My husband and I have really busy lives and often don't have time to clean the house. Unfortunately, both our kids have quite bad allergies to dust and mould, which means we need to keep the house spotless, which can be quite hard. We have started having a professional cleaning service come in a few times a week to give the house a good scrub while we are at work. It means that we can come home to a clean house. It means everyone is healthier, happier and less stressed out. This blog is for other parents of kids with allergies and has tips on how you can keep your house allergen free.
Many people choose to reside on-site during a construction project; doing so enables them to closely monitor the progress of the building work and avoid wasting money on temporary accommodation. However, this approach does have its downsides; the noise, mess and general chaos that accompanies construction projects can stress out even the most patient of people. The following advice should make the experience of having work done on your property a little easier to cope with.
Be considerate
The speed and ease with which your construction project is carried out will depend, at least in part, on the professional relationship you establish with the builders. Being considerate of their needs and creating a good working environment for them will make this process a lot easier for everyone involved and will ultimately save you from having to deal with the tense atmosphere that can often result from miscommunication and unaired grievances.
Set up a small 'dining area' somewhere in the house, with a table, chairs and perhaps a kettle and microwave, so that the workers have somewhere to sit and have their lunches and tea breaks during the day. Additionally, if the bathroom facilities will be out of service at any point during the construction project, you might want to consider hiring a portable toilet. Lastly, don't forget to let everyone know where they can park their vehicles.
Polite, open communication is crucial. Be clear from the beginning about your expectations; for example on the first day of the project, make sure to tell them which areas of the house (if any) are off-limits, or if you would prefer them to remove their muddy boots before walking on carpeted areas. If you adopt a friendly-but-firm approach when setting these boundaries, your building team will most likely be happy to co-operate.
Accept the inevitable
Regardless of how tidy the workers try to be, and how much of an effort you yourself put into cleaning up each night, it's inevitable that your home will look quite chaotic and untidy both during and immediately after the construction project. Building work always produces an enormous amount of dirt and debris, including dust, wood splinters and plaster particles.
Getting stressed out about this unavoidable issue is pointless; instead of allowing it to bother you, simply do your best to keep on top of the daily accumulation of dust and set aside some money to cover the costs of hiring a company to clean up the house after the project is finished. Whilst you might be tempted to do the post-construction tidy-up yourself, the reality is that you will probably be exhausted and quite fed-up by the time the work is over.
The last thing you'll want to do after the builders have finally left is spend three or four days hoovering, mopping and dusting every inch of your property. As such, it's best to let a professional cleaning company to do this tiresome job for you. Look for one that specialises in construction cleaning, as they will have the experience and the equipment needed to deal with the type of extreme mess that building projects tends to create.
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