Green Cleaning: Paper Towel Alternatives

It’s hard to get rid of a habit, like using paper towels for every mess up and spill.

However, paper towels are not ideal if you’re looking to help the planet and reduce your carbon footprint. Here are two eco-friendly options you can try instead of using paper towels.

Paper Towel Alternatives

Microfiber Cloths

Microfiber cloths are a housekeeping necessity. They are absorbent, quick drying, and tiny, making them very effective. They are small enough to pick up dust and dirt particles and if you take care of them properly, they can clean around 500 times (talk about efficiency!).

Bamboo Towels

One of the newer alternatives on the market is bamboo paper towels. They look a lot like plain paper towels, except they are more durable, so you don’t need as many pieces of paper as paper towels. Each roll of bamboo towels has around 20 sheets, and some brands can be washed around 100 times, so these bad boys can last you around 2,000 uses!

Tips For Your Paper Towel Alternatives

1. Color Code: Microfiber cloths come in many different colors, which can be very convenient when it comes to your home cleaning. You’ll never have to worry about mixing up your bathroom cleaning cloth with your kitchen cloth — assign each room a different color.

2. Wash Regularly: Both paper towel alternatives will be cleaning a lot of your home's surfaces. To make sure it's not transferring any germs or bacteria, it’s a good idea to keep them in their own container or hamper.

3. Follow Care Instructions: Eco-friendly paper towel alternatives can save you some cash, but not if you don’t care for them properly. Look into the proper care for your microfiber cloths and bamboo towels to make sure they can last their entire lifespan.

Read more:
Green Cleaning The Bathroom
DIY Green Cleaning Recipes

Triple S is dedicated to green cleaning and offer many eco-friendly services to keep your house looking Clean Fresh & Bright throughout the seasons.

Stamford Plant | 400 West Main Street

Norwalk Plant | 337 Westport Avenue

Stratford Plant | 1800 Stratford Avenue

Best Ways to Remove Makeup from Your Carpet

Sometimes, we have time to spend an hour or more applying makeup. But most of the time, we are rushing out of the door to work. And when you’re in a hurry, it’s very easy to spill some foundation, eye shadow, or powder on your carpet flooring.

Don’t panic, our trusted cleaning technicians know a few ways to make sure your makeup doesn’t stain.

How To Clean Foundation
What you will need:

• A butter knife or spoon.
• Clear dish washing liquid.
• Cold water.
• Microfiber cloths or paper towels.
• A vacuum cleaner.

1. Scrape any excess foundation from the carpet using the butter knife or spoon. You’ll want to do this IMMEDIATELY so the foundation doesn’t cause a deeper stain.
2. Mix a few drops of dish soap and cold water. Lightly dampen your cloth or paper towel with the mixture and gently blot the stain (work from the outside in!).
3. Keep dabbing the stain until there’s no more foundation in the carpet (no scrubbing or rubbing!).
4. Dampen another cloth or paper towel in plain water. Use this to remove any soap still in the carpet.
5. Blot the area until it’s dry and vacuum the spot.

How To Remove Eyeliner
What you will need:

• ½ cup of warm water.
• 1 tsp of vinegar.
• Microfiber cloths.

1. Mix the water and vinegar.
2. Place your cloth into the solution and blot the stain (from the outside, in).
3. Lightly dampen a cloth with plain water and remove any vinegar solution left on the stain.
4. Pat dry.

TIP: Use the same steps for removing mascara and eye shadow, but instead of warm water, use cold water!

AND

If you have lighter carpets, use hydrogen peroxide instead of a vinegar-based solution — it doesn’t have bleaching properties that will ruin your carpet.

The dedicated and highly skilled Triple S staff includes the most Clean Trust* Certified Technicians and Master Technicians of any company in the Northeast. Contact us today!

Stratford Plant | 1800 Stratford Avenue

Stamford Plant | 400 West Main Street

Norwalk Plant | 337 Westport Avenue

Organize Your Home in 10 Minutes or Less

Not every home improvement project needs to take up a full Sunday or your entire weekend. Take home organization for instance — you can accomplish plenty of tasks in a little under 10 minutes.

Think about breaking it up into 10-minute chunks.

There are 10-minute chunks of time that pop up all day (you just haven’t envisioned it this way). But think about it — the first 10 minutes after you walk through the door, sitting in the waiting room before an appointment, or waiting for your food to finish cooking.

Do you know you need to do a major bathroom clean, but you can’t find the time to do so? Instead of scheduling a 3-hour timeframe on your calendar, break it up into 10-minute projects throughout the week or weekend. If you like where we’re heading, but have no idea where to start, we have a few ideas.

10-minute tasks to tackle throughout the week.

1. Choose one drawer in your dresser and go through and organize your clothing — clean, re-fold, stack, and give away. 2. Vacuum your car or at least one room in your house. 3. Save important contact information on your mobile phone — organize them and delete any information that you don’t need anymore. 4. Go through your email. Take 10 minutes to reply, RSVP, and organize your inbox. 5. Organize your entertainment. Believe us, this will save a lot of time during movie nights. Add movies into your Netflix queue or add them to the notes section on your phone. 6. Clean your make up brushes — seriously, when was the last time you did this? 7. You cleaned out one dresser drawer, now it’s time to clean and organize one of your office drawers. 8. Go through one bag (work bag, gym bag, lunch bag), and clean and organize it. The dedicated and highly skilled Triple S staff includes the most Clean Trust* Certified Technicians and Master Technicians of any company in the Northeast. Contact us today! Triple S has three main plant locations:

Stratford Plant | 1800 Stratford Avenue

Stamford Plant | 400 West Main Street

Norwalk Plant | 337 Westport Avenue

Bad Cleaning Habits You Need To Break

We all want cleaning to go as quickly and easily as possible. The only problem with that is most of us end up taking shortcuts, making our chores the complete opposite — harder and longer.

It’s time for you to stop those bad cleaning habits you may have learned throughout the years. Start with one and then work your way up until you’re cleaning like a pro.

3 Bad Cleaning Habits You Need To Break

1. Allowing paper to clutter and accumulate. 

Even though we have online billing and banking services, there is still a mound of paper that ends up in our home. From magazines and newspapers to school papers and invitations — the list goes on and on.

Designate a place for all mail and papers and at least once a week sort it through and toss it away!

2. Leaving wet towels and shower curtains bunched together.

Spend less time in the laundry room by picking up your wet towels off the floor and separating your wet shower curtains as soon as you get out. By closing the curtain after each use, it will dry more quickly and lead to less mildew growth. And by hanging wet towels to dry, you can get a second and even a third use out of it — lightening your laundry load.

3. Using too much cleaning product. 

Using more cleaning product won’t make it work better or faster. Using too much dish soap or laundry detergent can actually cause more harm than good. The excess residue becomes a dirt magnet, trapping soil, so don’t waste your time (or money) using extra product!

4. Cleaning with dirty tools.

You can’t expect to get a good cleaning in if your tools are dirty also. If your washing machine has an odor, it’s most likely from built-up residue from your detergent. If your vacuum bag or filter is filled to the brim with dust, it won’t suck all the dirt up. And a dirty sponge or mop will simply move bacteria from one area to the next. Clean them right away!

The dedicated and highly skilled Triple S staff includes the most Clean Trust* Certified Technicians and Master Technicians of any company in the Northeast. Contact us today!

Triple S has three main plant locations:

Stamford Plant | 400 West Main Street

Norwalk Plant | 337 Westport Avenue

Stratford Plant | 1800 Stratford Avenue