Cleaning Stainless Steel

One of the most frustrating surfaces to clean in your home is stainless steel; it scratches easily, it’s almost impossible to get a streak free finish, and when you do you’re not allowed to touch it because it’ll look terrible again! Despite what the name may suggest stainless steel needs just as much attention when cleaning as most other household appliances but often requires a different approach. Stainless steel is an alloy of iron which contains a lot more chromium than its peers. This helps form a top protective layer on the steel and accounts for stainless steels durability and resistance to rusting, corrosion and stains which is one of the biggest appeals of buying a stainless steel product. The trouble most people find with stainless steel appliances however, is how to keep them looking clean as their unique finish seems to draw attention to the frustrating smears and fingerprints that tend to plague these surfaces.

Day to day cleaning can be as simple as mildly soapy water or a household antibacterial cleaner and this standard of routine cleaning is beneficial as the protective layer that prevents corrosion from occurring is hindered if there is dirt or food build up blocking oxygen from interacting with the steel. In fact the more you clean stainless steel the better, and you can actually help improve how chemically resistant your appliance is by wiping it down frequently which is not the case with wood or plastic!

Overtime however, your appliances can become dull through normal use. You can easily bring back their showroom shine by using various store bought solvents (glass cleaners tend to do a good job -just make sure they do not contain chlorine as an ingredient). You’ll find numerous online “household solutions” to cleaning stainless steel, but a specialised product will always do the best job, because a good quality stainless steel cleaner will contain a final finish which will prevent finger prints, dust and grease. Ultimately, no matter what product you choose, the most important part of creating a clean, streak free finish is polishing. Always use a dry, high quality cloth (eg. clean microfibre cloth) to polish in a circular motion until no streaks remain. Regular cleaning of your stainless steel appliances will ensure that they remain in good condition and last you a very long time.

End of Lease & Exit Cleaning

As a landlord, having tenants move out of your investment home – and getting new ones in – is often a time of great stress and uncertainty, so it is important to understand what obligations you have to your new tenants when it comes to the cleanliness and presentation of your property. This post is designed to help you correctly assess your own property and identify the areas often neglected until it is too late, and also offer solutions to the problems many of you will inevitably face.

The Final Inspection

This is where you can save yourself a great deal of time, by simply being as thorough and particular as your prospective future tenants will be. You wouldn’t want to move into a house boasting kitchen drawers littered with bread-crumbs; an oven caked with the oil of a thousand roasts; tarnished door-knobs or windows left looking like the side of a weekend 4WD, so why would anyone else? These are just a few of the things to look for when you are doing the final walk through – they are also some of the most common things tenants miss when “cleaning” the property for the last time.

Minimizing Losses

There is no worse feeling than to have a property vacated, only to then realise what state it was really in – after you’ve returned the tenant’s bond! This makes it even more stressful because it’s money you need to spend and it has to come from your own pocket. All the more reason to make sure your final inspection is done with a fine tooth comb. Often simply calling a cleaning company and getting a quote sent to you, will be enough to claim any cleaning expenses on the property bond.

To Clean or Not to Clean?

Having your property professionally cleaned will help to minimise the time the property is left empty, but it will also allow you greater scope in your asking price – an immaculately cleaned property will always fetch a higher rate than one simply left as the previous tenants left it, so it makes sense to call in the professionals!

Choosing the Right Cleaning Company

How do you choose a cleaning company that is right for the job? This is in fact far easier than you may think, but there are a few key points to look out for.

  • Do Not choose a company which “specialises” in move out cleaning – often they aren’t specialised in anything at all. It is better to choose a company with a strong standing in the field of regular weekly or fortnightly cleaning – this says they are as committed to providing impeccable service for your once-off vacate clean as they are to their regular clients.
  • Do choose a company that offers a guarantee. And not a simple “Satisfaction Guaranteed” gimmick, but a guarantee that the company stands by, and a guarantee system that dictates what happens, should you be less than impressed with their work.
  • Do Not simply settle for the elderly lady at the end of the street who charges you $15/hr – you will regret cutting this corner very rapidly should she injure herself whilst on your property.
  • Do choose a company which is fully insured and whose staff have current federal police clearances. It is simply too big a risk to not demand this.
  • Do Not choose a company based on price alone – The spectrum of quality in the cleaning industry is vast, and you will usually get exactly what you pay for.
  • Do ask whether the company has any affiliation with real estate companies, i.e. does the company do move out and end of lease cleaning on a regular basis for an existing client? If they do, it is a sure bet they will exceed your expectations and deliver the results needed.
  • Do ask exactly what the company can do for you, and do ensure they will deliver on what you need.
  • Do choose a company that is in the public eye. It may seem irrelevant, but a cleaning company with a presence on social networking sites is a very strong indication that they are worth every penny because these networks are very feedback driven, and as such, their reputation is always at stake. Surf sites like Facebook and Twitter and if they aren’t anywhere to be seen, then don’t bother with them at all.
At the end of the day, most property investors will choose the service providers which best suit their needs. I hope this post has been helpful to you. Please feel free to post any questions or comments you may have below.

What Should I Expect to Pay a Cleaner?

How much you should pay for a cleaner is completely up to you. You can find cleaners who charge the bare minimum, and those who charge an arm and a leg in comparison, this is because there are a number of things to take into consideration, and unfortunately most of us don’t really know how to weigh up the pros and cons of each.

Below I have listed the most important factors to take in to account when hiring a cleaner, the more boxes you tick here, the better their work will be, the safer you’ll feel with them in your home, and chances are you’ll pay more for their services.

– Police Clearances
Any respectable cleaner will carry this with them, and anyone who does not, doesn’t take their business/job/clients seriously and you shouldn’t even consider allowing them into your home. Insurance companies are becoming more strict on this as well, in many cases they simply will not cover you if you use cleaners (or any tradespeople) without sufficient clearances.

– Insurances
This should also be a given, so make sure it is one of the first questions you ask. It is the cleaners (or their company’s) responsibility to ensure they are covered by public liability insurance. As much as you may love the old lady who comes in to clean once a week, you will be held responsible if your 200kg television drops on her foot. An accident like that severely outweighs the $15/wk you pay for her to come in, and accidents do happen!

– Chemicals
A cleaner (or company) who is serious about their work, will be using their own high grade chemicals, not your super market purchases. Professional cleaners will generally use a great deal more chemicals to get a job done properly. It is faster and gives you a better result therefore, cleaners should also be using environmentally friendly chemicals wherever possible. Any cleaner who tells you they don’t use them because they don’t work as well, simply doesn’t know their industry well enough and is lying to you.

– Image & Supplies
How do they look when they arrive at your door? A company serious about their image, ethics and workmanship will ensure employees are uniformed, have a company van and all the supplies they will need for the job. Is their quote scribbled out on a piece of paper or business card, or have they gone to the effort to send out a personalised printed copy? The company should also have an easily accessible website with all their details published.

– Testimonials & References
This can be a sure-fire way of finding out more about the company, through the customers’ eyes. Ask whether they can supply you with testimonials from past clients, either in writing or on their website. If they can’t, keep looking.

– Experience
This is a tough one. A company may have been around for ten years and can say they have ten years experience, yet their employees are different every month because they are not experienced at all. Make sure you speak to someone who knows their stuff.

– Individuals or Teams
Depending on the size of your home (the job), the company may choose to send out an individual cleaner or a team of two (or more). If you are given the choice, hire the team – they will get the job done in a fraction of the time and be out of your way. You pay a little more, but they will get the job done faster and the results will be impeccable.

– Quoting & Billing
This is also an interesting question. Many companies bill per hour, others bill per room, and others bill per job, some even bill per square metre!. All of these are viable billing methods, but because of the nature of the industry, you are best off choosing a company that bills per job. You won’t be left wondering why it can take two hours one week and three hours the next, and if they charge only $25/hr, they will often drag it out an extra 30 minutes just to make more money.

Agency, Company, or Independent Cleaner

Certainly another important aspect of choosing a cleaner is whether they work for an Agency, a Company, or whether they are an Independent cleaner. So here is the low-down:

– Agencies work by simply contracting individuals to work under their name – the cleaner doesn’t need to worry about marketing, advertising, insurance, or client retention. However, they get paid for this at rates as low as $15/hr, while you are paying upwards of $30/hr so naturally this means their work ethic and enthusiasm is often non-existent.

– An independent cleaner can often charge what they like and it all goes into their pocket; the trouble here is that they often cannot offer insurance, reliability, or even their own equipment or chemicals.

– A cleaning Company however, is in another league. When you hire a cleaning company like Acclaimed for instance, to come into your home, you can rest assured that you will get beautiful results at a reasonable price, the chemicals used will be 100% environmentally friendly and 100% our own, as will the state-of-the-art equipment. And you’ll be able to take comfort in the knowing you have hired a fully insured and police cleared team, all the while supporting a 100% South Australian owned and operated Business.

Ultimately, people will choose cleaners for their own, unique reasons, but hopefully this list will help you to choose a cleaner who is right for the job, and right for you.