Blog - Illinois Valley House Cleaning Services

Organizing the Toy Room

April 24, 2018 by Illinois Valley Clean Team

organizing a toy room If you have children, then you have a toy room. It might be its own separate room or bundled up with their bedrooms, but there has to be some place to house the mountain of toys children accumulate. Any parent knows that a toy room can quickly devolve into a minefield of LEGO pieces and army men unless you can find a way to quickly and easily find a way to organize them.

Baskets are Your Friend

When I was a kid, my toy room had a giant refrigerator box that was my toy catchall. Anything that was on the floor and needed to be cleaned up just got thrown into the big box. It was a quick and easy fix, but trying to find anything was a nightmare. Instead of having a catchall, make sure there is a method to the madness.

Use various types of baskets for specific items. You can have a basket for Legos and one for Dragonball Z figures. There’s like five Gokus alone. You also need to be able to place the baskets in way that makes the room organized. In a pinch, you can run them along the wall, but the ideal situation would be a shelf with large enough holes that fits the baskets.

The Neverending Story

When you have a child that loves to read, it just warms your heart. When you see their floor littered with books, it drives you nuts. The most obvious solution to this is a bookshelf. It’s designed to keep books straightened out and ready to go on a moment’s notice.

One of the biggest issues with keeping books organized it making sure they don’t fall over in the bookshelf. The odds of you having just enough books to make it to the end are unlikely. Remember those baskets? Fill it with books and place next to the end of the book row. It should be heavy enough to keep them in place.

We Totes Love Totes

Those little plastic miracles make organization a snap and they even have lids. Does it get any better than that? Totes are perfect for anything and they can be stacked on top of each other, placed under the bed or under a table. You can put board games and puzzles in them to make sure all the pieces stay together. Totes may not have the aesthetic properties of baskets, but they’re sturdy and can be easily hidden.

Illinois Valley Clean Team Inc. is your one-stop shop for all your home cleaning needs. Contact us today for a free quote and get your house in shape for spring.

The Many Services of Illinois Valley Clean Team

March 31, 2018 by Illinois Valley Clean Team

Window Washing Illinois Valley Clean Team is known as one of the leading home cleaning services in the Illinois Valley area, but did you know there was a whole set of additional services we have as well. With the temperatures rising and spring weather just around the corner, why not try out some of our other outdoor services?

Window Cleaning

Your windows are a focal point of your home or business and when they are dirty and streaked it reflects negatively on you. IVCT guarantees streak-free cleaning of inside and outside glass and a thorough cleaning of sills, tracks and frames. We’ll even remove all the dust and cobwebs on your screens.

We only use professional grade German-engineered tools and “Pure Water” window cleaning for a streak free shine. We provide additional window cleaning services as well including skylight cleaning, screen deep cleaning and coating, screen repair, blind cleaning and more.

Power Washing

You’re proud of your home and spend hours cleaning the inside, but what about the outside. Over time, dirt and grime can adhere to your siding and make it look dirty and dingy. Our soft washing technique rejuvenates the outside of your home by cleaning the siding, soffits, gutters and more.

Out method removes dirt, mold, mildew, fungus and algae and makes sure they don’t return. Our low pressure approach reduces the negative effects caused by high pressure washing. High pressure spray can damage siding and get behind your siding and soffits, leading to possible mold growth.

We’ll get your home looking like new with soft pressure washing.

Deck and Fence Refinishing

Is your deck looking a little worse for year? Has years of sun, rain and snow caused the wood to lose its luster and color? Don’t worry, our deck and fence refinishing will rejuvenate your wood and have it looking good as new.

We have a three step process that includes stripping away the old finish, neutralizing and brightening the wood and finally applying a top quality oil-based stain. We provide two costs for all horizontal surfaces and one coat for vertical surfaces.

Concrete Cleaning

Your concrete can take a beating through the years and be left stained and dull. It’s constantly being barraged with the suns scorching heat, winter’s bitter cold and spring’s torrential rains. If your concrete has lost its luster, then consider concrete cleaning.

We use the latest methods and environmentally safe cleaners to get your concrete looking brand new.

Get Illinois Valley Gutter Cleaning After Wet Winter

March 20, 2018 by Illinois Valley Clean Team

Temperatures in La Salle, Peru and other nearby towns are slowly, but steadily warming and it won’t be long before spring arrives. The dreary days of snow and salt disappear and are replaced by sun and shorts weather. It’s important that you get your gutter cleaned on a regular basis, especially after such a wet winter and fall.

After The Fall

Fall throughout the Illinois Valley is beautiful with the many colors of the leaves and brisk yet bearable temperatures. Once the colors change, the leaves fall and we’re left to either cut them into lawn mulch or pick them up and put them into bags. The ones that don’t hit the yard will often fall onto your roof and into your gutters. Wind and rain will cause more to fall and weigh them down. Winter brings snow and as it melts, the leaves get wetter.

By the time spring rolls around, the leaves have congealed into a wet slop that’s clogging up your gutters and downspouts. That’s when they need to be cleaned.

Importance of Proper Gutter Cleaning

Gutter cleaning isn’t fun work and can be dangerous. Since the gutters are located on the roof, you need to use a ladder. One wrong move and you could wind up on the ground severely injured. It’s especially dangerous for the elderly.

We have specially trained individuals that know the proper way to use tall ladders and safely remove the debris from your gutters. They’ve been doing it for many years and understand the risks involved. You may want to clean your own gutters, but why risk injury when we can do it for you.

What Happens If You Don’t Clean Gutters?

You might think “What’s the big deal if a few leaves get in my gutters?” The big deal is a flooded basement and a possible roof replacement. Gutters are set up to divert water into specific areas such as storm gutters, etc. When leaves clog up the gutters, water flows over them and into your yard where it can seep into your basement and flood.

Clogged gutters can also lead to pooling on your roof. Standing water on the roof can slowly seep under your shingles and loosen them or seep into the plywood or even supporting wood frame, creating rotting and leaks. A small investment in gutter cleaning is much better than a massive investment in roof repair.

If you’re interested in learning more about gutter cleaning, give us a call for details and pricing.

Decluttering: 5 Things You Can Throw Away, But Don’t

February 22, 2018 by Illinois Valley Clean Team

decluttering your home When you clean your house, you throw away many things. They’re mostly trash that falls behind or under couches, but there are many other items you keep even though you shouldn’t. They’re taking up space in your house, but you keep making excuses why you’ll eventually need them. Grab these five items and give them old heave ho.

Cords and Chargers

Sure, you don’t even know where that old Razor phone is at, but you’ll find a use for that old or broken charger. Short of a MacGyver moment where you need to fashion a medieval trebuchet to fend off a horde of zombie hedgehogs, those old chargers and electronics cords are just taking up space. Get rid of them…unless you’re in immediate undead hedgehog danger.

Magazines and Newspapers

Maybe you really liked that article about homemade potpourri from the December 2014 edition of “Good Housekeeping” or have a stack of magazines that you swear you’re going to get around to reading. Either way, they are just gathering dust. It’s time for them to head to the recycle bin and make room for other magazines you’re probably not going to read.

Old Makeup

All types of makeup from nail polish to concealer have an expiration date. If you open it up and either moths fly out or it looks like a science experiment gone wrong, throw it away. We can guarantee you putting it on your face or body would be a bad idea.

Children’s Toys and Clothes

You always meant to have a garage sale and get rid of all the children’s clothes they outgrew and toys they don’t play with. It’s time to admit that it’s not going to happen. Instead, wash and box everything up and give it to Goodwill or Salvation Army. The new owners will be very appreciative. If toys are broken or clothes are stained, then throw them away.

Your Holey Underwear and Other Clothes

We all have those clothes that are at the perfect comfort level. We’ve had them for years and they’ve magically conformed to our bodies in such a way that it defies the laws of physics. Keep those. The holey underwear that loss it’s elasticity around the Reagan era and that “I’m with Stupid” T-Shirt you got over spring break in 2012 and haven’t worn since, could probably go to the dumpster.

If you look through your junk drawer and those plastic clothes bins you haven’t opened since you moved from your college dorm room, you’ll find even more items you could toss out. Life isn’t about accumulating things, it’s about making memories. Contact us today for a free quote for home cleaning.

Thinking About A Big Project: Develop A Plan

January 26, 2018 by Illinois Valley Clean Team

making a plan Every now and then you want to do something big to your home. It could as simple as painting a room or completely remodeling your bathroom. Whatever it is, it’s a big project and you need to plan it out from the beginning. Going at a big project without any planning can lead to disaster for you and your home. Don’t risk it and follow a few simple rules.

Set Realistic Time Expectations

Far too many people thought they’d be done with a major project in a weekend and instead it takes a month. In the meantime, a wall sits incomplete and there are million things that could go wrong and undo everything you’ve already done or even make the problem worse. When you start a project, estimate how long it will take and then double it. It’s better to be done early than end up quitting halfway through because they day’s over.

It’s always best to try and have a project complete in one day, but that’s not possible for some big projects. If you’re planning a multi-day project, then know what day you’ll return and plan it out until the project is finished.

Get the Right Tools

Every job needs the right tools, but not every DIYer has those tools on hand. The last thing you want is for your project to be delayed or even postponed because you didn’t have the right tools. Plan out everything you want to do for the project and the tools you’ll need. You may discover you don’t have a particular tool or you’ll need more screws or nails. It’s better to get them before starting the project, then find out you need them in the middle of working. We also suggest you don’t improvise tools such as using a wrench as a hammer because that could end in disaster.

Have a Contingency Plan

Problems happen even with the best laid plans. When you’re forced to stop working, make sure you have everything you need to protect the work area until you can resume. For example, if you working on putting up or tearing down a wall, then have tarps ready to cover the area. You may not use the tarps or other protective materials during the project, but you’ll have it with you just in case or for the next project.

If you’ve finished a project or are planning one, you’ll want to show it off in a clean house. Make sure your home looks spotless with a home cleaning from Illinois Valley Clean Team. Contact us today and we’ll get you a free quote.