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soap off the glass and locks
them in the microfibers. Once
you have the right towel, you
can clean the glass with almost
anything, even plain water. I put
a few drops of Dawn dish soap
in water to break up dirt and
grease.Q: What’s the best way to clean
my refrigerator and freezer?
A: Move items into a cooler and
take out as many shelves as you
can. Any all-purpose cleaner will
work. I’ll bring over a bucket of
hot, soapy water and a rag, then
I’ll place the hot, wet rag on any
dried-on gunk for a few minutes
while I clean the rest, so it can
soften and loosen while I work
elsewhere. A nonabrasive
scouring pad will also make
quicker work of any dirty
business.Q: My husband and I live in a
beautiful three-year-old home in
a dry climate, but we have
traces of mold in the shower.
What cleaner gets rids of mold?
A: Any issue with moldy grout is
really a sealant issue. You can
use all the bleach and Tilex you
want, but it will grow back
unless you reseal the grout after
you’ve cleaned it. Clean the
grout with a scrub brush and
your favorite bleach-based
bathroom cleaner or grout
brightener. (Never use these
together. Grout brighteners are
often acid-based, and bleach
and acids should never be
mixed, because this can cause
toxic fumes.) Once the grout
looks good, let it air-dry, then
apply sealant. Brush it on the
grout lines, following the
instructions on the bottle, which
usually call for two coats inheavy-use areas, such as a
shower. Products such as
Miracle Sealants 511
Impregnator Sealer are the
easiest, because you apply them
to the stone, tile, grout and wall
without being precise. It will
make everything easier to clean.
A low-nap paint roller makes
this easy and fast, and it will
save you hours of scrubbing
misery.Q: I hear most people are using
too much laundry detergent.
What do you think of Tide Pods?
Is one okay for a large load?
A: It’s true that most consumers
use way too much soap that
comes in a concentrated form,
because they never measure,
just glug. I like Tide Pods,
because they give you
consistent, measured units
without having to play with a
measuring cup. Always read thecontainer, though; for all
laundry detergent, one “load”
never means the machine is full
to the top. A load is usually
about one-third or one-half the
machine drum, especially if you
have a large front-loader. If you
have one of these and the
manufacturer says to use two
pods, believe it.Q: How do you clean a stainless
steel sink?
A: M y favorite product for
stainless steel sinks is Bar
Keepers Friend because it
dissolves the hard-water
deposits and has just enough
abrasion to scour off grime and
minerals, but not so much that
it scratches stainless steel or
chrome. Wet the sink, sprinkle
some in, smear it around and let
it sit for a few minutes (or 10
minutes if it’s really bad), then
scrub and rinse. Apply a sink
polish to make your life easier
once the sink is shiny and clean.
Polishes such as Hope’s Perfect
Sink help protect metal from
deposits and small scratches,
and they help obscure existing
scratches, so ongoing cleaning is
easier. You’ll have to reapply it,
because eventually it will wash
off, but the sealant helps the
sink resist dirt.Q: I recently went through
linens that belonged to my late
aunt. I washed them in
lukewarm water with regular
laundry detergent, but they still
don’t smell fresh. Is there
anything I can do?
A: OdoBan is my favorite for
odor control on soft surfaces,
because it kills the bacteria and
mold that are causing the odor
instead of just covering it. AddMelissa Homer, chief cleaning
officer at MaidPro, joined staff
writer Jura Koncius last week for
our Home Front online chat.
Here is an edited excerpt.
Q: How and where should you
start cleaning?
A: The best thing you can do for
your motivation is to make it
easy to start cleaning. Everyone
has their cleaning items stashed
in random places, and cleaning
becomes multiple back-and-
forth trips to linen closets and
underneath sinks. Make yourself
a cleaning kit. You’ll need a
caddy for chemicals and hard
tools and a tote for rags. Load
up the caddy with a solid all-
purpose cleaner, bathroom
cleaner spray, pre-diluted floor
cleaner (use distilled water so it
lasts longer) and a variety of
scrub brushes and hand pads.
Tuck microfiber towels into the
tote. Whenever the spirit moves
you, you can grab and go. Take
on one room — and stick to it.
Put a laundry basket in the
doorway, so anything you find
in the room that doesn’t belong
gets plunked in the basket. Use
the basket to carry the items
back to their proper homes.
Q: What’s the best and quickest
way to clean wood floors? Can I
use a regular mop if I wring it
hard?
A: Use a canister vacuum with a
horsehair brush attachment to
remove the majority of the dirt
first. You want to stick to a flat
mop and restrict water usage.
Dilute your floor cleaner in a
spray bottle. Try Mr. Clean’s
Multi-Surfaces Summer Citrus
antibacterial liquid cleaner or
Fabuloso’s professional all-
purpose cleaner. Mist the floor
in sections, and mop it up with
a mop head that has been rinsed
and wrung out in fresh water.
The trick to using a microfiber
flat mop correctly is to rinse and
wring out the mop head
frequently, so it can absorb dirt.
You’re just smearing dirty water
around if you wait too long to
wring out the head. Usually
when people struggle with
mopping, it’s either because
they need a better-quality
microfiber pad or they aren’t
rinsing the pad out often
enough.
Q: How can I get a streak-free
shine on glass?
A: It’s about removing all the
soap, soil and minerals from the
glass before the water dries. The
easiest solution is to buy
microfiber glass towels. The
special weave pulls lint, dirt and
it to the rinse cycle of the
laundry or in the prewash
compartment, and set the
machine to soak for a few
minutes before running its
normal cycle.Q: Should you vacuum a wood
floor first before going over it
with a slightly damp microfiber
cloth? Or the reverse?
A: V acuum the floor well, then
use a damp m icrofiber mop and
your favorite neutral pH floor
cleaner. Spray the diluted mop
water onto the floor in a fine
mist, and mop it up with a
microfiber mop head that you
previously dampened and
squeezed out thoroughly with
fresh tap water. This will rinse
off the soap and keep water
usage low. Work in sections, so
the sprayed-down mop water
doesn’t seep into the cracks
between the wood or small
scratches. Dry off as much water
as you can; use a dry mop head
to make this go faster.Q: I’m embarrassed to say my
cleaning needs are extreme after
25 years without any deep
cleaning. W e have black mold in
the shower, dingy walls and
years of cooked-on crud on
kitchen walls and cabinets.
Price isn’t as much a
consideration, because we
just want to get back to a
baseline.
A: Never be embarrassed about
needing help cleaning. It’s one
of the oldest and most
consistently popular professions
for a reason, and it’s not easy,
especially when trying to
remove complex and long-term
soil deposits. There’s always a
line between a “deep clean” and
a “restoration” clean. Most
residential cleaning companies
will do deep cleans, but they
will refer restoration cleans to
specialized companies, such as
Servpro. At MaidPro, we chat
with clients over the phone to
give them an estimate, and if
we’re unsure, you can send a
few pictures to the manager to
review and ensure it is within
the range of our services. If it
needs more serious restoration,
Servpro is a well-respected
national company that restores
properties all the time, and it
does so with dignity and skill, so
don’t be shy about reaching out
to either of us.
[email protected] Also at washingtonpost.com
Read the rest of this transcript and
submit questions to the next chat,
Thursday at 11 a.m., at
live.washingtonpost.com.LIVE Q&A
MaidPro’s Melissa Homer on making your space sparkle
ISTOCKKYLE KERR
Melissa Homer, chief cleaning
officer at MaidPro.