Detailing the House?

Peter Crowl

New member
A while ago when I started getting serious about detailing our cars, my wife made some comment about house cleaning skills...nothing snotty, but wondering if the people who are so obsessed about their cars also keep their houses as nice.



I do my share inside...but lately I've found myself looking at it differently. Figuring out what products and techniques to really bring out the sparkle in the tile...stuff like that.



It's Sunday night and there's nothing else to do...so...I ask...



Do you put the same devotion into your house as you do your cars?



Do you find your detailing skills carry over? Do you get the same enjoyment out of detailing a bathroom?...well...that might be a bit much...but you get the idea!



I, for one, washed windows today ... two bucket method...squeege ....and the MF's worked wonders!



Sign me Curious..in Denver
 
I definately find the detailing mindset carrying over to the house. I'm obsessive about the smallest speck of dirt. I usually vacuum at least two times a week. I love the vacuum marks on the floor.



My newest idea is to use a coat of #16 or Collinite 476 on the inside of my shower door. Maybe that will prevent soap scum build up. Heck, I might even polish it with the PC first :D. Also, I'm going to use some polish on my bathroom vanity. It has a few too many swirl marks for me!
 
Yes to most of your questions, but house cleaning just isn't as passionate as detailing. I've used up my disgraced products around the house and occasionally a detailing product will solve an issue typical house cleaning measures cannot solve :think clay in particular.



I know of at least two house cleaning products that have their place in detailing: Swiffer dusters ( I use on interior or engine compartment) and those Mr Clean bars: long list of uses.





Yep, overall the house can give the car a run for its money in cleanliness :D
 
I wax my refrigerator... We just bought a new Whirpool Gold series in black and I'm getting a kick out of putting PS on it. Nothing like repelling the water splash from the ice/water dispenser :) I tested Klass twins on it as well as some NXT, beats being outside in the heat detailing - plus if I need a cold drink its right at my fingertips!
 
I got stuck cleaning house a while back, used all my car detailing stuff, kina fun really, wife loved it.



I a Mothers fan and used Mothers Preserves on the frig, used clay car on the sink topped with reflections, used reflections on the chrome, Mothers Showtime on the tile and cupboards. carnuba on the oak tableand microfiber on all the glass.

Really turned out well, photo attached.



I also used the yard blower instead of a vacuum on the floors, my wife was not to happy about that.



Bob

Stockton Ca
 

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this is funny, yeah i carry it over, i vacuum at least every other day, i love the vacuums lines as well, i use deep crystal #2 on my counter tops followed by a carnuba topper, makes wiping counters a breeze, meg cleaner wax works great on woindows that get shot by the sprinkler almost daily, ( i am in a rental)

and now the latest, my neighbors already think i am nuts always cleaning my car but i found meg color x worked great on my painted steel door, naturally every neighbor had to walk past while i was polishing the door. and then the maintainence man came friday and commented , " dang i think u got the shiniest door in the complex" oh well let the world think i am nuts :xyxthumbs
 
I may be the exception to the rule here...BUT my passion for having the perfect appearance for my car stems from my passion for my car itself and doesn't translate to my living quarters right now.



I basically started detailing becuase I ran out of other modifications thatI wanted to do to my car...so rather than sell it I figured that I'd figure out how to have it the most eye appealing all the time since there wasn't anything else that I had to do to it.



NOW....with that said when I move into my first house in November I may get a different perspective on cleaning a house now that I actually will own one.



Andy
 
Cleaning a house is like detailing in that it's a lot less work if you keep on top of it regularly :up
 
For me its yes and its no. I'm a very clean person, both personally and with my surroundings. I like my clothes clean and pressed, my car clean and shiny, and my house neat and tidy. Of all of these things I've found the house is the hardest thing and I basically have given up on it. With your personal cleanliness and the cleanliness of your car you are the only one that has control over that. I'm careful with my car, park carefully, don't drive through puddles when I can avoid it, even if its already dirty (don't know whats in those puddles), try not to track stuff into the car, I'm careful where I touch the car and bump things into the interior. With the house I've got to share it not only with my fiancee who is decidedly less anal than I am but with our pets. See she's incredibly organized but she's not very clean. She'd re-organize the medicine cabinet but not wipe splatter off the mirror. I'm the opposite, I'd leave the medicine cabinet but clean the mirror. She's the same way about her car, she runs the washers every time she goes to drive, even after I've just detailed it, doesn't watch for puddles even when its clean, drives too close to branches and such on the side of the road and gets scratches.



To make a long story short its hard to be as anal about the house as I am about the car simply because I'm not 100% in control of it.
 
I close on my first house in three days...



I'll get back to you guys on this one..





Any tips for tile, granite, or stainless steel? Ahh heck. Any tips at all?
 
blackntan said:
I close on my first house in three days...



I'll get back to you guys on this one..





Any tips for tile, granite, or stainless steel? Ahh heck. Any tips at all?



Best thing I've found for Stainless Steel is WD-40. No...really..it's what they use in the stores... and you know they get fingerprints!

I use it about once avery 3 to 4 weeks.



And as was said...keep up on it just like your car...it's easy if you don't let it get away from you.



Anybody ever watch that house cleaning show on HGTV? With the two British women going into homes here? I cannot believe the pig stys they do ...nor can I believe that the pigs who live in them invite the crews...have they no shame?



Peter...in Denver
 
26whirl2.jpg




...hopefully it will minimize the abrasions...note MF towels in the background :p



My wife found that my Cockpit Premium works wonders on the kitchen cabinets for removing dirty little finger prints....she's happy, I'm not....CP all gone :rolleyes:



Let's face it, many of the car products are right at home IN the home. Stoner's IG is just amazing on glass tables. That's when I first discovered that it does have an edge on other glass cleaners.
 
I've never worn shoes when indoors at home, at first my main reason was just to feel more comfortable and relaxed but by now though, I've also come to realize it can help keep floors and carpets cleaner longer :o
 
To add to what I said above one thing I truly dispise is yardwork. I hate it. I hate mowing grass, raking leaves, blowing off walkways, ugh. Gardeners to the rescue :D



Congratulations on the house blackntan! One of these days for me, although my loathing of yardwork makes me happier renting...
 
Bill D said:
I've never worn shoes when indoors at home, at first my main reason was just to feel more comfortable and relaxed but by now though, I've also come to realize it can help keep floors and carpets cleaner longer :o



I was the opposite. Picked up the habit of taking my shoes off inside when I lived in Japan as a kid. Kept doing it because I'm more comfortable.



My apartment is a mess.
 
Great thread! I think i'm only the 2nd person so far who does not carry it over to the house. I'm actually kind of a slob, LOL. I am passionate about my car though. We have a housecleaner come in every 2 weeks to do a major cleaning, but the funniest thing is the night before when me, the wife, and the kids are running around like nuts cleaning the house for the housekeeper!!
 
Before joining Autopia - only vaccuming and dusting.



After joining Autopia - Applying pledge orange oil wipes to cabinets. Cleaning/polishing hardwood floor. Woolite mixture for leather seat. I have used EO Never Dull on chrome and brass faucets, knobs, handles, door stopper. Next plan of action - klasse-fy my black microwave and fridge.



I have seen thread like this before in Autopia. One Autopian is even QD'ing his toilet bowl too ;)
 
and don't forget to put some Rain X on the shower door. Put a squeege in the shower and it makes short work of keeping the shower door clean. The Rain X will last months.



Love them "Hoover" marks myself! The Army gave me some good lessons on cleaning, but I don't do yards (that was my punishment growing up...still hate it).
 
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