House Cleaning

Housecleaning Directory

Housecleaning is the systematic process of making a home neat and clean in approximately that order, this maybe applied more broadly that just an individual home, or as a metaphor for a similar "clean up" process applied elsewhere such as a procedural reform. In the process of housecleaning general cleaning activities are completed, such as disposing of rubbish, storing of belongings in regular places, cleaning dirty surfaces, dusting and vacuuming. The details of this are various and complicated enough that many books have been published on the subject. How-to sites on the internet have many articles on housecleaning. Tools include the vacuum cleaner, broom and mop. Supplies such as cleaning solutions and sponges are sold in grocery stores and elsewhere. Professional cleaners can be hired for less frequent or specialist tasks such as cleaning blinds, rugs, and sofas. Professional services are also offered for the basic tasks. Safety is a consideration because some cleaning products are toxic and some cleaning tasks are physically demanding. Green cleaning refers to cleaning without causing pollution. The history of housecleaning has links to the advancement of technology.

"Modern housecleaning tools" is almost an oxymoron. There are few areas of employment where someone from 50 years ago could step into the same job today, but housecleaning is one area where there has been very little change. Brooms remove debris from floors. Brushes clean cracks and crevices. Buckets hold cleaning and rinsing solutions. Carpet sweepers remove surface dust and debris. Chamois do lint-free drying of windows. Clotheslines hold doormats and rugs for cleaning. Clothespins fasten things on clotheslines . Dishwashers are machines that wash dishes placed inside them. Dryers dry textiles placed inside them. Dusters are soft cloths for wiping dust, or are various dust sweepers. Dustpans carry dust and debris swept into them. Floor machines remove and apply floor finish. Rubber gloves protect hands from dish water and other cleaners. Dust mops remove dust from smooth floors. Wet mops are for washing floors. Paper towels wipe up grease and other materials difficult to rinse from a cloth. Polishing cloths are for applying polish and removing excess polish. Sponges apply cleaning solution and remove soil. Spray bottles apply cleaning solution to be removed by another tool. Squeegees remove solutions from glass. Steam cleaners are machines that help wash carpet. Vacuum cleaners remove dust from inside carpet. Upright vacuums are best at carpet vacuuming. Canister vacuums are best at upholstery and bare floors. Wet-dry vacuums can be used to remove spills and spot removers. Washing machines clean textiles such as dust cloths.

In the early 1800s throughout the industrialized world there was a campaign to teach girls the domestic arts (cooking, cleaning, hygiene, sewing, art, décor, etc) in school. In the early 1870s there were college courses in home economics and by 1880 there were high school courses. There continues to be high school and vocational school courses and college degrees in home economics, which prepares students for various employment, as well as home and family management. Home economists are taught and teach about relationships, children, economy, shopping, management of home and family, sewing and interior decoration. Although boys have not been required to learn cooking and cleaning in school, a few have taken a course or two.

People perform house cleaning for the home to look better and be safer and easier to live in. It is in response to clutter, disorder, litter, dirtiness or to prevent such. Without housecleaning limescale builds up on taps, mold grows in wet areas, bacterial action make the garbage disposal and toilet smell and cobwebs accumulate. With organisation belongings are easily found and table tops are clear.

Clutter is belongings that have not been put away into storage locations designed for them. If there are not enough shelves and drawers and hangers and there can’t be more, this is a cause of clutter. There is a limit to the number of possessions that can be neatly stored in a home. A tangled pile of old coats, mittens, scarves, hats and boots occurs in some hall closets. Pawnbrokers, thrift shops and garbage collectors are involved in the prevention of clutter.[

Although one meaning of housecleaning is "improvement," the primary meaning of housecleaning is "the cleaning of a house." A goal of housecleaning would be the removal of mold from shower grout or smudges and splatters from a kitchen wall. Examples of dirtiness or "soil" would be dry coffee spills and jelly drips or muddy footprints on carpet. Soap and water is a "cleaner." Equipment used with a cleaner might be a bucket and sponge. A modern tool is the spray bottle, but the scientific principle is the same. Cleaning supplies have directions and are sold at janitorial and other stores. Cleaning specialists such as carpet cleaners are listed in phone books. Housecleaning is done to achieve and to enjoy a cleaner house