General cleaning and maintenance
Nothing feels as inviting and relaxing as a freshly cleaned and tidied home. We make cleaning easier, with little features and extras that help your Bargate home sparkle.
KITCHEN
The kitchen is your family’s engine room – the heart of your home. It’s the hardest working part of the house, so you’ll typically find yourself cleaning at least part of it every single day.
Your kitchen sink is a particularly hard working fixture, and keeping it looking good, working well and smelling fresh isn’t too much effort! Just be sure to keep food particles and grease out of the sink wherever possible, to avoid clogging. If a fat blockage does occur, simply use boiling water to cut through it. If you find that over time, your sink has collected tea stains, fear not. Mix baking soda and washing up liquid into a paste the consistency of buttercream icing. Work the paste into the stains, rinsing out the cloth as you go. To finish, rinse the sink down and dry it off with a clean cloth – and say goodbye to those tea stains.
Many of our kitchens come with induction hobs, which are so easy to wipe down and take care of – and in some homes, we specify gas hobs, which can be taken apart for a thorough clean, too. Our modern ovens have self-cleaning features, taking the effort out of making your cooking appliances gleam.
Any kitchen cleaners with ingredients that cut through grease will be your perfect partner in grime. Generally, you won’t need much more than a good multipurpose kitchen cleaner, a microfibre cloth and a mop. Our kitchens are designed to be as easy to clean as they are to work in, so you’ll spend less time cleaning and more time enjoying your kitchen!
Bathrooms
We use a mixture of materials in our bathrooms – steel baths, ceramic tiles and sinks, stainless steel and chrome fixtures – so make sure you use cleaning products that won’t tarnish these finishes. Harsh chemicals shouldn’t be necessary with regular cleaning, but if you do get a buildup of tough limescale, try a decalcifying spray – or just use white vinegar!
White vinegar is a great household cleaner. It’s acidic, which means it can fizz limescale away and kill germs. Mixed with water, it becomes milder and suitable for cleaning everything from taps to tiles. It’s the active ingredient in window cleaner – so there’s no need to shell out on expensive branded sprays when you can easily make your own.
To keep your mirrors and shower glass crystal clear, use a white vinegar and water solution with a squeegee; a regularly whip around will keep water spots at bay and restore the perfect finish.
With all those nooks, crannies and tight spots under the lid and seat, getting a deep cleaned toilet can be a nightmare – but not in a Bargate home! Thanks to the removable, soft close toilet seats we specify in all our bathrooms and en-suites, a sparkling loo is just a click, wipe and flush away.
Caring for your ceramic flooring
We specify luxurious and beautiful Porcelanosa® ceramic flooring in all our homes. Caring for your ceramics is easy – porcelain has extremely low absorbency, making it highly resistant to staining. Pretty much any kind of stain will wipe away with a little warm water and a non-linting cloth.
Maintaining the lustre of your tiles is down to regular cleaning and avoiding contact with certain chemicals. Vacuum cleaning regularly (paying attention to grouting, where dust can collect) keeps everything smooth underfoot and can stop grit causing damage.
In wet areas, mopping with a mildly acidic detergent solution will restore the sheen you’ve become used to. Detergents lift oily grime, while the mild acid inhibits the growth of limescale, algae and mildew. Mildly alkaline cleaners should be used in dry areas lined with tile.
But be careful – strong acids and alkalis can cause damage and wear, so avoid any cleaning products with extreme pH levels. Aim to use products with a pH of no less than 6 and no more than 8. Remember that vinegar and baking soda are great mild acids and alkalis, useful for all sorts of household cleaning.
Wax, oil and grease should be removed from tiles immediately, and completely avoid any cleaners that contain wax or oil. To remove wax and oil, use a mix of hot water and detergent applied with a non-linting cloth. Rinse the area thoroughly with clean water before drying.
To clean grout thoroughly, make a paste of one part water to two parts baking soda and scrub away stains with an old toothbrush. The mild abrasive effect of baking soda helps remove grime and marks from the pores in the grout without causing damage.
Be sure to wipe down your bathroom skirting boards and mastic regularly. Dust collects more readily in these areas, from towels and toilet paper.
Marks on walls
Those freshly painted, pristine walls can fall foul of creative children, moving furniture and all manner of food related accidents. While you might be able to use the old stale bread trick to get light scuffing and grubby marks out, bigger marks and scratches will need a lick of paint. Thankfully, every Bargate home comes with a colour matched pot of paint included – to make those nicks and chips disappear without any fuss.
After a while, you might find that a repaint is in order – either for a new splash of colour, or to refresh your rooms. We recommend waiting a year or so before repainting, as minor cracks are inevitable in a new build: they’re a perfectly normal part of the building settling and nothing to worry about – but if you’ve got any concerns, don’t hesitate to get in touch!
To protect your walls further, hang pictures and artwork with removable wall hanging strips instead of nails – and always use wall plugs when permanently fixing bookshelves or other wall hangings to masonry or plasterboard.
Heating and home automation
It might seem glaringly obvious, but turn your heating off during the summer months – not just from the thermostat! Thermostat wars are real in many households, so take control: set your boiler to heat water only, and consider dropping the maximum water heat in the summer, too.
WiFi controlled home automation lets you take charge of your heating, cooling and humidity – from anywhere. Home automation can help you save money by managing your energy usage on the fly. Some learn your preferences, and know when you’ll be home to optimise the temperature for you by the time you arrive. You could even use home automation to fire up your coffee maker in the morning – from the comfort of your bed!
