April, 2020 | BCS Cleaning Specialists

Grease and oil residue from cooking can seem like a nightmare to remove from cooking surfaces and vent hoods. But with our simple tip, you’ll have both sparkling again in a jiffy!

To remove oil from vent hoods and cooking surfaces, cooking oil can work wonders. And yes, I know this concept sounds strange (to say the least), but oil is often the best substance to soften and lift existing oil.

Simply moisten a paper towel with cooking oil (canola, sunflower, vegetable or similar – no need to get expensive) and rub the grease until it’s gone. Buff to a shine with a clean, soft cloth to remove any remaining residue.

To schedule your next deep steam clean, give BCS Cleaning Utah a call today at 801 561 1730.

Most people think about dusting the surfaces of their furniture, but rarely do people consider dusting their walls. Dust walls?!? I hear you exclaim, punctuated with prolific interrobangs. While it may sound very silly to even consider dusting, let alone washing walls, the fact is, walls get dusty. Very dusty. Which makes sense when you think about it because they’re a surface just like the coffee table, television or sofa, and dust particles aren’t particularly picky about where they land.

Over time, that dust combines with ambient humidity, smoke residue from nearby forest and mountain fires (this means you, Utah and California), and oils from grubby fingers and even cooking fumes to leave your paint dingy and patchy, covered in a fine film of yuck. Admittedly, most people just live with this state of affairs and may not even notice it, but would you really choose not to dust the coffee table or clean the kitchen countertops for years on end? Of course not. While walls may not need such a frequent cleaning, they are worth considering while you’re in the throes of spring cleaning fever.  

So how does one go about it? The good news is that dusting your walls needn’t be a cumbersome task. Simply run the dry head of a microfiber mop along the wall, starting at the ceiling and working your way down. You’ll be shocked at the amount of dust, dirt, pet hair, human hair and other little surprises you’ll discover on the used mop-head.

If you can sees streaks appearing on the wall in the wake of the dry mophead, it may be time to consider going back over with the same mophead, doused to damp perfection in a bucket of slightly soapy warm water. This will get rid of the accumulated oils and gook left behind by the dry-dusting. If you’re concerned about drips, lay an old clean towel on the floor underneath the area you’re working on and just moved it as you move areas. 

Also be aware that at least some of the dust and debris will rain down onto the floor below while you’re dusting, so make sure to dust walls before you dust the furniture and give the area a good vacuuming after. It may seem like a big job, but it really only needs doing once every couple of years or so and can make a massive difference to how fresh and clean your house not only smells but looks.

When your carpets need blitzing from all that raining dust, give BCS a call at 801 561 1730 to schedule your deep carpet cleaning treatment.

If you’re anything like me, I put off cleaning blinds until they’re almost at the point of cloning themselves with dust. Blinds can be fiddly business! But with this top tip from BCS Cleaning Utah, your blinds will be spit-spot and top-notch in no time.

1   Cut a microfiber cloth in half and wrap each piece around one side of a pair of kitchen tongs, before securing with rubber bands. 

2   When you’re ready to clean your blinds, get your hand slightly wet and wipe it across the microfiber contact surface. The very-slightly damp microfiber gives you even better dust grab-ability. 

3   Place each slat between the cloth-clad tongs and swipe across to dust. 

4   For very dirty blinds, run the brush attachment on your vacuum over the blinds to suck up the worst of it, then use the tongs to finish up. 

And hey presto, spick and span blinds in a jiffy! If all that dust has now settled on your pristine carpet below or the thought of dealing with all those blind slats gives you vertigo, give BCS Cleaning Utah a call today to schedule your FREE carpet or blind inspection – 801 561 1730.

As with so many things in life, of course it is entirely possible to clean your own windows. They’re only innocuous panes of glass, after all. And there is something rather fun and industrious-seeming about washing one’s own windows. The first time. And then you realize how much sheer brawn and attention to detail is involved and the shine (pardon the pun) on the whole affair promptly disappears and you run to the nearest window cleaning professional, begging for relief.

If you’re determined to give it a try, here are our professional tips and suggestions from a lifetime of skilled window washing to get you started:

1   Use a strip applicator.

Cleaning picture windows requires large, dedicated tools. The long cloth head of a strip applicator soaks up lots of lovely soapy water and dislodges dirt without scratching the glass. For a cleaning solution, we suggest using just a teeny squirt of dishwashing liquid and about a half-cup of plain white vinegar in a bucket of warm water—the less suds, the better. The more suds you put on the glass, the more water and elbow grease you’ll have to use to remove them. And modern soap products are highly effective emulsifiers – you only need a teeny bit to go a long way.

2   Wipe clean with a squeegee

This is the fiddly bit! Professional window cleaners make it look easy and quick, but wielding a squeegee is a skill that comes with a lot of practice. 

Starting at the top left of your window, pull the squeegee over the still-soapy pane in a reverse-S pattern (do the opposite if you’re left-handed). Keep the squeegee in contact with the window through the entire motion, keeping your wrist loose and bendy. Don’t apply too much pressure on the squeegee or you’ll get strange lines on the glass – just keep enough pressure to keep it in contact with the pane. At the end of each stroke, wipe the squeegee’s blade clean with a lint-free cloth. Old linen napkins are perfect for this.

Alternative Method:

If you’re washing the outside of your windows, you can get all big-gunsy about it and just use the hose to wash the suds off the glass. And then proceed to the last step. We would suggest doing one window at a time though if you’re going to do it this way, as the water will dry and leave nasty little mineral deposits and spots on the glass if you don’t get to it right away. 

3   Remove any remaining drips

Remove any water or suds remaining on the edges of the glass with a damp, wrung-dry chamois, which soaks up wetness without leaving streaks. Dry the windowsill with a rag. Repeat with the other side of the window. Don’t be tempted to use anything other than a damp chamois for this purpose – anything else WILL leave streaks and bits of fluff. It’s worth investing in a good chammy if you’re planning to clean your own windows regularly. It’s a jolly useful bit of kit. 

At BCS, we understand the appeal of window washing. After all, we’ve chosen to do it full-time. But window-cleaning seems to be one of those peculiar things like Marmite and peanut butter – you either love it or hate it. We were promptly hooked on the soaking, scrubbing, polishing and squinting that are all entailed with the process of cleaning windows properly. 

If you feel the same, hurrah – welcome to the club! If you’re not immediately enthralled with the idea of dripping elbows and near-death ladder experiences, give the experts at BCS a call at 801 561 1730. We’ll come charging over with our enthusiasm and fancy-looking tools to get your windows sparkling like new in a jiffy!

It’s not terribly high on most people’s list of favorite springtime jobs, but washing the windows needs to be done, and done well, for a whole host of reasons. Not least of which is so that you can see through them. 

But that squeegee thingamajig looks so intimidating! What is the correct way to wield it without causing yourself or your windows grievous bodily harm? Here is our three-step guide to washing your own windows with the terrifying squeegee:

1   Use a strip applicator.

Cleaning picture windows requires large, dedicated tools. The long cloth head of a strip applicator soaks up oodles of soapy water and dislodges dirt without scratching the glass. For a cleaning solution, we suggest using just a teeny squirt of dishwashing liquid in a bucket of warm water—the less suds, the better. The more suds you put on the glass, the more water and elbow grease you’ll have to use to remove them. And modern soap products are highly effective emulsifiers – you only need a teeny bit to go a long way.

2   Wipe clean with a squeegee

This is the fiddly bit! Professional window cleaners make it look easy and quick, but wielding a squeegee is a skill that comes with a lot of practice. 

Starting at the top left of your window, pull the squeegee over the still-soapy pane in a reverse-S pattern (do the opposite if you’re left-handed). Keep the squeegee in contact with the window through the entire motion, keeping your wrist loose and bendy. Don’t apply too much pressure on the squeegee or you’ll get strange lines on the glass – just keep enough pressure to keep it in contact with the pane. At the end of each stroke, wipe the squeegee’s blade clean with a lint-free cloth. Old linen napkins are perfect for this.

3   Remove any remaining drips

Remove any water or suds remaining on the edges of the glass with a damp, wrung-dry chamois, which soaks up wetness without leaving streaks. Dry the windowsill with a rag. Repeat with the other side of the window. Don’t be tempted to use anything other than a damp chamois for this purpose – anything else WILL leave streaks and bits of fluff. It’s worth investing in a good chammy if you’re planning to clean your own windows.

If you’ve attempted to wield a squeegee and are frankly just ready to throw in the towel, give the experts at BCS a call at 801 561 1730. We’ll take all the ‘grrr’ out of window cleaning and have your panes sparkling in a jiffy. With a smile, we might add.