Pro cleaner with 20 years’ experience can’t live without 1 tool

A professional cleaner with almost 20 years of experience has shared her best cleaning tips and tricks, including the one tool she “absolutely can’t live without”. Iryna Balaban is the founder of Sunlight Cleaning Inc, a cleaning company that offers services for residential, office, and commercial spaces.

Speaking to the Daily Express, Iryna said: “One tool I absolutely cannot live without is professional-grade microfibre cloths.” A microfibre cloth is an incredibly efficient and reusable cleaning tool crafted from very fine synthetic fibres, usually a mix of polyester and polyamide.

It is well-known for its capability to capture dust, pick up grease, and soak up liquids without the need for chemical cleaners. Microfibre cloths can hold many times their weight in dirt, dust, and moisture.

Iryna added: “Because of this ability, I use separate microfiber cloths for different parts of my clients’ homes, typically colour coding them so that bathroom cloths are never used in kitchens. Colour coding helps me maintain higher levels of sanitation as well as reduce the possibility of transferring germs from one area of the home to another.”

Another top tip of hers includes using a certain affordable household product. She said: “I find that using undiluted white vinegar (a highly acidic product) on bathroom shower heads, faucets, and tile (where there has been an accumulation of soap scum or hard-water stain buildup), works exceptionally well.”

Explaining how she uses white vinegar, she said: “I simply spray the entire area generously, allowing the acid to penetrate and loosen the mineral build-up for 15-20 minutes; then, using a micro-fibre cloth, I wipe all of the loosened debris off of the area. Heavily scaled shower heads will require soaking in a plastic bag filled with white vinegar for several hours, or overnight. The acid will dissolve the mineral deposits, improve water pressure, and make the fixture look much brighter.”

Hydrogen peroxide is another product the professional cleaner has found to be “very good” at eliminating mould and mildew from grout lines, silicone seals, and damp areas. She said: “To eliminate mould and mildew from these types of areas, I spray a 3% hydrogen peroxide solution directly onto the affected area and let it ‘dwell’ for 10 to 15 minutes.

“Then, using a stiff bristle grout brush, I scrub the area until the black spots disappear. If you have heavy mould or mildew infestation, I would recommend repeating this process two to three times.”

In addition to the greasy splatters and drips that appear on kitchen walls, grease also collects on kitchen cabinets and range hood units. Iryna says: “A microfiber cloth and a mixture of warm water with a few drops of dish soap are enough to remove the oil-based residue from these surfaces.

“However, if you’re dealing with tough grease around your stove tops, you should let the solution sit on the surface for a couple of minutes prior to wiping. This usually cuts down on how long it takes to scrub the area clean.”

When cleaning stone surfaces like granite or marble, Iryna does not use acidic products because they can damage the finish over time. As an alternative, she says she uses pH neutral cleaners that are specifically designed to clean natural stone surfaces. “These cleaners effectively remove dirt and grime from the surface while preserving the stone’s appearance,” she said.

Cleaning dirty tile floors is another case where simple cleaning solutions often outperform complex ones, Iryna says. “Since microfiber flat mops pick up dirt better than string mops and push less dirt back into the floor, I prefer to use microfiber mops when cleaning my clients’ floors”, she shared.

“When using a microfiber mop to clean ceramic or porcelain tile floors, I mix warm water with a little bit of pH neutral floor cleaner. Too many people use too much floor cleaner. Floor cleaners with high concentrations of detergents tend to leave behind a sticky film that dirt and dust cling to causing floors to appear dull sooner.”

Grout cleaning is probably the most common service request Iryna says she gets. “For moderately stained grout, I make a paste from baking soda and water, apply the paste directly to the grout line and gently scrub the line with a grout brush once I’ve allowed it to set for several minutes.

“The baking soda helps dislodge embedded dirt and grime without scratching the grout. For older grout that has had years of built up grime, I may need to treat the grout multiple times, but regular maintenance thereafter will keep the grout looking much cleaner for longer periods of time.”

She added: “A technique I always recommend to my clients is cleaning top-to-bottom and dry-to-wet. For example, in a bathroom, I first clean the mirrors, shelves, etc., followed by the sinks/countertops/and fixtures; finally, I clean the shower(s). In kitchens, I start by cleaning upper cabinets and appliances; next, I clean worktops and then floors.”