There are several factors when it comes to cleaning surfaces in your home. Eckler Cleaning Services strives to provide the right cleaning product with each surface in your home. For weeks we aren’t there, here are some tips to make sure you are cleaning and not damaging your home.
Dawn and Water
One of our favorite products at Eckler Cleaning Services is Dawn dish soap. Since it is pH neutral, it is safe for any surface. You want to be careful when using it, because too much of a good thing, can hurt your furniture. When mixing dawn with water, use a 36-ounce spray bottle and no more than 1/2 of a teaspoon. Too much dawn, will cause cleaner to build up on your surfaces.
Dawn is great of granite and quartz countertops, greasy cabinets, and other heavily soiled areas of your home.
Multipurpose cleaner
You might wonder: why don’t we use our favorite neutral pH cleaner such as Dawn & Water for everything? It is a great cleaning product, but it can leave a sudsy residue if used too heavily, or too often without the ability to rinse.
Mr. Clean is a great multipurpose cleaner. When diluted properly, it does not leave the sudsy residue that dawn does. We mix it at a 64:1 ratio with water. For a 24 ounce spray bottle you would use 1/3 of a shot glass of cleaner. Like most cleaning products, a little goes a long way.
You can use Mr. Clean for most surfaces, but it is not the best product for real wood. A lot of newer furniture is composite and can be cleaned with Mr. Clean. It is also a good product for Laminate kitchen cabinets, acrylic sinks, and plastics.
Murphy Oil Soap
Murphy’s Oil Soap is a product that you want to use carefully. As it says in the name, it is an oil-based cleaner. When used heavily or repeatedly, it can build up and create a residue. When used properly and sparingly, it can condition the wood and keep it healthier, longer. It is a good product to spot clean leather/pleather. It can also be used on real wood.
However, you don’t want to use Murphy Oil Soap on grimy wood furniture. For example, if you have wooden kitchen cabinets that have not been cleaned in a while, then it is best to clean it with Dawn and water first. Using Murphy’s oil without removing grease and food gunk would just compound the residue on the cabinet instead of removing it.
Dilution is the key to success
Ultimately, the best thing you can do when using a product is diluting it properly. Despite what most people think, more cleaning product is not helpful. Read the back of the bottle of the recommended amount of product. Most cleaners need to be diluted 64:1 for the best results. This is one gallon of water and 1/4 cup of cleaner. With some highly concentrated cleaners, you would use even less.
Not sure where to start? Reach out to contact@ecklercleaning.com and we can answer your questions.
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