Time for a clean start
From shifting grease marks with lemon juice to killing germs with white vinegar, these are the tricks hospital cleaners use to clean their own homes, says LISA SALMON
THE pandemic means it’s never been more important to keep our homes as clean as possible. And while keeping them as germ-free as a hospital may be bit ambitious, it’s certainly something to aspire to.
So who better to take a few good cleaning tips from than the army of NHS Property Services (property. nhs.uk) domestics who help keep our hospitals spick and span?
1.Cleaning the bathroom
To give bathroom tiles a great clean, put some bleach on a cotton bud and rub it along the grout in places where you see mould, suggests Charly Giles, a domestic assistant for NHS facilities in Portsmouth. “After a couple of minutes, rub another cotton bud along the grout
absorb the bleach and wipe away any mould residue and they’ll be as good as new.
“Also, pour some bicarbonate of soda down your sink plug hole and watch it quite literally bubble away all the dirt. It leaves your plug holes looking clean and even makes them smell really nice.”
2.Cleaning the kitchen
Charly’s colleague Colleen Brain, says using lemon juice is a great way to clean stubborn grease stains in the kitchen. “It’s quick and easy, and loosens grease up before you clean, making your chores a lot easier,” she says.
And for cleaning the oven, simple soap and washing up liquid can work wonders, promises Maureen Giles, a domestic at Werrington Health Centre in Peterborough. “If you’re like me and keep putting off cleaning your oven, just take out all the shelves, pop them in a shallow tray of soap, hot water and washing up liquid, and leave them for as long as you can. When you come to scrub them clean, the build-up just comes right off.”
3.Cleaning the living room
For hard-to-reach places behind sofas or cabinets, use a little hand brush to clean, suggests Dawn Cromack, a domestic assistant at Cleveland Health Centre.
And Kelly Barton from the Inteto grated Care System (ICS) South Cumbria & Lancashire, adds: “When you’re dusting, carry a spray bottle of water and spritz your brush to prevent dust from flying into the air or falling from high areas.”
4.Cleaning wooden furniture
Don’t forget to clean the wooden furniture in your home, says Lee Pearson, a general assistant at St Charles Hospital in London. “A lot of people often forget wood needs cleaning regularly too – dust and germs can collect there as we use and touch our furniture so often,” he points out.
“I use mineral spirits on a simple microfibre cloth to remove the dirt and lift it off almost instantly, and then a little eco-friendly trick is to add some essential oil (I like lavender) to furniture polish to give it a final buff. It looks great and the oils smell wonderful for a long time.
“In winter, I like to use warm and homely essential oil scents like orange, clove and cinnamon in my cleaning – they make my home smell like Christmas.”
5.No need for harsh chemicals
Look for readily available cleaning ingredients in your home, suggests Piotr Kolenda, a domestic assistant for the NHS in Portsmouth. “There’s no need to use harsh chemicals if you have two of my favourite cleaners at hand – simple white vinegar and bicarbonate of soda,” he says.
Sonia Marina Santos adds: “Some people may not know that white vinegar is a very good disinfectant.
“When you come home from shopping, rinse your fruit and vegetables in a mix of water and white vinegar to kill germs instantly – this is a great eco-friendly way of keeping germs at bay. You can also rinse packaged food the same way after shopping to stop germs spreading through touch, especially during the winter when colds are looking for easy ways to spread.”