All you need to know about apartment and house cleaning: why has it become so popular? Advantages and disadvantages
House cleaning might be extremely unpleasant for some homeowners. It is quite time-consuming, physically demanding, and requires purchasing additional equipment and cleaning agents. This is why most people turn to cleaning companies to get the job done. These companies employ qualified professionals with special equipment and skills who can quickly clean up the house.
You can order daily or thorough cleaning, either indoors or outdoors; some even offer author’s techniques like Flylady or Konmari. While the first was developed by the American housewife Marla Cilley, based on her personal experience, the second method was introduced and distributed by Marie Kondo, a longtime temple worker.
So why is cleaning so popular?
Cleaning services are at the peak of popularity today, and there are many reasons for this. The first and most obvious one, the USA and Canada residents who have high incomes can now focus more on family, outings, or business tasks rather than on boring everyday chores. Most importantly, you do not need to spend significant amounts for such work, as the competition in this market segment is high, so companies try attracting customers with low rates.
The second reason is that professional cleaners can do the job twice faster than if you were to do it yourself. They have everything for this:
– Professional equipment that includes steam cleaners and sweepers, vacuum cleaners, hair dryers, and a variety of other devices.
– Cleaning agents that can remove any stains and are hypoallergenic and eco-friendly.
– Experience that allows doing high-quality cleaning, fix any problem, and finish the job quickly.
Third, cleaning companies guarantee quality. This means that the cleaning will be done according to the customer’s request, and the floors, fabrics, tiles, dishes, appliances, and other surfaces will not be spoiled.
The only downside is the money you have to part with, paying for the comfort, high quality and speed.
What equipment and agents do they use in cleaning?
The type of equipment and cleaning agents used depends on a variety of factors. The job can involve both manual (cleaning clothing, uncluttering piles of items, and sometimes washing) and mechanized cleaning. When choosing a technology, one should pay special attention to:
– Room dimensions.
– Type of contamination.
– Characteristics of the surface to be cleaned.
Among the most eco-friendly ones are neutral surface-active compounds. The majority of cleaning agents are water-based and include alkali or acids (good for removing mineral deposits). If you need to destroy harmful bacteria and germs, you should also add disinfectants to the solution.
However, some compounds cannot be dissolved in standard formulations, so cleaners add special solvents to the them. The range of cleaning agents nowadays is big enough to remove any kind of dirt. However, it is important to choose the right composition so as not to damage the surface.
After cleaning, professionals use additional products to add the desired luster to the surface and improve its quality. For instance, surfaces can be polished, treated with mastic or other compositions.
Features of cleaning
The specifics of cleaning depend on its type. Floors, for example, are cleaned using dry and wet methods. Pros use brooms, dustpans, vacuum cleaners, mops, steam cleaning machines (steam cleaners) for floors, etc. This also applies to carpets: for dry cleaning they use beaters and vacuum cleaners, for wet cleaning – shampoo, and for especially severe contamination they order a deep dry cleaning.
For windows cleaning, they have special devices like a mop and slides, which do not scratch the glass. Then they polish the windows with smooth cloths. In high-rise buildings, industrial climbers with special equipment and training perform the external cleaning of windows.
Professional cleaners wash the dishes either by hand or in dishwashers. In the first case, the tableware must be wiped with a special cloth, while it is not necessary in the second case. It should also be borne in mind that dishwashers help you save a lot of money: a family of three having three meals a day saves an average of 50-70 liters (gallons) 16-20 per day.
When cleaning furniture or appliances, they pay special attention to the material. Wooden surfaces, for example, should be thoroughly wiped and polished after cleaning. Bathroom tiles should be cleaned with compounds with antifungal elements to kill incipient mold.
Ordering cleaning is convenient and timesaving, and besides, you do not have to pay much for such a service. This is why over 40% of the North American people order these services. And the numbers keep going up.