Bedroom Care

Undoubtedly the bedroom receives the least amount of attention when it comes to cleaning. It’s so easy to ignore the dust bunnies along the walls and under the bed, but doing so can cause headaches, allergies and sinus problems.

I encourage all my seminar attendees to establish a regular maintenance routine just like you are hopefully doing for your vehicles. Your goal is to find ways to reduce your “travel time” keeping up with house work. You will give yourself an additional two to three hours a week just by following these few simple tricks.

Don’t lay it down, put it away. Those sweat pants on the floor are lying right next to the dresser they belong in. So put them there! In the morning when you dress for work, put the hanger on the doorknob if you will be wearing the clothing again. Keep the clothes hamper close to the door. Then get in the habit of undressing in front of the closet door; with the hanger and hamper handy what could be easier?

Take it with you: Place any drinking glasses, magazines, mail etc that need to go to the main part of the house next to the door. When you head out for that first cup of coffee take everything with you. Then put it away!

Trash day ease: Keep a grocery plastic bag as a liner in one of the wastebaskets in the bedroom section of your home. It’s easy to pick up all the trash in the bedroom area as you head out for the day. Keep spare bags on the bottom of the wastebasket so they are handy and quick to replace.

Carpet and upholstery stains: We could not be more excited about a stain remover than with our Ion-A-Clean. This remarkable product is actually water. The ions in the water have been negatively charged. This patented process encapsulates the soil separating it from the fabric. Read more about our exciting Ion-A-Clean.

When working with Ion-A-Clean in carpet, you must blot to remove the stain. It looks like the stain is disappearing when it has actually released from the fibers and is soaking further into the carpet. Simply blot. It’s that easy. Because it’s only water, Ion-A-Clean is safe for use on wool carpet, Persian rugs, the newer fibrous type floorings and virtually any floor covering including hard surfaces.

Keep ahead of the dust bunnies: Deep clean one bedroom every three to four months, depending on the number of bedrooms in your home, to keep ahead of dust and dirt that attracts dust mites.

• Begin in the closet removing everything on the floor. Use a barely damp cloth to dust the baseboards and the carpet just in front of the boards making sure you reach down into the crevice. Vacuum thoroughly and replace what was on the floor.
• Then start on the main part of the bedroom with the wall on the left of the room working your way to the right. Pull out all the furniture along that wall and everything from under the bed. Be sure to dust the back of furniture, walls and the frames of the bed.
• Next strip the bed and vacuum the mattress on both sides. Remove the pillow slips then take the pillows outside and shake them thoroughly. Dust mites love to hide in the mattress and pillows. Leave your pillows outside all day in the spring for a refreshing nights sleep!

Wood Furniture: Prevent your wood furniture from drying and cracking apply our Wood Cleaner and Conditioner three times a year. All your furniture will give you years of wonderful service. Our Wood Cleaner even removes water stain marks.

Closets: Clean them yearly and take to Goodwill anything you have not worn in the past year or two. Declutter your closet so you have room to hang and put away those things you do use frequently.

Musty odors in closets come from a moisture source. Find the source and take care of the problem. If you live in humid areas a dehumidifier will prevent mold spores from growing and allergies from developing. Once mold and mildew settles into carpeting it is difficult to kill.

Jewelry: Put away the small stuff then you don’t have to sweat it come cleaning day. Cleaning can be cut in half just by putting things away. Finding them is so much easier as well. I won’t mention the number of times a day I go looking for my glasses.

Answers to your questions:

1. The fabric pleated shades on my windows are always dusty and they get these little spots on them. What is a fast easy way to clean them and how do I remove the spots without damaging the fabric?
   The fastest way to dust them is with our Dry Sponge. It is used dry so it will not damage any fabric. Wipe over the shades shifting the sponge as it soils. You can wash these sponges to reuse over and over.

   For spots, dampen a Q-Tip with a bit of water. Then dab it into a little bit of liquid dish washing detergent. Now apply to the spot, wait 10 to 15 minutes and rinse with a barely damp cloth.

2. My son is a teenager and his room has that teenage body odor and so do his shoes. What can I do to remove that odor especially his shoes without without damaging them?
   Those of us who have raised boys sympathize with you! If you can get him to take his laundry to the laundry room every few days, that will help. I’m sure you have tried room deodorizers, which last about as long as it takes to get the lid back on the can. Odors are bacterial and bacteria must be destroyed or the odor continues its assault on your sense of smell. That is why room deodorizers don’t work. They are a perfume and as soon as the fresh sent is gone the odor returns.

   First of all, wash his bed blankets and mattress cover pad. Dust then vacuum his room thoroughly going over the carpet slowly and in both directions. Now use our Bac-Out and spray the curtains, and the carpet even behind the dressers. Spray his pillow and mattress as well. Then spray the room as you leave. That should get rid of the odor. Bac-Out is a highly powerful enzyme product that “eats” the odor causing bacteria killing it so it won’t return - well at least until another pair of sneakers returns anyway.

   For his shoes makes sure he doesn’t put his socks into his shoes or throw anything on top of them. They need to dry and having them covered in any way, prevents that. Then buy him two sets of shoes. He wears one pair while the other has a day to dry out. Spray them with the Bac-Out and that will get rid of those shoe odors.

3. What is the best and fastest way to dust my bedrooms? It always seems like it takes me forever.
   First of all make sure everything is picked up and put away. Clutter slows down your speed. Now start at the left of the room. Dust high things first like picture hangings and lampshades. Then dust the lower areas. Work you way around to the right. Most important don’t stop what you are doing to work on another chore. Every time you stop your cleaning it takes time to pick you speed back up again. Keep going. When you finish one room do the next then vacuum the entire area. I think you will be please how much faster you will dust and clean.

   Trick: Use an old but clean cotton tube sock over one hand. Dust with your one hand and move objects with the other. You will love how quickly your hands fly through the dusting!

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