give you some quick but effective cleanig tips to make your home look nice and tidy for father’s day and start next week on the right foot.

As always, make sure to check Dallas Maids of Frisco. A cleaning service always comes in handy and not only for special events.

Let’s get started!

Choose Your Cleaning Tasks Wisely for Father’s Day

For Father’s Day, try to tackle areas that you wouldn’t normally clean on a regular cleaning day. For example, your garage is often overlooked, so you might as well want to start there. If you have the time, start by organizing your cabinets and removing everything from the shelves to give them a good dusting.

Save your floors for last because that is where all the dust is going to fall.

Related: How to Clean and Organize Your Garage

Set a Timer for Cleaning This Father’s Day

For a quick cleaning to be effective, you need to work smarter and not harder. Set a timer for each cleaning task or area, and, more importantly, a 5-minute or 10-minute rest.

You want to rest from time to time without losing momentum.

You can try the 20/10 cleaning method from our fellow cleaner experts from Emily’s Maids.

Create a Checklist With Cleaning Tasks Instead of Cleaning Areas

A strategy you might find helpful in such short time is to tackle a single cleaning task in your whole home. For example, maybe it’s a good idea to brush and mop all floors for father’s day.

Or, you can vacuum all carpets floors, rugs and furniture. You can also dedicate this time to clean all fixtures, baseboards, and shine your stainless steel appliances.

This is a great chance to enjoy some quality time with father-son or father-daugher activities.

Again, try to think of cleaning tasks that you have been avoiding and that would be helpful to do in a few hours or in the next week.

Ran Out of Options? Call Dallas Maids of Frisco!

If you haven’t had the time to clean and tidy your home for Father’s day, it’s ok!

Check our cleaning service in the Dallas and the Frisco areas for next week.

You can never be too late for cleaning!

We hope you had the best Father’s Day and we’ll be back soon with more cleaning tips!

The post Happy Father’s Day! appeared first on Dallas Maids® | Maid Service & House Cleaning Services Voted #1 for a Reason.

Hello! We’re back with another article! This time, we wanted to give you some tips for using the perfect amount of laundry detergent.

Believe it or not, this is one of the most common issues that we heard from customers. They always ask how to know exactly how much to use.

As always, make sure you check Dallas Maids of Frisco main page. We’re a professional cleaning service in the Frisco area. And we certainly know all the secrets to wash your clothes if you need us to!

Now, here are 7 tips if you want to use the perfect amount of laundry detergent.

Check the Label and Follow Instructions

This step is overlooked often and it’s one of the keys to use the perfect amount. Most people don’t read the instructions to know the exact amount they need to use. Many brands even suggest different amounts depending on the type of laundry (e.g., color, heavy-duty, etc.).

Many times it’s because you’re in a hurry or you just don’t pay mind to it. Other times it’s because you don’t have a measuring scoop or cup at hand.

Check your load size and try not to overload your washing machine with too many clothes, because you will need more detergent and your clothes might not get washed properly.

Besides, too much detergent can cause excessive sudsing, which can reduce the effectiveness of your washing machine and even damage your clothes.

Related: How to Wash your Washing Machine

Use a Laundry Detergent Container or Bottle

One of the best ways to keep track of how much detergent you’re using is by buying a plastic detergent container. A transparent container, of course.

If you have laundry detergent powder, you can use a container with measurement marks.

For liquid laundry detergent, you can use many bottles as dispensers which is perfect to use the perfect amount of laundry detergent.

Whether that’s a faucet dispenser or a pump dispenser, they are perfect because you know they are using a consistent amount of detergent.

Use a Laundry Detergent Scoop

Laundry detergent scoops are one of the best solutions. Besides a detergent container, we recommend you have a measuring scoop with the suggested amount for each load of laundry.

Keep a specific scoop for your detergent because a) you don’t want to mix that with your kitchen utensils, and b) you will have your scoop always at hand and you won’t forget to use it.

A detergent scoop helps you make sure you are using the recommended amount of detergent according to the manufacturer’s instructions. As we were mentioning earlier, this helps you save detergent and ensure your clothes are properly cleaned without using excessive detergent.

Related: Cleaning Underarm Stains with Homemade DIY Cleaners

Adjust for Water Hardness

This is a question that we get frequently asked as well. Just like some detergent brands suggest different amounts depending on your type of load, they also suggest increasing the amount of detergent if you have hard water.

If you live in Frisco, you probably have hard water, which means that your tap water contains high levels of minerals such as calcium and magnesium.

Also, these minerals can react with the surfactants in laundry detergents and reduce their efficacy.

By using laundry detergent, you will counteract the effects of these minerals and your clothes will come out clean. The additional detergent will be able to prevent the buildup of mineral deposits on your clothes as well.

As we mentioned earlier, always follow the recommended dosage on the detergent packaging, and you can do some research first if they do not suggest any other dosages for hard water.

Choose Laundry Detergent Pods

You also have the choice of using detergent pods. These pods are sometimes a bit pricier (although you can get some great discounts here and there!).

However, you can save some money in the long run if you tend to use too much detergent powder or liquid. This is because detergent pods are formulated to be able to wash a large load of laundry, Detergent pods are easier to use because they are pre-measured, which means you won’t have to use measuring cups or messy spills.

Pods are also compact and lightweight, which means they are perfect to transport. If you don’t have a washing machine at home and you need to go somewhere else, they could be a good choice.

They are often concentrated because they are quite compact and able to dissolve quickly and thoroughly.

Last but not least, many of them are eco-friendly because they use less packaging, and reduce the amount of water needed for laundry.

Related: Vinegar, A Very Versatile Cleaner

Choose Laundry Detergent Sheets

Laundry detergent sheets work just as effectively as detergent pods. However, unlike pods, you can split sheets in half.

Detergent sheets are often plastic-free, which makes them a fantastic option if you are trying to become (or already are!) eco-friendly. They are also lightweight and compact, just like detergent pods.

Many of them come from eco-friendly brands, which means they are also vegan, free of dyes and artificial brighteners.

Plus, sheets are often fragrance-free as well, so you can leave your clothes smelling fresh and clean without strong fragrances (if that is your preference).

If you have high-efficiency washing machines, you can find laundry sheet brands that work with this type of washing machine.

Create Your DIY Laundry Detergent Pods

Last but not least, we have a DIY detergent pods solution to share! It’s perfect to save time as well because next time you only have to grab one of your pods and toss it in the washer.

Here are the steps to create your own DIY laundry detergent pods:

You will need:

• 1 cup washing soda
• 1 cup baking soda
• 1 cup grated castile soap
• 1/2 cup white vinegar
• 1/4 cup coarse salt
• Additionally, you can add 10 to 15 drops of your favorite essential oils (this is optional).

In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients except for the vinegar and the essential oils. Now, slowly add the white vinegar to the mixture, and stir until it is evenly distributed.

This will create a small chemical reaction where you will see bubbles. That’s completely ok and harmless!

Just wait until this reaction is completed and the mixture will start to clump together.

Pack the mixture into a silicone mold or ice cube tray. Make sure the mix is tightly packed by pressing down firmly with your fingers or the back of a spoon.

Let the pods dry for 24 hours until they are nice and dry.

Pop them out of the mold after 24 hours and store them in an airtight container. You can use mason jars with airtight lids.

There you have it! Every time you need to do laundry, just take one or two pods (for towels or weighted blankets) and let the pods do their job.

Conclusion

If you’ve made it this far, congratulations! Now you know how to use the perfect amount of laundry detergent.

Don’t forget to check our blog for more cleaning tips. And, as always, check our main page if you need a professional cleaning service in Frisco.

We’ll be back soon!

The post How to Use the Perfect Amount of Laundry Detergent appeared first on Dallas Maids® | Maid Service & House Cleaning Services Voted #1 for a Reason.