​by April Anderson
Just Another Natural Nut
 
I am going to be honest with you, maintaining stainless appliances for aesthetic purposes is hard work.

As a business who uses only natural products, maintaining stainless appliances for aesthetic purposes when clients use or have used a conventional product to 'shine it up' is frustratingly time consuming.

Every time you use a conventional product dedicated to stainless, you are leaving a waxy residue that, overtime, builds-up.  For companies who create these products this is awesome as the longer you use their products the more you have to use each time and the more you have to buy.

I will let you in on a little secret....you don't need those expensive products to maintain the aesthetics of your client's stainless appliances (the above pic has only been cleaned and polished with Just Shine)  The trick is to make sure you are using a product that does not have wax or silicone as an ingredient (most conventional glass cleaners and some 'green' ones do).  Water alone can work as long as you don't have to deal with a lot of sticky smudges.

You can check out my video on how to make your client's stainless shine if you have never used a conventional stainless polishing product here  

How do you know if there is a build-up on the stainless appliances...do the water test.  Put tap water into a spray bottle, place the nozzle on spray, not stream and spray the front of the appliance.  If the water starts to run down towards the floor, you have a build-up.  If the water stays in one spot with no running vertically towards the floor you have no residue build-up (for this to work you have to spray on vertical surfaces)
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You will need

1. a clean damp cloth and clean soft cloth or 2
2. Just Shine, or water
3. arm power

If you have been using a conventional polisher for your client's stainless you need to add another step.  I use the Just Polish because the one of the ingredients work to remove all of the residue build-up over time .  Click here to see my video using Just Polish or straight olive oil to clean the stainless

You will need

1. a clean damp cloth for the olive oil only and a few clean soft cloths for the polishing
2. olive oil – it doesn't matter what brand and if you have olive oil that went bad and can't use for cooking, its still good for this.
3. arm power

How to use your olive oil

1. Remove all of the stuck-on food smudges with a little soapy water
2. Saturate your clean damp cloth with the Just Polish (shake well before each time you spray ) or your olive oil (be safe and pour over sink or a big bowl next to the fridge that you can dip in to  when you need more)
3. Re- saturate as needed doing only a section at a time so to not have the olive oil harden making it more difficult to polish
4. When it comes to polishing, don not freak out when you see the olive oil turn white, it's just working with what is already on there, when polished in the white goes away
5. Watch the video to better understand how to polish using this method

What to do with an ornate bathroom mirror?

You need

• Your natural glass & hard surface spray cleaner
• a dry-use toothbrush
• a wet-use bathroom toothbrush
• 2 clean cloths

These mirrors look nice from afar but when you get close you notice the build-up of dust and product splatter around the decorative knobs and in the decorative crevices which doesn't go away with just a spritz and a wipe of a cloth.

• With your dry-use toothbrush gently remove all of the loose dust around the mirror

Why do we do the dry before spraying with the glass and hard surface cleaner?  Time.  Once you wet a dusty build-up it takes more time to clean and time is money lost.  By removing most of the build up by quickly dusting it will take less time to complete the task

• lightly spray the frame of the mirror and with your wet-use bathroom toothbrush gently go around the decorative knobs and inside the crevices to remove the built up splatter.
• wipe away with a clean dry cloth (your area is already damp so there is no need to use a wet cloth.  Again this is about use of time)
• repeat if necessary until the mirror frame is free of buildup
• do not forget the top, side and bottom edge of the mirror frame
• lightly spritz (a couple of pumps from the spray bottle is all you need) and wipe the mirror with the cloth used for the framework to remove the splatter
• lightly spritz one more time (again a couple of pumps is all you need) and with your clean dry cloth, polish the mirror.

TIP - don't toss that first cloth just yet as it can now be used to clean the sink, counter and vanity and the second cloth you used can be put to use as a polisher of the sink, counter top and taps.

DID YOU KNOW - when you spray your natural glass and hard surface product onto a mirror and the liquid starts to run down the glass, that mirror has a wax build up on it that you need to break through for your product to be successful as yours does not contain silicone or wax.  If you don't remove the build-up your mirror will always look smudged and streaky no matter what you do.

Hot soapy water and a cloth will do the trick.  Work the cloth in a circular motion to lossen the build- up and with a clean dry cloth.  wipe dry.  Repeat if necessary.  You will know you have a wax free mirror when you spray you product onto the mirror and it does not immediately stream down the mirror (the liquid will stay in place ....why? ....because glass is porous the silicone or wax fills the pores)

When you straighten the books and bring them closer to the edge it creates a nicer 'flow' in the space and saves you time (time is money) in dusting.  Just don't forget to dust the top of the books. A dry cloth or short handled paintbrush will work.

Just Scrub or pure baking soda  is my go-to when it comes to cleaning stove tops

As part of your initial set up when you first enter a clients home, prepping the stove top for cleaning later is a priority.

• sprinkle a small amount onto a space on the stove top
• using your hand, take that pile Just Scrub or pure baking soda and gently move it around to cover the entire space.  What you will notice is the product will cling to the areas where there is build-up (spillage) and not cover the areas that are clean.  Tthe picture on the right shows a large area where there is no product as there is no need for it to be there.  The picture on the left shows a well used stove top with only a small are in the front centre clear of spillage.
• walk away and let is sit and do it's thing until you are ready to clean the kitchen (which is one of the last things on your list of tasks) ... you don't need to wet the area as it will work just fine dry.

Sometimes all you need on that stove top is Just Shine Glass & Hard surface spray, your kitchen toothbrush and a couple of clean cloths.

There are homes that don't use their stoves often or they tend to clean them after each use so doing the full on pure baking soda method is not necessary.  

• Prep the area before starting to clean your clients home.  I prefer to  take the grates off and put them in the sink for safe keeping
• Spray the entire area of the stove top (should only take 4 to 5 bursts)
• Let it sit and dwell
• Come back to it when it is time to clean the kitchen
• Spray once again with your Just Shine glass & hard surface cleaner
• Take one of your cloths and starting on the left (on the right if you are left-handed) top and work side to side until you reach the bottom of the surface.  You might have to use a little bit of elbow grease for some of the tougher spots but generally everything should lift up while wiping.
• If there are any left over spots, spray the spot and tackle it with your kitchen toothbrush
• Spray the surface one more time and polish dry with your 2nd clean cloth.  At this point you would also polish up the back panel and the knob panel (knobs too)

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1. Just Shine Glass and Hard Surface Cleaner w. 2 one shot refills
2. Just Clean All Purpose Cleaner w. 2 one shot refills
3. Just Scrub (filled to the top)
4. Just Polish (only if the home has stainless appliances that have a coating of not so natural polishing product on them)
5. Just Grout (only if the home has tiled showers, counter-top cutting boards)
6. Apple Cider Vinegar (only if the home has hard water calcium build up)
7. 75 cotton cloths
8. 5 Toothbrushes (1 marked toilet, 1 marked bathroom, 1 marked kitchen, 1 marked dry dust, 1 marked general)
9. 1 handheld scrub brush for kitchen (blue or white) 
10. 1 large scrub brush for bathroom
11. Telescopic duster/dry mop (enough dry pads for each home)
12. 2 paintbrushes (1 large 1 small) 
13. 2 Socks (for blinds)
14. Knee pads*
15. Eye protector and face mask (when using Apple Cider Vinegar)****
16. 2 step ladder (you should never use a tall ladder, or chair to reach areas)
17. Vacuum with attachments***
18. Dirty cloth bag for used cloths and tools
19. Garbage bags small and large (in case homeowner does not have any for replacing)

 
*Knee pads are to be worn when doing any tasks on your knees and when hand washing floors. 

**If you are reaching on your tip toes then you are to use your ladder.  This will protect you from physical injury

***Your vacuum should be versatile (Shark Navigator is my go to).  Never use as an upright when vacuuming floors (always using the floor attachment) and under furniture (to ensure you do not damage the furniture).  The only time you use your vacuum as an upright is when there is open carpet area.  Always carry the canister.  

****When using apple cider vinegar to clean you need to wear protective eye wear and a face mask.  

​by April Anderson
Just Another Natural Nut
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Are you finding your vacuum isn't working like it should, leaving behind stuff on your carpet.  Maybe it is time to check the roller brush.
 

​When your roller brush has that much hair string and other things attached to it, it cannot function the way it needs to so go grab a pair of scissors and a bag to dispose of the debris (I put mine in a compost pile so I use a container).  You will also need tweezers (you can use your fingers to pull) and patience

​Just keep cutting a little at at time and pulling what you have cut. Keep repeating until your roller brush is cleared of all attached debris.  Use your tweezers to get in the bristle to remove the tiny pieces of debris and wipe down with a damp cloth.  If really dirty use soapy water to clean but make sure you wring out your cloth well before using

​Once done, you should notice a big improvement on the performance of your vacuum.

Even the unseen collects dust so don't forget behind the TV.  With your large paint brush, start from the top left and glide across to the right and then keep going back and forth until you reach the bottom.  Wipe away excess dust on the bottom flat area with your paint brush before polishing up with your natural glass & hard surface cleaner

Never stretch to reach the other side.  If the TV is too big dust 1/2 and then go to the other side and dust the other half.  Same when polish the flat surface if the TV is resting on the table.  While doing this gently hold on to the top of the TV to stable it while cleaning.