Cleaning Tips for Summer Maintenance

by Tidy Up Angels Team | Jun 22, 2021 | cleaning services overland park, Home Cleaning Overland Park

Clean the air conditioner filter
This is probably the most important item on this list. An air conditioner that is clogged up with dust and dirt won’t function as well or — even worse — could break and leave you seriously uncomfortable in the summer heat. Simply clean the filter with warm soapy water or with a vacuum cleaner.

Clean & reverse the fan
Dusty fans only enhance summer allergies and hay fever symptoms. Without proper cleaning, fans will continue to spread dust and pollen as they rotate. While you’re cleaning the fan, make sure you also change the direction of the blades to counterclockwise. This trick pushes the cold air down ultimately saving you money on energy costs by making your air conditioner more effective.

Wash the windows
Take advantage of the good weather and spend a morning cleaning your windows. Much better to do this now than in the middle of winter! If it’s been a while since you cleaned your windows, opt for soapy water and a sponge instead of just relying on window cleaner. You may need to really scrub to get the dirt out.

Get sudsy with the window screens
This is also a crucial step during the summer when your windows are open more and the humidity can encourage mold growth. Take the time to suds-up your window screens to keep your breathing easy and enjoy the fresh air.

Clean the fridge
In hotter climates, bacteria grow faster — even in the refrigerator. Take the time to clean out your fridge, rinsing down the surfaces with gentle antibacterial soap and throwing out anything expired or moldy. This is also important during the season of fruits and veggies – consider investing in a food-grade cleaner to wash your produce and avoid any of the nasty bacteria that could be lurking, like salmonella.

Make the patio a great place to spend the evenings
Patios are perfect for grilling and chilling with family and friends. But to make the patio a really enjoyable space, consider getting rid of moss and lichen with a quick spritz of a bleach/water mixture or soda crystals. Both natural methods will kill and dry out the lichen, leaving you with the quick task of raking the patio clear and enjoying your like-new outdoor space.

Clear out the freezer 
This cleaning task is not only useful but also will keep you cool in the process! Save this for a very hot day. Empty all the ice cubes into the clean sink. Take all of the frozen items and put it in the sink, covered with ice, to keep them frosty while you chip the freezer clean. Remove the built-up frost with your car ice scraper and a little hot water. Clean up any slow-moving liquid spills. Now turn your attention to the frozen food. Throw out anything with obvious signs of freezer burn like grayish-brown spots and thick layers of frost. If anything is open, it’s probably best to ditch it.

Clean out the drain and garbage disposal
In the hot summer months, food rots more quickly, and smells tend to fester more easily. It’s important to clean out your drain and garbage disposal to make sure no food is stuck and causing unpleasant smells in the humidity of the summer. Naturally clean your drain without sticking your hands in the garbage disposal (!) by pouring baking soda followed by vinegar into your drain, letting it bubble for five minutes, and then following with boiling water. Repeat this as necessary, every two weeks or so to really ward off smells.

Sweep and clean counters DAILY
This is, unfortunately, the season for ants and all sorts of creepy crawlies. The warm, humid weather is the perfect environment for all sorts of bugs that you definitely don’t want to be inviting into your home. Cut the creepies off from their food source by cleaning the counters of crumbs and sweeping the floors every night. These small habits pay off big time by warding off the bugs that can be attracted by your messy leftovers.

Treat yourself and your home! Tidy Up Angels has been providing residential cleaning service to the Overland Park area since 2008. Trusting someone to clean your home can be a little unnerving. If this is your first time hiring a cleaning company, we want you to know that you can relax with Tidy Up Angels. Our company is fully insured and bonded; safeguarding your most personal possessions. Honesty, integrity, and good work ethics are the back bone of our company. We aim to meet all your expectations and we hope to exceed them during each service. Let us know how we can help with your house cleaning services in Overland Park and how we can help you – contact Tidy Up Angels LLC at 913-642-2006.

How to Clean Your Flat-Screen TV

by Tidy Up Angels Team | Jun 5, 2021 | cleaning services overland park, Home Cleaning Overland Park

Over the past few months, many of us have become more proactive about cleaning, especially items that we touch a lot, including smartphones.

As with other electronic items, televisions can attract dust and get marred by blemishes, such as children’s fingerprints. Fortunately, cleaning your flat-screen TV is a straightforward process that doesn’t require any pricey special chemicals.

Another item that should get some regular attention: the remote controls you use with your TVs, cable boxes, and streaming players. These get handled much more than TVs, and are more likely to harbor pathogens, including the virus that causes COVID-19. We have advice for cleaning both TVs and remotes below.

When it comes to TVs, the current TV market is dominated by superbright, big-screen LCD (LED) and OLED TVs. However, many of us still have older sets, including plasma TVs, which companies stopped manufacturing in 2014, and even CRTVs—also called tube TVs—which started disappearing around 2008.

If you’re cleaning an older tube TV, you have a bit more flexibility because its screen is made of glass and can be cleaned like other glass items in your household. In this—and only this—instance, it’s okay to use a window cleaner, such as Windex.

LCD TVs are far more sensitive and need to be cleaned carefully to keep the screens from getting scratched or damaged. Plasma TVs also have glass screens, but manufacturers often applied a sensitive anti-glare coating, so they should be treated like an LCD TV rather than a CRTV set.

For both OLED TVs and LCD sets, the advice is the same, and it’s simple: Clean with a soft, dry cloth to avoid scratching the screen.

In all cases, turn off the TV—or even unplug it – It also gives the TV a chance to cool down.

If you have any doubts about which type of TV you have, you can always consult the owner’s manual. Most manuals and manufacturer websites have instructions for the best way to clean their sets. Doing something the owner’s manual forbids is a good way to void your warranty.

Here are all our tips for cleaning your flat-screen TV.

Start With a Dry, Soft Cloth
Screens can scratch easily, and even paper towels or tissues contain fibers that can do damage. “Your best bet is to use a soft, anti-static microfiber cloth—the kind used to clean eyeglasses and camera lenses—and wipe in a circular motion,” says John Walsh, who cleans more than 250 TVs a year in his role as a CR photographer. (Sometimes TV manufacturers will include a cloth for this purpose.) “Gently wipe the screen with a dry cloth to remove dust and other debris, but don’t press too hard,” he says.

You may also want to wipe down the TV’s cabinet, and make sure dust isn’t clogging the vents that help dissipate heat. If the TV is on a stand and not tethered to the wall, Walsh suggests cleaning with one hand while supporting the TV with the other to prevent the set from tipping over. However, CR strongly recommends anchoring all stand-mounted TVs using anti-tipping straps designed for this purpose.

If there are hard-to-remove stains, you can dampen the cloth slightly with distilled water, and gently clean the screen. Don’t spray water directly onto the screen, which could cause a shock or component failure if it seeps into the inner workings of the set.

For the most stubborn stains, you can try using a solution of very mild dish soap highly diluted with water, once again applied to the cloth and not to the TV itself. (As a guideline, Panasonic used to recommend a 100:1 ratio of water to soap.) LCD screens, in particular, are very sensitive to pressure and can scratch easily, so don’t press too hard.

If you do use a dampened cloth, go over the screen one more time with a dry one to remove any swirls or streaks.

Avoid Harmful Chemicals
Alcohol and ammonia, found in window cleaners such as Windex, can wreak havoc on your expensive flat-screen TV, so don’t use cleaners that have them. If you decide to use a packaged “screen cleaner”—which you don’t really need (see below)—choose one that doesn’t contain alcohol, ammonia, or acetone. Also, don’t use any cleaners that contain an abrasive that can scratch the screen.

Skip the Cleaning Kit
Some of these kits cost $15 to $20 for just a microfiber cloth and a small bottle of cleaning solution, which is probably mostly water. Instead, buy the cloth at an office supply store or online and use distilled water, or a solution of your own making per our advice above. If you opt for a kit, make sure it doesn’t contain harmful chemicals.

Don’t Forget the Remote Control
Remote controls can not only get dusty but also harbor a fair number of germs. (Think of how many fingers have pressed the buttons on that remote recently and whether all of them have been squeaky clean. Then there’s the issue of coughs and sneezes.)

Remove the batteries before you start cleaning. Then start by turning the remote upside down so that the buttons are facing downward, and tap the remote against your palm to dislodge any debris that might have fallen between the keys or buttons. Wipe down the entire remote with a soft cloth that has been sprayed with a tiny bit of alcohol diluted with water. The cloth should be damp, not wet.

To clean in and around the buttons, you can use a cotton swab dampened with the alcohol/water mix. More stubborn debris lodged deeper into the keys can be dislodged with a dry toothbrush or wooden toothpick.

Last, wipe down the whole remote once again with a dry, soft cloth and reinstall the batteries. That’s it!

Treat yourself and your home! Tidy Up Angels has been providing residential cleaning service to the Overland Park area since 2008. Trusting someone to clean your home can be a little unnerving. If this is your first time hiring a cleaning company, we want you to know that you can relax with Tidy Up Angels. Our company is fully insured and bonded; safeguarding your most personal possessions. Honesty, integrity, and good work ethics are the back bone of our company. We aim to meet all your expectations and we hope to exceed them during each service. Let us know how we can help with your house cleaning services in Overland Park and how we can help you – contact Tidy Up Angels LLC at 913-642-2006.