Home Kitchen Cleaning

Home kitchen cleaning can generally be easy for some, but quite challenging for a few, especially in some areas in the kitchen where molds and grimes are gathering. Sometimes it is also easier said than done when after a few days you would find dusts in places you rarely access in your kitchen. Check out the tips from the cleaning experts below:

What you will need for your home kitchen cleaning:

Kitchen towel/wash cloth
Liquid all-purpose cleaner
Bleach
Water
Sponge/scrubber (scotchbrite)
Rubber Gloves

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Preparing your tools and materials for kitchen cleaning:

You will be working a lot with your washcloth (basahan) and your all-purpose cleaner, so prepare a pail worth of mixed water and liquid all-purpose cleaner. Generally we recommend 5mL of all purpose cleaner for every gallon of water – not too concentrated so the surface will not be sticky after, not too dilluted that it won’t be strong enough to clean. You can use this mix for your regular home cleaning. Always remember to wash the wet washcloth after wiping each area to avoid messing other surfaces. Use 2 separate washclothes: one for wetting surfaces with your mix, and another for drying. At this point, start by placing kitchen towels or tissue paper on surfaces with thick grime/molds in your kitchen: tile trims, sealant of your kitchen sink, neck base of your kitchen faucet, kitchen tiles and chopping board. Pour enough concentrated bleach on them to make them moist and the tissue or kitchen towel is touching the surface more. Leave it to soak there for the meantime, and then you can start cleaning your kitchen.

1. Start from the top: Overhead cabinets/cupboards

To save time, and not go against the forces of gravity, start with your overhead cabinets. Bring out all its content and wipe the surfaces in it using a wet washcloth. Utilize a ladder of foot stool to reach high areas (and for your safety). Dry the surfaces with the dry washcloth and then wipe the contents before returning them back. Usually, range hoods or fume exhausts are located under cupboards. add a few drops of bleach in your mix to remove oil deposits under the range hoods.

Fun fact: Overhead cabinets were made to store plates, cups, spices and utensils. Due to hight limitations of most people, overhead cabinets became a storage for stuff they rarely use. Though nothing is wrong about that, but it would mean you would be spending some more time cleaning this part compared to other areas of your kitchen.

2. Kitchen walls

Using your wet washcloth, wipe the kitchen walls and tiles. If some parts are a bit sticky or slimy due to oil splatter or grime, add a few drops of bleach in your mix and use that to wipe those surfaces. It might be still early to remove the kitchen towels soaked with bleach at this point, so might need to leave that for a bit. Wipe them dry to prevent unsightly droplets from forming.

3. Oven/Gas Stove

This is a challenging surface to clean. For this part, add bleach in your mix, and use it to scrub the oven top, gas stove, stove grill and oven grill. If the carbon deposits seem to be difficult to remove, let your sponge absorb some of the bleach-cleaner mix and squeeze some on the deposits. Let them stay there and soak for a few minutes before trying to scrub them again. Scrub forcing these parts will scratch the surface and would leave them unsightly after cleaning, not to mention, very tiring for you to do. Wipe them dry to avoid rusting.

4. Refrigerator/Fridge

Similar to your overhead cabinets, bring out all of your fridge content before wiping the inside. Throw away leftover food that are spoiled already, or food that you have no plans of consuming (yes, we do have those in our fridge). Make sure to dry the surface to avoid unpleasant smell. Do the same steps on the outside surface of your fridge. For some refrigerator models, there is a water collection basin either at the bottom or at the back. Remove it and clean it using your bleach-cleaner mix, wipe it dry and put it back.

Fun fact: the odor coming from your fridge is not caused by spoiled food most of the time. Left over food that spilled into the collection tube, drain and basin are the usual cause of foul fridge odor. Turning off your fridge, defrosting and cleaning these areas will help remove the foul odor completely.

5. Kitchen table surface and counter tops

Using your sponge, scrub and wipe your kitchen table and counter top surfaces. You may also add bleach to disinfect this area.

Fun fact: Contrary to popular belief, the toilet is not the dirtiest place at home. The kitchen is the dirtiest, especially countertops, since a lot of people place grocery bags (that were at some point left on the floor) on top of kitchen counters. Not to mention the microbes left after processing or cutting meat, vegetables (sometimes still with soil particles), and other ingredients.

6. Sink Cabinet

Similar to your overhead cabinet and fridge, bring out the contents of your sink cabinet. Wipe the inside and dry. Wipe to contents before placing them back in. This is also a perfect time to check for tell tale signs of pests like cockroach or rat droppings. If you see any, we suggest that you put bait or any pest control measure you prefer.

7. Kitchen floor

The best way to clean the kitchen floor is by using a mop instead of washcloth. With your bleach-cleaner mix, pour some on the floor, especially where there are hard to clean/scrub spots. Let it soak for a few minutes, scrub, and then mop. Dry your floor as soon as you are satisfied with the cleaning already to avoid anyone from slipping.

8. Lastly – the Sink

Finally! We recommend you clean the sink last because cleaning it early on would mean cleaning it again and again all throughout the process since you will be washing you washcloth from time to time there. Remember the kitchen towel we soaked earlier (read the top again for the complete process), you can now remove them and see how easy to remove the grime and molds using your sponge. With your bleach-cleaner mix, wash, wipe and dry your kitchen sink. You can also now remove the kitchen towel soaked with bleach on the surfaces you placed them. Scrub a little and see that all the grime and molds are gone.

Bonus tips!

The key to a clean kitchen is to wiping and cleaning the mess right away, keeping surfaces dry and keeping a kitchen cleaning routine. Stains, molds and grimes develop due to neglect, so cleaning your kitchen after every use keeps them at bay. It may be a waste of a few minutes of your time but it will save you from stress and effort during a kitchen general cleaning.

Kitchen cleaning can be easier if you avail of the services of a professional cleaning service company.

Do you want to learn more on how CMDA Cleaning Services can help you, your family, or your office fight against COVID-19? Send us an email at inquiry@cmdacleaning.com, or call/text us on any number mentioned above.

Let’s all be well and healthy, wear a face mask, wash our hands frequently, maintain a 1-2 meter physical distance to non-family members, and stay at home if we can. Stay covid-free!

The Ultimate Office Cleaning Checklist

Are you tasked to manage or supervise a current office housekeeping crew, or someone planning to create one and looking for the perfect office cleaning checklist?

It doesn’t matter if you are the CEO or the new HR department staff, anyone can manage an office housekeeping team with this ultimate office cleaning checklist!

What’s inside our Ultimate Office Cleaning Checklist?

Details that will help you in planning
Forms you can immediately use for your office cleaning
Guide on how to have a good office cleaning routine
Additional resources that can help you be in control of your office sanitation
This FREE PDF is created by office cleaning experts and by CMDA Cleaning Services who’s been cleaning and handling thousands of offices since 2013.

Get all these for FREE! Just fill in the form below and instantly access the ultimate office cleaning checklist:

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Get your office cleaning team going in less than a week’s time, create a cleaning routine and efficiently manage your cleaning crew!

If you would rather outsource your regular office cleaning, get in touch with us so we can schedule your custodians and equipment.

Do you want to learn more on how CMDA Cleaning Services can help you, your family, or your office fight against COVID-19?

Send us an email at inquiry@cmdacleaning.com, or call/text us on any number mentioned above.

Let’s all be well and healthy, wear a face mask, wash our hands frequently, maintain a 1-2 meter physical distance to non-family members, and stay at home if we can. Stay covid-free!

DIY: Clorox Disinfecting Wipes

The Clorox company has already announced that there will be global shortage of Clorox Wipes until next year, prompting some consumers to DIY: Clorox disinfecting wipes. If you are one of those living in the area where there is little to no supply of the said wipes, or its alternatives, and plan to DIY the wipes yourself, check out our step-by-step guide below:

What you need for your DIY: Clorox disinfecting wipes

Kitchen roll / Tissue roll
Used wipes container or zip lock bag
2 Spoonful Clorox bleach
Water
Cutter/Knife
Rubber Gloves
(Optional) Fabric conditioner / Essential Oil

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Some notes on the materials:

Get the kitchen roll tissue paper that is 2-ply or 3-ply because single ply will break easily – we got ours at a local Japan store.
If you happen to have thrown away your old wipes tube/container, you can use a zip lock bag instead or any container that can make it air tight. Chlorine diffuses in time and making your DIY: Clorox disinfecting wipes ineffective.
Steak knives make cutting tissue rolls easier.
If you don’t like the smell of chlorine, add fabric conditioner or essential oils, but never alcohol or alcohol based perfumes.

Step 1

Measure your tissue roll and cut it. Make sure to have half inch allowance at the bottom and and inch allowance at the top. If you are using a regular tissue roll, you can skip this step. After cutting it, do not place it in just yet. Set it aside for a moment.

Step 2

Add water in your container. The volume actually may differ depending on the size of your kitchen towel or tissue roll. You can start off with just a cup and check later if your wipes are just moist enough and not too damp. Too much water will make your wipes break easily.

Step 3

Add 2 spoonful of clorox bleach and a spoonful of your favorite fabric conditioner (or a couple drops of your favorite essential oil). It may seem too much based on recommended dillution, but you are mixing this with water and as we mentioned above, Cholorine diffuses in the air, so your chlorine cocktail will not be as potent as it was, a week from now.

Step 4

Mix all liquid evenly inside your container. This will ensure that the chlorine and scents will be distributed evenly throughout the kitchen roll when you place it in.

Step 5

Place the kitchen roll inside the container and cover it. Let it sit and absorb the mixture. This may take some time (5-10 minutes) depending on how much tissue you placed inside.

Step 6

After checking if your wipes are already moist up to the top, remove the spine or cardboard in the middle of the roll. The moisture will help loosen it and even give you the tongue of your wipes (piece of tissue that will help you pull wipes in the future). You can leave it be if you are using a ziplock bag.

Step 7

You now have your DIY: Clorox Disinfecting Wipes ready to use. Make sure to keep it covered and air tight, keep it in a cool, dry space and away from sunlight.

Bonus! Best uses of Clorox wipes

1. Removing grimes and tile stains fast – use a couple of wipes and place it over hard to remove grimes and stains in your bathroom tiles and let it sit for 10-15 minutes. Remove and brush lightly.

2. Polishing bathroom fixtures and kitchen faucets – place a couple of wipes over fixtures, faucets, kitchen sink drains and let it sit for 10-15 minutes. Remove, scrub with sponge a little and rinse.

3. Restore chopping board – spread a clorox wipe on the chopping board, let it sit for 10-15 minutes. Scrub a little and rinse.

4. Make cut flowers last longer in a vase – wrap clorox wipes at the end of the stems of your flowers, place them in the vase and add water. This will prevent grime from forming at the bottom. No need to change water daily and keeps your flowers fresh longer.

Do you want to learn more on how CMDA Cleaning Services can help you, your family, or your office fight against COVID-19? Send us an email at inquiry@cmdacleaning.com, or call/text us on any number mentioned above.

Let’s all be well and healthy, wear a face mask, wash our hands frequently, maintain a 1-2 meter physical distance to non-family members, and stay at home if we can. Stay covid-free!

Best Way to Clean a Bar of Soap that Fell in the Toilet Bowl

If you have come to a certain point in your life (or just a dilemma) that you need to know how to clean a bar of soap that fell in toilet bowl just to save that bar of soap, then you are currently in the right place (page). We’re here to help you and not judge you why you are saving that bar of soap, or how you dropped it in the toilet.

Let’s start off with what you need:

Rubber gloves (the ones you use for laundry or home cleaning)
Liquid soap/detergent
Water

Retrieving the bar of soap

First off, hope and pray that you have flushed the toilet before the soap fell. If there are remnants of urine (or worse, fecal matter) in the bowl, then things will get a bit more gross than you think it is. If your luck struck out and the soap fell when there are still biological matter in there, do not flush. Wear your rubber gloves and make sure it is long enough that no part of your uncovered arm will touch the water in the toilet bowl. Get the bar of soap and immediately rinse it with water.

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Imagine dropping a bar of soap in a toilet bowl like this… gross!

Cleaning the bar of soap that fell in the toilet

After rinsing it, add a drop of liquid detergent or soap and lather it like you’re washing your hands (with the rubber gloves on). Rinse and store in a dry container or soap dish, and that’s it!

If you are not compelled that it is already thoroughly cleaned, bear in mind that you use soap to clean your body (yes, the soap itself is a cleansing agent). Soaps are made of a combination of surfactants, fats and oil, and alkaline chemicals, mixed thoroughly so you get the cleaning effect from the moment you opened the box of soap up to the last few grams of it. Surfactants help separate solid materials from surfaces, be it your skin, on clothes or even on the soap itself (granting there is water – hence the use of liquid detergent or soap). With the help of friction during the time that you lathered the soap in your rubber gloves, you were able to remove at least a millimeter of thickness of the soap and have removed all possible particles or micro-organism stuck on its’ surface.

Antibacterial Soaps

If you happen to dropped an antibacterial soap, then you can have more peace of mind after rinsing it. Antibacterial soaps like Safeguard contains an antibiotic and antifungal chemical named Triclosan. It is widely used as a preservative and antimicrobial agent in personal care products such as soaps, skin creams, toothpaste and deodorants. It may have killed more organisms during its time in the bowl than the time you have rinsed it, so you could be sure that, as long as you have removed the film around the soap after the drop, then you can re-use the soap already.

Letting it all go? Newsflash: DON’T!

If you have decided that you don’t want to go through this “messy” ordeal and thought of just letting the soap go – do not flush the toilet! Depending on the size of soap, there is a chance it will clog your toilet, and may make things messier. Using your rubber gloves, retrieve the soap and throw it straight into your trash bin (together with the gloves if you want to). This way, you are sure your drain pipes will not be congested.

Do you want to learn more on how CMDA Cleaning Services can help you, your family, or your office fight against COVID-19? Send us an email at inquiry@cmdacleaning.com, or call/text us on any number mentioned above.

Let’s all be well and healthy, wear a face mask, wash our hands frequently, maintain a 1-2 meter physical distance to non-family members, and stay at home if we can. Stay covid-free!

Repercussions of Hiring Inexperienced/Untrained Cleaning Companies

In a recent article posted in Australia, a world class budget hotel chain received several complaints in one of their Sydney branch which was turned into a quarantine facility. The complaints were about their rooms being obviously not cleaned and not disinfected properly.

A hotel may employ in-house housekeeping staff or they may outsource it from a commercial cleaning company or agency, so what exactly happened and why a hotel of this caliber reached this kind of predicament?

How does this affect us here in the Philippines where cleaning and disinfection companies sprout like mushrooms all over the Metro and services are just a-dime-a-dozen?

“Untrained, unmanaged cleaners are being sent out there to deep clean COVID-positive buildings and nobody’s checking on us.”

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This pandemic has brought high demand on cleaning, sanitation, and disinfection services which led to new cleaning service companies opening almost every week – hiring cheap labor, using cheap materials and following unorthodoxed procedures, coupled with the rise of unemployment, opening this type of business is easy peasy.

Some hotels turned quarantine facility have laid off most of their regular employees and hired demand based workers to save costs in paying benefits. Most of which are inexperienced cleaners and worst, inexperienced and untrained facility disinfection workers.

Remember that these are all cleaners sent into battle as reserved troops with little to no training on how to combat the unseen enemy – the Coronavirus. The said article agreed that it is indeed easy to open a cleaning company now, but all the text materials and resources available are based on standards made years ago, where appearance matter, where missing a spot was okay as long as the overall feel and presenation was great, rather than actually “cleaning” the space.

Anybody can become a cleaning company tomorrow.
Literally you need a mop and a bucket and you’re a cleaning company.
Maybe a year ago the requirements weren’t that important because of the fact that people were more interested in the appearance of the property than what they couldn’t see.

So in its essence, learning from the mistake of this big budget hotel chain’s mistake, you cannot simply get the services of untrained/inexperienced cleaning service company for cheaps, because missing a spot to clean or disinfect would mean compromise on you or your occupant’s health.

It’s easy for any cleaning company to come out today and say, ‘I will come and clean and disinfect your space’

But can they? How would you know their processes are OK?

Basically what clients require is someone who has a broom or vacuum, a mop, a “chemical” to clean and disinfect their place. Apart from that, some building require medical certificates and a negative rapid test result, but other than those, that’s it. No questions about their training, what are the principles behind their cleaning process and the devices they use. No questions about FDA approvals and ratings of their “chemicals”, nor asking for their Safety Data Sheets (SDS). We’re not even talking about proper employee compensation, protection, housing, and training. All these require significant investments of time and money.

Cleaning also involves science, it’s a meticulous process and has to be stud

Does the Department of Health (DOH) accredit and regulate cleaning service companies?

No, the Department of Health does not.

In their latest Licensing/Accreditation/Regulatory Policies and Requirements page, cleaning service companies and housekeeping service providers are not part of what DOH control and regulate. What a “new” cleaning service company need, and hopefully comply with, are your usual business permits (DTI/SEC, City permits, BIR, SSS, Philhealth, PagIbig and the likes). So what do you need to ask everytime you request for a cleaning or disinfection service?

Business permits and length of service
Safety Data Sheet of the chemicals they use
FDA approval of the chemicals they use
A summary of the processes they use
An overview of the disinfection equipment they use

Based on these items, you will know if your place will be cleaned or disinfected well.

Do you want to learn more on how CMDA Cleaning Services can help you, your family, or your office fight against COVID-19? Send us an email at inquiry@cmdacleaning.com, or call/text us on any number mentioned above.

Let’s all be well and healthy, wear a face mask, wash our hands frequently, maintain a 1-2 meter physical distance to non-family members, and stay at home if we can. Stay covid-free!

How to Kill the Coronavirus

It’s quite difficult and concerning when we battle with something we cannot see, much more, something we don’t understand. We cannot just hide in fear, cripple our own finances, or worst, walking around carelessly not knowing we are infected or is infecting the people we love. What we know of is that this disease is caused by a coronavirus, and the best way to address this is learning how to kill the coronavirus to prevent the spread.

Below, we will discuss what is a coronavirus, how ist it transmitted and how we can prevent or kill it.

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What is a Coronavirus?

It is a family or group of related viruses (by RNA) that cause diseases in mammals and birds. In humans and birds, they cause respiratory tract infections that can range from mild to lethal [1]. We humans have been pestered by coronaviruses since 1930, and probably even earlier, only we didn’t have enough knowledge and science about it.

The current Coronavirus is called 2019 Novel Coronavirus (NCoV) that causes COVID-19. There are no established facts about its origins, but some scientists speculate they came from bats.

how-can-cmda-cleaning-services-help-during-covid-19-1

How does the Coronavirus spread?

The coronavirus itself cannot fly, swim, crawl or move, and relies on carrier modules such body fluids, but more specifically saliva droplets when someone talks, sneezes or coughs. This fact is very helpful because we know what to control – the spread of moisture infected with the virus and the spread of our body fluids of infected individuals.

Simply put, any infected person, knowingly or unknowingly, with symptoms or not, and is at the infectious phase of the infection, can spread the virus by just simply talking to people. When we talk, we spray tiny droplets unseen to the naked eye, and these droplets can carry the virus. This is the reason why wearing a facemask (surgical) is proven to reduce the risk of transmission by up to 95%, and maintaining a minimum physical distance of three and a half (3.5) feet or one (1) meter can even reduce the risk further.

Another point of debate is the spread of the virus through infected surface contact. According to WHO, there is no confirmed timeline how long a COVID-19 virus survives in surfaces. However, most likely it behaves like other coronaviruses. Studies show that coronaviruses can survive on surfaces for a few hours up to several days depending on varied conditions (e.g. type of surface, temperature or humidity of the environment) [2]. Coronavirus just inactivates itself or just sleeps while on surfaces (upon drying) and gets reactivated again once conditions are optimal for them again (like in your mouth, nose or eyes). Given this information, touching surfaces with possible virus contamination will not make you sick, unless you did not wash your hands or disinfect prior to touching your mouth, nose and eyes after.

How to kill the Coronavirus

The methods that we are about to discuss below are ways of killing the virus outside of the body. All the methods mentioned are not to be used internally, like when someone is sick of COVID-19 already. In reality, our immune system is the one killing the virus inside our body, and no known medication has found to be effective in “killing” the virus itself. Vaccines in development are just therapeutic intervention to boost your immune system in case you get an infection.

Ultra Violet Radiation

We’ve seen this in a lot of places – hospitals, malls and even in your favorite salon. UV light sterilization is proven to kill microrganisms like bacteria and viruses by breaking its genetic material and rendering them unable to make a copy of themselves, BUT, UV Radiation can cause skin irritation, damage to your eyes, and cancer. With the proper use of UV radiation, you can stop the virus from multiplying, and with longer exposures and stronger intensities, it can kill the virus.

60 – 80% Ethyl Alcohol

This type of alcohol inactivates enveloped viruses like the coronavirus and in stronger concentration can break the virus itself (and your skin if you ever try applying more than 80% alcohol). Methyl and Isopropyl are more of germicidal (microbes like E. coli and Staph), and all alcohol lacks the means to destroy or inactivate bacterial spores [3]. This shouldn’t be the main go to when disinfecting or sterilizing surfaces as it can damage the surface you are protecting to begin with, be it your skin or wooden table. Even hospitals and surgeons would rather use different chemicals to completely sterilize utensils, equipment and surfaces.

Hydrogen Peroxide

This chemical is good for a wide range of bacteria, virus and fungi. At optimal concentration (6% – 25%) and duration application (6-20 minutes), it attacks the genetic material and kills the organism, proving to be a good sterilant. The only problem why we don’t use this widely is because it is difficult to maintain its efficiency during storage. Storing it on transparent or semi transparate containers, including poorly sealed containers can drastically reduce its efficacy.

Chlorine

This pertain to Chlorine byproducts such as Hypochloric and Hypochlorous acid solutions/chemicals (household bleach). Chlorine, at the right concentration (5-6%), kills viruses, bacteria and fungi as long as you ensure that it is soaked for some time (30 seconds to 10 minutes depending on surface – don’t immediately wipe!). Chlorine breaks down a lot of things in bacteria and viruses, but it doesn’t mean you use it at full strength, nor add other chemicals such as alcohol to make it stronger. Chlorine products on its own emits chlorine gas which is toxic to humans, and adding chemicals other than water can produce fumes that can be lethal to the user.

Lauryl Dimethyl Benzyl Ammonium Chloride

A member of the Qauternary Ammonium Compound disinfectant solutions, they are known to be effective germicide, fungicide and virucide – specifically to enveloped viruses such as the coronavirus. It has been used in hospitals for a long time already, and the latest that it was widely used all over the world was during the SARS epidemic of 2002 with the use of Lauryl Dimethyl Benzyl Ammonium Chloride (LDBAC). It was proven to be effective, and at the same time does not affect the user nor the skin or surface you apply it on. It disrupts the envelope or membranes of bacteria, viruses and fungi, exposing its genetic material, and killing them entirely (these viruses, bacteria and fungi are literally skinned alive). Optimally, the disinfection procedure when using this chemical should involve eletrostatically charging the solution to get a long lasting disinfection effect.

In anyone’s search on how to kill the coronavirus, it is very important to point out that using any of these methods and chemicals requires extra attention to safety, duration of exposure be it the user or the surface, and the strength or concentration for them to be fully effective. It is always best to check with the instruction label or manufacturer’s recommendations to ensure you are using the product correctly.

Do you want to learn more on how CMDA Cleaning Services can help you, your family, or your office fight against COVID-19? Send us an email at inquiry@cmdacleaning.com, or call/text us on any number mentioned above. Let’s all be well and healthy, wear a face mask, wash our hands frequently, maintain a 1-2 meter physical distance to non-family members, and stay at home if we can. Stay covid-free!