Distilled White Vinegar can be used around the home in so many ways. It’s cost effective, eco-friendly and can be scented with essential oils to make it smell great! Below are just a handful of ways we’ve found to use vinegar. Have other tips? Share your ideas with us by commenting below or email us .  We’d love to hear other uses for vinegar.

• Kill weeds between paving stones/sidewalk cracks: Fill a spray bottle with straight vinegar and spray multiple times. (Be careful not to get any on surrounding grass, as vinegar kills grass too.)

• Deter ants: Spray vinegar around door and window frames, under appliances, and along other known ant trails.

• Remove sweat stains from clothes: Apply one part vinegar to four parts water, then rinse.

• Get rid of lint on clothes: Add 1/2 cup of vinegar to the rinse cycle.

• Prevent lint from clinging to clothes: Add one cup vinegar to each wash load.

• Freshen vegetables: Soak wilted vegetables in 2 cups of water and a tablespoon of vinegar.

• Shine Formica counter tops: Clean with a cloth soaked in distilled vinegar.

• Remove decals or bumper stickers: Soak a cloth in Vinegar and cover the decal or bumper sticker for several minutes until the vinegar soaks in. The decals and bumper stickers should peel off easily.

• Deodorize the kitchen sink and/or unclog a slow drain: If the disposal stinks, try pouring a little baking soda (1/2 cup) down the drain, followed by some vinegar (1/2 – 1 cup) heated in the microwave (for about 1 minute). Leave it to bubble for about 5 minutes then flush it with hot water. Or toss in the orange peel from your lunch, then run the disposal for about 30 seconds. This should remove the odor-causing bacteria and leave it smelling fresh and clean.

• Clean the dishwasher: Pour 1 cup of vinegar inside the empty dishwasher and run through a regular cycle. Do this monthly to deodorize and remove soap scum.

• Get rid of fruit flies: Set out a small dish or glass of undiluted white distilled vinegar.  Cover with plastic wrap and poke holes through the wrap.  The fruit flies go in but they don’t come out.

See the published article in Angie’s List magazine.

Do you need a House Cleaner or a Housekeeper and what’s the difference?  Just don’t call us maids!
House Cleaner and Housekeeper:  They sound the same but they’re actually two very different jobs.  Are you looking for someone to clean the kitchen, scrub the toilets and make appliances shine?  Or are you looking for someone to change the sheets, wash and put away dishes and do some light dusting?

A housekeeper is an individual person who is usually in the home for a longer period of time and may have many projects within the home to keep them busy.  A Housekeeper is usually hired by a family who provides everything needed for the job (which stays in the home).

Typical duties of a Housekeeper may include:

• Light cleaning (not deep cleaning): dusting, sweeping, mopping
• Washing and drying dishes
• Washing, folding, ironing clothes
• Changing bed linens, making beds
• Separating and remove garbage and recycling
• Restocking personal care products, toilet paper, etc.
• Picking up toys and/or clutter and other general organizing
• Running errands for the family
• Preparing meals
• Replacing light bulbs
• Scooping litter boxes
• Other light duties as requested

A House Cleaner may be an individual person or a team of cleaners.  They arrive on a scheduled day/time with all the proper cleaning supplies, products and equipment.  They are usually in the home for a specific amount of time and take their supplies with them when they leave for their next cleaning appointment.  Cleaners may be independently employed or employed by a House Cleaning Company.

Typical duties of a House Cleaner may include:

• Deep cleaning most surfaces (countertops, sinks, tubs, toilets, floors, appliances, etc.)
• Scrubbing and sanitizing kitchens from top to bottom (including the exterior of cabinets and drawers, exterior of appliances like stoves and refrigerators, countertops, sinks and drains, backsplashes, light switch plate covers, knobs and handles, vacuuming and mopping, cleaning tables and chairs)
• Scrubbing and sanitizing bathrooms from top to bottom (including toilets, tubs, showers, sinks and drain openings and polishing chrome)
• Dusting (including trim work, baseboards, doors, picture frames, light fixtures, etc.)
• Vacuuming upholstery and carpet
• Vacuuming and mopping hard floors
• Interior window cleaning

If you think in terms of light-duty work with some organizing thrown in, that’s for a Housekeeper.  If you’re looking for a top-to-bottom cleaning of your home, that’s for a House Cleaner.  Whether you choose a Housekeeper or a House Cleaner, just don’t call them a Maid!  The word is shortened from “female maidservant” and “female housemaid”.  It’s now considered derogatory; especially to male house cleaners and keepers.

Jennifer Troyer is the Founder of Seattle Green Cleaner, LLC; an environmentally and socially responsible professional house cleaning company. Established in 2007, Troyer takes pride in her environmental stewardship while being a socially responsible employer. Her cleaners are all W-2 employees who enjoy paid time off, top pay for a job well done, have everything they need provided for them and they are protected. Seattle Green Cleaner is a fully licensed, bonded and insured, residential cleaning company serving Greater Seattle and they’ve earned the Angie’s List Super Service Award three years in a row.

Should you hire a professional cleaning company or an individual cleaner?

There are several good reasons to choose a cleaning service over an individual cleaner. Are you ready to be an employer? Does the cleaning company you’ve hired have employees or contractors? Is your property insured against theft or damage? What if someone is out sick, will your house still get cleaned?

Here is a handy guide for choosing the right cleaner to fit your needs.

It sounds great – you hire an individual who will charge less than a cleaning company and all you have to do is provide the cleaning products and supplies for him/her to use, right? Well, maybe. The IRS may require you to supply Publication 926 for Household Employees and Employment Verification Form I-9.

If they determine that you are the cleaner’s employer, you may be required to withhold and pay their Federal Income, Social Security and Medicare taxes. (See IRS for more information). Beyond the potential tax headaches, consider what happens if something is broken or stolen? Are you covered? What if he/she is sick on your cleaning day or goes on vacation? Will your house still get cleaned?

It’s a good idea to hire a professional cleaning service. After all, they have the tools necessary to do a great job, and they know what they’re doing. But before you hire a cleaning service, ask if their cleaners are employees or contractors. If they are contractors, the cleaning service you hire doesn’t need to provide liability insurance (in case something is broken or stolen at your house), and in most cases, they can’t even ensure how the job is done – only the end result.

If the cleaner is a contractor (1099 worker), they must provide their own business license, cleaning supplies and products, and hopefully, they are also licensed and bonded. Do you have the time to verify their credentials? What if something happens?

If you hire a professional cleaning company with W-2 employees, you’re more likely to have a set cleaning schedule (even if a cleaner is out sick), and the company provides all the necessary cleaning supplies instead of you or the person cleaning your home.

The company should be licensed and have liability insurance and a bond to cover any theft or damage. The cleaners are W-2 employees, which gives them benefits (protection if they are hurt on the job, safe working standards, unemployment benefits, Federal Income, Social Security & Medicare taxes withheld, etc.), and the company has done all the leg work of background checks, eligibility to work, training and so on. This option provides the most protection for you and your home as well as the cleaners who are servicing your home.

Hiring a cleaning service should make your life easier. By knowing what to look for when choosing a cleaning company, you’re already on the right path.

Jennifer Troyer is the Founder of Seattle Green Cleaner, LLC; an environmentally and socially responsible professional house cleaning company. Established in 2007, Troyer takes pride in her environmental stewardship while being a socially responsible employer. Her cleaners are all W-2 employees who enjoy paid time off, top pay for a job well done, have everything they need provided for them and they are protected. Seattle Green Cleaner is a fully licensed, bonded and insured, residential cleaning company serving Greater Seattle and they’ve earned the Angie’s List Super Service Award three years in a row.

Lavender

Lavender smells divine and is known to be a relaxing scent, but do you know its many other uses?

• Lavender’s essential oil can be used in balms, salves, perfumes, cosmetics, topical applications, and of course, household cleaning products.
• Essential oil of lavender has antiseptic and anti-inflammatory properties.  It was used in hospitals during WWII to disinfect floors and walls.
• Lavender infusions are believed to soothe insect bites, burns and headaches.
• Lavender repels insects.  Plant live lavender around the house to deter pests.  Place dried lavender in the house to deter insects ~ and to make your home smell divine!  A lavender sachet in the closet will deter moths.
• Lavender seeds and flowers placed in your pillow case (in a sachet), aides in sleep and relaxation.  Lavender is known for its calming and relaxation benefits.
• Sprinkle lavender flowers on the carpet 30-60 minutes before vacuuming.  The carpet will smell great and the dust mites that can’t stand lavender will be sucked into the vacuum cleaner.
• Throw small lavender flowers as wedding confetti.  It’s much better for the environment than bubbles and it’s not harmful to animals like bird seed.
• Sprinkle essential lavender oil in the bath to relieve joint and muscle pain.
• Massage your scalp with essential lavender oil to treat hair loss.  In a small study of 86 people with alopecia areata (an autoimmune disease that causes hair to fall out, often in patches), those who massaged their scalps with lavender and other essential oils daily for 7 months experienced significant hair regrowth compared to those who massaged their scalps without the essential oils.
• Dilute lavender oil with water at a 1:10 ratio to heal acne and treat minor burns.

Have you ever wondered what we look for when hiring new cleaners?  Here’s the most recent ad, which we placed 3/11/12:

Eco-friendly housecleaning position (Seattle)

Now hiring cleaners!

We are an established residential cleaning company (house cleaners) serving Greater Seattle. We are the most environmentally responsible, socially responsible, award winning cleaning company in Seattle. The cleaning products we use are safe for employees, customers, children, pets and the environment. We don’t use anything disposable or wasteful. We are serious about being green!

Our customers pay a premium for our service and we make it worth their while. We are detailed, quick, organized, friendly, honest and responsible. Every cleaning we do is a “deep cleaning”. Our customers are demanding ~ but they’re also appreciative. Many know their cleaners by name and want the same cleaners to return to their home each time. We’ve spent years developing a rapport with our customers and a terrific reputation.

We are hiring a cleaner with little to no experience and will teach the right person. Our cleaners enjoy (after probationary period):

- W-2 employment (not a 1099 contractor).
- Pay includes drive time (unlike most cleaning companies). Pay starts from the time you leave the office in the morning until the end of your last cleaning appointment.
- Paid, on the job training.
- Pay starts at $11/hour with incremental raises up to $16/hour.
- Opportunity to advance within the company.
- 20-40 hours per week, Monday-Friday.
- Weekly and monthly bonuses.
- .50 Per mile reimbursement for drivers.
- 1 week of paid time off per year.
- Paid, flexible holidays (can switch holidays to suit your values).
- AAA memberships (drivers).
- Cash tips.
- All cleaning supplies and equipment are provided.
- Long term employment.
- Annual fun activities (like hang-gliding and learning the trapeze)

Candidate must (without exception):

- Be responsible, dependable and mature.
- Have a great attitude.
- Be a quick learner.
- Be passionate about the environment.
- Be a team player (we clean in teams of 2).
- Appreciate hard work. This is a sweaty, fast-paced, demanding and often, high-pressured job.
- Be able to follow directions without constant supervision.
- Have a reliable vehicle that can transport 2 cleaners and equipment daily
- Have a valid driver’s license and current auto insurance.
- Live within Seattle city limits.
- Have a cell phone with data (to see your online schedule during the day)
- Not have a lot of cleaning experience (it’s easier to teach the right way than to break old habits).
- Be able to stand, kneel, twist, bend over, etc. for long periods of time.
- Be able to lift 35 pounds easily and often throughout the day
- Be fluent in English (spoken and written).
- Want a long-term position. This is not a part-time or short-term job.
- Be available and willing to clean 8:30am-5:00pm Monday-Friday, without exception.
- Be able to pass a back-ground check.
- Be able to start training (paid) on Monday, 19 March 2012

If you meet all of our requirements and think you’re the perfect match, we want to talk with you!
Email us your:
1. Cover Letter
2. Resume
3. Three References
4. With the subject line of your email “Green Job Seattle”.

Emails must include ALL 4 of the above requirements. This job requires someone with an eye for detail – therefore, emails without ALL 4 will not be reviewed, considered or responded to.

We look forward to hearing from our dream cleaner!
Best of luck!

Tea Tree Oil, which can be expensive and has a strong scent, is a broad spectrum fungicide.  It seems to kill every kind of mold it touches.  If you’re looking for a quick and effective solution to remove mold from a bathroom ceiling, a shower curtain, a closet, etc., and don’t mind the strong smell of Tea Tree Oil, whip up this easy solution to keep in a spray bottle wherever you have mold.

Ingredients:

2 teaspoons tea tree oil

2 cups water

Combine in a spray bottle, shake it up, and spray on problem areas. DO NOT RINSE. Makes about 2 cups, but a little goes a long way.

Grapefruit Seed Extract

The advantage of using Grapefruit Seed Extract instead of Tea Tree Oil for killing mold is that it is pretty much odorless.  More grapefruit is required than tea tree oil, so this solution is really more for those with scent sensitivities.

Ingredients:

20 drops grapefruit seed extract

2 cups water

Combine in a spray bottle, shake to blend, and spray on problem areas. DO NOT RINSE. Makes about 2 cups.

 Vinegar Spray

Straight vinegar reportedly kills 82% of mold.  Pour some white distilled vinegar straight into a spray bottle.  Spray on the moldy area and DO NOT RINSE.  If you don’t like the smell of vinegar, add a few drops of your favorite essential oil

Jen’s mix

Jen (SGC founder) prefers a mixture of Tea Tree Oil and Vinegar and suggests using it as a daily shower spray.  Spray down the shower each day to keep mold and mildew away.

Ingredients

3-4 teaspoons organic tea tree oil

4 cups vinegar

1 cup water

Combine in a spray bottle, shake to blend, and spray on shower walls, shower floor and shower curtain each day. DO NOT RINSE. Makes about 5 cups.