Best tips for spring cleaning

[Jason]

In December the social calendar starts to get busier, so I'm hoping to get some spring cleaning done this weekend.

The windows will be one of the first targets, but there's plenty of other jobs to be done.

I'm sure I'm not going to be the only one trying to clean up this weekend. What are your best tips for spring cleaning to make your chores as quick and easy as possible, and get your house looking great inside and out?

Thanks for sharing,

Jason

[greygardener]

Not a tip but a request. What's the best thing to use to clean roller blinds that have marks on them?

[CathD]

There are tips for window cleaning here - https://www.workshop.com.au/t5/Outdoor-Living/How-do-you-clean-your-windows/td-p/1050

[Andy_Mann]

@greygardener, I take it that you have marks that you can't remove, could they possibly be scuff marks on the colour finish, from use over time?

We have exposed aluminium from wear on ours, maybe yours are in an early stage of the finish being eroded, are the marks darkish grey?

I'd bet that it's the inevitable ravages of time, through wear & tear.

You can either accept it like we have done, or perhaps try repainting them, but I'm not sure which product you should use.

[greygardener]

Sorry @Andy_Mann, I wasn't clear enough.

They are internal (Luxaflex) roller blinds like the picture below. The marks mainly come from bugs that get caught when you roll them up, although one of our bedrooms is also a little damp in winter and there's some mildew spots on it as well. I haven't had a go at them yet with anything except water as I don't want to mark them and make the problem worse. 

[Andy_Mann]

All good @greygardener, I found instructions on the UK Luxaflex site:

Luxaflex Cleaning Instructions

DIY method - The author is talking about Silhouettes, but the principle's the same.

For mould, I'd try hanging them outside in direct sunlight to kill the mould, hopefully you'll get away with only giving them a light brush, but go easy on the fabric. Gentle does it.

If the mould persists, & you feel that you may need to use a mould remover, be very careful, especially if it's near the roller, the blinds are only stuck on, & getting the roller too moist/wet, can cause the blinds to detach.

NOTE SILHOUETTE OWNERS

If you have mould on your Silhouettes, don't do what I did, I thought more is best, & saturated the fabric louvres. WRONG!!! The result was that the aluminium backing separated from the sheer louvres. It was completely ruined.

[Isobel]

My tip would be to first go through your cupboards, wardrobes etc and donate items to charity that you haven't used for a while. Makes the cleaning process easier and is very satisfying. 

[Andy_Mann]

My tip for this time of year is to clean the internals of your PCs &/or laptops, BUT it's essential to comply with anti-static procedures. A simple grounding strap is all that's required to prevent static killing sensitive components.

It's incredible how much dust can accumulate on heat sensitive components over time, which plays all kinds of random havoc on the computer performance, if the heat isn't dissipated.

Deadset cheap & easy to do, with the added bonus that it could save you from an expensive call to a computer tech.

[AHoy]

How do you get rid of the dust @Andy_Mann? Do you use one of those tiny vaccuums?

[Andy_Mann]

@AHoy, there are many approaches, all relatively cheap & easy, but anti-static protection is essential, here's an example:

Anti-static-Wrist-Strap

Procedure

Simply shutdown your computer, & unplug it from the powerpoint, then slip the elastic band of the Anti Static strap onto your wrist, & then attach the spring clip to a metal part of the computer case, NOT to metal parts of the electronic components.

The cheapest, simplest, repeatable, & my way to go clean the computer circuitboard, is to use a Cosmetics Brush. Their bristles are fine enough to get into the heatsink fins, which are the most important things to clean. The really important heatsinks often have an electric fan attached to them, & look like a very thick block metal, that've had very deep, fine & close slots cut into them, or they may look a miniature radiator from a car.

I don't recommend getting a micro vacuuming kit for your vacuum cleaner, instead use the blowing function if it has one.

There's the good old air compressor to blast the dust away, but if you have one, then a cheap alternative is to the use an Aerosol Duster.

Hope this helps.