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Tips and Tricks

Potential Problems in Cleaning with Vinegar

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Although vinegar has been highlighted as a great environmentally friendly cleaner, it is important to be aware of a few potential problems that can occur when cleaning with vinegar. Vinegar has a PH value of 2.4, which makes it considerably acidic. Although it is normally never used in an undiluted form, it still presents a considerable danger to the many homes that have natural stone throughout. Diluting vinegar raises its PH closer to the natural and safe level of 7.0. Typically, you are mixing 1–2 capfuls of vinegar into a bucket of water, turning the dangerous acid into a much milder and safer cleaning agent. The problem arises with the unintentional and undiscovered dripping fully concentrated vinegar onto a stone, such as marble floor. This is an easy mistake to make and can require expensive refinishing to fix.

Vinegar is a very good floor, glass and mirror cleaner and is fairly inexpensive. It won’t do any damage if diluted properly but, to avoid the risk of bringing this acid into a customer’s home, Molly Maid typically uses products, such as Ecolab, that do the job much more safely. Every Molly Maid cleaning service crew comes prepared with all the cleaning supplies necessary to clean your home. Molly Maid is flexible, if requested and provided, we are happy to clean with your preferred products. It’s your home and we’ll clean it your way.

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Robert Dillon is the owner of Molly Maid of SE Lake and NE Cook Counties, providing cleaning services to Highland Park, IL. Each maid services team comprises insured, licensed and uniformed housekeepers who are regularly supervised. Click here to request service in your area.

About Molly Maid

In 1984, entrepreneur David McKinnon brought Molly Maid from Canada to Ann Arbor, Michigan, to give busy American homeowners a reliable, professional, affordable solution to messy, dirty houses. Residents of the competitive university town took advantage of the new home cleaning service, which quickly expanded to communities in other states. Today, there are more than 450 individually owned Molly Maid cleaning service franchises operating across the United States. Last year, we performed 1.7 million cleaning services, 90 percent of which were for repeat customers.
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