Household Cleaning- 10 helpful tips

household cleaning tools

Household cleaning is not just about the ‘totality of all efforts to prevent diseases and damage to health’ (federal health reporting), but simply about your well-being. With these ten tips you can ensure a hygienic, clean and comfortable home.

Hygiene in history

What exactly is hygiene? It owes its name to the Greek goddess of health, Hygieia. Hygienic measures, such as religious commands and prohibitions, as well as the technical efforts to supply people with clean drinking water, have been demonstrable worldwide since ancient times. And so, when it comes to hygiene, it is always about maintaining your own health.

  • What is household cleaning?
  • How is a private household cleaned professionally?
  • What does it cost to have a private household cleaned?
  • How long does a professional household cleaning take?
  • Where can I find the best cleaning service for my private household?
  • How often should I clean my household?
  • What is the difference between maintenance cleaning and basic cleaning?
  • What do I have to consider for household cleaning?
  • Does a cleaning lady or domestic help also clean my windows, carpets and upholstery?
  • What if cleaning my private household causes damage?
  • Can household cleaning be deducted from taxes via a cleaning company?

10 household cleaning tips

These ten tips should help you to ensure sufficient hygiene, but also comfort in your household:

  1. Wash your hands regularly and thoroughly, especially after coming in and before meals.
  2. Ventilate the apartment several times a day for 10 minutes
  3. Take out waste at least every other day, this applies especially to biological waste. You should definitely separate rubbish carefully.
  4. Damp surfaces, e.g. getting a bath in the bathroom, wipe dry immediately or ventilate well after activities that involve a lot of moisture.
  5. Use hand cleaning cloths only for a few days and allow to air dry after use. Use reusable, washable cloths here.
  6. It is best to renew the dishcloths daily. Here, too, reusable cloths such as the Hunt’s Microfiber Cleaning cloth, which can be easily washed in the washing machine , protect the environment and your wallet at the same time.
  7. After processing raw food, dispose of leftovers and put all devices and aids directly in the dishwasher or wash them thoroughly after use.
  8. After washing in the washing machine, clean the wash cabinet and let it dry with the clothes off, leave the washing machine lid open. An extra hygiene rinse for the machine is therefore not necessary. If you have the feeling that the laundry no longer smells so fresh after the wash cycle, let the machine run empty at the highest temperature.
  9. In the event of acute infections in family members, regularly disinfect the toilet and dirty bathroom surfaces. 
  10. Wash towels and cleaning cloths at at least 60 ° C with a heavy-duty detergent in powder form.

Disinfect in moderation. Too much sterility does not strengthen your immune system.
For more information, take a look at our other blog articles, for example on the subject of cleaning equipment .

Household cleaning in the private environment
Thorough and above all effective household cleaning is necessary in every household. Not every day but at regular intervals. Without this thorough cleaning in private households, not only dirt and grime will accumulate in the apartment or house. Bacteria and viruses also accumulate, which can become a health hazard.

Those who cannot or do not want to carry out household cleaning themselves can use a cleaning service. A professional household cleaning company that offers various types of cleaning. Among other things, maintenance cleaning, basic cleaning, window cleaning, carpet cleaning or upholstery cleaning.

From our contribution we would like to go into more detail on the topic of household cleaning in the private environment and show what options exist and why a cleaning company makes sense for professional household cleaning.

  1. What is household cleaning?
    First and foremost, household cleaning is a service. Similar to building cleaning , a wide variety of cleaning types are offered. The difference, however, is that building cleaning often cleans commercial real estate and real estate from the field of services.

In the case of household cleaning, on the other hand, the focus is on cleaning a private household. Such professional apartment cleaning or house cleaning is not only useful when moving, renovating or redeveloping. Smaller craftsmanship or a thorough spring cleaning also speak in favor of such professional household cleaning.

Professional household cleaning can be roughly divided into maintenance cleaning, final cleaning or cleaning according to construction work . Regardless of the background to this household cleaning: it is always important that it is carried out thoroughly and that the services provided ultimately satisfy the customer.

  1. How is a private household cleaned professionally?
    First and foremost, the customer specifies which household cleaning activities should be carried out by the company. A distinction must be made between a one-time service and a regular service. If you order the cleaning lady once a week, you will split up the household cleaning differently than someone who needs this service once due to a major repairs to the property or similar things.

The professional basic cleaning, which can be carried out in houses, apartments, business premises but also offices, basically includes an intensive cleaning of all rooms. This also includes niches, cracks and corners that are actually difficult to access. So not only is it roughly wiped and vacuumed, but every last corner is cleaned thoroughly.

All furniture that can be moved and all other objects that are not firmly attached to the wall or floor are moved to the side in order to actually thoroughly and completely clean the floor and walls as well as shelves, cupboards, shelves and tables can. In order for this thorough and professional basic cleaning to take place, not only professional cleaning personnel are required, but also the right cleaning agents and professional technology.

Thorough cleaning requires professional competence. And that also includes the right cleaning technology.

  1. What does it cost to have a private household cleaned?
    Mr. Cleaner generally does not provide fixed prices. That doesn’t even work because every company listed with us can set its own prices. In addition, it is always necessary to see what kind of cleaning is being carried out at all. How big is the area that is to be cleaned and which special features have to be taken into account? It must also be checked whether it is a regular maintenance cleaning or a one-time thorough cleaning.

Regular maintenance cleaning has different criteria than a one-time basic cleaning. This and a lot more must be clarified in advance in order to be able to make an offer for household cleaning. This offer can then be used to check whether the order is placed or whether an alternative should be looked for again.

Our advice: In addition to the number of square meters of the property, the type of floor covering, the furniture, the window areas and the time window also play a role in order to be able to determine a price framework. When an offer is requested, these and a few other things are queried in detail in order to be able to create a correct offer.

  1. How long does a professional household cleaning take?
    Unfortunately, a general answer cannot be given. It always depends on how many square meters have to be cleaned, in what condition the rooms to be cleaned are and whether superficial or thorough cleaning is required.

All this and much more is explained in detail in the context of the request for the order, so that not only can a price offer be made, but a fixed period is also specified. It is also important to take into account how many cleaners take care of cleaning the household. This in turn depends on the number of square meters and the condition of the property.

  1. Where can I find the best cleaning service for my private household?
    The Internet is the best place to go when looking for the ideal service for your own four walls. Cleaning is a matter of trust. And professional cleaning requires that you get a professional who is familiar with it. Who is trustworthy, who works effectively and quickly, while doing his job thoroughly and satisfactorily.

There are many cleaning companies that vary in size. We know big names. But there are also many small service providers who may not be known by name. But who do a good job and who are listed on the Internet, for example at Mr. Cleaner, and offer their services here.

We have listed appropriate service providers for each region, so that the selection is very large and everyone can make their own decision. Depending on the workload, household size and according to your own taste and preferences. Once the selection has been made, direct contact will be made with the relevant company so that all further steps can be discussed in detail there.

  1. How often should I clean my household?
    There is no firm recommendation for cleaning the household. Everyone has to decide for themselves how often they clean their household. Again, there are various factors that interact and influence the whole thing. As a rule, it is assumed that maintenance cleaning will be carried out once a week.

Maintenance cleaning includes cleaning the sanitary facilities, cleaning the surfaces, wiping, vacuuming and dusting. In addition, there is an intensive cleaning twice a year. It is also often referred to as spring cleaning and autumn cleaning. This intensive cleaning is about completely cleaning the entire household once. Everything is then thoroughly cleaned down to the smallest corner and the last nook and cranny. Also decorative items and similar things.

Our advice: the kitchen is a place that likes to need intensive cleaning. Cooking and baking alone produce fats, which are deposited on the surfaces of cabinets, tables, shelves, but also on cans and spices and many more. It is not sufficient here if intensive cleaning is carried out twice a year. The kitchen needs to be cleaned thoroughly at closer intervals.

  1. What is the difference between a maintenance cleaning and a basic cleaning?
    A general distinction is always made between maintenance cleaning and basic cleaning. The maintenance cleaning can be compared to the weekly cleaning. It is done regularly and includes cleaning the floors and dusting. In addition, furniture is wiped down during routine cleaning, it is tidied up and it is ensured that the apartment or house looks homely and cozy again.

If it is carried out regularly, maintenance cleaning is relatively quick and the apartment or house is in good condition within a very short time. With a basic cleaning, the whole thing is a little more intensive. Basic cleaning is therefore often described as intensive cleaning. It is the classic spring cleaning, in which not only the floors are cleaned and where the dust rag is swung. Basic cleaning also includes cleaning all hard-to-reach areas. All corners and niches, all cracks and all hidden nooks and crannies.

During the thorough cleaning, the furniture is removed from the walls so that it can also be vacuumed and cleaned behind it. The windows, including the window frames, are cleaned thoroughly. The upholstery is vacuumed, the heating is cleaned, the tiles are washed and every little detail is completely cleaned and put back in its appropriate place.

Our Note: The upholstery cleaning , the carpet cleaning or professional window cleaning are some of the services which provide professional cleaning companies. With us it is possible to search specifically for such services. So that the cleaning job can be given to a cleaning company or cleaning lady who, as a domestic help, can not only do the maintenance cleaning , but also the basic cleaning or the special cleaning of carpets, windows and upholstery .

  1. What do I have to consider when cleaning the house?
    Cleaning can only be done thoroughly and effectively if all areas are accessible. For this it is important that all rooms are open and that everything that should not be cleaned is cleared away. The apartment or the rooms must be tidy so that cleaning can be carried out without obstacles and without delay.

In addition, the cleaning agents required for cleaning must be available. The same applies to the utensils that make thorough cleaning possible. If you clean yourself, you have to take care of cleaning agents and utensils yourself. Anyone who hires a cleaning company or an external service provider to do this does not have to worry about cleaning agents and cleaning utensils. These things are brought by the cleaning service for household cleaning .

This is only omitted if the client explicitly wants his own products and aids to be used. It should also be ensured that a time window is found which is ideally suited for cleaning. Anyone who celebrates a party right after the basic cleaning will most likely regret the basic cleaning quickly. Because after a big party, the premises are usually very dirty again.

It is therefore better to clean thoroughly after the big party and possibly only do a maintenance cleaning before that. It is just as important to make a plan in advance of what needs to be cleaned. No matter whether you clean yourself or have a professional household cleaning carried out by a service provider. If what is to be described is described in detail, the work is much easier, faster and more effective. This not only saves time, but ultimately also money.

  1. Does a cleaning lady or domestic help also clean my windows, carpets and upholstery?
    Whether cleaning lady, domestic help, cleaning service or cleaning company – upholstery, windows and carpets are usually cleaned on request. However, it must be taken into account that upholstery and carpets should ideally be cleaned by a professional. Not every cleaning lady is able to professionally clean an expensive carpet or expensive upholstered furniture.

If these cleanings are desired, this must be discussed in advance in order to see whether the service provider can actually carry out this cleaning to the satisfaction. The same applies to window cleaning. Anyone can clean a classic normal-sized window. Even a small cleaning company or a single housekeeper can do this.

However, if large glass surfaces need to be cleaned, particularly high windows such as in a loft, windows in sloping ceilings or similar things, then it can happen that a professional is needed again. On the one hand, because special utensils are required. On the other hand, maybe also because backups are necessary. In the case of particularly large window areas that cannot be opened, the outside must be cleaned. This does not work without a backup. The same applies to roof windows, which are difficult to access.

This must also be clarified in advance so that the cleaning work can be carried out accordingly and a high quality is possible.

  1. What if cleaning my private household causes damage?
    It can always happen that something breaks during cleaning. That is not the rule, but it has to be expected. If the damage was actually caused by cleaning, it must first be documented. This is important in order to be able to assert corresponding claims with the insurance company.

In the best case scenario, the documentation also includes a photo. If possible from different perspectives, depending on the damage. This is the only way to see exactly whether the value of the damage actually fits. When this is done, the cleaning company, cleaner or cleaner will report the damage to their liability insurance. Because this pays for the damage. It may be that an appraisal has to be drawn up or further inquiries about the damage take place.

As a rule, however, in the event of actual damage by the cleaning staff, the insurance company will also cover the costs.

  1. Can household cleaning be deducted from tax via a cleaning company?
    It is possible to deduct such costs through tax. The whole thing happens in the tax return under the item “Household employment”. It is important that a proper contract is concluded with the domestic help or the company. If it concerns a single cleaner, for example, a 450 Euro contract can be concluded, which is then carried out on a mini-job basis.

If it concerns a company or a domestic help who works on a self-employed basis, such a contract is not concluded. A monthly invoice is then issued, which can be settled via the tax. The tax advantage can be combined with craftsmen’s services, among other things. The taxpayer can claim a maximum of 5,710 euros per year for help in the private household.

Costs in excess of this cannot be taken into account in the tax.

Stay healthy and hang on!

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