Diwali is around the corner and well-known for festive vibes, fireworks, lit up streets and houses and lots of sweets. According to Indian traditions, Goddess Lakshmi and Lord Ganesha are particularly worshiped during Diwali as they’re connected to wealth and happiness. It’s believed that the gods will only visit clean and well-decorated homes, making Diwali cleaning an absolute must. Below are some tips on how to get your home sparkling in a breeze.
Get Rid of Limescale
There is no doubt that your household appliances will be working in overdrive during the winter months with more cups of tea, steaming hot showers, the washing machine chugging away on thicker knits and more dishes in the dishwasher with family in town. Unfortunately, these appliances all have two things in common – they require hot water and use hard water from taps and pipes.
Guess what? Limescale mainly occurs when hard water has evaporated. It results in expensive repair costs and reduces the efficiency of appliances, increasing the amount of energy they need. To prevent this occurring, try using Oust All Purpose Descaler. Oust’s powerful limescale removal formula eliminates up to 100% limescale and delivers results in just 10 minutes! Using it on your appliances every three months can extend their life.
2. Clear Your Gutters and Your Garden
It is a good idea to clean out any debris from your gutters. When the temperature drops below zero, the water in the gutters will freeze the leaves caught in there, preventing drainage. This problem can cause severe water damage to your roof, or worse, leaking into the house, ruining walls and ceilings.
Sweeping up foliage from your garden is really important because when left to freeze and unfreeze, fallen leaves will turn to mush, a breeding ground for mould, which will discolour your garden paths! Use Jeyes Patio Cleaner throughout the colder months to prevent the regrowth of algae, mildew, mould and dirt on paths, patios, decking, fencing, brick and block. No scrubbing required!
3. Change Up Your Colour Palette
It has been proven that using a deep, rich colour palette (reddish hues mainly) psychologically makes your home feel cosier. The warmth of the colours creates a cocoon effect inside the house that works perfectly in the winter months as it makes you feel like you’re cut off from the harsh elements outside.
While it would be too expensive to change the colour of your walls every winter, you can still change up your soft furnishings. For example, you could dye old pillowcases using Dylon Dyes Machine Washing Pods in rosewood red. All you have to do is unwrap the pop and pop it into the washing machine drum with the item and watch the magic happen!
4. De-odorise The Fridge
The fridge is one of the most important areas to focus on when cleaning your kitchen. Scrub stains and dirt spots on the exterior of the fridge using a damp cloth sprinkled with baking soda.
Housing both raw and cooked foods, it’s essential for this appliance to be kept clean and hygienic to reduce the risk of food poisoning. To clean the inside of your fridge, take out all your food and remove the shelves. Then wash the interior with warm water and dishwashing soap. We would suggest doing this every three to four months.
Ensure you maintain an odour-free fridge all year round by using a product such as Croc Odour, which is fragrance free and designed to help neutralise and absorb odours, preventing cross contamination of food flavours whilst protecting the taste of food.
5. Prepare The Loo
The toilet can be one of the grubbiest parts of the home and is prone to attracting an immense build-up of bacteria. Make sure your toilet remains sparkling and germ-free with a ‘Regime Clean’ approach. This includes daily use of a rim block such as Bloo’s Winter Limited Edition Rim Block, which will keep your toilet smelling minty fresh. With every flush, the rim block foams and fizzes, keeping the toilet hygienically clean, and lasts up to 240 flushes.
Follow this with the use of a toilet cleaning gel to tackle any limescale build up in your basin. Ideally this should be used twice a week for deep cleaning and the ultimate shine.
6. Outsource The Job
If you’re too busy with preparing for the festive season and are short on time, look into outsourcing the task to a company such as Airtasker, the trusted online community marketplace that connects people who need work done with people who want to work.
Cleaning is one of the most in-demand jobs on the platform so you’ll be spoilt for help. Simply post your task on Airtasker and choose from rated, verified and reviewed people ready to work straight away and wash away your worries.
