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Safer, Healthier Ways to Clean Your Chicago Apartment
Apartment cleaning isn't always about scheduling top-to-bottom professional makeovers. Sometimes you just need to deal with a sudden spill, dusty environment, ugly stain or a bit of baked-on food. At the same time, however, you hate the idea of using caustic, toxic or potentially damaging cleaning methods. Here are a couple of tips for keeping your apartment looking fabulous the natural, non-toxic way.
Non-Toxic Cleaners for Sparkling Surfaces
Nobody likes the thought of adding caustic or poisonous cleaning agents to countertops, carafes, cutting boards, and other objects meant to hold food. Fortunately, you can achieve your cleaning goals with a non-toxic mix of distilled white vinegar and water. Simply spray this mixture onto the surface and then wipe it away. For stubborn soap scum or calcium deposits, apply undiluted white vinegar and let it sit until the deposits come off easily. Do you want to disinfect a surface without covering it with chemicals? Add some lemon juice to your spray mixture, spray your surface, and wipe clean. Do you need to remove a spot on your carpet? Drop a teaspoon of shampoos into your vinegar-water solution. Spray the spot, let this minimal amount of solution work its magic for a couple of minutes, and then dab the carpet dry.
Dust-Busting Filters for Cleaner Air
Regular dusting and vacuuming is an important part of keeping any apartment clean and maintaining the quality of the air. This task becomes especially critical if you suffer from allergies to dust, dander, or mold. To ensure that your air vacuum cleaner, air purifier, or HVAC system is intercepting even tiny particles, invest in HEPA (High-Efficiency Particulate Air) filters. These filters use a combination of glass fibers, activated carbon, and/or electrostatic charges to remove particles as small as 0.3 microns from your air. That means less airborne dust entering your lungs — not to mention cleaner carpets, floors, upholstery, and other apartment surfaces.
If you're just plain ready for a change, no matter how spotless you keep your current apartment, then maybe it's time to step up to the Belden-Stratford. Contact us today to ask about our stylish, comfortable apartments in Chicago!
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For many Windy City lovers shopping for apartments in Chicago IL, the garbage disposal is a must-have for the kitchen. They make life easier by ensuring that your sink doesn’t get backed up, and you never need to worry about food accidentally going down the drain. Sometimes things don’t go completely down, sometimes they get backed up, and sometimes they don’t smell so sweet, though. Here’s how to keep your garbage disposal happy and your kitchen smelling fresh and clean.
Clean Your Sink
If your garbage disposal is smelling funny, sometimes all that’s needed is to make sure the area around your disposal is clean. Clean your sink regularly, paying attention to the top of the disposal entrance and outer rim. Then periodically take a toothbrush and clean the interior feeding tube with baking soda, making sure there’s no risk the disposal will turn on while doing so.
Add a Splash of Citrus
While citrus fruits and peels won’t actually clean your disposal, they will ensure that it smells fresh. Feed all your peels into the disposal. After you clean your disposal, cut an orange, lemon, or lime into quarters and feed the slices one at a time into the disposal while running hot water. Allow the disposal to keep grinding for a few seconds after the fruit has been passed through.
Clean With Salt and Ice
While older disposal models had blades that could be dulled by ice, newer models use a grinding mechanism to pulverize food. The best salt for disposal cleaning is coarse kosher salt or rock salt. Pour ice into the drain, filling it up completely. Turn the disposal on and slowly pour a half cup of salt into the drain. Turn on the hot water afterward to rinse the drain.
Vinegar and Baking Soda
For deep-cleaning and smelly odors, the fizzy chemical reaction of baking soda and vinegar can help remove the lingering residue of greasy ingredients. Pour a cup of baking soda into the disposal and then add a cup of vinegar. Let it sit for at least 15 minutes. Then pour boiling water into the drain to clear it. Tip: Do not use chlorine bleach to clean your garbage disposal.
If you’re shopping for Chicago, IL apartments, you want a well-appointed kitchen. For more information about the kitchen amenities available at the Belden Stratford community, come by today and check out our available floor plans!
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Having an apartment — whether it's your first rental or one where you've lived for a long time — gives you a lot of freedom. You don't have to worry about exterior or interior maintenance, and you can just enjoy everything the city has to offer. You won't get as much enjoyment out of the city if you're always in your apartment trying to keep it clean, though. That's something to think about. But should you hire someone to clean for you, or would it be better to do it yourself? That's a fair question, and one that really has to be answered on an individual basis. Here are some things to consider when making your decision.
What Would You Do With Your Time?
With all the Chicago apartments to choose from, why did you pick yours? If you haven't found an apartment yet, what are you really looking for? Whether the apartment is easy to clean might not be something you consider when you become a resident. Fortunately, most apartments aren't hard to clean. When you're trying to decide if you're going to hire a cleaner or do it yourself, think about what else you would do with the time you won't spend cleaning. If that activity is extremely important to you and you wouldn't have time for it otherwise, you might want to hire someone to clean for you.
Make Sure You Choose Quality Help
If you decide you want someone to clean your apartment for you, even on an infrequent basis, you'll want to hire people you can trust. Not all cleaners are the same, and you want people who will do the job right. That way you're really getting your money's worth and you won't spend any extra time having to re-clean something that wasn't done correctly. Your time — and your money — are very valuable. Take care of both of them, whether you decide to clean your apartment or have someone else do it.
Looking for a new apartment and keeping it clean doesn't have to be difficult. We can help you find the right location so that you can love your new space no matter who cleans it.
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There are few things that smell worse than athletic gear that has marinated in sweat. This is especially true of hockey gear, football pads, gloves, and helmets. Sweat can soak and permeate this gear, which is bad enough. But when this damp equipment gets stuffed into a dark bag and/or left in a hot car, odor-causing bacteria can multiply out of control. Unfortunately, it’s almost impossible to freshen up your athletic gear with a simple wash once it’s developed a stench. So, what can you do to keep your equipment from offending everyone around you?
Prevention Is Key
- Never allow your damp gear to sit in a dark, zipped-up bag.
- Air everything out. Certain sports, such as hockey, have specially designed racks, so you can hang your gear up to air dry. Are you a yoga enthusiast? Your mat can also develop a strong odor if you roll it up and don’t allow it to air-dry after use.
- Use a spray to wipe down your equipment before airing it out. Some people use sprays that have been created specifically to deal with stinky athletic equipment, while others prefer to use a homemade solution of 50% white vinegar and 50%water. There are also anti-bacterial wipes available on the market that can be used to freshen up your gear. If you use the latter, you will want to make sure that the product you choose will be gentle and non-irritating to the skin.
Deep Clean
Every so often, your gear is going to require a deep scrubbing. For bulkier equipment, you will probably need to hand-wash it in a bathtub filled with hot water, laundry detergent and a cup of vinegar. Smaller items can often be cleaned in a washing machine. Make sure to rinse and air-dry everything thoroughly. If all else fails, services are available that will deep clean your athletic gear.
Have you been searching for apartments in Chicago that will suit your athletic lifestyle? Then please come check out our apartments in Chicago. Our building, which is located near the Chicago waterfront, boasts a 24-hour health and fitness center and storage for your bike.
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Kitchen clutter takes away from the enjoyment of the heart of your home. After all, the kitchen is where you likely spend the majority of your time. In your apartments in Chicago, you’re surrounded by the best features a kitchen can offer. Why not make the most of them by avoiding kitchen clutter with these useful tips?
Keep Only Essentials on the Counter
There are certain kitchen items that you use on a daily basis. These include things like spatulas, knives, stirring spoons and spices. Keep these in a large open-mouthed jar on the kitchen counter. Store all other items in drawers and cupboards. If you have appliances that you use on a daily basis, such as a blender for breakfast smoothies or a toaster oven for late night snacks, keep these out on the counter to save time. Otherwise, store kitchen appliances away where they won’t add to kitchen clutter.
Clean Up After Each Meal
One of the most common causes of kitchen clutter is the leftover mess after making a meal. Be sure to stay on top of cleanup. Put away condiment jars after making a sandwich. Put dirty dishes into the dishwasher after a meal, or wash soiled dishes immediately. Arrange sink supplies such as cloths, soap, and scrubbers into a neat area by the faucet. The sooner you clean up kitchen messes, the easier they will be to soak up with a sponge or dishcloth.
Don’t Use the Kitchen Counter as a Desk
Finally, avoid using your kitchen counter as if it were a desk. Paper clutter from mail and junk mail can make your kitchen counter less inviting to make a meal. Instead, place a table near the front door to catch keys, mail and your purse if relevant. If you don’t like the idea of a whole table, hang a wicker basket near the front door to corral keys and mail, so they don’t end up on your kitchen counter.
These are some useful tips to avoid kitchen clutter in your Chicago apartments, although you’ll likely be able to come up with a whole lot more once you see available floor plans. For more information or to schedule a viewing, please contact us today.
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We all love to have a space that is clean, neat and tidy. But how much time does it take to achieve that? Did you know you can clean your apartment in just 30 minutes? It's true. So when you're limited for time, try out this plan to complete a quick and easy cleanup.
Kitchen Sink
When your kitchen is clean, your entire apartment seems to feel tidy. So take just a few minutes and scrub the kitchen sink with a scouring pad and some dishwashing liquid. Rinse all those bubbles away, and you can see a shiny sink.
This will only take about 5 minutes.
Kitchen Counters
After you clean the kitchen sink, quickly wipe off the kitchen counters with a dishwashing cloth and some warm water or countertop cleaner. Tidy up any clutter as you clean.
This will only take about 5 minutes.
Sweeping and Vacuuming
Next up, run the sweeper or vacuum cleaner over carpeted floors. Because you are cleaning quickly, there is no need to make your vacuuming perfect. Just vacuum up the bulk of the dust and dirt. Also, sweep vinyl and linoleum floors with a broom and dustpan.
This will only take about 10 minutes but will vary based on how much carpet and flooring you have to clean.
Bathroom Cleanup
Scour out bathroom sinks with a sponge, warm water and bathroom cleaner. This will not take long, and while you are in the bathroom, also wipe off the counters and mirrors.
This will only take about 10 minutes but will vary based on how many bathrooms you have.
So there you have it. This is just a simple way to get your apartment looking and feeling much cleaner in a short period of time. If you have a few minutes to spare and you complete the tasks mentioned above in less than 30 minutes, try doing some dusting or decluttering. Stay on top of things by doing a little cleaning each day, and it will not take you long at all to do routine cleaning.
And if you are looking to move into a great new apartment, consider our wonderful Chicago apartments. Feel free to call our office today to see which floor plans are still available.
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