You have gotten your enthusiastic hands on the keys to your new home and all ready to get comfortable in the cosy crib you have worked to build – till you swing your doors open to clumps of dirt, grime, and dust. Well, that is probably not quite what you imagined. Before moving into your new place, there are some basic necessities that you inevitably need to take care of before getting to the exciting part of your endeavour. One of which is giving your new home a thorough deep clean.
Why Do You Need to Give the Blank Slate a Good Clean
Whether you are moving into a new build to order (BTO) apartment or a resale flat, move in cleaning is a big necessity. Why? That is because you want your home to be in tip-top shape and condition before actually settling in. Especially because you are moving towards a brand new start, you surely do not want to live in a space full of dust and debris.
On top of that, the state and comfort of your home play a huge role in preserving your general well-being. Imagine coming home to yet another stress-box after a day of battle at work – which is truly a nightmare, to begin with. For these reasons, keeping your home spick and span has never been so important.
However, truth to be told, it can get pretty daunting and overwhelming if you have no idea of where to start. But wait, do not get thrown into a state of disarray just yet!
In this article, our experts have collated a quintessential move in cleaning checklist to get you feeling organised and going. Read on.
Living Room and Bedrooms
Wipe with an all-purpose cleaner after dusting
Let the all-purpose cleaner work its magic on non-porous surfaces here. Do note that you should not use your all-purpose cleaner on upholstery or fabric, among others.
Tip: Use a microfiber cloth when wiping.
Vacuum your upholstery such as couch or sofa
Upholstery cleaning can get a tad complicated. For a start, vacuum your upholstery first to get rid of the loose particles.
Clean, wipe and polish the windows
You would want your windows to have a streak-free shine. They deserve your utmost attention too, so be sure not to overlook this step!
Get rid of marks stuck to the walls
Clean up the marks left behind during the renovation and other works before it gets too late.
Finish up by vacuuming and mopping the floor Give it a finishing touch by eliminating all remaining debris.
Bathrooms
Apply grout cleaner first
Before anything else, we recommend applying the grout cleaner first to give the cleaner some time to sit on the surface, before you get down to scrubbing the tiles.
Disinfect, scrub and wash the shower area
Don’t forget to wipe down every surface, including soap racks, shower tracks, and doors.
Scrub the toilet bowl
The toilet bowl is something not to be missed. Be reminded to clean the hard-to-reach areas such as the nooks and crevices in between – these are often the most germ-ridden spots.
Clean the vanity countertops, sink, and faucets
Tip: Use a damp sponge or cloth to clean. Then dry the area, followed by a disinfectant spray.
Polish the mirrors
Get your mirrors dazzling again with a glass cleaner.
Kitchen
Clean your appliances inside out
From the surfaces of your everyday appliances (such as refrigerator, oven, and microwave) to their interior, give them a deep clean.
Wipe countertops, drawers, cabinets, and shelves
Polish your sink and dishwasher
Take it Slow
It is no surprise that move in cleaning is a laborious task that requires a great deal of time and effort, and probably plenty of patience too. Chances are, you are not going to get everything done within a day. We recommend taking your time during the cleaning process so that you can get down to even the smallest detail in your new home.
Nevertheless, if time is your greatest concern here, you may want to consider getting support from a pre move in cleaning company in Singapore. A professional cleaning team like us at Envico is not only well-equipped to get the job done in a heartbeat, we also offer value-added services such as a complimentary pest inspection to keep every aspect of your new home in check. Think about being able to kick your feet up and relax in your new home without having to go through the arduous process of deep cleaning – we are sure that it cannot get any better than that!
If you have been sleeping on that one mattress all your life and have never made an attempt to give it a thorough cleanse – hold right there. Just because you wash your pearly white sheets and switch them up often, it is easy to assume that your bed is one of the cleanest things in your home. Alas, that couldn’t be further from the truth.
The uncomfortable reality that we have to face today is that the world under your sheets is as yucky as it can ever get. It is so gut-churning that you might just wear protective gear to sleep tonight.
Well, if you are not so convinced by the revelation that your mattress is a complete filth-trap, it is about time for you to meet the horrifying substances that will shake you to your core.
Dead Skin Cells & Dust Mites
As a human, we constantly shed a surprising amount of approximately half a billion skin cells in a span of 24 hours, to make room for newer cells to grow. This means that in one minute, we slough off about 30,000 to 40,000 dead skin cells. Since we spend about an average 8 hours on our daily beauty sleep, the amount of skin cells that are accumulated in our mattress from just one night of sleep is far beyond imagination – you might want to do the math right there.
While the accumulation of these flakes of skin alone will not cause a direct grave impact on your health, they, however, form a prime habitat for dust mites to grow and thrive. Why? That is because organic debris such as dead skin cells, mould, fungi, dead mites, bacteria, and pollen serves as dust mites’ daily nutriment. These scavengers survive by feasting on them and then multiply rapidly.
A possibly not-so-fun fact: Do you know that – on average, our mattress can contain up to 10 million dust mites if we do not implement a proper mattress cleaning approach periodically?
Mites Faeces
Like the human, after ingesting dander, these dust mites defecate. It is found that a single mite can produce up to 20 waste droppings a day. What’s worse, these faeces are so tiny and light-weight that they can become airborne.
Accompanied by these faeces are enzymes, an allergenic protein. And if you don’t already know, chronic exposure to these allergenic proteins can lead to detrimental health impacts such as asthma or allergies.
Bacteria
If you can think of one microbe that mattresses are swarming with, the answer would be bacteria. True enough, bacteria can be found everywhere. However, the number of bacteria that are accrued under those sheets can be alarming.
These bacteria are traced from everywhere – your skin, saliva, intestine, stool and genital, even from crumbs, food spills and sweat. The amount of bacteria in your sanctuary isn’t just appalling on its own. In fact, the comparison between the sleep environments of human with wildlife is going to bring you a rude awakening. According to a study conducted by the University of North Carolina, it was found that a chimpanzee’s nest harbour far lesser bacteria than a human’s bed. This means that you are sleeping in a condition that is far less favourable than a chimpanzee’s.
Fungal Spores
If everything else above isn’t terrifying enough to get you cleaning your mattress right away, here is something else that is lurking under it – fungal spores. Your mattresses are populated with fungal spores, between 4 to 17 different species of them. With the ideal combination of optimal temperature and moisture level, your mattress has involuntarily transformed into a kingdom for fungi growth. When inhaled routinely, it can lead to health implications such as weakened immune systems, asthma, infection, rashes and more.
How Can You Protect Yourself from The Torrent of These Horrifying Substances?
The key line of defence against these substances? We’d say it stems from giving proper thought and attention to your mattress. To make sure that they truly stay guarded and comfy in the years to come, start engaging professional mattress cleaning services in Singapore every quarterly to half-yearly for general maintenance. If you are facing skin, sinus or dust mite allergy, we’d recommend you to employ mattress cleaning services once a month to once every two months.
Since the spread of the Covid-19 virus, there is an evident spike in demand for household cleaning and personal hygiene products such as disinfectants, alcohol wipes, anti-bacterial wipes and more, as households in Singapore step up on their cleaning efforts. One particular off-the-shelves product that witnesses continuous surge even until today is none other than a supercharged cleaning agent that claims to eliminate 99.9% bacteria.
However, does an increase in cleaning frequency, along with these products, actually translate to cleaner homes? Now, we are all set to find out!
Our team at Envico, (previously known as Clean Lab) is very honoured to be part of the latest episode of the current affairs programme, Talking Point. Along with the host, Diana Ser, our experts visited 3 households who have embarked on an elevated cleaning routine since Covid-19 broke out. Apart from being increasingly particular about good habit of hygiene and sanitisation, these families have also ‘upped their cleaning game’ by investing in what we perceive as ‘game-changing’ cleaning products. The question is – are these really efficacious?
Unfortunately, upon the execution of our sanitisation audit and assessment, the appalling results have shown very much otherwise.
What is sanitisation audit and assessment, and what does it entail?
Sanitisation audit and assessment at Envico is designed for folks who’d love to have their homes’ cleanliness standards assessed, and is especially beneficial if you are suffering from health conditions such as allergies, skin rashes and sinus, to name some.
The following testing methods were deployed to deduce the results:
- Black light assessment:From mattress, sofa and rug to kitchen, bedroom and living room, our team manually inspects these surfaces with the employment of black light. Through this assessment, we can detect revolting stains that are resulted from urine, blood, saliva and dried liquid.
- ATP testing: As exhibited in the programme, ATP testing provides you with an almost-instant result on the total dirt count lingering on these surfaces. Below is a general guideline on measuring ATP Relative Light Units value based on a residential or office unit.
- Environmental swab test: We perform a swab on a surface, and have the sample incubated for 3 to 5 days. This swab test allows us to detect the presence of specific harmful bacteria such as E-coli, salmonella, mould, and yeast, as well as viruses such as Covid-19.
Upon receiving test results, our professional crew will return to execute proper house cleaning and disinfection work, ensuring that the results meet the passable scale. That is not all – our services also include providing on-going protection by coating your surrounding surfaces with anti-microbial protection treatment. With this treatment, a layer of positively charged molecular pins then bond to the treated surfaces and protect them against germs, bacteria, and viruses for up to 30 days for high touch surfaces, or even 90 days for low touch surfaces.
It all boils down to your everyday cleaning routine
To maintain an adequate level of hygiene standard, it has to start from the fundamental – your daily cleaning routine.
Apart from the aforementioned testing, our team is set to understand:
- Your cleaning frequency
- What products were utilised in the process
- How you use the cleaning tools and products
With that in mind, we then formulate a personalised cleaning and disinfection program, which specifically addresses your individual needs. This cleaning program is meant to complement your existing cleaning regimen.
Bottom line
Keeping viruses and bacteria at bay is not challenging, as long as you clean the right way. Should you be suffering from chronic health conditions that could be resulted from unideal cleaning habits, perhaps it is time to uncover the underlying reasons with the help of experts. As far as health is concerned, take no chances!
If there is one thing that most Singaporeans have in common, it will be that we are all a lot more vigilant about keeping our homes clean (or rather well-sanitised) these days. It can be hard to admit – but you’d probably never been this diligent in your cleaning routine, ever.
However, in our previous blog post, we have revealed that these heightened cleaning efforts don’t necessarily translate to spotless homes – even for the most hygiene conscious homeowner that embraces an elevated regime. Why is that so?
Well, let’s give our cleaning ritual a second look. Theoretically, we all know what it means to “clean”. But in actual fact, many tend to forget that cleaning should go beyond wiping down the ‘scrub-down-obvious’ spots such as bathroom floors and open spaces. One of the many reasons why we were not able to eradicate bacteria, germs, dust and grime stems from negligence. That’s right. You’ll be surprised to find out that some of the objects that require the most attention are the ones that often go unnoticed.
Now, get equipped with your buckets and cloths (we bet that you’re going to need them at the end of this article) as we run through some of the household objects that tend to slip through the cracks.
- Handles and doorknobs
What are some things that have been touched by everyone but cleaned by no one? Handles and doorknobs!
We can’t emphasise enough – handles and doorknobs are the perfect breeding grounds for germs and bacteria, and they need to be tackled right away. Never wait until they become visibly dirty before you get down to work. From the handles of your fridge and cabinets to other kitchen appliances, one should never skip these surfaces, considering the number of actions they get throughout the day.
- Kitchen sponge
Holler if you are guilty of not replacing your kitchen sponges weekly! We know, at this point, you’re probably surprised by how often you should replace them. But really, this small but mighty tool that we rely on oh-so often collects a hair-raising amount of microbes thanks to its warm and moist surfaces. To prevent the spread of nasty bacteria, it’s about time to kick the sponge hoarding habit.
- TV remote control
Right under your finger lies a major germ magnet – the TV remote control. Believe it or not, your remote control can be a major health threat to the members in your household. Picture this in your head – the remote control bounces off the sofa, comes into contact with sticky hands and people sneeze on it. And when’s the last time someone cleans it, if ever?
- Toothbrush holder
According to a study by NSF International, the toothbrush holder, which is a little-known germ breeding ground, actually ranks as the third germiest spot in the home. When you stow your toothbrush in the holder, it collects the droplets and gunk from your wet toothbrush. Go on and peer inside your toothbrush holder. Chances are – you’ll spot crusty mixture well-hidden within it.
- Ceiling fans
You don’t have to wait till your yearly spring cleaning season to clean the ceiling fans. Well, unless you’d love to have some dusty clumps flung around every time you turn it on. While it can sound like a total drag, ceiling fans should be dusted minimally once a month (or better still, bi-weekly).
- Showerhead
While you’d probably been cleaning the exterior of showerheads regularly already, the interior of it deserves some attention too. Over time, mineral deposits and organic matter can be accumulated in your showerhead. Just think about the microbes that are being dispersed into the air every time you step into the shower.
Final word
It can be tempting to cut corners when cleaning your home, but our cleaning professionals in Singapore swear by going through each motion meticulously. When cleaning starts to become a nightmare, and you can’t seem to put dust and bacteria under control, why not consider house cleaning services?
With years of experience under their belts, our cleaning professionals have what it takes to get your home back on track! Find out more about Envico house cleaning services rates.
Apart from employing professional house cleaning services, many Singaporeans are still religiously looking out for ways to keep their loved ones safe. Surely, the age-old adage rings true: better safe than sorry.
But before you begin the endeavour, making sure that you don’t take the wrong approach is of paramount importance. Why? Simply because tackling cleaning duties requires lots of investment – from money to effort and time, to name some. While we all tend to cut corners at times, it’s worth noting that improper cleaning and disinfecting habits can inhibit your ability to get the job done efficiently. On a more consequential note, they can also lead to irreversible damages to your health and properties in the long run.
Lucky for you, our cleaning experts have put together 8 tips on how to clean and disinfect the right way. Read on.
- Getting the frequency right
Clearly, at the base of cleaning lie important health safeguards. But given that cleaning is not an easy task (especially when you are doing it alone), how can you then find a neat answer to the question of how often you should be cleaning?
As a general rule of thumb, here are the recommended cleaning and disinfection frequencies for homeowners:
- Colour code your cleaning cloths
Cross-contamination is known as one of the biggest culprits of infection spread. To effectively minimise the risks of cross-contamination, we strongly recommend all homeowners in Singapore to adopt a colour coding programme.
There are no “set in stone” guide to colour coding, but here’s what we do as part of our house cleaning services:
Blue – General surfaces such as the countertop, sofa, shelves, cabinets, etc.
Red – Washroom area
Green – Areas where food is handled and prepared, such as kitchen, dining tables, coffee tables, etc.
Yellow – Common high touch surfaces such as door knobs, light switches, remote controls, sofa arm rest, etc.
- Employ microfiber cloth
Yes, you’ll be surprised to find that not every cloth make the cut when it comes to cleaning. Invest in a microfiber cloth – and you’ll notice all the difference.
Built with super-fine microfibers, these cloths have an incredible amount of surface area to lift and ‘hoover up’ dirt. So, ditch the regular ones and make microfiber cloth your cleaning staple.
- Make time for pre-cleaning
To effectively disinfect or sanitise an area, the first step is to remove the dirt and other organic matters from the surface. How can you do so? By pre-cleaning the surface with soap and water before spraying disinfectant onto the cloth!
Note: Do not wipe in a circular motion when cleaning, as you’re essentially shoving the dirt around. The right way to go about it is to perform a “sweeping motion”.
- Work from clean areas to dirty areas
Here’s a recommended plan of attack to housecleaning: always start from the least-soiled (cleanest) spots before progressing to the most-soiled zones.
his helps to ensure that you’re not transposing more contaminants into the cleaner areas.
- Never leave your food items exposed when disinfecting
While this appears to be a no-brainer, many homeowners tend to overlook the fact that they’ve got consumables such as fruits, exposed tea bags and opened snacks packages lying around the premises.
Improper use of cleaning supplies can lead to deleterious effects on you and your loved ones, so be sure to keep all consumables away before spraying on disinfectant.
- Keep the surface visibly wet for the full contact time
Contact time (also known as wet time), is the period where the disinfectant is required to stay visibly wet on a surface to demonstrate efficacy. This contact time can vary greatly per product.
Most disinfectants found off-the-shelves in Singapore require a full 10-minutes of surface contact time, whereas the ones that our professionals utilise during our disinfection services can do the job in just 3-minutes. Anyhow, be sure to check out what’s stated on the product’s packaging.
Over to you
Now that you’ve gotten the gist on how to clean and disinfect the right way, it’s time to work your way through these cleaning tips!
Oh Christmas, our absolute favourite time of the year that is filled with all things magical and merry. It is also a season where we gather together with our nearest and dearest for party bashes and real feasts. Even though social gatherings like these are set to be very different in 2020 amid the pandemic, we aren’t letting it rain on our parade. And because we love the festive season so much, our Santa here is going to arm you with not one, not two, but five killer cleaning hacks you ought to know for a stress-free Christmas this year!
Don’t wait till the last minute holiday rush – no one wants to be cleaning on the first day of Christmas. So be sure to strike them off your list, right now!
- Curate a full cleaning plan
To kick off your house cleaning plan, do yourself a favour and walk through your home with a visitor’s eye. Place emphasis on the things you will see when you enter someone’s house.
Next, list down all the nitty-gritty details and imperfections that you have spotted, and make a list. Trust us – this will provide you with an order and structure to take on these drudgery tasks.
While at it, create a playlist with upbeat Christmas music to keep you movin’ and groovin’ along the way.
- Anywhere you clean, don’t neglect the bathroom
Can’t find the time for a full-on bathroom cleaning? We feel you. Not to mention, bathroom cleaning is one of those household chores that we all tend to procrastinate (hands up if you’re guilty of that).
Well, the least you could do is to remove all toothpaste splashes, stubborn scum and water spots off the surfaces. For the final touch, make your bathroom feel like a five-star hotel by placing fluffy towels for your guests.
- Vinegar to the rescue
Singaporeans’ love this hack! If engaging a proper house cleaning services is not your cup of tea (although we do strongly encourage you to opt for one), consider cleaning spills and stains on your rug with vinegar.
Simply mix equal parts of hot water and vinegar to form a mixture, and spray it onto your rug. To get rid of the temporary pickle smell from the vinegar, add lemons into the ‘concoction’ prior to cleaning.
- Prepare mattresses for your guests
When you host a Christmas party, chances are that your guests will stay overnight. That said, you’d want to ensure that they feel at home.
No guest likes the thought of sleeping on a mucky mattress, so be sure to gather your cleaning supplies and give these mattresses (that you’d probably haven’t been touching for centuries) a deep clean.
If you choose to do-it-yourself, the first step is to vacuum – ideally with a specialty mattress vacuum with ultraviolet light beams. Otherwise, ensure that your regular vacuum cleaner has powerful suction to get the job done. Subsequently, carry out spot cleaning by sprinkling baking soda directly on your mattress, and leave it to work its magic for an hour or so. Then, vacuum the residue.
- Book professional house cleaning services early
The demand for professional house cleaning services in Singapore during the holiday season is high. Therefore, it is only wise to book them before the holidays officially kick-off. The last thing you want is to feel distressed and anxious over having to perform the last-minute tasks yourself. The thought alone is enough to send shivers down your spine, isn’t it? Fret not, Envico has got your back – as always! Reach out to us to find out how we can help you get through the holiday season without a hitch.
As the adage goes, “you are only as good as the tools you use”.
Today, we should be fully cognizant of the concept of having the right tools for the right job. Likewise, when it comes to a chore that most of us in Singapore love to hate – cleaning – having the right gear is imperative. If you are still clinging on to that grimy ol’ sponge or cotton rag of yours, it is about time to ditch them all. Why? Because our goal is to help you clean smarter, not harder. That said, allow us to introduce something revolutionary and life-changing, a cleaning tool that you never knew you need: Microfibre cloth.
Whether is it house cleaning or office cleaning, there is just something so special about microfibre cloths that experts from cleaning companies in Singapore and beyond swear by. We too love the aid of a good do-it-all microfibre cloth throughout our services. But what is it that makes it so outstanding?
Surprise, surprise – it’s not magic, but a whole lot of real science behind its power. And before we dive into all of that, let’s first talk about what microfibre cloth really is.
What Exactly is Microfibre Cloth?
As its name suggests, microfibre cloth is made up of super-thin microfibres – a synthetic material that comprises polyester and polyamide. Polyester provides the structure of cloth, while polyamide allows high water absorption.
Fun fact: Microfibre is 200 times thinner than the diameter of a single human hair!
What Makes it Such a Cleaning Workhorse?
Thanks to the inclusion of both positive-charged and negative-charged components, microfibre cloths have the ability to attract and pull up even the tiniest, most microscopic dirt particles, and hard-to-kill spores – doing the job that its ordinary counterparts fail to execute.
As you may have heard of this principle in chemistry classes, microfibre cloths leverage something called the ‘van der Waals forces’.
When employing microfibre cloths, there is no need for harsh chemicals and detergents whatsoever – all they need is water to lock up dirt. This massively reduces your exposure to these harmful substances. At the same time, you are playing a part in reducing pollution from cleaning chemicals too!
If all these are not enough to impress, here are more benefits of microfibre cloth you ought to know:
- It is lint-free and non-abrasive:When you clean with a microfibre cloth, you can rest easy knowing that it will not leave any scratches nor lint on any surfaces.
- It is a cost-effective cleaning solution:As revealed earlier, you can eliminate the need for cleaning products with a microfibre cloth. Naturally, this translates to dramatic savings in the long run.
- It is versatile:From windows and mirrors to chrome fixtures, showerheads and more, microfibre cloth works profoundly well on virtually any kind of surfaces. There’s nothing much out there that microfibre cloths can’t clean!
- It dries particularly fast: Thanks to its unique loop weave, microfibre cloth dries in one-third the duration of ordinary cloths. This also makes it harder for bacteria to grow.
- It is long-lasting: With a much longer lifespan, microfibre cloths can easily outlast other cleaning cloths, including cotton ones. Of course, this comes with proper care and maintenance.
- It can help to prevent cross-contamination: Steer clear of cross-contamination with the help of microfibre cloths. Available in a wide variety of colours, microfibre cloths enable you to implement a colour-coding systemfor your day-to-day cleaning endeavour – designating specific colours for a particular area. If you don’t already know, colour-coding has been employed throughout our house and office cleaning services in Singapore – and our cleaning experts can surely vouch for this methodology.
By now, it is clear that the advantages of microfibre cloths are aplenty – so be sure to keep them on your radar!
With Lunar New Year around the corner, it is about time for our yearly spring cleaning endeavor again. Yes, again!
It is a known fact that there are many traditions and family ritual deeply embedded in the culture of Lunar New Year’s celebration. Apart from splurging on new threads, adorning your crib with festive decors, having a sumptuous reunion dinner and not forgetting – giving and receiving our all-time favourite red envelopes, one of the most significant customs riddled in the festivities is the house-cleaning ritual (also known as da sao chu).
Unlike our daily house cleaning routine, spring cleaning carries a deep meaning for the Chinese. So what exactly is the historical significance behind this custom, and why is it such a big deal?
Sweep Out the Old, Usher in the New
It has a lot to do with culture and religion. In decades past, the folks believe that the spring cleaning ritual is a tangible representation of getting rid of the bad luck of the previous year. It symbolically purges negativity while ushering in the new, and all the positive energy that is sure to follow in the coming one.
“Dust” is a homophone for the word “Chen” in Chinese, which refers to “old”. Hence, getting rid of them is a way to mark an auspicious start to the year.
However, you would want to ensure that the house is thoroughly cleaned and decluttered a few days before the new year begins. Why? Simply because sweeping the house during the Lunar New Year is perceived to be sweeping away the good fortunes that are bestowed upon your household. So once New Year’s Day (chu-yi) rolls around, avoid doing any forms of housework until the Lunar New Year is over.
Is Spring Cleaning Imperative?
An overhaul spring cleaning may not appear to be the most joyous of traditions for the younger generations. But if you are hanging on to the thoughts on whether spring cleaning is really necessary, our answer is a resounding yes.
It is not just the tradition that dictates the need for one. After all, cleaning up is always good for your health – mentally and physically. Besides, getting rid of all that chaos that surrounds your living space ensures that your house is always guest-ready. So, as laborious as it sounds, forget about slipping away from the obligatory housework and decluttering involved. But instead, embrace them with open arms.
Starting the New Year With a Clean Slate
Before plunging into a cleaning frenzy, kick things off by segmenting the tasks into a comprehensive checklist. Spring cleaning is a process, and having a good outline will lead to a good outcome. With a systematic checklist, you will get your home in tip-top shape in no time.
Here’s to a Spotless Year
If you are procrastinating on things as time ticks away, the chances are that you are probably not going to accomplish much. But the last thing you want is to have your house left in a wreck. What do you do?
Good news – we have got a cheat sheet for you. That is – to engage professional house cleaning services.
While there are many companies across Singapore that provide house cleaning or spring cleaning services, our team at Envico certainly outshines in terms of value and result.
Beyond our affordable house cleaning service rates, our glowing reviews are a testament to our impeccable service and quality. So if you fail to squeeze out ample time to do the chores on your own, Envico Singapore is here to spare you from the agony of last-minute spring cleaning.
Do you wake up in the morning with intense skin irritations or mysterious allergies? If so, you might be cudgeling your brain all day to pinpoint the culprit – is it bed bugs or dust mites?
For a long time, folks in Singapore tend to use these two terms interchangeably, presuming that they were the same thing. But the truth is that they are both very different organisms, and naturally, they affect humans in very different ways.
While you certainly don’t want either of these hard-to-spot, pesky pests in your living space (particularly in your mattress) educating yourself on their differences empowers you to tell them apart, seek the right treatment and take the right preventive measures in time to come. After all, the last thing you want is to do nothing, allowing these uninvited guests to invade your sleep sanctuary.
Now, our cleaning team here at Envico is here to help you through this endeavor, so you can stop these creepy-crawlies from making a free meal of you!
Bed Bugs: What Are They?
Bed bugs, otherwise known as nocturnal parasitic bugs, are small species of insects in the genus Cimex lectularius and Cimex hemipterus. The size of an adult bed bug is approximately 5mm long and 33mm wide (the size of an apple or sunflower seed) – this means that they’re indeed visible to the naked eye. In general, they are recognised for their reddish-brown colour and long, flat, oval-shaped body.
Their Feeding Habits
As nocturnal organisms, bed bugs creep out in witching-hour to hunt for food. Like mosquitoes, they thrive on animal’s or human’s blood – which also explains why untrained eyes tend to draw mistaken associations between the two symptoms. However, unlike mosquitoes, bed bugs have sharp, saw-like mouthparts that enable them to “slice” through your skin (think – a knife through butter), leaving behind hard-to-eradicate bites that can range from small itchy rashes to inflamed, red welts.
Their Habitat
Crevices and corners that are hidden from plain sight are bed bugs’ favourite hiding spots. They could be burrowing in tight spaces beneath your upholsteries, behind the headboards and the likes. With a penchant for secreting themselves, hunting these critters down can be a daunting task. But here are some tell-tale signs of their presence:
- There’s an unexplained musty odour in your room
- You tend to wake up with itchy red marks/bites in a distinct pattern
- Waking up to sheets dotted with blood
- You come across cast skin or faecal marks (rust-coloured spots) of bed bugs
Dust Mites: What Are They?
Dust mites, on the other hand, are microscopic spiders that belong to the mite family of Pyroglyphidae. They boast translucent, whitish bodies, and are only about 0.3mm in size. This means that you can’t really spot them with bare eyes unless you have a superhuman vision.
Their Food Source
Dust mites don’t bite, but instead, they feed on skin flakes and dead skin cells that human shed daily, and sometimes, moulds. Considering the number of dead skin cells that we shed daily, you can wholly imagine dust mites feasting like royalty!
Where They Hang Out
Within homes in Singapore, the highest concentrations of mite allergens were found in mattresses. Why? Because that’s where the most dead skin cells are being shed, which means, an abundance of food for them prevail. On top of that, dust mites prefer indoor environments that are moist and damp.
Why Are They a Cause for Concern?
Unless you get rid of them, bedtime may never be the same again. A new study conducted by researchers from NUS-SMART has indicated that dust mites found it pillows could present engender more harm to asthmatic individuals than previously thought. Given that one in five children and 5% of adults in Singapore suffer from asthma, dust mites can pose serious health risks when inhaled through the respiratory system. This does not mean that they are only hazardous for vulnerable individuals. An otherwise healthy person can, too, suffer from allergic symptoms encompassing eczema, rhinitis, and more.
Managing Infestations
If you’ve spent a long time battling the two stubborn enemies, the good news is that there are several solutions and preventive measures you can take to keep them at bay.
A sure-fire initial step is to engage in mattress cleaning services in Singapore. Why so? Let’s take our treatment at Envico, for instance. During the mattress cleaning operation, an in-house entomologist will be present to offer his/her expertise on these pests. Concurrently, our crew will also carry out a visual inspection on the mattress to identify any tell-tale signs of other pests. Thereafter, an appropriate corrective action plan will be recommended to ensure effectuality. Equipped with specialised cleaning tools, mattress cleaning service providers, like us, can productively put pest infestation under control – all without you having to lift a finger.
Have more questions? We’d love to help! Reach out to us today.
Pest infestation is a prevalent issue not only within homes, but workplaces too. With tons of movements and activities occurring day in and day out, it’s inarguable that the office space is exceptionally susceptible to pests. Unfortunately, it is a concern that often slips through the cracks.
One might be inclined to think that these vile bring about nothing more than minor discomfort – so why kick up a fuss, right? We beg to differ. Look, an office environment where pests dominate can pose detrimental threats to our health, making the need for actions obvious. Besides, with the presence of pests, your office only becomes an uninviting space for guests, and this does nobody any favours.
To effectively mitigate the impacts, finding out what led to the infestation is imperative. You would be surprised to find out that the majority of the pest infestation issues are caused by inadequate sanitisation habits.
To get you thinking twice about the little things you do daily, we’ve magnified 7 common habits that you should break as soon as possible.
- Eating at your work desk
How many of you actually get up and away from your desk during lunch breaks? Unsurprisingly, approximately one-third of working professionals in Singapore claim to take their lunch breaks at their desks – at least four times a week.
We understand, when your to-do list gets overwhelmingly long and when deadlines edge nearer, eating your lunch at your desk may seem like the most efficient way of fuelling your brain. But what many do not realise is that this could also increase the potential of food crumbs and spills getting left behind.
At the end of the day, they become easy meal tickets for the scavengers.
- Leaving accumulated food wastes overnight
Of all the many bad habits you should kick, one of them is leaving food wastes overnight.
Many office pest infestation cases in Singapore can be traced to these overlooked food scraps. By not throwing out your food wastes, you’re literally answering the calls of the uninvited guests. Over time, the bin becomes an ideal breeding ground for them.
At this point, you might be wondering, “what can I do to curb the problem?” Simple! Either someone within the team has to go the extra mile to get that done, or you can choose to engage part-time office cleaning services. If the latter sounds like a more practical option for you, we’d highly recommend getting an evening cleaning crew, so that food wastes accumulated during the course of the day gets cleared away at last.
- Not changing the bin liners regularly
Are flies swarming around the trash can a common sight in the office? If so, this could stem from not replacing your bin liners regularly. With pest-drawing residues like coffee stains and food crumbs left behind, it’s only natural that the bin becomes the trigger of a major pest problem.
- Not cleaning your office carpet and upholstery
Many folks reckon that carpet and upholstery don’t need to be cleaned often – if not, at all. Yikes! That couldn’t be further from the truth.
Given how vulnerable carpets and upholsteries are to pest invasion, engaging carpet and upholstery cleaning services is something that a company should never skimp on. In fact, you should get them cleaned quarterly or half-yearly. So if you haven’t established a regular carpet and upholstery cleaning programme, now’s the time to start!
- Using the wrong chemicals and tools
Office owners tend to face many cleaning challenges, and among them is choosing the right chemicals and tools. The unwitting office owner might be made to believe that DIY off-the-shelves products can do wonder in pest control. But here’s the grim reality: in the pest management world, there’s isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution.
Using the wrong chemicals and tools will not only render undesirable results, but can also lead to adverse effects in the near and long term. To reduce the potential of a future infestation, your best bet will be to employ the services of a cleaning company because, well, they’re the experts in the field.
- Using the same cloth for the entire premise
Colour-coding your cleaning cloths for different areas is something that our team at Envico can’t emphasise enough. This system is not only a good practice for preventing cross-contamination, but it does the trick in maintaining a pest-free and hygienic environment too. Using that same-old rag around the office premise just don’t cut it!
- Overlooking hard-to-reach surfaces
Out of sight, out of mind – the same rule doesn’t apply when it comes to cleaning. We understand that cleaning hard-to-reach crevices is a perennial battle, but given the fact that pests can build an entire empire within these areas, turning a blind eye to them isn’t a solution.
But what do you do when you simply have too much on your plate? Don’t admit defeat just yet – because cleaning professionals can help you get the job done with ease and speed, all without missing an inch. With Envico offering affordable office cleaning services, you’ll never have an excuse to skip these spots again.
Let’s be honest – when it comes to our daily cleaning routine, many of us wouldn’t even think of cleaning our sofas and mattresses. And it’s not just that. We wouldn’t even bat an eyelid even if someone tells us that our sofas and mattresses are actually the dirtiest objects in our homes and that there’s a need for them to be professionally deep cleaned every half-yearly to quarterly. After all, we change our sheets every week. Plus, they’re still looking as good as new, right?
Well, this is a common misconception that many folks in Singapore have. We have to burst the bubble here. A visually clean upholstery doesn’t mean that they are really clean – not even if they are entirely new.
We’ve shown you what’s lurking in your mattresses in our previous article – dead skin cells, dust mites, bacteria and many other gut-churning substances that are not visible to the naked eye. But if you’re still somewhat cynical (which we totally understand), we’ve gathered some samples collected from one of our past projects below. Let’s go through them one by one, shall we?
Dirty Water Accumulated from Each Upholstered Furniture
What you see above is the sample collected and analysed right after cleaning each piece of upholstered furniture. The image reflects the turbidity of the chemical.
Turbidity simply refers to a measure of the degree to which water loses its transparency due to the presence of microscopic particles. It serves as an indicator of how grimy each upholstered furniture really is. As you would have anticipated, the thicker the solid residues are at the bottom of the test tube, the dirtier your upholstered furniture is.
Here’s a quick breakdown of the samples encapsulated in the image above:
- Sample 1: Clearwater mixed with the original cleansing solution used during the deep cleaning operation
- Sample 2: Samples gathered from a 2-week old, newly purchased fabric sofa
- Sample 3: Samples gathered from an 11-year old headboard
- Sample 4: Samples gathered from a 6-month old single-sized mattress
- Sample 5: Samples gathered from a 5 to 6-year old single-sized mattress
- Sample 6: Samples gathered from an 11-year old king-sized mattress
Turns out, the 2-week old newly purchased fabric sofa actually took the throne as the dirtiest upholstered furniture of the lot. This is truly a testament that your upholstered furniture aren’t all that speckless, even if they look or are brand new.
So How Can Envico Help?
Now that you’ve gained some insights into how dirty your sofas and mattresses can be without deep cleaning them regularly, the question is – how can Clean Lab’s mattress or upholstery cleaning services help?
With the aid of state-of-the-art industrial equipment and cleaning solutions, our team in Singapore can provide a deep and thorough clean that flushes dirt, dust mites and eliminates harmful microorganisms hidden deep in your mattresses, sofas and other upholstered furniture.
All these are carried out through a 5-step mattress cleaning programme and/or 4-step restorative deep upholstery cleaning programme.
Here’s a quick overview of the two programmes:
5-Step Mattress Cleaning Programme
- Step 1: Dry extraction with rotating brush to loosen, dislodge and remove skin flakes, dust, soil deposit, dust mites and their excrement.
- Step 2:Stain or spot treatment to remove any visible stains.
- Step 3: Deep cleaning is carried out to clean, disinfect and deodourise the mattress fibre. This is followed by deep extraction to remove disintegrated dirt, fungal spores and wastewater.
- Step 4: Atomised heat steam cleaning is done to clean and sterilise the mattress. This helps to eliminate bacteria, mould spores, viruses and deactivate allergens.
- Step 5: Bio-shield, a chemical-free anti-microbial treatment, is applied to protect the mattress against bacteria and dust mites for up to 30 days.
4-Step Restorative Deep Upholstery Cleaning Programme
- Step 1: Our specialist will thoroughly vacuum your upholstered furniture using our high suction industrial grade vacuum machine with 3-stage HEPA filtration. This process will dislodge any dirt, soil and dust mites.
- Step 2: Stain or spot treatment to remove any visible stains.
- Step 3: An integrated upholstery cleaning extraction system will be used to flush, clean and disinfect your upholstery fibres.
- Step 4: A layer of Bio-shield treatment will be applied to reduce the reproduction of dust mites and eliminate unpleasant odours.
Want to find out more about our mattress and upholstery cleaning services? Reach out to our consultants today!
In order to understand how bad smells linger in our homes, let’s first take a look at a sense that is often overlooked: the sense of smell. As a matter of fact, there aren’t any inventions that enhance our sense of smell. The nose doesn’t get the equivalent of prescription glasses or hearing aids, but its importance to our health shouldn’t be underestimated. There are various types of odours in the home, some of which are just objectionable, while others can indicate hazardous conditions.
The good news is that you do not have to live with these annoying and sometimes dangerous smells. In order to make your home more enjoyable for everyone, there are things you can do to prevent or eliminate it, such as hiring an professional odour removal company. By removing smells, you’ll have a safer, more pleasant home.
The Nose Knows
According to neuroscientists, humans can distinguish 10,000 scents, although many of them have no names. It is through our sense of smell that we can experience depth and emotional richness in our daily lives.
By using olfactory neurons, located in the nasal epithelium which detects and transmit odourant information to the central nervous system in our brain, we are able to decipher molecules that travel into our nose. Odour molecules come into contact with olfactory receptors that lock onto these molecules and generate an electrical signal that is eventually relayed to the brain. All of this, of course, happens virtually at the speed of light.
Take a moment to think about the feelings and memories that surge through you as you smell fresh-cut grass or lilacs in bloom, just as a cinnamon-filled apple pie emerges from the oven, burrow your face in a sun-dried bed sheet.
Our sense of smell continues to serve us today in ways that may not seem obvious. By helping us sense foul odours in the home, the nose actually protects our health. Its detects harmful molecules in the air and sending a warning to the brain. How we respond to that warning, however, is entirely up to us to react. At Envico, the team has vast experience in treating all forms of odours by working in close collaboration with the in-house R&D team, the Odour Treatment Program helps by removing surface odours, killing the root cause, and eliminating any trace of foul smell.
Here are the common funky odours and what they might mean.
- Stinky Dishwasher
The moisture in your dishwasher can become a breeding ground for smelly mould, mildew and rotting food bits. In addition to periodically wiping down the interior, you can try this handy trick: Besides periodically wiping down the interior, try this handy trick: Fill a small bowl with white vinegar and place it in the lower rack of an empty dishwasher. Without adding detergent, run a normal cycle and select extra rinse and hot rinse, if available. That should take care of your smelly dishwasher.
- Sewer Odours
From unused bathrooms to kitchen sinks, the smell of sewage can often permeate from our drains. This is especially common in unused bathrooms, which can give off a sulfuric, rotten-egg stench.
What’s causing this issue?
There is a U-shaped pipe at the bottom of the drain that holds water. If left unused, the water can evaporate, allowing the stench to enter your bathroom. If you don’t run water into the drain regularly, you’ll eventually have a sewer gas smell in your home, similar to a rotten egg odour.The best way to protect your home against water leaks is to regularly run water down your bathroom drain at least once a week, even if you don’t use it usually. This will help reduces gasses and ensure your water seal stays in good condition. This will help the smell go away and the bathroom will be far more pleasant if someone has to use it.
- Lingering Smoke
A cigarette smoke odour is noticeable from the moment you walk into a house. Cigarette smoke lingers in fabrics, carpets, walls, and flooring for weeks after it has been expelled.
The harms of cigarettes are well documented, so we won’t go over them here, but you should understand that the chemicals that make cigarettes so dangerous don’t disappear when the cigarette is extinguished.
The chemicals and carcinogens remains in the area and settle on surfaces or fabrics, waiting to be released at a later time. Called thirdhand smoke, this puts people at risk from the common harms of cigarette-smoke, long after smoke has disappeared from the air.
Removing cigarette smoke is a difficult task, but it’s far from impossible. You need to take an approach that encompasses the entire home from top to bottom. Cleaning the walls and ceiling may help, and you could use a treatment that will neutralize the chemical odours that are left from smoke.
You could also repaint the interior, which will cover the unsightly smoke stains and seal in harmful contaminants. If you decide to paint, use a sealer and primer, which will effectively trap the contaminants.
If the home has been smoked in for years, it’s probably best to have the carpets cleaned, which will help remove microscopic particles. If the carpet is seriously damaged, you may need to have it replaced.
- Mould
If you have ever noticed a musty smell in your home, there’s a good chance that you have mildew or mould growing somewhere inside. Mould is one of the most common sources of smells in the house, and it can grow in many places but is most common in damp areas, especially the basement but also bathrooms and kitchens.
Mould is not just smelly, it can actually be toxic. Mould also releases microscopic spores that are used for reproduction, and these spores, which float on the air like pollen, can be inhaled, causing respiratory and allergy issues.
Getting rid of mould should be considered a two-phase process: Phase 1 is eliminating the source of moisture, which will reduce the musty smell. Mould feeds off moisture in the home, and even dampness in the air is a possible source of water for mould.
Make sure your pipes are sealed, your basement is dry, and your windows, doors, and other areas are not leaking water. You may also want to run a dehumidifier to reduce the amount of moisture in the air. By reducing moisture sources, you reduce the chances of future mould growth.
Phase 2 will be to clean the mould that has already grown. Using cleaning solutions and a little effort, you can remove mould from the home and keep it from coming back. Using a cleaning solution of bleach and water, you can kill the mould where it lives.
There are also chemicals made specifically for mould, but if the problem is significant, you may want to use a professional mould-removal service, which will virtually guarantee the mould is removed completely from your home.
- Dirty Carpet
Do you ever notice a musty smell coming from your carpet? Perhaps it hasn’t gone away even though you’ve been vacuuming it. Lets take a look at what’s lurking underneath your carpet.
- Dust, soil and dirt
- Dust mites and pest
- Bacteria, germs and viruses
- Mould and Fungi spores
- Allergens and Bio-contaminants
- Dead Skin Flakes (food source for dust mites)
- Food Residue (food source for pest)
- Bad odours
- Stubborn stains
To ward off bad odours, vacuum at least 3 times a week with a machine that has a HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) filter. Alternatively, the best method for hassle-free and guaranteed elimination of bad odour, would be to hire experts specialising in Professional Carpet Cleaning.
- Burning, Smoky Odours
Unless you have a fireplace, the smell of smoke or something burning is definitely dangerous. Even if you don’t see signs of fire, you could have something smoldering in the basement or inside the walls. The smell of ozone, common during a lightning storm, could mean overheated electrical wires or appliances, overloaded circuits, frayed or loose wiring, or incorrectly sized breakers or fuses.
Check your outlets to see if there are any sparks or burn marks; call a licensed electrician if the problem persists. An “oily” burning smell could mean that your furnace is malfunctioning, and failing to ignite all of the oil in the burner. Call a licensed professional as soon as possible to have the unit checked and serviced. Oil spills from fuel deliveries can also give off an oily burning smell.
