Cleaning Tips & Articles

 Maids On Time strives to be a resource for the Chicagoland homeowner. Our company offers valuable information for your home. Please come back on a regular basis, as articles will be added monthly. Or sign up for our monthly Around The House  newsletter, and learn how to get special deals.

The Truth About Steam Cleaning Your Carpets - I worked in the carpet and upholstery cleaning, installation and repair business for about 15 years and during that time I had the opportunity to use some high power cleaners for removal of spots stains and general dirt. I have also used 3 different types of cleaning methods shampoo, dry cleaning and water extraction or steam cleaning. Today I would like to share my thoughts on each one. Read Complete Article

Fireplace Cleaning and Maintenance - People experience pleasure having their own fireplaces in their own homes. It is considered a central appliance in a room due to the warmth and comfort it provides.. Read Complete Article

How To Detect Bed Bugs In Your Chicago Home - A resurgence of Cimex lectularius, better known as the common bed bug , has turned playful bedtime sendoffs into truly fearful warnings. This resurrection can largely be attributed to the halt in using the pesticide DDT that nearly eradicated bed bugs in the United States in the 1950s, leaving little to no defense against the uprising miniscule offenders today. Read Complete Article

Fixing A Doorknob Dent - When it comes to the walls in our homes, it seems they are always getting beat up. Doorknobs often cause the most common and recurring damage, especially when the kids fling the doors open with reckless abandon! Read Complete Article

(HIDDEN CLEANING TIP) Eliminate Unsightly Tarnish - If the brass fixtures in your home seem to tarnish quickly, rub the fixtures with a little olive oil after you polish them. The oil provides a coating that protects the brass from moisture – the primary cause of tarnish.  This olive oil trick also works well for brass kick plates and other decorative objects. DO NOT use the olive oil on doorknobs or anything else you grab a hold of!

Cleaning Your Washing Machine - Is cleaning your washing machine important? It certainly is! The inside of your washing machine is constantly being subjected to dirty water, mineral deposits, detergent deposits, and if you launder cloth diapers it is especially important to keep your machine clean and in tip-top condition. Read Complete Article

Furniture - How We Hate To Clean It - We have a very strange relationship with the furniture in our house. At least most of us anyway. We run to the store, see something we love, can't wait to get it home and then finally after it's delivered and we get to admire how beautiful our home now is, we then wait until we start to see spider webs and dust bunnies before we clean under, over or around it. Funny how we just expect it to sit there and serve our purpose and yet not give it one-tenth the care that it deserves. Read Complete Article

How To Clean Your LCD Screen - All types of equipment have LCD monitors; that include GPS display panels, laptops, car PCs or carputers, vehicle dash board screens, portable debit card machines, industrial hand held devices etc. All these gadgets require cleaning of display screens because of dirt, dust and fingerprints over a period of time. LCD screens are very sensitive and require special care. You do not want to use some thing that may end up damaging the LCD screen. We all know that LCD monitors are fairly expensive and to replace a damaged one will haunt you for your mistake of using the wrong cleaner. If you own LCD equipment and are in a quandary about cleaning; we would like to make some suggestions about “ How to clean your LCD screen”?
Read Complete Article

Cleaning Butcher Block Countertops - Natural hardwoods set off kitchen fixtures and floorings beautifully, which is why they are so popular. If your kitchen features wood surfaces, don’t forget it’s important to completely butcher block countertops in the kitchen after each use, since wood is naturally porous and absorbs bacteria and food odors. The more open-grained the wood, the more porous it is. Oak is on the open grained end of the scale, while maple is on the tighter grained end.Read Complete Article

Cleaning Granite Countertops - Homeowners who are seeking to increase value to their homes enjoy the durability and easy maintenance when upgrading to granite countertops. Granite is the most durable of all stones, second only to diamonds. Granite, being created from molten rock, can withstand the heat from a hot pot without a trivet. The hardness of the surface is excellent for handling dough and confectionery. While durable and low maintenance, however, they are not impervious to damage.  Read Complete Article

Cleaning Mud From Your Carpet - Mud stains. Sooner or later you will get them on your carpet. Either your dog will come barreling into your home after playing in a muddy backyard or your kids will forget to take their shoes off before entering your house on a rainy day. Don't panic though. Mud is one of the easier stains for you to remove. Read Complete Article

What Is Air Cleaning? -Air cleaning as the name implies is the process of cleaning the air. This entails using an air cleaning device to remove unwanted pollutants and other elements from the air. People clean the air for many reasons, the chief being for health related issues. However, others use air cleaners simply for the removal of unpleasant odors. Read Complete Article

Ten Cleaning Tips For Tough Areas -Cracks and Crevices: Use paintbrushes and Q-tips® for hard to reach cracks and crevices. Read Complete Article

Learn How Quickly and Easily Cleaning Window Blinds Can Be - Cleaning window blinds is one of those jobs that we tend to look so forward to doing that we have to hold ourselves back. Well, perhaps in a perfect world, but in the real world this is one job that is about as exciting as watching paint dry. As a result of this enthusiasm we generally do not get around to doing to job until it is a monumental task rather than doing it regularly when it wouldn’t be such an issue. Whatever your reasons for putting off this onerous task, eventually it must be done, lest the dust overtake your windows. Read Complete Article

Advice On Cleaning Your Carpet - Whether you have wall-to-wall carpet in all the rooms of your home, or just a few carpet rugs – there's one thing that every carpet owner has to deal with. We all need to clean our carpets. Most people who have indoor carpeting only need to do a couple of things to keep their carpet clean; vacuuming frequently and occasionally shampooing their carpet. There are instances, however, when regular routine cleaning doesn't get rid of all that's accumulated in your flooring. Read Complete Article

Cleaning Your Fireplace - A cold winter day and it would be great to have a nice fire in the fireplace, but the last time you used it you had too much smoke. You can fix your smoky fireplace with a few steps with these tips. Read Complete Article

History of Vacuum Cleaners - Vacuum cleaners have become staples inside the house. Not only does it make cleaning faster but it also ensures that the dust will stay inside the vacuum bag unlike with ordinary duster when the dust will just fly off some place else. Read Complete Article

How To Find A Chicago Maid Service - I know your time is valuable and it is getting to the point now that you cannot afford not to have a cleaning service. The big question is what are worth an hour and are you better served with a cleaning company. Well as a motivational speaker and author I cannot afford to not have a service, and it just so happens I also own one!  Read Complete Article

House Cleaning Tips To Save You Time - House cleaning is a job that nobody looks forward to. It is something that we want to get done as soon as possible. If you want to make the most of your house cleaning time read this article for some house cleaning tips. They could dramatically cut down your cleaning time. Read Complete Article

House Cleaning Services - Choosing The Right House Cleaning Service For Your Home - Today our time is eaten up by work, commuting, study, and so on and so on. We don't have much time left over to clean our own homes anymore. So we hire house cleaning services to help clean our homes. Read Complete Article

The Benefits Of Maid Service - Today’s families are busier than ever. When both parents work outside the house and the kids need to get to after school activities and sports events, housework never seems to get done.  Read Complete Article

Tips on Hiring a Maid Service - Fast-paced lifestyles, hectic schedules and a lack of free time can lead one to consider hiring a maid service to handle critical house cleaning duties. But before picking up the phone to schedule an appointment, it is important to know whom you are letting into your home.  Read Complete Article

If you are looking for a professional Chicagoland maid service and cleaning company that services the all of Northeast Illinois, then please contact us today.