Top 13 Tips for Environmentally Friendly Spring Cleaning!
May 24, 2018
A lot of Coloradans pride ourselves on being ‘natural’ and organic, so we here at Masters Property Management decided to do a little research on some natural alternatives to the most chemical smelling spring cleaning tasks – here are the best 13 tips that we could find.
1. Couch Cleaning!
Cleaning a Microfiber couch can be tricky. If you use a scrub brush and some rubbing alcohol, those stains will come right out. With some elbow grease, you’ll have a couch as good as new!
2. Coffee Tables
Got water rings on some wooden coffee tables? Fear no more! When guests are over, you don’t have to worry about strategically covering them. If you use a blow dryer on a high setting, at a 180-degree angle, it will blow them away in 20 minutes or less. Make sure to use a little bit of olive oil afterwards to moisturize the wood to prevent any cracking!
3. Oven cleaner, but without the oven cleaner
This is personally my most dreaded task. I always seem to end up with oven cleaner on my arms, and a dry patch that I can never quite get rid of until the day before I clean my oven again. Of course, that’s how life works – but with this life hack, we’ve got you – and your arms- covered. With a lot of baking soda, lemon juice, water and dawn dish soap – you and your elbow grease can get your oven looking amazing without the harmful chemicals and risk of oven cleaning poison. A lot of ‘organic’ oven cleaning recipes call for white vinegar and baking soda, but the lemon’s acidity replaces the vinegar and cuts out any risk of a chemical reaction! It does take a lot more effort, and a cold oven, but it’s well worth it to the environmentally conscious tenant.
4. Naturally Polish your Stainless Steel!
Stainless Steel for the past ten years has been all the rage for kitchen appliances. Polishing this can be a somewhat tedious task – but if you use a combination of cream of tartar and a little bit of water to form a paste – scrub it and let it rest for about 15 minutes, it’ll be brand new. No more rust, burns, and it won’t scratch the surface with a light scrubbing! A trick to this, if the appliance isn’t flammable, is to use pledge after you polish. It’ll make everything very shiny – but slippery for a little while if not wiped down properly. Use this trick if you’re moving out or showing your home and it’ll shine as brightly as that newly polished stainless steel!
5. Hard-water and Limescale cleaning!
Everyone Knows the power of vinegar when it comes to cleaning. Grandma really does know best when it comes to this! If your shower head has limescale on it – fill a plastic bag with white vinegar and tie it on to the shower head over night. It’ll be gone by morning! This also works with any faucet or sprayer you have in your home.
6. Stove Top Polishing
Want that reflection on your glass stove top? Fill a bowl with hot water and a few little drops of dish soap. Dip a rag in it, and squeeze the rag out so that it’s soggy, but not dripping. Spread baking soda generously across the stove top – and lay the rag fully down on top for about 15 minutes, allowing the baking soda to steam from the heat of the rag. In swirling motions, pick the rag up and gently scrub the glass stove top – and there you go! As shiny as a new mirror.
If you have a gas cooktop, white vinegar and an old toothbrush will clean virtually anything off of it safely.
7. Easily Clean your microwave – with just one wipe!
My mother always taught me to clean with a drop of dish soap in a glass dish filled halfway with water and boil it in the microwave. This recipe works off of that idea and works even better! Fill a glass bowl up halfway with water and slice half a lemon into thin slices. Put those into the water and add a splash of vinegar – microwave for four minutes (Or until it boils) and then use a damp cloth to wipe away all that stuck on grease and food. It smells and looks great with very little effort and chemicals!
8. Shower Cleaner
That fiberglass bottom of your shower never seems to truly get clean or stay clean. A combination of baking soda and lemon juice will clean it, and get it looking brand new again! For your shower walls and doors, you can fill a dishwashing wand with dish soap and vinegar to just swipe and be done. If you have one, hang it on a suction cup so it’ll last longer and won’t take up valuable shower space.
9. No more grease!
Fill a spray bottle with 2-parts rubbing alcohol, and 1-part water. Spray this everywhere that cooking grease splashes while you’re frying or cooking, and it will dissolve before your eyes!
10. Dusting won’t take all morning anymore!
To dust off pillows and lampshades, you can swipe a lint roller quickly over them and you’re done. For blinds, you can use an old sock and a couple drops of vinegar to leave them shiny and clean! Dusting computer and TV screens becomes a seconds only task with a coffee filter, and for paintings that you don’t want to damage with any chemicals – stay with me, here – use half a bagel. It’ll pick up all that dust and any other nasty things that rest on any paintings, and it won’t risk any damage at all!
11. Clean Carpet Stains
With this tip, we all need to be careful not to damage carpet or make a stain worse. If you’re unsure about what the stain is, or the material your carpet is made out of, don’t try this one at home, and leave it to our professionals to clean, otherwise you run the risk of losing part of your security deposit.
Now, with that warning in mind – you can get tough food, drink, and pet stains out with a spray bottle of water and white vinegar, a protective towel, and an iron. Spray the vinegar and water mixture onto the stain, let it rest for 10 minutes, and then steam the carpet using your iron. Immediately lay the towel over the stain, and lay the iron over the towel, being careful not to leave the iron in one spot for too long to avoid burning. Remove the iron and the towel, and you’re done! Again, be careful with this one!
12. Clean your Cabinets and Baseboards
Use a dish cleaner filled with dish soap to clean your cabinets and baseboards! This method is sworn by, by a lot of people on the internet. It works so well at getting dirty and grime off easily, just use a wet rag to wipe the soap residue away.
13. Cleaning Slime
Use this cleaning slime to get into the nooks, cracks, and crannies you can’t easily get into, that you don’t want to push anything else into. Like a computer keyboard, for example! This cleaning slime is made up of borax, water, and glue, and you can add food coloring if you want!
The recipe is:
1 tsp of Borax
4-5 oz bottle of Elmer’s glue
1.5 cups of water
And about 8 drops of food coloring!
Heat the water up in the microwave, add the glue, then add the food coloring if desired, and then the teaspoon of borax, and mix until it turns into the consistency that you want! You may need to add a couple more drops of water, depending on your need for the cleaning slime. Place the cleaning slime on the surface that needs cleaned, wait a few minutes – and then peel it away to see how much gunk it’s picked up! Repeat the process until your surface is completely clean.
There you go! Our top 13 tips for environmentally conscious, chemically free cleaning! Let us know how everything works out for you!
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Understanding Denver Landlord Laws: A 2025 Guide for Property Owners Navigating Denver’s landlord-tenant laws is crucial for property owners to ensure compliance and maintain positive relationships with tenants. Recent legislative changes have introduced new responsibilities and protections, making it essential for landlords to stay informed. 🏠 Residential Rental Property Licensing in Denver As of May 3, 2021, Denver requires all residential rental properties—whether single-unit, multi-unit, or accessory dwelling units—to obtain a rental license. This initiative aims to uphold minimum housing standards and enhance tenant safety. To obtain a license, landlords must pass an inspection conducted by a third-party company. Renters can verify online if their residence is properly licensed. 🛠️ Warranty of Habitability: Tenant Protection Updates Effective May 3, 2024, Senate Bill 24-094 introduced significant changes to Colorado's warranty of habitability laws, enhancing tenant protections. Remedial Action Timelines : Landlords must initiate repairs within 72 hours for non-emergency issues and within 24 hours for conditions that materially affect health or safety. Completion Deadlines : Repairs should be completed within 14 days for standard issues and 7 days for emergencies, unless circumstances beyond the landlord’s control prevent timely completion. Tenant Notice : Landlords are considered to have notice of an issue if there is any written communication indicating the condition exists or may exist. Comparable Housing : If a unit becomes uninhabitable, landlords must provide a comparable dwelling unit or hotel room for up to 60 days. Record Keeping : Landlords are required to maintain records of all communications and actions taken regarding habitability issues. 🐾 Pet Ownership and Rental Policies Starting January 1, 2024, House Bill 23-1068 introduced new regulations concerning pets in rental properties: Pet Deposits : Landlords can charge a refundable pet security deposit up to $300 per pet. Pet Rent : Monthly pet rent is capped at $35 per pet or 1.5% of the monthly rent, whichever is greater. Insurance Considerations : Insurance companies cannot refuse coverage or increase premiums based solely on a dog's breed, unless the dog is known ⚖️ Eviction Protections and Lease Terminations House Bill 24-1098, effective in 2024, established stricter regulations for evictions and lease terminations: Just Cause Requirement : Landlords must provide a valid reason to evict a tenant or refuse to renew a lease, preventing arbitrary lease terminations. Retaliation Prohibition : Landlords are prohibited from retaliating against tenants who exercise their legal rights, such as reporting uninhabitable conditions. These protections aim to provide tenants with greater housing stability. 🏘️ Shared Housing and Occupancy Limits House Bill 24-1007, effective in 2024, removed restrictions on how many unrelated individuals can live together in a rental property. This change allows more flexibility for shared housing arrangements, helping families and roommates manage housing costs. 📃 Lease Agreement Restrictions Recent legislation has introduced limitations on certain provisions in residential lease agreements: Prohibited Clauses : Lease agreements cannot include waivers of the right to a jury trial or the right to pursue class-action claims. Utility Charges : Landlords cannot charge fees for utilities or services that are considered part of the rent. Fee Markups : Landlords can only mark up third-party service fees by 2% or $10 per month, whichever is less. 📌 Resources for Landlords Denver provides several resources to assist landlords in complying with local regulations: Residential Rental Property Licensing : Information on obtaining and maintaining a rental license. Tenant and Landlord Resources : Guides on tenant rights and landlord obligations. Business Licensing Center : Access to licensing applications and support. Staying informed about Denver's landlord laws is essential to ensure compliance and foster positive tenant relationships. By understanding and adhering to these regulations, property managers and landlords can contribute to a fair and equitable rental market in Denver. We stay on top of the laws so our homeowners down have to. Let us know if you need property management services!
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