Tag Archives: cleaning

Get Confidently Clean Floors With BISSELL Symphony All in One Vacuum and Steam Mop Available at Best Buy

April 21, 2014Cleaning & CleanersBISSELL, cleaningAlicia

BISSELL Symphony All in One Vacuum and Steam Mop at Best Buy
I spend hours vacuuming every week. Between the kids tracking dirt in the house when they come inside from playing and dropping and stepping on snacks, it’s like a never ending cycle of vacuuming around here. Luckily I have a 14 year old who knows how to vacuum but I still hate how much time out of the day is spent vacuuming. Oh, and to top it off, now that we have a puppy, I spend more time cleaning floors than ever!
We have hardwood floors in our kitchen, foyer, and dining room. These rooms happen to be where we hang out most and “we” includes the dog. Given that, I was so thrilled to get to check out the BISSELL Symphony All in One Vacuum and Steam Mop (available at Best Buy). Not only did I save time by vacuuming and steaming our hard floors at the same time, but I felt good about not having to use harsh chemicals on the floors where the new puppy sleeps and plays.

The Powerful Cyclonic Action vacuum cleans away fine and large debris from tiny crumbs to some pet hair. I wouldn’t advise on using it as your only vacuum if you have a pet though. Not because it doesn’t suck the pet hair up well but because it is not meant to be a pet hair vacuum. Something else I love about this vacuum is that I can steam the floor or I can steam and vacuum at the same time! Talk about a time saver! This is not a wimpy steamer either. The BISSELL Symphony puts out great steam.

As you might know if you are a regular reader, I have issues with my neck and back. Bending is not the most comfortable thing for me to do these days and using the BISSELL Symphony All in One Vacuum and Steam Mop has done wonders for my neck and back since I don’t have to bend down to use the dustpan anymore. I use this vacuum in the bathrooms also. I LOVE knowing that the floors are getting sanitized with steam, using just water to eliminate 99.9% of germs and bacteria! I wear socks even in my own bathroom because I can’t stand the idea of what germs are in there but I feel better about not wearing socks for a couple of days after using the BISSELL Symphony All in One Vacuum and Steam Mop.

The BISSELL Symphony All in One Vacuum and Steam Mop takes about 30 seconds to heat up. Once the indicator light is on you can begin steaming. I noticed that on my first use of the Bissell Symphony, there was a slight delay. The water just needed to flow through the heater. I learned that the delay typically only happens with the first use or when a new filter has been placed in it.

Power through tough spots with two Microban mop pads to choose from—one soft, one for scrubbing. Microfiber mop pads are infused with Microban antimicrobial protection to help fight odor-causing bacteria. To sanitize your floor, including sealed wood floors, by killing germs such as E. coli and salmonella, hold the mop in place for 15-20 seconds.

Can it vacuum and steam at the same time?

Yes! It’s all thanks to an innovative design that utilizes a powerful cyclonic action vacuum to pick up small to large, dry debris off the floor before it comes into contact with our specially designed steam foot. Steam then cuts through grease and grime to clean sticky, stuck-on messes. It wasn’t easy, but that’s why it’s the only product on the market that can vacuum and steam at the same time.

What’s in the box:

1 Bissell Symphony™ All in One Vacuum and Steam Mop
4 Microfiber mop pads (2 soft, 2 scrubby)
1 Water Filter
1 Water Cup

Where to buy and coupon!

You can purchase a Bissell Symphony™ All in One Vacuum and Steam Mop at Best Buy and be sure to take advantage of the Free Mop Pads with Purchase of Bissell Symphony offer! When you buy a Bissell Symphony through May 3, 2014, you will receive a FREE pack of mop pads using online code BISSELLSYMPHONY.
This offer is valid online only.

5 Pre-Holiday Cleaning Tips + A Review of Swiffer SteamBoost Steam Mop

December 15, 2013Cleaning & Cleanerscleaning, Swiffer Bissell SteamBoostAlicia

This holiday cleaning tips post is brought to you by Swiffer® as part of a Type-A Parent Community Sponsored Post.

Are you anxiously cleaning your home to get ready for your holiday visitors? I am. It’s ridiculous really. It never fails..each year, around the 2nd week of December, I get a cleaning bug and even though I know that within three days, the house will be a mess again, I go at it anyway. That’s why I came up with a set of 5 pre-holiday cleaning tips that even I follow.

My Top 5 Tips On Cleaning For The Holidays:

Be realistic, give your self and your kids small cleaning projects throughout the course of a week before the holidays. Don’t expect to cram all of your cleaning into one weekend.
Turn on cheerful music that everyone will enjoy listening to while they’re cleaning.
Don’t try to vacuum, steam, sweep, or mop around small furniture, move it out of the way.
Wear comfortable clothes while you’re cleaning.
Drink lots of water and even stop for a snack while you’re cleaning. Eating and drinking will help keep your energy up and spirits high. Goodness knows you’re probably not thrilled about cleaning!

I received a Swiffer SteamBoost to review and while I am not required to write about things I receive to review, I write about things I love and this is one of them. The Swiffer SteamBoost is lightweight, easy to use, and holds enough water to clean for a quite a while. Also, it is very quiet and I LOVE the lavender scent of the pads. After I used the SteamBoost as my house, I took it to my mom’s house to use on her tile floors. The SteamBoost is easy to set up. My 7-year-old set it up except for putting the pad on. I wanted to put the pad on since there are chemicals in them. The pad snaps into the little grooves and removes easily with a tug. Once you put the pad on, simply plug the SteamBoost in and wait 30 seconds, then you’re ready to clean!

The electric Swiffer SteamBoost emits steam as an agent to activate the cleaning solution in the refill pads. The SteamBoost is meant to be used on hard floor surfaces only. Cleaning around furniture, corners, and toilets is easy because the handle swivels.

Swiffer Steamboost

Why Use a Steam Mop?

Steam moms are great for getting grimy dirt and sticky stuff off floors. Our middle floor is almost all hardwood and it’s the first thing the kid walk on after school and when they’ve been in the front yard. A steam mop makes getting that tracked in dirt on the floor, a breeze to lift. Steam mops are also great for cleaning up sticky messes.

Swiffer Bissell SteamBoost Dimensions and Specs

Height: Approx 45 inches
Width: 10.25 inches
Depth: Approx 6 inches
Weight: 3 pounds
Power cord: 20 feet

I would like to see an on/off button on future models and perhaps a small pad to set the SteamBoost on while it’s warming up, included in the starter kit.

SwifferLogo-10-2-12

This sponsored post was brought to you by Swiffer®. For a limited time, get a $15 prepaid card when you purchase a SteamBoost Steam Mop Starter Kit between 11/24/13 and 12/31/13. Swiffer BISSELL® SteamBoost™ combines a dirt-dissolving cleaning solution with the power of steam for a deep clean that gets messes mops can leave behind. Also be sure to like Swiffer on Facebook and follow @swiffer on Twitter.

What do you use every day that could have millions of germs on it?

July 8, 2013Cleaning & CleanersBounty DuraTowel, cleaning, dishcloth, kitchenAlicia

Bounty DuraTowel review

I have two kids who like most kids make a huge mess in less than 5 minutes so you will never find me far from a cleaning product. I’m on constant alert, just waiting for the next mess to happen when I’ll need a dishcloth or paper towel, carpet cleaner, or stain remover, for a mess that someone has made.

I used dish cloths to clean up messes in our kitchen for years. I used reusable dish cloths because I didn’t like the idea of throwing away paper towel after paper towel.

My mom even made me about a dozen beautiful knit dish cloths and I used them to clean anything and everything in the kitchen. The knit dish cloths are soft and pretty. However, the knit didn’t help combat the dishcloth smell I experienced with ‘regular’ dish cloths.

To top it off, it seems that everyone in my family feels the need to use a new dishcloth every time we clean a surface.

Why do I use a new dishcloth almost every time I need one?

After just one day there can be millions of germs on a dishcloth. Read Prevention Magazine’s 10 Worst Germ Hot Spots for more on this.
Used dish cloths smell and I don’t purposely touch smelly things.
I have no idea what my husband or son used a dishcloth on, so why would I want to use it to clean my kitchen counters? They have been known to clean spills off the floor with a dishcloth and put it back on the sink to reuse later. Yuck!

DuraTowel paper towel by Bounty

Isn’t the idea of re-depositing something that you wiped off one surface, onto another surface gross? I think so. So when there was a dishcloth on the sink that I didn’t use in the past day, I put it in the dirty laundry and replaced it with a new clean dishcloth. Also, it’s a well-known fact that germs thrive on moistness so what do you think happens to a wet dishcloth as it’s hanging on the side of the sink? The germs on it multiply! Most people hang a used dishcloth on the edge of their kitchen sink which does not allow the dishcloth to completely dry. What do you use a dishcloth or paper towel for in the first place? To clean surfaces and get rid of germs!

DuraTowel paper towel by Bounty

I’m not suggesting that you use dozens of paper towels a day. I use paper towels sparingly. This week I tried Bounty’s new DuraTowel paper towel and like other Bounty paper towels I’ve used, 1 wet DuraTowel cleaned all of my kitchen counters. I used another to clean door knobs and handles.

DuraTowel paper towels are very absorbent and are soft enough to feel like a dishcloth.

Designed with more fibers that hold together even when wet, Bounty DuraTowel feels and cleans like a cloth to tackle the toughest projects. In a secure P&G lab demonstration, a black light revealed that even after rinsing a used dish cloth can still drag around old clean-ups. A fresh DuraTowel leaves surfaces three times cleaner than a used dishcloth.*

In a secure P&G lab demonstration, a black light reveals that even after rinsing, a used dishcloth can still drag old clean-ups around. However, when you start fresh with a Bounty DuraTowel, you can feel good about tackling tough jobs knowing your DuraTowel will leave surfaces three times cleaner than a used dishcloth.*

My Dishcloth Germ & Bacteria Test Results

The P&G Research & Development team conducted ATP (see below for explanation) testing on a dishcloth that I used for several days and the results were 18,262! As you can see, after only three day’s use, my dishcloth harbored millions of germs and bacteria.

The ATP test is a process of rapidly measuring actively growing microorganisms through detection of adenosine triphosphate, or ATP. ATP is a molecule found in and around living cells, and as such it gives a direct measure of biological concentration and health. ATP is quantified by measuring the light produced through its reaction with the naturally occurring firefly enzyme luciferase using a luminometer. The amount of light produced is directly proportional to the amount of living organisms present in the sample.

DuraTowel has a suggested retail price of $3.19.

I am a compensated P&G blogger. All opinions are my own and were not influenced in any way.

Meet My New Kitchen Assistant, Cascade Platinum

June 16, 2013Cleaning & CleanersCascade Platinum Pacs review, cleaning, dishwasher detergent reviewAlicia

I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for Cascade. I received a product sample to facilitate my review and a promotional item as a thank you for participating.

My son is 13 and one of his household responsibilities is to do the dishes. Believe you me, it has been difficult to pass that chore on to him. About 80% of the time I have to go back and rinse the dishes that he’s already put in the dishwasher off, again, before the dishwasher can be run. You may ask why I don’t catch the fact that he’s leaving food on the dishes in the first place. Well, that is because I am a firm believer in letting him try then my plan is to go back and correct any errors. I don’t police the kids while they are cleaning.

My intention is to will check the dishes that he put in the dishwasher as soon as he is finished loading it, but 99% of the time when he is ready for me to check it, I am putting my daughter to bed or in the middle of something else, so I don’t check. I say “I trust that you did a good job” and leave it at that. Needless to say, it’s about time to have a real lesson in how to rinse dishes and place them in the dishwasher properly.

I was thrilled when I learned about Cascade Platinum Pacs because they claim to “Power away tough, 24 hour stuck-on food”. It’s a miracle, right?

My Experience with Cascade Platinum Pacs

The bag that the pacs are stored in is easy to open and shuts securely with a durable zip/lock type of closure. When I opened the package, the first thing I noticed was the scent which is pleasing and mild. The pacs are colorful and seem to be zoned off into different sections which is the triple action recipe (see ‘how it works’ below). I have handled other detergent packs and I was worried that they were going to crumble in my hand, they felt flimsy. These pacs though, did not feel like that. They actually feel like plastic and I was not worried about it crumbling.

Placing the pac in the dispenser is obviously a cinch. I was a tad concerned that the strong outer shell might not dissolve completely during the wash cycle, but it did. During the cycle, the pleasant scent was released into our kitchen, which I appreciate. I’m always looking for ways to mask the odor of dirty shoes, pets, etc.. This is easy!

Once the wash cycle was complete, the pac was gone and our dishes were shiny, streak-free, and grime-free. I made a point to not scrub everything off of the dishes for this load so I could see the cleaning power of the pacs for myself.

Another thing that I noticed is that my dishwasher was less grimy and cleaner after using a Cascade Platinum Pac. Before using the pac, our dishwasher had dull white streaks going down the inside of the door, where the dispenser is, and the sides of the dishwasher had the same streaks. After using a Cascade Platinum Pac, the streaks were gone. I haven’t really taken the cleanliness of our dishwasher into consideration in the past but now that it’s clean again, I know that I like it better when it’s clean.

* The story ends with me having a fabulous new kitchen assistant, one that I don’t have to feed, bathe, or pay allowance to, and I have given my son a different responsibility. His newest responsibility is to deliver everyone’s laundry to and from the laundry room. Fair trade, I think.

About Cascade Platinum Pacs

How it works:
Cascade© Platinum pacs feature an advanced triple action recipe that is specially designed to leave dishware virtually spot-free and help prevent the build-up of hard-water film on dishwasher walls.* *Use a dishwasher cleaner to remove existing build-up on wall interiors.

Why you need it:
Cascade© Platinum pacs achieve a top-tier clean so powerful that they even help keep your dishwasher machine sparkling and deliver a variety of dish care benefits:

Powers away tough, 24 hour stuck-on food
Eliminates the need to pre-wash dishes
Helps maintain the look of new machines and helps prevent additional hard-water build-up
Delivers exceptional dishware shine

As with any household cleaner, it is extremely important to keep this product out of reach of children!

Cascade Partners with Gail Simmons!

Now, more than ever, people eat with their eyes, and the evidence is all over sites like Facebook and Instagram. With that in mind, Top Chef judge and editor of Food+Wine magazine, Gail Simmons, has partnered with Cascade to discuss why presentation is just as important as preparation.

What Gail Simmon’s Says:

It’s more than just a great-‐tasting recipe, but also perfect presentation. Sparkling dishes, shining flat ware and spot-‐free glasses truly let you put your best food forward with culinary creations that pop!Learn more about Cascade’s partnership with Gail Simmons by viewing videos available on the Link to the Cascade Facebook page and Cascade YouTube page.

Cascade is hosting “My Platinum” Contest- a four week Instagram contest encouraging fans to upload photos related to the weekly contest themes. Show off how sparkly Cascade makes all your pots, pan and plates!

Visit the contest landing page for information on how to enter and submit images.
Each week, two contestants will be selected to receive a brand new Whirlpool dishwasher. Additionally, one lucky grand prize winner will receive a Platinum kitchen makeover!

To win, users have to both register and upload a photo with the #MyPlatinum hashtag and tag @MyCascade.

You must first register here to win!

Each week will have a 6-day entry period where Instagram users can enter the contest with their #MyPlatinum Photo. Cascade will choose two weekly winners and one final grand prize winner after the entry period has ended. Please be sure to include both the #MyPlatinum hashtag and tag @MyCascade in your entries to the contest!

Week 1: My Platinum Plate (Entry Period: 6/3-6/9)
Show us your best dish styled from the sparkling plate up!
Week 2: My Platinum Bite (Entry Period: 6/10-6/16)
Show us your best bite and most creative use of sparkling silverware!
Week 3: My Platinum Clink (Entry: 6/17-6/23)
Show us how you serve up creative concoctions in sparkling glasses. Cheers!
Week 4: My Platinum Table (Entry Period: 6/24-6/30)
Show us your sparkling tablescape for your most special celebrations!
Grand Prize Winner (Entry: 6/3-6/30)

Cascade Platinum Online

I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for Cascade. I received a product sample to facilitate my review and a promotional item as a thank you for participating.

Make Your Thanksgiving Day More Enjoyable With These 2 Laundry Tips

November 19, 2012Cleaning & Cleaners, Contests, Giveaways, Holidaycleaning, Detergent, Entertaining, Gain, Holiday, soap, thanksgivingAlicia

I know you love doing laundry. In fact I saw the results of a survey recently in which it was determined that Moms prefer doing laundry over vacuming. While I can’t find the survey now and I wouldn’t go so far as to agree with that, I do get a great deal of satisfaction out of taking clean, delicious smelling clothes out of the dryer.

Even if you don’t enjoy doing laundry, I highly recommend that you stay on top of laundry before and during Thanksgiving week.

One way I motivate myself to stay on top of laundry is by using a liquid laundry detergent that smells really good.

Holiday napkins are not used for cleaning!

Scenario #1: Holiday Napkin Disaster

The kids don’t understand that holiday napkins are for use on special occassions like Thanksgiving & Christmas only. The kids use your holiday napkins to clean the bathroom or wipe the juice spill off the dining room floor, resulting in sticky, dirty napkins.

Tip:

Be ready to restock the holiday napkins with a spare set (yes, buy two sets of holiday napkins, at least) and while you’re using those, was the others with a detergent that is sure to make your house guests think that you just baked a delicious pie, Gain’s Apple Mango Tango liquid laundry detergent.

Scenario #2: Blanket Disaster At Aunt Betty’s

You visit Aunt Betty’s house for Thanksgiving dinner. The kids drag their favorite snuggle blankies all over Aunt Betty’s floor knowing that Aunt Betty has 19 dogs and 3 cats. Eeewww! Naturally, you find lint balls, dog hair, cat hair and who knows what else stuck to the kids blankets. But shoot! You didn’t bring laundry detergent to Aunt Betty’s house.

Sad blanket girl — This is how your child may feel when she can't snuggle with her dirty blanket on the way home from Aunt Betty's house!

Tip:

You never know what kind of laundry detergent a friend or family member uses, so I am a firm believer in BYOLD (bring your own laundry detergent)!

Just as importantly, you don’t want the kids to be snuggling with dirty blankies during the long drive home from Aunt Betty’s house, do you? All the more reason to take detergent with you and wash their blankets before driving home.

Aunt Betty would probably even appreciate it if you threw in a few napkins and hand towels with the kids blankies! 🙂

Gain Apple Mango Tango Liquid Laundry Detergent

Read more Thanksgiving Gain tips here on AtlantaMoms.com!

Win 10 Gain coupons valued at $10!

5 winners will be chosen.

Tell us what your favorite Gain liquid laundry detergent scent is in the comments below.

BONUS ENTRIES FOR EXTRA CHANCES TO WIN

8 Extra Entries:

Share a holiday chores tip with us in the comments below.

5 ExtraEntries:

Subscribe by email or RSS Reader
Blog about this giveaway as a separate post and link to TheMommyInsider.com. Leave the link to your post in a comment below.
Add a relevant comment to any (comment on up to 5 other posts) non-giveaway posts on TheMommyInsider.com.

2 Extra Entries per action:

Give me (@mommyinsider) K+ on Klout in Atlanta, Blogging, Social Media, or Moms and tweet about it. You can give me K+ for each topic 1x per day (up to 4 entries per day total). Leave your Klout name in the comments so I can give you extra entries.
Add me to one of your Google+ circles. Leave your Google+ name in the comments.
Follow me on Pinterest.

1 Extra Entry per action:

Leave a comment on The Mommy Insider Facebook wall
Follow me (@mommyinsider) on Twitter
Tweet about this contest (up to 4x per day – Subscribers can tweet every 2 hours or 12x per day).
Tweet this: “I’m entered to win a Gain coupon booklet from @MommyInsider.com! You can enter to win too here: http://wp.me/plszx-3sU”.

**********************

Giveaway ends 11/30/2012 at 11:59 PM EST. The winner will be chosen at random by random.org. Entrants must be 18 or older and located in the US only. All entries must be properly recorded in the comments to count. Winner will be notified via email and must respond within 24 hours. If winner does not respond, a new winner will be chosen and notified.

**********************