How to Take Care of Your Own Space

Basic Household Cleaning Tips from the Expert

After a stressful day in the school or office, there’s nothing more relaxing than going home to a well-cleaned and sweet-scented house. In the comfort of your zone, you will find the love and warmth that you need to be able to get by for the next day. But maintaining a house, be it a bungalow or a mansion, is never an easy task. And even if you have helpers at home, it is better that you personally know how to take care of your own space.

LCS Trading & Janitorial Services has been in the general housecleaning business since 2004. Originally based in Cabuyao, Laguna, LCS opened an office in Manila in 2007 in order to serve more customers. LCS’ Administrative Officer Lourdes “Lulu” Sanchez shares, “After we have engaged into online advertising, we are getting 5-10 clients in a week.” Their usual customers are not only residential houses, but also big companies, hotels, restaurants and other business establishments. With LCS’ wide range of clients, Lulu says, “Price is not a big deal here. We offer free estimation to clients, and we can adjust the price based on their budget but it wouldn’t affect the quality of the service. The price will also depend on the size of the area.”

You may at anytime avail of the expert’s service such as of LCS’. However, it’s best to know the basics yourself. So, put on your work clothes and get ready to exercise your bones as Lulu shares tips on household cleaning.

Sofa Cleaning

• For wooden and leather sofas, put a mild liquid soap on a damp cloth. Wipe it on the sofa. Use a different clean cloth for drying. A wooden sofa requires daily wiping, while weekly clean-up is enough for a leather one.
• For fabric sofas, wiping is insufficient. Seek a professional shampooing service once every three months. Shampooing will not affect the texture of the sofa, but the color will slightly fade if chemicals are used to remove stains. Advise the professional cleaner to use a mild shampoo to avoid discoloration.

Carpet Cleaning

• Vacuum the carpet at least once a week, then, let a professional cleaner apply carpet shampooing at least once every three months. Shampooing will not affect the entire color of the sofa. Only the stained part will slightly fade once it is rubbed by stain removal agent.
• If you have pets at home, train them to stay away from the carpet. Vacuum the carpet everyday, and leave baking soda overnight. (Baking soda is known to contain a property that absorbs musty odors.)

Floor Dusting and Waxing

• For wooden floors, rub on a non-buffable wax to avoid making it too slippery. (Non-buffable wax does not need polishing.)
• For tiled floors, simply apply wet and dry mopping.
• For marble floors, have them crystallized (marble crystallization) by a professional cleaner to protect the surface and keep them shiny.
• For vinyl floors in hallways, use a buffable wax or wax that requires polishing. Put a sealer wax on small vinyl floored areas to protect them from scratches.
• For all types of floors, dust and sweep everyday. Use wax only when needed.
• If you have kids or elders at home, do not apply wax to areas that do not need polishing to refrain from causing accidents.

Furniture Dusting

• Wipe medium to large furniture with a damp cloth. Use a mild liquid detergent to remove dirt. Dry it with a clean cloth.
• Use old socks as mitts for dusting difficult woodworks.
• Wash small knick-knacks instead of just dusting them with a brush or cloth.

General Housecleaning

• Set all your cleaning tools in one place to avoid unnecessary trips back and forth.
• Start cleaning from the ceiling down to the walls, furniture and flooring.
• Clean as you go. It takes less time to remove new dirt than the old ones.
• Carry out a general cleaning once a month. You may also prefer doing it portion by portion.
• When hiring professional cleaners, give them ample time to set the entire house for the cleaning job. MYKA SANTIAGO

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On Pest Alert

Sharing a home with the creepy crawlies is like living on some quasi anti-terrorist battlefield where war tactics include silent attacks and seek and destroy stratagems to ultimately outwit, outplay, and outlast the enemy. It’s all about winning sole survivor.

An effective scheme would be deploying a special unit particularly trained in pest annihilation. That team from TOPBEST Pest Services, Inc. will fill in the shoes of the S.W.A.T. squad and will fight like there’s no tomorrow. Note to enemy: be ready to raise the white flag.

TOPBEST Services, Inc. is a family-managed organization founded in 1997. With a staff of more than 50 trained technicians and personnel, servicing thousands of residential and commercial clients, they’re the fastest growing pest control company in the country. Using biodegradable and environmentally-friendly products and state-of-the-art equipment, the company puts a premium on safeguarding life and providing the best service for their clients. It’s a commitment to their namesake.

Frances Grace M. Lazaro, Senior Marketing Executive, shares some valuable tips we could use to keep our homes pest free.

There are different preventive measures for different kinds of pests. Household pests such as ants, cockroaches, flies, and rodents come inside our properties for food and shelter. Some steps we could take would be the following:

• Eliminate food, moisture and harborage. Rigorous sanitation (cleaning and disinfecting) causes stress on pests, so they will forage more actively and may be controlled more readily by pesticides.


• Garbage cans should have tight-fitting lids. They should be cleaned regularly and placed as far from doors as possible. Clean garbage cans with boiling water to kill maggots. Likewise, garbage should be regularly disposed to avoid further infestations.


• Always keep doors and windows closed. Seal cracks and crevices to eliminate hiding places and reduce passageways. Seal gaps around plumbing, wall outlets, and switch outlets.


• Ensure proper ventilation in humid areas, such as stock rooms and attics because these are ideal breeding places for pesky pests.

Termites, on the other hand, are a much more complex case. They continuously but silently build one colony after the other and can wreck our precious properties. Proper attention should be given to termite prevention and control.

• Keep it dry. Check your gutters to make sure water drains away from your home and doesn’t pool around your foundation. Fix faulty drainage and any plumbing or roof leaks that cause moisture to accumulate.


• Keep all firewood, lumber, or wood products away from your home’s foundation or crawl space.


• Signs of mud tunnels or “bug size” tracks of damp dirt denote that termites are present, as these serve as means of traveling. In the meantime, do not sweep away these mud tunnels because termites will be driven away only temporarily.


• Immediately call a professional pest control such as TOPBEST Pest Services, Inc. to survey your property and give you treatment options and recommendations. Romina Tobias

Live in a pest-free environment. Consult a TOPBEST Pest Services professional today. Click here.