June, 2018 - Mighty Maids Cleaning Services

7 Deep-Clean Tips to Get Your Grill Party-Ready

Get your grill ready for warm-weather entertaining with this seven-step, deep-clean process.

Materials Needed:
– heavy-duty grill scraper
– abrasive grill brush
– scouring pad
– sponge
– microfiber cloth
– dish soap
– warm water
– large, plastic bucket
– latex gloves or work gloves
– natural grill degreaser (optional)

1. Assess the Mess
Determine if you need to simply clean or replace the grates and burners. Rusty or crumbling grates require disassembly and replacement. Be sure to check the owner’s manual, and take a photo before you pull the grill apart. And, always turn off the gas when disassembling a grill.

2. Warm It Up
For a basic deep clean, keep the burners in place and focus your attention on the grates. First, turn on the grill to warm up the unit.

3. Start Scraping
Once warm, use a heavy-duty grill scraper to remove the top layer of cooked-on grit and grime.

4. Scrub Warm Grates
Scrub the heated grates with a wire grill brush. If you need more power, opt for a battery-powered model. When you’re finished, turn off the grill.

5. Soak Grates
Once the grates are cool to the touch, place them into a bucket of warm, soapy water. Soak the grates for a few hours, then scrub off any excess grime using a scouring sponge.

6. Degrease
Use a degreaser to clean up the grates as well as the grill’s exterior. Wipe clean with a damp sponge, then dry with a fresh microfiber cloth.

7. Shine It Up
Shine up the exterior with a stainless-steel cleaner; this will also help protect the exterior in the coming months.

Tips to get the kids moving this summer

Tips to get the kids moving this summer!

Live Science asked these two fitness experts to suggest ways that parents can help kids, from toddlers to teenagers, to get outdoors and be fit, and we’re passing their knowledge on to you!

Tips to get kids moving:
Lead by example:
Parents should be role models for their children by showing them that they prioritize an active lifestyle and make time for it, Stoler said. “It makes a big difference when a parent practices what he or she preaches,” she said. Parents don’t have to be superfit, but they should set an example, Sothern said. “Active parents typically have active children,” she added.

Mix it up:
Parents should also encourage kids to do activities other than those that the parents do, Stoler told Live Science. Expose children to a wide variety of sports and activities, so that they can find out what they like to do rather than feel confined to the same fitness activities their parents do.

Be creative.
Parents can be creative and make taking a walk more fun for kids, Stoler suggested. For example, a walk can turn into a scavenger hunt in your own neighborhood, if you draw up a list of things for children to find along the way, such as a fruit tree, a house with a red door or an out-of-state license plate parked in the driveway. Another idea is to play a game, such as “Follow the Leader” or “Simon Says,” in which the leader switches up the movements the walkers do at different points along the way, such as hopping, jumping, skipping and galloping, Stoler said. [10 Important Ways to Avoid Summer Tick Bites]

Use fun equipment:
Fill a tub with balls, jump ropes, racquets, Frisbees and other items that encourage outdoor yard games, Sothern said. In addition, create a physical activity center with safe, indoor active toys and games to have fun indoors when the weather is cold or rainy. “Call it ‘an imagination station,'” Sothern said, and include items such as hats, scarves and clothes for dress-up, puppets, music CDs, batons, indoor basketball hoops, foam balls, bean bags, the game “Twister” and toy musical instruments.

Move during screen time:
While watching TV as a family, stand up and do the “TV commercial boogie” whenever the ads appear on the screen, and keep moving during the entire break, Sothern recommended. [7 Ways to Short-Circuit Kids’ Mobile Addiction]

Make it family time:
Dedicate at least a half day over the weekend for family fun and fitness, Sothern suggested. Draw up a list of activities that the entire family can enjoy together — such as going for a bike ride, flying kites in a local park or participating in a fun run — and then put them on the calendar.

Tips for getting kids to exercise:
When it comes to being physically active, children have different needs and motivations based on their age. The experts offered the following advice for encouraging kids of certain ages to move more:

Ages 5 and under:
The important thing with this group is to get them away from screens (TV, computer and mobile devices). In the absence of screen time, children in this age group have an innate natural tendency to move, Sothern told Live Science. If parents take kids outside or to a playground, youngsters will run around, climb or play with movable toys they can push or pull, she said. If parents create situations and places for young children to play inside and have items to help them move, preschoolers will move, she added. Toddlers and preschoolers also may enjoy the physical activity that comes with helping their parents do household chores, such as transferring clothes from the washer to the dryer, loading the dishwasher or watering plants, because they like to role play as grown-ups, Sothern said.

Ages 5 to 12:
School-age children enjoy basic yard games and social games, such as playing hide-and-go-seek or tag, Sothern said. They are also eager to learn the basic skills to do various sports and be around other children. Whether it’s a parent, a physical education teacher or a coach, someone needs to show kids how to kick a soccer ball, throw a baseball, swim, swing a tennis racket or do martial arts. Pleasing others, rather than competing, is what typically motivates school-age children, Sothern said. They also may enjoy doing household chores such as watering plants or vacuuming, she said.

Ages 12 and older:
After age 12, kids can zone in on one activity, Sothern said. Although younger children would be too bored, kids 12 and older can participate in and enjoy sustained activities, such as cycling, treadmill walking or using exercise machines. They tend to like class-oriented activities geared toward a goal, such as getting into better shape or making the dance or baseball team at school. Sothern recommended that parents not ask older children, “What do you want to do?” A better approach is to give teens choices about physical activity by saying, “Would you like to vacuum the house, shoot some hoops or take a walk with me?”

10 Cleaning Hacks That Will Change Your Life!

1. Homemade Gunk Remover
It may be hard to notice at first, but chances are there’s a lot of gunk that has collected on your cabinets — especially near the handles. To make them look brand new, mix one part vegetable oil and two parts baking soda. Use an old toothbrush to scrub the mixture into the cabinets, and see the difference.

2. Cutting Board Hack
Constant food prep can do a number on your cutting boards. Clean them up with a combination of lemon and salt.

3. Clean Your Shower Head
If the water in your shower is spraying out in all directions, it’s probably time to give it a deep clean. Mix a solution of equal parts vinegar and water, then pour it into a plastic bag and wrap it around your water source (as shown here by The Melrose Family). Let the solution sit for 15 to 20 minutes, then remove and rinse.

4. DIY Drain Cleaner
The power couple of vinegar and baking soda is back at it, this time to clean the drain. First, pour boiling water down the drain followed by 1/2 cup baking soda, then pour a mix of 1 cup vinegar and 1 cup hot water right on top. Lastly, when the bubbles die down, turn on the hot water, and let it run for about a minute. This process should loosen any dirt and gunk you have in your drain.

5. How to Clean Shower Door Tracks
Pinned over 24,000 times, this cleaning trick is one to keep handy. All you need: distilled white vinegar, paper towels, a spray bottle, and an old toothbrush for scrubbing. Lay paper towels soaked in vinegar along the shower door tracks, and leave them there for 30 minutes. When the time’s up, the grime should easily come off with a toothbrush. For tight spots, use a cotton bud.

6. How to Deep Clean a Mattress
The average person spends a least a third of their life sleeping, so it’s worth giving your bed a good cleaning every so often. In this hack beloved by Pinterest users, all you need is baking soda, essential oil and a vacuum cleaner. By the end of the cleaning, you’ll be left with a dust-, dirt- and residue-free mattress, promising you a sweet slumber.

7. How Clean a Microfibre Sofa With 1 Ingredient
Is your microfibre sofa starting to look a little worse for the wear? While the material makes the couch extra cosy, it can showcase even minor stains. Have it looking like new again just by using rubbing alcohol and a bristle brush.

8. Swiffer Dust Socks
Swiffer replacement packs can be expensive and hard to replace, but there’s a pound shop item that’ll do the same job for much less. Yep, socks! Turn old socks into reusable static Swiffer cloths, and never look back.

9. Simple Shoe Cleaner
As much as you care for your shoes, stains are inevitable. Remove them in no time with this nail polish remover trick.

10. DIY Carpet Stain Remover
Mix some washing up liquid and hydrogen peroxide for an all-star carpet cleaner that also works on mattresses.

A Great June Cleaning Checklist

A Great June Cleaning Checklist!

Some home cleaning tasks only need to be done once or twice a year. The problem is, we forget to do them once or twice a year.
An easy way to ensure all the essential home preventative maintenance and cleaning tasks get done by year’s end is to create a monthly cleaning checklist.

Here are some examples of things to check off your list in June:

1. Is That Fluffy?
Launder stuffed animals and washable playthings to get them fresh and clean for summer playtime ahead.
June is the perfect time to clean stuffed animals to keep them sanitary as well as cuddly. Some can be laundered. Some you just have to wipe down.

2. Caution! Hazardous Zone
While the kids are home from school, entice or enlist them to clean their rooms top to bottom. Be patient. This could take a while. (But then, the summer is young.)

3. The Land Down Under
Clean and organize the bathroom sink area. Buy under sink drawer units or stackable baskets to make the best use of the space.

4. Take Two Aspirin and…
Check their expiration dates. While you’re at it, check expiration dates on everything and toss out the old. In fact, clean out the entire medicine cabinet.

5. Give Shower Curtains a Bath
Put vinyl or plastic shower curtains in your washing machine along with a few bath towels. Wash in cold water on the gentle cycle. Remove the curtains before the spin cycle and hang them to dry.

6. White Out Grout
Clean and repair bathroom caulking.

7. Bare It All
Clean area rugs according to manufacturers’ directions. Be sure to use pads underneath both to keep rugs from slipping and to lengthen their lives.

8. Awww!
Go through family pictures that you’ve taken over the past year. Be ruthless. Toss the bad ones; send Grandma a bunch and file the rest (by month and year) until you finally get around to compiling that album.

9. Photo Swap
Refresh the photographs you have on display with some of the best you’ve just picked through.

10. The Pink Period
Go through your children’s artwork when they are not around. Put the best in a special box. Frame the very best and display it in a hallway. Circular file what’s left.