Using Vinegar to Clean Your Home: 2 Things to Do BEFORE the Pros Come

September 26, 2013 By Michele Peterson

Mini Mops House Cleaning in Fresno CA - Using Vinegar to Clean Your Home If you’ve been with us for any length of time, you know that we’re constantly using vinegar to clean various parts of your home. We bring it to jobs by the gallon because it’s such a great cleaner.

We use it to clean glass and mirrors. We also use it as a final rinse for floors to remove all lingering residue so that your floors will shine. When we clean ovens, we rinse those with vinegar, too.

We shared two ways to get rid of house odors in a prior article (one of them was to use vinegar). And here are still two MORE ways you can use vinegar to get a cleaner home …

1. On the night before your Mini Mops crew is scheduled to clean your home, pour 2 cups of vinegar in your toilet. It will help break down any water mineral and lime deposits that may be forming.

2. On the morning of the day the crew cleans your home, spray your glass shower door (after you’ve squeegee’d it) with vinegar. If you have any hard water deposits forming, this will help the crew get the door more clean.

It works!

The acid in the vinegar breaks down grease, mold, and even bacteria. It’s biodegradable and environmentally friendly. It’s user-friendly, too. So get yourself a gallon of the stuff and use it!

We’ll share even more things to do with vinegar in future articles. Please leave a comment below if you have any tips you’d like to share or if you have questions you’d like us to answer in a future article.

Until next time … Keep it Clean!

Two Simple Ways to Get Rid of House Odors

September 24, 2013 By Michele Peterson

Mini Mops House Cleaning in Fresno CA - Musty House Odors

When it’s hot and your air conditioner is running constantly, you’re probably not opening your windows to let fresh air in very often, and your home can develop a musty, stale odor. If you keep your pets inside to protect them from our extreme Fresno heat, they can add to the problem, too.

You may not even realize you have a problem, because you’ll probably only notice it when you first step inside after being gone for several hours. But, unfortunately, guests to your home are quick to notice it. Even if they’re polite enough not to say anything.

Here are two simple ways to get rid of house odors and prevent your guests from wrinkling their noses next time they visit:

Vinegar

Pour an inch or so in shallow bowls and place them in different rooms thoughout your home. Put more bowls in the rooms where the odor is strongest. The vinegar should neutralize the odor within a few hours or so. An alternate method is to put vinegar in a spray bottle and spritz it into the middle of the affected rooms. Don’t worry, the vinegar smell doesn’t linger!

Essential oils

Put ¼ c. baking soda and 5-6 drops of your favorite essential oil (lemon, orange, or lavender are great choices) into a small canning jar with a lid. Use a small nail to punch holes in the lid. Add a pretty ribbon and place the jar in a strategic spot in your home. You may want one for each room, maybe two in larger rooms. Shake the jars to reactivate the scent, and once it starts to fade, simply add a few more drops of the oil. (Bonus tip: these jars would make fabulous hand-made gifts!)

What do YOU think? Do you have a tip you’d like to share to help our readers get rid of house odors? Please share it in a brief comment below.

Until next time … Keep it Clean!

Why I FALL in Love with September

September 19, 2013 By Suzette Peterson

“Autumn … the year’s last, loveliest smile.” ― William Cullen Bryant

Last month I confessed that I don’t like change. I have to admit, though, that I do like the change in seasons from summer to fall. You know what I’m talking about, right?

The days start getting shorter. Mornings are cooler … and eventually it’s a pleasant temperature all day long. Leaves start turning those gorgeous reds, oranges, and yellows.

And I know that the holidays are right around the corner! So, yes, Ilike the changes that September brings!

For me, September means the Madera fair (I absolutely LOVE the Madera Fair!) and taking some time to enjoy the coast with my sister in our trailers. It means walks with the dogs become more comfortable. And I look forward to enjoying the simple pleasure of holding a warm mug of coffee between my hands on a chilly morning.

Are you getting the picture? Yeah, isn’t fall nice?

Fall can become a busy time for Mini Mops, and, of course, I look forward to that, too.

Those holidays that I mentioned being right around the corner? Those holidays typically inspire a lot of house cleaning! The more
advance notice you give me, the better I can accommodate your holiday scheduling requests.

In the meantime, I’m just glad that we’ve all survived another of these HOT Fresno summers and can relax into better fall weather.

I do love it. Don’t you?

Suzette Peterson is Owner and President of Mini Mops, Inc. — a professional house cleaning company serving residential and commercial clients in the Fresno-Clovis CA area since 1975. Mini Mops is currently accepting new clients. Please call (559) 264-6677 to schedule an estimate appointment.

Change Is In the Air

August 19, 2013 By Suzette Peterson

Mini Mops House Cleaning Blog - Time for Change

“Any change, even a change for the better, is always accompanied by drawbacks and discomforts.” ~Arnold Bennett

Are you someone who embraces change? Do you view it as a good thing to be accepted and welcomed?

Or are you someone who likes things to remain the same, with little or no change? Does change make you nervous?

I don’t like change. I never have and probably never will. I don’t like to see my grandbabies grow up (one of them just turned 16 this year!), but I know I can’t stop them from doing so. I don’t like to see friends and neighbors move away. I don’t like to lose my employees when they retire or when they move on to bigger and better things. And I have an especially hard time when I lose employees who are family.

Both of my sons (Darin and Ron) have worked for me here at Mini Mops. So have both of my daughters-in-law (Michele and Shelly). Darin moved on to be the Assistant Winemaker at Quady Winery. Michele left last year after 15 years to open her own business as a freelance copywriter, although she still pops in to help from time to time.

I was fortunate to have Ron step back into the business last year, and he is now General Manager. You may have interacted with him if you’ve had questions about your bill. His primary duties are keeping the books in order and taking care of general operations.

Shelly was my Quality Control Manager. She made sure the girls were doing a good job, and she also called you to schedule cleaning appointments. Shelly left Mini Mops this summer because she was accepted into the Radiology Tech program at Fresno City College. I hope you’ll join me in wishing her success as she pursues her dreams.

I know in my head that all of these changes are positive ones. But my heart still wants to hold everyone close and keep them the same. I guess I’m still working through the “discomforts” part of it all. But don’t worry, I’ll get there!

Change happens … even to me.

Suzette Peterson is Owner and President of Mini Mops, Inc. — a professional house cleaning company serving residential and commercial clients in the Fresno-Clovis CA area since 1975. Mini Mops is currently accepting new clients. Please call (559) 264-6677 to schedule an estimate appointment.

When a Caregiver Needs Care …

June 25, 2013 By Michele Peterson

A family’s primary caregiver — typically Mom — fulfills multiple roles and duties. She cooks, cleans, and chauffeurs the kids. She does the laundry and the shopping, and she pays the bills. She may hold a job and/or volunteer in the community.

So when Mom gets sick or injured, she needs help … lots of it.

Often Dad will take over, with help. Family members, friends and neighbors may pitch in to provide meals while Mom’s recovering. Perhaps someone will offer to take the kids where they need to go. Someone else may walk the dogs or throw a load of laundry in the washer when they come to visit.

But there aren’t a lot of cheerful volunteers offering to take care of the house cleaning. The hands-in-the-toilet, hands-and-knees floor scrubbing … the sanitizing kind of clean that is so necessary during recovery from an illness or injury.

A solution that works for many families is hiring a professional house cleaning company to handle those chores …

When you can’t handle your own house cleaning, turning it over to strangers is in many ways easier than having someone close to you do it.

By hiring professional house cleaners, Mom avoids any potential embarrassment of having friends or neighbors see the family’s “dirt.” She can relax in knowing that this is a just a job to the professional … and there’s no judgment on how dirty a house is except as to how it relates to the time it will take to complete the job.

By hiring professional house cleaners, Mom also knows that the cleaning is going to be done right. The professionals will use the proper cleaners, chemicals and equipment … they’ll even bring their own supplies! And they do this every day for a living, so they know what they’re doing.

By hiring professional house cleaners, Mom can relax and actually heal from her injury or illness. She will be less tempted to help do the chores herself.

To give Mom the most peace of mind, be sure to hire a house cleaning company that:

• is fully insured (both liability and workers’ comp),
• can provide references,
• gives an onsite personalized quote for the exact services you need, and
• has policies and procedures in place to guarantee your satisfaction.

Until next time … Keep it clean!

Mini Mops, Inc. is a professional house cleaning company serving residential and commercial clients in the Fresno-Clovis CA area since 1975. We are currently accepting new clients. Please call (559) 264-6677 to get started.