1. If you’re buying a new oven, make sure it’s a self cleaning or continuous cleaning one. But you’ll still need to clean the racks, hob and grill pan.

2. Try to clean up as you go.

3. Line the grill pan and the bottom of the oven with aluminum foil which you can simply replace now and then.

For a standard oven that isn’t self-cleaning (and for the racks and grill pans of most ovens) you have three basic choices. These are:

THE GENTLE GREEN APPROACH Smear the inside of your oven with a thick paste of bicarbonate of soda and water. Leave it for several hours or overnight then scrub off the residue with warm water and a scourer. To give this method a bit of a boost, use a mix of baking soda and lemon juice or vinegar.

This method requires plenty of elbow grease but is fairly successful on a mildly dirty oven. It’s also non-toxic, and so is ideal if you have pets or children, if you are pregnant, or if any of your family have respiratory problems such as asthma.

THE SOCK-IT-TO-THEM APPROACH This involves caustic chemicals which can burn the skin and create harmful fumes – so you need to use them really carefully. You can use a solution of ammonia bleach and water or a branded oven cleaner containing caustic ingredients.

Whichever one of these you choose, you need to make sure your room is well ventilated and wear a face mask, goggles, thick rubber gloves and old clothes. Put plastic sheeting and plenty of old newspapers round the oven.

To clean with ammonia (available from some chemists and hardware stores) mix a mug of ammonia and a mug of water. Use some to spray the racks and leave them outside in a black plastic bag for at least two hours. Then hose them down thoroughly. Put the rest in an ovenproof bowl in a warm oven for at least a couple of hours. Then open the door, wipe down and rinse well. It’s messy and creates lots of fumes – but it’s very cheap.

The best known branded caustic oven cleaner in the UK is called Oven Pride. Before using it, read the instructions carefully. In a nutshell, you sponge or brush the thick liquid on the bits of your oven that need cleaning and you put the racks with some of the liquid in a giant plastic bag. You’ll need to leave it for a couple of hours before wiping it down. The smell isn’t too bad though and one pack should do two cleans. Oven Pride currently (June 2009) costs £3.47 at Sainsbury’s supermarket (the cheapest price I could find).

For a biodegradable option that is still caustic, try Lakeland’s Oven Mate. It’s a clear gel that you spread on with the nylon brush provided and wipe off after anything from half an hour to three hours. My mum swears by it and it has very little smell. It costs a somewhat hefty £7.82, plus p&p if you’re not near one of their shops (June 2009) but you should be able to get at least two cleans from one bottle.

These two products come out the best in consumer reports and reviews – but not everyone is happy to use something caustic with strong chemicals.

If you need stronger cleaning power than bicarbonate of soda but, like me, don’t want to use caustic chemicals, you could try this method. It works for me. It doesn’t take too long and isn’t too messy

Put all your racks and your grill pan into the bath. Line the bath with some old towels to prevent scratches – particularly important if your bath is acrylic or plastic. Add a generous dose of biological washing powder (the powder works much better than the liquid for this particular job) – about two washes’ worth – and plenty of hot water. Leave to soak for a couple of hours or overnight. The mucky residue should now come of easily with a plastic or wire scourer.

For the oven itself, either make a paste from biological powder and water or use a strong solution of washing up liquid and bicarbonate of soda. Lay the mixture on the oven floor and use a brush to spread it onto the other oven surfaces (remember don’t use it on continuous cleaning oven panels). Leave it for an hour or two then wipe off thoroughly.

Fiona Katherine Goble
Website: http://www.getacleanhome.com
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Scraping

Over time, dirt, grime, and other deposits can cloud the glass in your home’s windows and actually damage the glass. In some cases, paint drops mar the glass’ surface. Tree sap can drip onto the glass and harden. Eventually, these deposits become more difficult to remove and start to etch into the glass. When you start your window cleaning routine, you should first go over the windows with a razor blade to scrape off paint and other residue. This will help you avoid spending time later scrubbing at these hard to remove spots when you wash the windows with a cleaning solution.

Water Spot Removal

Rain water, sprinklers, and off spray from the garden hose can lead to the formation of water spots on your windows. And the longer you let them sit, the more difficult they become to remove. You can purchase products specifically designed to remove water spots for your windows, or you can mix a solution of water and white vinegar together. Apply the cleaning solution to areas affected by water spots and scrub.

Clean the Glass

After all hard deposits and water spots have been removed from the windows, it is time to actually wash the windows. When washing outdoor windows, you may want to use your garden hose to spray all excess dirt and grime of the windows and siding of your home. Then, you can use your favorite glass cleaner to get your windows to sparkle. Be sure to use a dry towel on your final wipe down to avoid streaks.

Apply a Sealant or Protector

The final step of the cleaning process is to apply a glass sealant or protectant to your windows to prevent water spots from reforming on the glass.

Learn about an Los Angeles window replacement and Orange County shower door company.

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Choose upgrade products wisely
If you already have enclosures installed in the bathroom and want to opt for the glass shower enclosures then choose an upgrade product wisely. Ideally, you want to opt for one where the glass looks newer and sparkly for longer. These specialized glasses have certain compounds and surface products applied to them inside the factory itself. Thus, the glass is provided this unique characteristic during the production phase itself. This advanced technology implies that in the long term, you will require very little in terms of maintenance or cleaning. In such special glasses, all that is really needed to keep them clean is a little water spray!

How to clean
In order to keep your glass shower enclosures looking cleaner for longer you need to use a spray bottle filled with clean water. Just spray the water along the glass. Then use a clean and dry as well as soft cloth to wipe the surface. While the water will certainly clean the glass, you do not want the droplets to form unsightly patterns on the glass! This is why wiping the glass dry is essential.

When to use soap solution
The ideal frequency for using soap solution on glass shower enclosures is once in a month. You can use a regular sponge for this purpose. Usually, the enclosure will come with a kit that includes such a sponge. Take the sponge and dip it into the soap solution. Make sure the soapy water is a little warm. This way, the grime accumulated will easily come off. Then rub across the glass in a downward fashion with the sponge. Rinse with plain water and then wipe dry with a clean, dry, soft cloth.

Stain removal techniques
Glass shower enclosures require stain removal treatments semi-annually. There are special stain removal products available in the market, which do the job just fine. These are good for especially tough spots and stains, which do not come off with just water or soap solution.

Revitalization of the glass
After a period of extended wear and tear, the glass shower enclosures will need some revitalizing. You can understand when this treatment is needed when the water stops beading on the glass. By investing in pre-treated glass shower enclosures you save on cleaning and maintenance time.

At http://www.vigoindustries.com we specialize in providing you the best glass shower enclosures in the market. Our specially treated glass, unique designs and variety of compact shapes make our products the preferred choice!

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The book is written in Aslett’s easy to read and entertaining style and is accompanied by the artwork many of his texts are know for. I personally find the style, layout, and artwork enhance the reading experience, but make no mistake about it; Aslett’s books contain a lot of meat with that sizzle. His down home practical advice is right to the point.

This book on cleaning is just under 200 pages long and contains 10 chapters. They include:

Intro: No Time To Clean! Aslett knows you don’t have time to clean, so he points out that he will show you how to prevent cleaning as well as other strategies to solve your “no time to clean” worries.

One: Modern Cleaning’s Biggest Mystery: The Time to Do It. Three page chapter with the focus of if you are cleaning more than a couple of hours a week, you are cleaning too much or inefficiently. Quick motivation to get started now!

Two: Adjusting Our Standards and Schedules. If it isn’t dirty, don’t clean it. Among the great tips in this chapter include advice on how clean things really need to be and how to set standards rather than cleaning by charts or schedules.

Three: Cleaning on the Run. Aslett shares some “whys” regarding cleaning and some tips on doing things before they become bigger. You might also be surprised at what you can get done in a very short amount of time, and the chapter shows you how to clean faster and ways to make things stay clean longer.

Four: The Best Way of All to Cut Cleaning: Prevent It! This chapter is all about preventing those down-the-road problems. Aslett provides some great suggestions on how to do just that.

Five: Too Much = Too Much Time Cleaning. Aslett is known for getting rid of junk. This is a very short chapter because he focuses on this topic in several other books. “Clutter’s Last Stand” and his other clutter books are great if you need more help with clutter.

Six: Do Your Housework With a Hammer. This is an interesting chapter on designing your house, or parts of it, to make it easier to clean.

Seven: Other Hands That Can Help. If you are going to hire others to help you clean, you will benefit from reading this chapter first. Aslett provides some good advice regarding getting others to help with your cleaning needs.

Eight: The Big One: Getting Kids to Help Clean. Aslett suggests this might be the most important topic in the book. Besides the help you get cleaning your home, it will help young people late in life. He has some very good suggestions for getting kids to help out.

Nine: Quick Cleaning Room by Room. Tips and strategies for cleaning every room in the house as well as the garage and outside. Just implementing some of these would make a big difference.

Ten: Quick Cleaning Guide. This “guide” is 68 pages long and covers a ton of professional cleaning tips from dusting to pet messes. If you want to clean like the professionals and get more done in less time, Aslett shows you how.

Face it, cleaning is a big pain. It’s one of the necessary evils. We have to do it, but none of us really enjoy it. (well… maybe a few do…) Cleaning is not a topic that you leisurely read about either. So pick up this book, read it (it won’t take long) and implement the advice so you can clean more in less time and then get on with the better things in your life, after all that’s what living is about. Highly recommend if you want to clean faster, better, and cheaper.

Alain Burrese, J.D. is a performance and personal development expert who teaches how to live, take action, and get things done through the Warrior’s Edge. Alain combines his military, martial art, and Asian experiences with his business, law, and conflict resolution education into a powerful way of living with balance, honor, and integrity. He teaches how to use the Warrior’s Edge to Take Action and Achieve Remarkable Results. Alain is the author of Hard-Won Wisdom From The School Of Hard Knocks, the DVDs Hapkido Hoshinsul, Streetfighting Essentials, Hapkido Cane, the Lock On Joint Locking series, and numerous articles and reviews. You can read more articles and reviews and see clips of his DVDs as well as much more at http://www.burrese.com

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Bathroom

1. Always keep a container of antibacterial disinfectant wipes in your bathrooms. Every night before going to bed use one and wipe down the sinks, counter tops, and the toilets. At least by doing this you know your surfaces are clean.

2. Use a spray cleaner to spray down the tub, toilet, and shower stalls. Let your cleaner sit while you are emptying the garbage cans and hanging up fresh towels. After wards go back and clean your mirrors and wipe everything down.

3. Use a dirty bath towel as a bathroom mat on the floor while cleaning the shower to keep the surface from being slippery. After wards take to the laundry room.

4. You might consider hanging a squeegee in the shower and use this after wards to wipe down the shower doors and surround.

5. If you have small children that require watching while bathing then use this to your advantage. Take that time to clean the counters, sink, mirror and toilet. This way you are multi-tasking and killing several birds with one stone.

6. Uncluttered your counter top by keeping your curling iron, blow dryer and other equipment in the cabinet, drawers or baskets.

Kitchen

1. To clean your appliances and counter tops in the kitchen use baking soda or peroxide and this will make them sparkling clean and shiny.

2. Before going to bed each night use your soapy wet dish cloth to wipe down the counter tops in the kitchen. After having done this then place the cloth in the laundry.

3. After each meal wash your dishes and put them away. If you have a dishwasher then load it instead of having all of your dishes stacked up all day long.

4. If you are a pet owner then never sweep your floors. This only makes the pet hair move around and accomplishes nothing. It is always best to vacuum the floors.

5. Always rinse out the dish cloth after each use and then hang to dry. This way it won’t become all stinky. Also be sure to change it at least once a day.

6. It’s also a good idea to wash any sponges and pot scrubbers in the dishwasher when you run it.

Ann Coltin is a cleaning expert that enjoys helping others get their home’s clutter organized and cleaned. Ann’s website, http://www.CleaningDetails.com has many cleaning tips and tricks. If you are looking for more cleaning tips click here.

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