Clean smarter, not harder 

Cleaning windows, vacuuming the couch, scrubbing the oven, and dusting picture frames and trinkets are jobs that don’t have to be done every time you clean. Adding one of these small extras to your weekly cleaning schedule means that they won’t add up to becoming a monster task that you have to do all at once at the end of the month. 

Another fun way to clean smarter is by setting a timer (try 15 minutes or 30 minutes, depending on how much time you have) and getting through as much tidying as you can before the time is up. This is a great way to get the kids involved too – they will see it as a competitive game rather than a boring chore. 

Don’t cry over spilled juice 

Is it even an end-of-year party if someone doesn’t spill something on the floor? Whether it’s one of the kids with their sticky fruit juice or your trigger-happy bestie with sparkling wine, cleaning up an accidental spill is as easy as pie, with flour. 

Instead of instinctively reaching for those paper towels, grab a handful of all-purpose flour and sprinkle it over the spill. The gluten in the flour will absorb the moisture and stop the spill from spreading, making the mess much easier to clean up.  

Use the power of steam 

Steam cleaning your microwave beats scrubbing away at built-up food with harsh chemicals for what feels like ages. Cut a lemon in half and place the halves into a microwaveable bowl of water, then heat the bowl for three minutes in the microwave. Leave the bowl to stand for a further five minutes to allow the steam and lemon to work their de-greasing magic.

After you remove the bowl, give your microwave a quick wipe down with a cloth, and voilà! 

Improve your home’s air quality 

A safe, hygienic home starts with fresh, clean air, and investing in an air conditioner with built-in air-enhancing features is a long-term investment in your family’s health and wellbeing. 

With an antibacterial air filter as its first line of defence, the LG ArtCool captures and eliminates dust and bacteria micro-particles. Next, a powerful plasma ioniser purifies not only the air that passes through the air conditioner but the surrounding surfaces too, resulting in over 99% of adhering bacteria being sterilised within one hour of use.

In addition to the ionisers, LG’s ArtCool range has a comprehensive auto-cleaning function which prevents the forming of bacteria and mould on the heat exchanger, and thus provides a more pleasant and comfortable environment for the user. All without you lifting a finger.

The post Top LG Cleanliness Tips appeared first on Visi.

1. Soap oil-finished wood floors regularly

“Soaping” a floor means mopping your wood floor with a wood soap designed to clean and protect oil-finished surfaces from dirt, stains, and wear and tear. I recommend WOCA Natural Soap, which cleans and leaves behind an invisible layer of soya and coconut fats, which greatly helps to make your oil-finished wood floor more dirt- and wear-resistant, and easier to keep clean.So why is wood soap so important for oil-finished floors? Think of it like caring for your skin. You want a product that cleanses and protects it from getting dry and cracked. Like a moisturising cleanser, wood soap removes the dirt and creates a new microscopic breathable soap film on the wood surface.

2. Clean and protect floors with proper wood-cleaning products

Carefully consider the products you’ll use for your wood floor cleaning, as you can easily end up with unwanted results if you use common household items. The pH value in some household items is very high, which means they could strip the finish, discolour the wood and leave your floor unprotected. I recommend cleaning your wood floors with WOCA Wood Cleaner and various wood soaps, for instance WOCA Natural Soap. These products are specially developed for cleaning and protecting wood floors in the most careful and efficient way.

3. Use two buckets when you clean wood floors

You need to use two buckets to properly clean the floor: one bucket containing the soap solution and a second bucket with clean water to rinse the mop. Change the water in the second bucket as needed. This two-bucket wash method prevents the floor from getting a greyish gleam caused by dirty water.

4. Microfibre mops are not recommended

Microfibre mops are mildly abrasive and will gradually wear down an oil finish on a wood floor. Use a cotton yarn twist mop instead.

5. Don’t use too much soap

Visible footprints on your freshly washed floor? The problem may be an excessive dosage of soap. Clean the floor with clean lukewarm water (without soap) and the footprints will disappear.

6. Don’t use soap flakes

Many people consider soap flakes to be a wonderful cleaning product at home for a variety of things, but this product does not have a beneficial effect on wood floors.

7. Reduce surface tension with a proper wood cleaner

Surface tension is present when a basic treatment or maintenance product does not penetrate into the wood. It is often seen with new and dried-out wood floors. A thorough cleaning with a tailored wood cleaner reduces surface tension, allowing for treatments to be done with great results.

8. Use specific cleaning products on lacquered wood floors

If you decide to clean your lacquered floor with a cleaning solution with a high pH value, this will slowly damage the lacquer in the long run and leave the floor unprotected. Instead, the cleaning must be done with a specially developed soap, such as WOCA Vinyl and Lacquer Soap. This pH-neutral soap efficiently removes dirt and grease from the surface without affecting the actual lacquer finish.

9. Look for easy-to-use products to maintain oil-finished wood floors

Maintaining an oiled floor is now easier than ever, especially when using WOCA Oil Care, which can be applied manually without using a polishing machine. The Oil Care dries extremely fast, allowing the floor to be used with caution after 1 hour. WOCA Oil Care provides the floor with additional hard-wearing properties in the upper pore layer and a beautiful matt appearance.

10. Don’t forget to protect wood-look vinyl and lacquered wood floors

WOCA Vinyl and Lacquer Care leaves a microscopic protective film on the surface and repairs tiny scratches that cannot be seen with the naked eye. The scratches appear as matt areas on the surface in natural light. WOCA Vinyl and Lacquer Care can also reduce some of the severe wear under tables, caused by chairs being moved back and forth, while providing the floor with a fine matt appearance.

The post 10 Tips For Taking Care of Wood Floors appeared first on Visi.

You can leave the Miele Scout RX1 robotic vacuum cleaner to do its work while you get on with life.

Miele customers have high expectations of the design and performance of the brand’s appliances, and the Scout RX1 ticks all the boxes.

This sleek, understated robotic vacuum cleaner has an array of infrared and gyro sensors as well as a camera that scans the ceiling, making it very good at navigating and avoiding collisions. It has a systematic navigation system, so it covers the area to be cleaned in parallel tracks instead of randomly crisscrossing the room, which many other robovacs do. This saves time and battery power.

The Scout is small enough to get in under a low sofa, and it can handle getting over a threshold or onto a thick rug.

You can put the Scout to work using the touch panel on the unit or the supplied remote control, or you can set it on a timer.

Prices start at R9 999 and are available at miele.co.za.

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