When cleaning your home, you can't do without rags.
In addition to rags, it is convenient to use ready-made napkins, which allow you to clean quickly and efficiently, while spending less effort. In order to achieve maximum results, you need to know how to choose a cleaning cloth and how to handle it so that you can use it longer.
Selection rules
Indoor cleaning cloths are designed for different purposes, and the requirements for them are different. It is also important to consider the specifics of cleaning. This could be an urgent removal of one stain on the surface or, for example, a full wash.
For floor
Floor cleaning always includes wet treatment. Depending on the circumstances, this may be followed by wiping the surface dry.
The purpose of floor washing is high-quality cleaning of the surface, including all microcracks. For these purposes, a large rag with good absorbency should be selected - microfiber or viscose.
For kitchen
Cleaning surfaces in the kitchen means dealing with complex stains from food residues, grease, splashes of water, etc. For these purposes, rags made of cellulose or bamboo are chosen .
For glass
Window cleaning combines the care of frames and glass.
When processing smooth, and especially glass surfaces, exposure to abrasives and rags with a hard surface should be excluded. Glass washing begins with primary treatment to wash away the main dirt. To do this, choose napkins with good moisture absorption .
It is better to choose a medium size so that it is comfortable to hold in your hand. The material can be viscose, latex, microfiber.
For tiles
Ceramic tiles require high-quality and fairly intensive care. For these purposes, it is advisable to use rags that can clean microcracks and even seams. In addition, the cleaning agent must have good moisture-absorbing ability, such as cellulose.
For furniture
To care for furniture, it is convenient to use fairly large rags, which can be used without pre-wetting. The use of wet cleaning can only be limited, on surfaces that allow it. The best option is viscose napkins, cellulose or microfiber .
For household appliances
Caring for household appliances requires extreme care to ensure that water and detergents do not get inside the housing. It is better to choose small napkins.
For dishes
For washing dishes and cleaning them efficiently, one of the best rags is bamboo . This napkin does not accumulate odors, does not become greasy and does not become a breeding ground for mold.
Dust should be wiped off correctly
Dust on flowers
Experienced housewives know that maintaining cleanliness is a difficult process. Several hours pass, and the smallest particles again fall onto the polished surfaces. They are the ones who are interested in how to wipe wooden surfaces in rooms to prevent dust from settling. Tips on how to properly wipe dust in an apartment are given below:
- The first rule of cleaning is to clean the ceiling. It is difficult to reach the ceiling: in city apartments it is high. You can use a flat mop. If you don’t have such a tool, you should wrap a wet rag around a broom or simple mop. It is also necessary to carefully treat problem areas of the room - the corners where the greatest amount of dirt accumulates. The ceiling needs to be cleaned once a month.
- Use a damp cloth soaked in alcohol to wipe onto lampshades and chandeliers.
- Dirty walls and wallpaper darken, which means you need to clean them and then wipe them with a damp cloth.
- The furniture walls are treated from above, the shelves inside the cabinets are wiped, from top to bottom.
- A lot of dirt accumulates on window sills.
- Plasma TV, due to static voltage, attracts a large number of dust particles. You can wipe off dust on household appliances with a dry, soft piece of flannel.
- Indoor plants can help in the fight for cleanliness. The leaves of plants (ficus, dracaena, rapeseed, shefflera, chlorophytum) absorb and neutralize dust microparticles. But if there is a dusty smell in the air, then the plants simply cannot cope, and the dust settles on the leaves. Periodically, the flower is wiped with a cloth, and water baths are given once a month. Clean plant leaves will begin to perform their function better.
On a note! By cleaning in this order, you can achieve a perfectly clean home.
The best manufacturers
There are practically no ideal rags suitable for all occasions. There are a large number of companies involved in the production of cleaning wipes; among them there are several that are among the top.
Among the leaders:
- Red Cat (RF);
- Vileda (Germany);
- Bagi (Israel);
- Smart (Switzerland) and others.
Red Cat M-01 Eso
Universal wipes made of microfiber. Such rags absorb moisture well and clean various surfaces efficiently. They are suitable for use in dry and wet conditions, are compact, and do not leave lint on the surface.
An undeniable advantage is the affordable price. Suitable for processing furniture, appliances and other surfaces. Price – from 20 rubles per piece.
Vileda
The floor cleaning cloth made in Germany is made of viscose. The product is of high quality, wears out slowly, so it will last quite a long time. Price – up to 200 rubles.
Clean
Cellulose rags are good for cleaning bathroom surfaces . The material efficiently removes limescale and soap streaks from tiles and plumbing fixtures. Price – up to 100 rubles.
Sonax
Microfiber cloths from this manufacturer provide a high level of cleaning, removing dirt even from hard-to-reach places. The soft surface of the napkins does not leave scratches or streaks. These rags are a suitable option for cleaning equipment and other surfaces. The cost is about 250 rubles per napkin.
Kleenex Viva
The manufacturer produces durable universal napkins in a roll. With their help it is convenient to wash kitchen surfaces . They contain cellulose and polypropylene, which can be used for wet processing.
Such rags collect dust well and clean dirt from various surfaces. Price - about 400 rubles per roll of 56 pieces.
Pingo in faux suede
The rag can be borrowed from car enthusiasts. This surface allows you to clean windows well even without the use of detergents. Pingo leaves no streaks or lint behind.
The peculiarity of the application is to use it only in a wet state , since when drying the material becomes brittle and can easily break. Price – from 400 rubles.
Fighting dust in hard-to-reach places
Where does the dust come from?
Dust can penetrate anywhere in the apartment. In order not to turn cleaning into a long process, you can use the advice of Internet sites on how to remove dust in hard-to-reach places:
- It is difficult to clean the ceiling, but if you remove the cobwebs and brush away the dust in a short period of time, this step will not cause any problems.
- If wall cabinets or mezzanines are located under the ceiling, then it will take a long time to wipe them by hand. A vacuum cleaner will be an indispensable assistant when using curved attachments.
- Picture frames may also become dusty. You can wipe off dust on the canvases using a brush.
- The computer causes a lot of problems. The monitor will shine if you use wet wipes. The keyboard can be cleaned with a brush.
- The blinds are dirty. Life hackers offer a trick. Put a terry sock on your hand, after moistening it in a soapy solution, and wipe the blinds.
- To clean books that have not been removed from the bookshelf for a long time, it is better to use a fluffy attachment for a vacuum cleaner.
- The bathtub has an unsightly appearance with mold running all over it. In this case, cellulose wool soaked in bleach will help. The material laid out along the black seams should be left overnight.
- Yellow plaque in the toilet bowl can be removed with a Coca-Cola drink, and plumbing fixtures will shine if you wipe them with half a lemon.
- It's hard to keep closets and drawers organized, but if you put small items in organizers, it will be easy to get them organized.
- Refrigerator shelves are also considered a problem area during deep cleaning. It is better to cover them with cling film and change them as they become dirty.
- Grates on a gas stove cause a lot of trouble. If you use ammonia, the grates will shine like new.
On a note! When carrying out general cleaning, you should not forget about hard-to-reach places, otherwise it will be difficult to put them in order later.
To combat dust, many methods are used that do not completely eliminate dust, but reduce its amount.
A napkin that does not require detergents: myth or reality?
Wipes that remove all dirt without detergents during the cleaning process are a real godsend for the housewife. They are made from mixed fibers.
Having a specific surface with small fibers, such rags do a good job of collecting dirt and dust, absorbing liquids, and wiping off grease.
An example of such a rag is Vileda Actifiber made of viscose and polyvinyl acetate (price - from 210 rubles). This napkin will cope not only with cleaning, but also with washing dishes .
What rags are best for dusting and washing floors?
Modern rags for floor cleaning are called mops, and housewives simply call them replaceable mop heads. More than 80% of mops are made of microfiber, the rest are mixed (cotton with polyester) or synthetic/natural (acrylic or cotton).
Microfiber attachments, compared to cleaning cloths, have thicker fibers, from which solid or cut loops are formed. Some nozzles have abrasive inclusions designed to remove dried-on dirt. On sale you can also find advanced mops with polyamide slip strips for quickly washing smooth surfaces.
Looped microfiber nozzles with loops of different lengths are designed for washing floor coverings. For dry cleaning of floors and dusting of walls, we recommend using mops with long split loops made of acrylic or cotton and polyester.
► Note: the mop can be attached to the working platform of the mop using two pockets, Velcro, “ears” or buttons.
1 - split acrylic, 2 - split cotton-polyester, 3 - universal split microfiber, 4 - loop microfiber with slip stripes, 5 - microfiber with medium-length loops, 6, 7 and 8 - combined loop, 9 - Kentucky, 10 - abrasive
Read more about modern mops and mops in our large article “Washing floors correctly: life hacks for wet cleaning and choosing equipment.”
How to extend service life?
To prevent rags from becoming unusable after the first use, they must be properly cared for:
- Dirty rags should not be stored. They must be washed and dried thoroughly.
- A properly selected storage location allows you not only to quickly find the necessary rag or napkin, but also to extend their service life. All rags should not lie in bulk, especially if some of them have not been completely dried. Organizers, clothespin holders, hangers, etc. will help.
- Rags should be used in accordance with the operating instructions. If, for example, a napkin can only be used when wet, this point should not be ignored.
Dust Collection Tools
Dust settles on furniture all the time. If you do not touch it, then in 6 months the weight of the dirt will be 5 kg. A person living in such conditions will spend most of his immunity fighting dust. Cleaning the room is simply necessary, and to speed up the process you can use the following tools:
- Modern housewives, when starting to clean a room, first turn on the vacuum cleaner. But there are areas in the rooms where the vacuum cleaner brushes cannot reach.
- You can wipe the floor with electric brushes, but they are convenient on a flat surface.
- A proven cleaning product is a rag, which you can sew with your own hands using rags. The rag is used once. For the next cleaning, it is better to cut off a clean piece of fabric. It is difficult to remove dust with a dry cloth. Special compounds should be on hand.
- Today, new cleaning tools have begun to appear, such as a steam mop. Using nozzles, it is very easy to clean surfaces with hot steam supplied under pressure. A modern electrical appliance - an air purifier draws in poplar fluff, pollen, pet hair, and soot from the stove. The device not only cleans, but also humidifies the air in the apartment.
Whatever cleaning tool you choose, it greatly simplifies the process of cleaning.
Recommendations
When choosing a rag, it is recommended to take into account the following advice from cleaning specialists:
- rags made of viscose and cellulose are interchangeable;
- You won’t be able to get by with just one rag to clean all the rooms;
- a rag that has exhausted its service life should be thrown away;
- The most versatile are napkins made of non-woven microfiber and bamboo.
Cotton
Cotton is a good helper when performing general cleaning in the house. Natural fabric demonstrates excellent moisture absorption and breathability. In addition, it is pleasant to the touch. However, the benefits don't end there.
Of all natural fabrics, cotton stands out for its comparative strength. The threads along the edges do not fray even without additional processing. Such rags do not stretch and easily survive repeated washings.
Despite the list of advantages, cotton rags have a number of disadvantages:
- wipe quickly;
- shrink after heat treatment;
- lose shape during cleaning;
- may leave divorces.
Cotton rags with the addition of polyester are durable and leave fewer streaks on the parquet.
Acrylic
The production of this material is based on natural gas. Acrylic is resistant to shape. It feels like wool to the touch. The material is hypoallergenic, retains color, and does not deform when interacting with acids and alkalis.
Advice
Do not use acrylic for wet cleaning.
A significant disadvantage is low hygroscopicity. The fabric is practically airtight and absorbs water very poorly. Because of this, acrylic rags are used for rubbing floors with a shiny surface (parquet or laminate), and not for wet cleaning.
Polyamide
Another type of synthetic cleaning cloth. Polyamide is very elastic, it dries quickly and is resistant to mechanical stress. Even after repeated cleanings, its shape and color remain unchanged. The fabric is pleasant to the touch, light and airy. A significant plus is resistance to fungi and rotting.
We recommend: Is it possible to clean carpet with a household steam cleaner?
Among the disadvantages of this material, one can only note the rather high price. However, as reviews from satisfied housewives show, the price is very justified.
