Simply put, vacuum cleaning shouldn’t be like this. If your vacuum sounds less ‘cleaner’ and more ‘screamer,’ follow this guide to prevent your machine giving you a headache. 

Vacuum cleaners operate by drawing a constant flow of air through a relatively-constricted space. This is a bit like when you reach the bottom of your glass when drinking with a straw; the slurping noise is unmistakeable! 

It is therefore normal for a vacuum cleaner to make a noise. This should be a consistent sound of ‘rushing’ air. The more powerful the product, the more air that is drawn through, therefore a slightly greater noise output is typical of the most powerful vacuum cleaners on the market. It can be helpful to check you are comfortable with the noise level of a particular vacuum cleaner prior to purchase. Vax has display models of many of its cleaners in most major high-street electrical retailers, to allow you to choose the perfect one for you. 

However, if you hear a sudden or progressive change in the noise made by a vacuum cleaner, this may be the machine calling out for your attention! 

Here are some of the most common noise types, and the likely ways in which they can be prevented: 

• Screaming or high-pitched whistling

Most modern vacuum cleaners include a bleed valve. This is a small, dynamic hole, typically found on the dirt container. The machine will automatically open the valve if too much pressure builds inside, due to obstruction of the air-flow. This helps to prevent problems such as overheating in the short-term, but to prevent this reoccurring your vacuum cleaner requires maintenance.

Check your vacuum cleaner’s user guide for advice on restoring air-flow by removing blockages and cleaning/washing all filters. Do not try to forcibly close the bleed valve, as this could lead to overheating and possible damage to your cleaner.

• Grating or grinding

Grating and grinding sounds are generally only found in relation to upright-style vacuum cleaners, and generally indicate a problem with the brushbar at the base of the machine. Most uprights have a removable brushbar and drive belt. Follow the instructions in the user guide to remove these, and test your machine without them. If the noise continues, the brushbar is not the cause so it’s best to seek expert advice from the manufacturer. If the noise stops, then you know the problem is related to the brushbar or the belt.

In this case, replace the brushbar and belt as per the user guide, and test again. If the noise is no longer present, it is likely the brushbar was jolted out of place or fitted incorrectly. If the noise continues, it may be that the brushbar or belt has become damaged or worn, and needs to be replaced. 

If your vacuum cleaner has a fixed brushbar that can’t be removed, or is a cylinder-style vac without a brushbar, it is again best to seek expert advice from your manufacturer.

•  Buzzing or fizzing

These are very rare noises to hear from a vacuum cleaner. In such an instance, switch it off immediately and seek expert advice from your manufacturer.

It may be helpful for those with sensitive hearing to note that there is no need to compromise on cleaning power in order to ensure a quieter vacuum . Some models are now even specifically designed to be quieter than a conventional vacuum cleaner, such as the Vax Mach Zen cylinder range. These offer exceptional suction power alongside being 70% quieter than comparable competitor models!

If this sounds familiar, maybe it’s time you spring cleaned your post too. Here’s our top tips to make this task a bit easier…

1.  Recycle

First sort through all your post, opening any unopened letters and getting rid of any junk mail. Make a recycling pile for junk mail and empty envelopes. Make sure your name and address details are scribbled out, or torn out and shredded,  before you recycle them. Put everything else in a big pile to be sorted…

 2.     Sort it out

You should be left with a big pile of letters, bills, statements etc. Now sort these into three piles: ‘to action,‘ to file’ and ‘to shred’.

Your ‘To action’ pile is for any bills that needing paying, or anything else that needs dealing with before you can file it away. These documents should be stacked neatly in an ‘in tray’ on your desk, or in a top desk drawer. Then when you have a spare moment, make sure you action them!

Any bills that have been paid should go in your ‘to file’ pile, unless they are very old. You can safely get rid of any bills that are over 12 months old. If you do want to keep records of your finances for future reference, consider using spreadsheets to summarise this information instead. It may take a bit of time to set up, but it will save you time – and filing space – going forwards. And once you’ve got the spreadsheets set up it’s quick and easy to keep them up to date every month. Just don’t forget to back up your data!

Old bills, letters or anything else with your personal details on can go in the ‘to shred’ pile.

3.     Get shredding

This is the fun part!. Shredding machines can now be bought very cheaply, for instance Staples do a wide range of shredders starting from around £10. For occasional shredding of your household bills you don’t need to spend too much more than this. Generally, the more expensive the shredder, the more sheets of paper you can shred at once. Shredded paper can be put into your paper recycling bin…. or it makes great bedding for hamsters!

NB – never put un-shredded bills out with the rubbish or recycling, as there is a real risk that someone could use your details to clone your identity!

4.     Get filing

This is the boring part. The key to getting it out of the way quickly is to get the right kit for the job. If you’ve got a lot of office space you could invest in a filing cabinet, but I prefer using a couple of lockable metal filing boxes as they are easy to stack under a desk. Make sure to buy some extra suspension files, then label up each file according to what will go in them, e.g. ‘Gas bills’, ‘Bank statements’ etc. If you’re really stuck for room, you could buy an expandable wallet file instead. You won’t be able to cram one of these with too many bills, but this will force you to only keep what you really need.

5.     Get into good habits

Try to get in the habit of recycling your junk mail and empty envelopes as soon as you open your post. Put any bills to be actioned in your ‘in tray’ or drawer and check them regularly. Once a bill has been paid, use a pen to write PAID on it, plus the date. Every week or two, go through your tray and file away anything that’s been paid or dealt with.

If you follow all these steps, your house will no longer be a fire risk and will be one step closer to being a  haven of calm and organisation!

1. Vouchercodes.co.uk

This a great site for finding voucher codes for huge discounts at a wide variety of online retailers. Check out the top 20 codes tab for quick access to the best deals. There are also separate sections for printable vouchers and restaurant vouchers too, so you can get a cut-price meal the next time you do venture outside.

2. Net Voucher Codes

This is another top site to find online voucher codes. It also has a useful section for the most popular vouchers, as well as a list of codes to get free delivery, which currently includes a code for one of my favourites, ASOS.com.

3. My Voucher Codes

Probably the best known of all the voucher code sites, this one has a great top 50 list, plus a list of Spring Fashion voucher codes that’s really useful if you love clothes shopping as much as I do.

One of the best ways to stay up to date with the discounts at all these sites is to sign up to their newsletters. That way you can get the best deals as soon as they’re launched.

Happy shopping!

Here’s how I go about it… 

1. Deal with one section of the wardrobe at a time. First sort through all your clothes, then tackle shoes and boots, then belts and bags and finally underwear.
2. Start with your clothes – get them all out of the wardrobe and put them in a big pile on your bed, leaving nothing behind. Then try everything on, to decide what to keep, what to store elsewhere and what to discard.
3. Anything that still fits and looks good, put into a ‘keep’ pile. If it fits, but it’s just not suitable for this time of year, pack it away in storage boxes to go at the back of your wardrobe, or in your loft if you have one.
4. Anything that fits badly, or is badly stained or worn, or just doesn’t suit you needs to go. Clothes that are fit to be resold can be bagged up to go to your local charity shop. This is where you need to be ruthless. If you’re not sure whether to keep something or not, ask yourself when you last wore it. If it’s over a year ago, your best bet is to throw it out as you’re unlikely to wear it again. It may be hard to part with some things, but just think about all the extra space you’ll be generating in your wardrobe.  
5. Anything that is beyond help – torn, worn, bobbly or stained – can be thrown away. However, it’s always worth hanging onto a couple of old, holey t-shirts and worn out pairs of jeans, as they come in very useful for decorating.
6. Once you’ve bagged up the charity clothes, stored away your winter clothes and thrown away anything that’s beyond help, you should be left with your pile of clothes to keep.  The next stage is sorting these back into your wardrobe. The best way to do this is to sort them into types, so put all your short sleeved tops together, then long sleeved tops, then cardigans, jumpers, skirts, trousers and jeans. If you have lots of clothes, you could try sorting each individual section by colours too – dark to light.
7. Hang your dresses right at one side of the wardrobe, so longer ones that could get dragged into the storage area below are out of the way. 
    
8. Next tackle your shoes and boots, again using the same ruthless sorting system. No matter how much you love a pair of shoes, if the heels or soles have worn away so much that the shoe is damaged then they are beyond repair and should be thrown away. Any that can be re-heeled or re-soled should be bagged up ready to go to your local shoe bar.
    
9. Bags and belts can easily over-run a wardrobe if you let them get disorganised. Belts should be rolled up and then secured with an elastic band to keep their shape. Once they are all rolled up, keep them in a storage tub or separate storage area within your wardrobe. If you’re short of room, smaller bags can be stored inside bigger ones.
10. Finally, get all of your underwear out of the drawers and sort it into piles to keep or to throw away. Odd socks definitely need to go, as do any with holes in them.

 Once you’ve neatly rearranged everything back into your wardrobe, I guarantee you’ll be amazed at just how much space you’ve made. That means only one thing… time to go shopping!

The beauty of using a steam mop is that it doesn’t leave your floor soaking wet. Steam mops are designed to be a quick, convenient and easy way to get bare floors sparkling clean, without waiting hours for them to dry afterwards. So if you do find your floor is very wet after using your steam mop, there is likely to be something wrong.  Luckily, there are some simple checks you can follow to find out what the problem might be.

It is firstly important to remember that steam is, fundamentally, water that has been heated above boiling point. So when the hot steam from your cleaner hits your cool flooring, it immediately begins to condense. For this reason, you may see small beads of water or droplets forming on the surface immediately after steaming. These are particularly visible on hard floors, but should dissipate and dry within a matter of minutes.

However, if your steam cleaner is delivering water in liquid form along with the steam, or is not delivering any steam at all, this could be down to one of a few simple reasons. 

Check the following:

• For safety,  always switch off and unplug your steam cleaner before carrying out any checks, making sure the unit has cooled down before you touch it.
   
• Check the tanks haven’t been over-filled. Your steam cleaner should have a fill level mark on its exterior and the User Guide will tell you the maximum amount of liquid that can be put in. Your cleaner may also come with a measuring jug , to make this easier.If your steam cleaner has been over-filled, there may not be a pocket of air in the water tank in which steam can be formed.
    
• All steam cleaners take a short time to heat up once filled. This time period will vary between different types of cleaner, so check your User Guide to confirm this. Most steam cleaners also have a pilot light that either illuminates or switches off to indicate it’s ready for use. Using the cleaner before it’s fully heated up may cause water to be produced rather than steam.
• Ensure nothing is obstructing the cleaner from delivering steam. The most common cause for this is the build-up of limescale within the cleaner, particularly in hard water areas. If this is the case, use a reputable descaling solution in the water tank to remove any deposits. You may also wish to sterilise the water you use to remove any impurities, prior to filling the tank.

In most instances, these steps should get your steam mop working again. However, if your cleaner is still experiencing problems, contact the manufacturer for professional assistance.

It may sound like a strange mix, but there is a long tradition of combining chocolate with chilli, going right back to the time of the Aztecs. 

You can now buy chilli chocolate from all sorts of places. My personal favourites are the Lindt chili bar, which they sell in my local supermarket, or anything in the chilli range by Hotel Chocolat, but especially their heart-shaped Love-me-do chilli caramels and their dark chocolate chilli puddles. 

If you can’t find these in your local shops, why not try creating your own homemade Aztec-style hot chocolate chilli drink?..

Hot chocolate with chilli

• 2 oz dark chocolate, grated
• ¾ pint of milk
• Half a vanilla pod
• 1 red chilli pepper
• 1 cinnamon stick

This makes enough for two people to have a large mug each:

1. Split the red chilli pepper in half down the length and scrape out and discard the seeds.
2. Place it in a saucepan with the milk and the vanilla, bring to a gentle simmer leave to bubble for a minute.
3. Next, whisk in the chocolate and simmer gently until all the chocolate has melted.
4. Take it off the heat and leave to stand for around 10 minutes.
5. Then pour through a sieve into a jug to remove the spices and then pour into two large mugs.
6. Sprinkle a little grated chocolate on top and serve.

This is a popular tradition in the USA that doesn’t seem have to taken off in the UK. Over here, kids just get given their chocolate eggs on Easter Sunday without any effort at all. Now where’s the fun in that? So instead of buying them one big chocolate egg, why not buy some mini foil wrapped eggs and make it into a game by hiding them around the house and garden? There is now a huge range of branded mini eggs available, from the traditional Cadbury’s Creme eggs to mini Malteser eggs, or my favourites – Galaxy eggs. These brand name eggs can be rather pricey though, so if you’ve got lots of kids taking part in the hunt, it’s worth buying some non-branded ones online from a shop such as Party Delights where they are only 6p each! 

The easiest way to organise the hunt is to hide them all around your house and garden (making sure they are not too high up, or in any places that could potentially cause an injury trying to retrieve them). Then set the kids loose to see how many they can find.

Or you could turn it into a treasure hunt, writing clues on pieces of paper to lead them from one hiding place to the next. Read out the first clue to lead them to the first hiding place, where you’ve hidden the clue for the next hiding place. You could vary the size of the hidden eggs, so they get bigger at each hiding places until the final clue reveals the biggest egg of all!

Or, if you’re worried about them eating too much chocolate, just have one egg hidden in the final hiding place. 

Happy hunting!

Are you a fan of  a once-yearly spring clean, or do you keep your home looking immaculate all year, so you don’t need to?

While all us ‘We Love Clean’ ladies naturally like to keep a clean house all year round, we all reckon you can’t beat a proper clear out and polish up once a year. After all, there’s nothing more therapeutic than rummaging through those cupboards, getting rid of old junk, and finding hidden dirt lurking in corners that you just didn’t spot during those dark winter months.

Here’s a round-up of our top ten favourite spring cleaning tips….

1. Spring cleaning checklist
Speed up your spring clean with this handy checklist for every room in your home.
http://www.weloveclean.co.uk/things-to-do/spring-clean-checklist/

2. Spring clean your living room 
Bring some calm and order into your life with these top tips for cleaning and decluttering your living areas.
http://www.weloveclean.co.uk/things-to-do/spring-clean-tips-%e2%80%93-living-room/

3. Clean those grubby carpets 
If your carpets have suffered over the winter months, follow these top tips to get them looking and smelling as fresh as a daisy.
http://www.weloveclean.co.uk/things-to-do/clean-those-grubby-carpets/

4. Blitz the bathroom
These top ten tips will help you get your bathroom looking sparkling clean and spring fresh.
http://www.weloveclean.co.uk/things-to-do/10-bathroom-tips-for-spring/

5. Clean up the bedroom
Bedrooms can be a haven for dust, so follow our top ten tips to banish dirt and dust from every corner.
http://www.weloveclean.co.uk/things-to-do/tips-for-cleaning-your-bedroom/

6. Spring clean the kitchen
If you need help getting your grubby kitchen all lovely and shiny again, here’s ten ideas for a thorough kitchen spring clean…http://www.weloveclean.co.uk/things-to-do/10-kitchen-tips-for-spring-2/

7. Tidy up the garden
With spring finally on the way, it’s time  to dust off those gardening gloves. Check out these top tips for a perfect garden.
http://www.weloveclean.co.uk/things-to-do/10-garden-tips-for-spring/

8. Spring clean your car
Some tricks and tips for getting your pride and joy looking spic and span for spring.
http://www.weloveclean.co.uk/things-to-do/spring-clean-your-car/

9. Sort your life out!
These top ten ‘life laundry’ tips will help you declutter every room in your home.
http://www.weloveclean.co.uk/things-to-do/top-10-life-laundry-tips/

10. Makeover your patio
Give your patio a facelift for spring with these great makeover ideas.
http://www.weloveclean.co.uk/things-to-do/makeover-your-patio/

1. Vacuum your rugs regularly
The best way to get the most dirt out is to use an upright vacuum cleaner with a rotating brushbar, as this agitates the fibres to remove more dust and hair. However if you have a particularly delicate or old wool rug, you may prefer to turn the brushbar off for vacuuming. You should vacuum the surface at least once or twice a week. Every few weeks, flip the rug over and vacuum the reverse side too.

2. Beware of tassels and fringes
It’s all too easy to accidentally suck up tassels and fringes when vacuum cleaning, which could damage your rug. Instead, use your hands to separate and straighten fringing and tassels once you’ve finished cleaning.

3. Rotate your rugs
Once or twice a year you should spin your rugs around 180 degrees as this reduces wear and tear in one particular spot and will help keep them looking newer for longer.

4. Wash your rugs regularly
Many people only think about cleaning their rug when visible dirt and stains appear, however to prolong its life you should wash it regularly, even if it looks clean on the surface. This is because dirt and grit that gets walked into your house drops between the fibres of your rug and some of it lodges there, beyond the reach of your vacuum cleaner. As you walk across the rug, the dirt gets ground into the fibres, damaging and fraying them. The best way to remove embedded dirt from your rugs is to wash it every 6 months or so with an extraction carpet washer. Before washing always test a small area of the rug first, to check that it’s colourfast.

5. Use the right detergent
Check that the shampoo you are using to wash your rugs is suitable for the job. Some detergents can leave a sticky residue, which over time will attract more dirt so you end up with an even dirtier rug! Ideally, use a carpet washer filled with a manufacturer approved solution, as these are designed not to overfoam or leave any residue. For wool or wool mix rugs, always use a Woolsafe approved solution, such as the range offered by Vax.

6. Deal with spills immediately
To prevent an accidental spillage turning into a stain, always deal with it immediately. Either suck up the spill straight away using an extraction carpet washer, or if one isn’t available cover the spill with a a clean white cotton tea towel or hand tool, or even some sheets of kitchen roll. Gently dab to soak up as much as possible, working the stain from the outside towards the middle. Don’t be tempted to rub the stains as that will drive it further down into the carpet pile.

7. Treat spots and stains
Most household stains can be removed using an extraction carpet washer with a good carpet cleaning solution. However, if you have a particularly difficult stain, you may need to use a specialist spot stain remover. These are widely available from supermarkets – read the label carefully to make sure it removes your particular type of stain.

8.     Dry it out
Once you’ve washed your rug, make sure it dries out again quickly, otherwise it may get mildew. The advantage of using a modern extraction carpet washer is that they have powerful suction that sucks most of the liquid out of the rug, so it will dry quickly. If it is taking a long time to dry, you can help the process along by opening doors and windows, using a fan or even a hairdryer on a very low, cool setting.

9.     Steam rugs to get rid of smells
If you have a steam mop, these can often be used to refresh and sanitise carpets and rugs too. Usually they will have a carpet glider attachment that fits over the cleaning pad, allowing you to move it easily over the rug. Don’t use too much steam, as this will get the rug too wet. Just use a few blasts across the surface to kill bacteria and neutralise odours. Always check a small area of the rug first, just to check its colourfast.

10.  Roll rugs, don’t fold them
When moving rugs around, always roll them up, as folding them can cause permanent dents and creases.

1. Lemon and sugar

It’s a classic and many would argue it’s still the best. Simply pour a couple of spoons of lemon juice into the centre of your pancake, sprinkle with sugar and fold into quarters or roll. Then add a dash more lemon and another sprinkle of sugar and eat. I think it’s worth freshly squeezing real lemons to get that authentic, extra zingy taste, but if you’re in a hurry Jif lemon is okay too. I prefer mine with caster sugar as it dissolves easily into the juice.

2. Apple strudel and ice cream

Peel a couple of granny smith apples, cut them into quarters and then cut out the cores. Slice thinly and place in a pan with a few teaspoons of sugar to taste, and around half a teaspoon of cinnamon. Then simmer them until the apples become soft. I prefer them to still have a bit of firmness, or you can keep cooking them until them become a puree, if preferred. Use the apple mixture to fill your pancakes and serve with vanilla ice cream.

3. Fresh fruit with hot chocolate fudge sauce

This one is really indulgent. Follow my recipe for hot chocolate fudge sauce, which I posted here a while ago.  Fill your pancakes with either slices of fresh pineapple or fresh strawberries, drizzle over the fudge sauce and serve with cream or vanilla ice cream. I defy you to eat more than two of these without feeling sick!

4. Chocolate and nuts

You can ether use the hot chocolate fudge sauce recipe above, or cheat and buy some readymade sauce in a bottle or sachet. Drizzle the sauce over your pancakes, then sprinkle over some chopped nuts. You can either chop these yourself (a good way to use up leftover nuts from Christmas) or buy a packet of ready chopped nuts. I like hand-chopped salted peanuts, as I think chocolate and salt are amazing together. (I have been told this is an acquired taste).

5. Maple syrup and ice cream

This American classic is my other half’s favourite pancake filling. Thankfully he doesn’t go as far as adding bacon to the maple syrup,  just a good quality ice cream such as honeycomb or vanilla. For some reason maple syrup can be hard to find in UK supermarkets, but Tesco do a nice light one

6. Raspberries and whipped cream

I love fresh raspberries, especially stuffed inside pancakes and topped with oodles of thick whipped cream. They can be a bit tart though, so I like to drizzle them with shop-bought raspberry sauce, such as Askeys.

7. Hot berry compote and custard

This is one is a real winter warmer. Buy a packet of mixed berries from the freezer section of the supermarket. Put them in pan with a couple of tablespoons of caster sugar and heat gently until they are cooked through and soft. Check the sweetness level and add more sugar if necessary. Fill your pancakes with the berry mix and serve with hot custard.

8. Butterscotch bananas

This is one of my all time favourites, and has already featured on this blog here. If you like bananas, I guarantee you’ll go bananas over this one!

9. Sea salted caramel sauce

You could make your own caramel sauce, but why bother when Sainsbury’s make the most amazing sea salted caramel sauce I’ve ever tasted! Drizzle over your pancakes in copious quantities and serve with vanilla ice cream. Yum!

10. Smoked salmon and scrambled eggs

While personally I think pancakes are much better as a pudding, here’s one savoury pancake filling that I’m willing to make an exception for. Lightly scramble some eggs in a pan and place in the centre of your pancakes. Then sprinkle with some finely chopped spring onion and flakes of smoked salmon. The perfect brunch.

So what are your favourite fillings?