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Five people you need to know if you own a vacation home in Fernie

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Don’t spend your valuable weekends and vacations cleaning, mowing grass or waiting for the plumber to arrive. Having a contact list of reliable and trustworthy service providers at your fingertips is key to enjoying the most time at your vacation home. Contact any one of these Fernie-based companies for reliable, efficient service that will give you more time on the trails.

1.A housekeeping and laundry company

Goldstar Cleaning Services takes pride in offering customized service arrangements for private residences, vacation homes and condos. Whether a home serves as a rental unit or is used exclusively by the owner, Goldstar provides professional, reliable house cleaning services you can trust.

Goldstar offers:

– Weekly,-bi-weekly, monthly cleaning – On demand rental turnover cleaning – Seasonal Deep Cleaning – Move Out-Move In Cleaning – Security Checks – Linen Laundry Service – Project Cleaning – Party Clean Up Ask friends or family to pay for Goldstar to clean your vacation home after they use it, or buy a gift certificate for the vacation home owner who always lets you stay in their place for a cheap vacation. Our crews are insured, bonded and experienced so you don’t have to worry about anything – just leave all the work to us so you can enjoy your stay! Contact us to arrange a personalized quote!

2. A maintenance company

From time to time your vacation home will need maintenance work – avoid spending your weekends up a ladder, or shopping for renovation supplies, and keep a handy man’s number handy. Russ Waswick of Total Maintenance can handle anything from emergency quick fixes, to outdoor repairs or repairs to furniture and fixtures. If you need professional repairs, he can also arrange for a local electrician or plumber to visit your vacation home during the week, so everything is ready for your visit. Call Russ Waswick at 250-423-7128 or 250-423-8722 or email tmsfernie@shaw.ca

3. A landscaping and snow removal company

Spend Fernie’s epic powder days on the trails, not shovelling snow or lugging the snow blower out of the garage. In summer, avoid dirty looks from your neighbours and keep your lawn and yard tidy, without spending all weekend on hard labour duty. Mow and Snow is the Fernie company to contact if your lawn looks like a meadow when you show up each weekend, if you need some landscaping work done during the week, and if you want to get your driveway cleared ready for your ski weekend. Call Duncan at 250-423-1665 or info@mowandsnow.ca

4. A hot tub repair and maintenance company

You’ve rented out your vacation home for top dollar over the holiday week – then the guests call – the hot tub is on the blink! Make sure you know to call when this ski vacation home staple is out of order, to avoid having to refund any rental fees. Alpine Spa is an established name in Fernie, offering hot tub repair, maintenance and installation. Spend your vacation languishing in bubbles, not up to your elbows in cleaner! Call Vic toll-free at 1-888-680-3370 or email info@ferniehottubs.com

5. A personal concierge service

For everything you don’t want to have to think about during your vacation in Fernie. Let Shannon Tacaks of Pure Property Management help you by stocking your fridge, pantry or bar prior to your arrival, or simply taking care of the loose ends to ensure that your stay in Fernie is relaxing and full of fun. Her services include: tee-time bookings, key holding, pre-arrival house preparation, child-minding & pet sitting. Fun fact: Shannon is a marriage commissioner and can legally pronounce you husband and wife! Contact Shannon at 1-250-278-3463

How to set up a rental vacation home that will be easy to clean

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Renting out your Kootenays vacation home in Fernie can be a great way to earn extra income – as long as you don’t waste your earnings fixing it up after tenants have left. Goldstar Cleaning Services offers housekeeping, security check and janitorial services for vacation homes and this is our guide to making your vacation home experience run smoothly.   Mudroom and entranceway Create some cubbyhole storage spaces so everyone has their own place to store shoes, jackets and sports equipment. Rubber flooring is a great choice to minimize damage by skis, ski boots and bikes.   Kitchen Stick to basics. The more kitchen equipment there is available to your guests, the more they will use – which means more chance of items getting damaged, and more mess for your housekeeping company to clean up. Encourage your guests to wash up as they go by providing the same number of table settings as your house’s maximum occupancy, plus two (in case they invite the housekeeping staff to dinner). So, if your condo sleeps six to eight, provide no more than 10 sets of tableware. Don’t put all your old kitchen gadgets or small appliances in your rental vacation home – they will just gather dust or get broken. Do buy good quality, hardwearing appliances – a self clean oven is worth the investment. Leave some empty cupboard space for guests to store groceries. Do provide dish soap, tea towels, cleaning cloths, bin liners and a washing up brush to help guests keep the area clean. If you have a dishwasher, provide tablets so guests aren’t tempted to use dish soap that will clog up your appliance. Keep placemats and coasters near eating areas. Living areas Declutter – vacation homes with many trinkets and moveable items take longer to dust and tidy. Resist temptation to fill shelves with the board games you haven’t used for years, or your old VCR collection. Don’t move your old white suede couch to the vacation home – choose quality furnishings that will be easy to keep in immaculate condition – this will help your vacation home maintain a higher rental value. Remove all personal photographs – your guests are paying for a home away from home, not a reminder that they are in someone else’s house. Create a binder with local visitor information, including your expectations of how guests should leave the vacation home and how to report any maintenance problems or emergencies at the property.   Décor Leave your personal preference for black walls and striped wallpaper for your own home and decorate your vacation home in keeping with the location. Ski condos should have a modern lodge feel (but go easy on the antlers and ski furniture) and beach or lake houses need to be light and airy. Make sure high-traffic areas are painted with good quality, wipeable paint. Choose flooring that can be easily cleaned – dark carpets, light hardwood or laminate flooring are ideal. Avoid floor rugs.   Supplies Give your guests access to an all-purpose cleaner, cloths and paper towels, floor brush and small vacuum cleaner so they can clean up any small spills during their stay.   Have a lockable cupboard so you can stock up on toilet paper and cleaning products that can be easily accessed by housekeeping.   Washrooms Put a toilet brush, hand soap, hand towel and air freshener in every washroom. Resist temptation to leave dozens of lotions and potions that have to be moved every time the room is cleaned. Provide a few essential items like shampoo and body wash in a cupboard if you wish. Buy two small, machine washable bath mats and keep one with your spare sheet and towel sets.   Bedrooms Spend a night in each of the beds to see what your guest’s experience is like, and make changes to mattresses, room layout, window coverings or furniture as necessary. Consider replacing pillows once a year so they remain in the best quality condition. Get two sets of bedding and towels of the same pattern for every bedroom in the house, to make changeover day simple.   Housekeeping Vacation homes always need to be kept in immaculate condition ready for the next potential paying guest. Goldstar Cleaning Services offers a turnaround service for vacation homes, including a laundry service. We can also do security checks for insurance purposes. More information on vacation home cleaning options.   Family and friends If you let your family or friends use your vacation home, ask them to cover the cost of getting the property cleaned by Goldstar Cleaning Services at the end of their stay. A Goldstar Cleaning Services gift certificate is also the perfect thank you gift for a friend who has lent you their condo or vacation home.   Thinking of buying a vacation home in Fernie? Contact Fernie Vacation Properties to view one of their ski hill condo properties.

Spend the summer outdoors, not cleaning your home

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Want to spend more time enjoying yourself outdoors this summer, instead of cleaning the house for hours each week? This is Goldstar Cleaning Services’ guide to keeping the dirt out of your house, so you can enjoy the summer. 1. Arm yourself with a spray gun Make sure there is a hose with spray gun easily accessible in your yard, so that muddy furniture, bikes, toys, dogs (and children!) can be washed down easily before they get near the house. 2. Build your home’s defences against dirt Most of the dirt in your home is brought in on the feet and shoes of your pets, family and visitors – make it easy for them to leave that dirt outside. Keep a pile of old towels in your porch or mudroom so you can easily dry off pets before they go into the living areas. Keep a laundry basket in the mudroom for muddy or wet sports clothes. Change your doormat in spring and fall Make sure your mudroom has plenty of space for shoe storage so there’s no excuse not to keep shoes stacked out of the way. Keep a plastic tub or other container outside the front door for rubber gardening boots and mountain biking shoes that are too muddy to bring inside. 3. Get your barbecue set for spontaneous entertaining Hose down patio furniture to remove loose dust and spider’s webs. Clean soft furniture with tent and awning cleaner, which will clean off dirt without reducing water resistance. Use bathroom cream cleaner to get plastic furniture back to its original colour. Keep a barbecue cleaning brush and barbecue tools close to the grill. Buy a good-quality cover for your grill to reduce rain damage

How to choose green cleaning products

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Green Cleaners in British ColumbiaAlmost every bottle in the cleaning products section now claims to be environmentally friendly, biodegradable, paraben free or just ‘green.’ You may want to cut down the levels of toxic chemicals used to clean your home for health reasons or to address your environmental beliefs. But how do you know what product claims are genuine, and which ones are clever marketing phrases that skirt around the real picture?

What to avoid

The most important issues associated with household cleaners include: Health concerns — strong chemicals give a product cleaning power, but may also increase potential health risks. Always read the instructions to avoid over-exposure that may cause respiratory problems or skin irritation. Keep chemicals out of reach of children. Ingredient disclosure — Ingredient lists rarely contain information about the percent composition of different ingredients. In addition, some disclosed ingredients are generic eg. ‘fragrance’ – making it impossible to tell whether it contains the chemical you or your child is allergic to. Environmental concerns — Cleaning products are typically washed down the drain to be processed by sewage treatment systems and then discharged into surface waters. Some widely used cleaning agents (like alkylphenol ethoxylate surfactants) bio-degrade into persistent compounds that may pose ecological risks. Over two-thirds of the streams sampled by the US Geological Survey have detectable concentrations of persistent detergent metabolites (as well as disinfectants) that originated in cleaning products. Waste reduction — Most cleaning products are now packaged in plastic bottles that can be recycled. However, many consumers dispose of these bottles as trash, adding to their community’s solid waste management challenges.

What to look for:

Look past the marketing slogans on the packaging and look for one of these logos, which show an independent organization has investigated the product’s ingredients, manufacturing process and disposal process and has deemed it to Each organization has a product finder on its website so you can check which products available to you are up to standard, and read information on the findings.   EcoLogo – Founded in 1988 by the Governmentof Canada but now recognized world- wide, EcoLogo is North America’s oldest and most widely known environmental leadership standard. EcoLogo contains 120 environmental standards and almost 7,000 certified products.     Greenseal – Green Seal standards provide leadership criteria for the development of many products, from home cleaning products to paints. Certification guarantees that products perform as well as conventional products. Ingredients are biodegradable and do not contain phthalates, heavy metals, or optical brighteners.     The Good Guide – Rates products and companies on their health, environmental and social performance. The 0 to 10 rating system is easy to follow, and you can search for products that match your priorities including fragrance-free, climate change, animal welfare and health. Leaping Bunny – The Coalition for Consumer Informationon Cosmetics (CCIC) administers this cruelty-free standard. The internationally recognized Leaping Bunny logo appears on personal care and household products. They assure that no new animal testing is used in any phase of product development by the company, its laboratories, or it’s suppliers.   Make your own cleaning products The best way to be sure that your products are not harmful to your family or your environment is to make your own! • Check out our posts on using vinegar and baking soda around the house. • For more ideas on homemade green cleaning products check out this printable recipe sheet from the David Suzuki Foundation.

Five steps to reduce allergens in your home this pollen season

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It’s allergy season again – take these five simple steps to help rid your home of the allergens that cause your itchy, watery eyes, dripping nose and itchy skin. 1. Remove plants from your home If you have a mold allergy, you’ll need to find a new home for your potted plants. If you can’t bear to lose them, spread fine gravel over the dirt to help contain the mold (the kind used in aquariums is ideal). 2. Flooring Hardwood or laminate flooring is ideal as it does not trap the dust that can build up to cause your allergy symptoms. If you can’t go as far as changing your carpets, shampoo and steam clean them at the beginning and end of every pollen season and vacuum weekly with a vacuum cleaner that has a small particle or high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter. Don’t forget the above steps for any area rugs and mats! 3. Furniture and curtains Vacuum and steam-clean your soft furnishings like couches and chair cushions. Wash curtains regularly and wipe down horizontal blinds. In the long-term, consider replacing upholstered furniture with wood or plastic, and make sure all the curtains and blinds in your home are machine washable. 4. Windows Prevent condensation turning into mold and mildew by installing extractor fans into bathrooms and kitchens. Every week, wipe window frames with vinegar to clean mold away and prevent it re-forming. Keep the windows closed during pollen season – you will have to rely on air conditioning during the hottest times. Consider installing a small air filter if you find pollen still gets into your home. 5. Bed and bedding Use dust-mite-proof covers on pillows, mattresses and box springs. Wash sheets, pillowcases and blankets at least once a week in hot water (at least 130 degrees Fahrenheit/ 54 degrees Celsius. Try to choose hypoallergenic bedding made of synthetic materials. Goldstar Cleaning Services A Goldstar cleaning team can deep-clean your home in a few hours, making it much easier for you to keep the dust and mold levels down for the rest of the pollen season. Call 250-423-4029 to arrange an individual quote.

How to choose a cleaner?

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Before hiring a cleaner, consider these questions to make sure you get the right service for your needs. • What is your realistic budget for cleaning? What are your expectations from a cleaning service? Ask them if they will draw up a cleaning checklist for your property so that everyone knows what the expectations are of the cleaner. Remember that weekly or biweekly, smaller cleans are more effective than a big monthly clean. • Do they carry out a realistic assessment of your requirements? A professional cleaning company like Goldstar Cleaning Services will always carry out an on site consultation before giving a quote for services, to find out exactly what your expectations are and to give a realistic idea of how long it will take, how many people will be needed and how much it will cost. • Do they have Worksafe BC coverage? When you hire someone to work in your home, even casually, you are considered a residential employer and could be liable to pay compensation costs and unpaid premiums if they injure themselves on your property. Established companies like Goldstar Cleaning Services ensure all employees have Worksafe BC coverage, but small operations may not have considered this. Find out more at Worksafe BC. • Are they bonded and insured? Do they have liability insurance to cover the cost of anything that may be damaged or stolen in your home or workplace? • How many people will clean your property at a time? Will it be the same team each time? What will happen if one of them is sick or on vacation – will the company organize another person to complete the service? • How much experience does the company and its employees have? If you have valuable furniture or equipment and unusual materials that will need to be cleaned, do they have experience and training on the best cleaning techniques? • Always ask for references and follow up on them • Do they supply all the equipment and cleaning products they will use? Is it important to you for them to use green products? Do you have allergies that they need to factor in? • What is their cancellation policy? • Do they have a quality assurance policy? How do you pay them? If you are not happy with the service they provide, can you speak directly to a supervisor?

Get your house viewing-ready in 30 minutes

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Your realtor calls – someone wants to look round – in 30 minutes!

Follow Goldstar Cleaning Services’ guide to making your home viewing-ready in just half an hour. Preparation is key When your house is on the market, we recommend you create a cleaning kit on each floor, in the kitchen and in each bathroom containing an all purpose spray, microfibre cloths. Buy a small handheld vacuum (Dyson makes a great one) and keep it in a kitchen cupboard where you can access it easily. Tell everyone in the household to make their bed EVERY morning Keep a clean set of hand towels and bath mats for each bathroom, and a towel for the kitchen. Put an empty basket in every room – if you don’t have space for it on a shelf or in a cupboard, consider buying one with a lid that can sit in the corner. If you have a pet that sheds hair, put throws on any couches or chairs that they use and buy a lint roller.

30 minute countdown

Step 1: Make your kitchen sparkle! 30:00 Load dishes into the dishwasher. Stack them double if necessary – just get the counters clear! (3 minutes) 27:00 Wipe down the counters and sink, then use a dry cloth to make the sink shine (2 mins) 25:00 Remove all dirty cloths and handtowels and replace the towel with the clean, dry one. (1 minute) 24:00 Wipe down stainless steel appliances (3 minutes) 21:00 Does your garbage smell? Take the bag outside and REMEMBER to take it with you when you leave the house. (1 minute) Step 2: Beautify the bathroom! 20:00 Hide all the bottles and toothbrushes in the storage basket that you put in the bathroom ahead of time (2 minutes) 18:00 Use your microfibre cloth and cleaning spray to shine all bathroom fixtures. (3 minutes) 15:00 Close the lid on the toilet (30 seconds) 14:30 Remove all dirty towels and bath mats and replace with the clean, dry ones (2 minutes) Step 3: Hide clutter and wipe away dust! 12:30 Go from room to room and clear any clutter into the storage basket for that room, then store it out of sight. (2 minutes) 10:30 Open the curtains in every room (2 minutes) 08:30 Quickly spray and wipe down coffee tables, tables or shelves. (2 minutes) 06:30 Move dog beds out of the house and take the throws off the couches and chairs, then use the lint roller to remove any remaining fur. (2 minutes) 04:30 Everyone should have made their beds this morning, so you just need to plump the pillows and tighten the corners. (2 minutes) 02:30 Use the portable vacuum on spot areas – don’t worry about vacuuming the whole house. (2 minutes) 00:30 Grab the garbage from by the front door, and find somewhere to relax while your realtor sells your house! Or – get in the professionals Goldstar Cleaning Services can do weekly homeseller cleans to make sure that when your realtor calls, your house is already fit for viewing. Call 250-423-4029 or email us for a consultation visit and quote.

Top 5 uses for baking soda as a green all-purpose cleaner

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Baking soda is non-toxic, environmentally-friendly, cheap and makes an effective all-purpose cleaner around the house. 1. Keep kitchen smells at bay Keep a box of baking soda in the fridge, freezer or in kitchen cabinets to neutralize bad smells and stop bad odours from forming. 2. Baking soda paste To remove stubborn stains from most surfaces, use a baking soda paste (3 parts baking soda, one part water). Apply, let stand, then scrub or wipe clean. This also works for burned-on food at the bottom of pans, at the bottom of your oven or on the barbecue grill – leave the paste overnight and you will find it much easier to wipe away the mess. 3. As a dry shampoo To quickly clean pets and remove “wet dog” odor, sprinkle with baking soda and brush out their fur. You can also use baking soda as a dry shampoo on days when you don’t have time to wash your own hair! 4. Remove smells from carpets and rugs Sprinkle baking soda on the carpet, leave for 15 minutes then vacuum away. Spilled food on your favourite rug or expensive carpet? Blot the spill away as much as possible, then spread with a baking soda paste (three parts powder, one part water). Leave to dry and vacuum – the stain should be removed and there will be no bad smell. Tough stains may need several applications. 5. Freshen your laundry Replace half of each measure of laundry detergent with baking soda to keep clothing fresh. To remove grease stains from clothes, either add baking soda to the wash load or pretreat the stains with a baking soda paste (three parts soda, one part water).

Top 5 uses for vinegar when cleaning your home

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Reduce the amount of chemicals in your and save some pennies by keeping inexpensive white distilled vinegar in your cleaning closet. 1. Use it neat as an all-purpose, deodorizing and naturally anti-bacterial cleaner. Pour into a spray bottle to use on work surfaces, chopping boards and sinks. To wash no-wax floors, add ½ cup of white distilled vinegar to a half-gallon of warm water. 2. Add baking soda for maximum cleaning power. Sprinkle baking soda on tough grimy spots before spraying with vinegar and wiping with a cloth. The fizzing of the soda reacting with the vinegar helps soften the dirt. Pour ½ cup of baking soda down a clogged drain, then add 1 cup of white vinegar – close the plughole and leave for 5 minutes, then turn on the hot tap for 30 seconds to clear the drain. Stubborn blockages may need more than one application, but it works! 3. A streak-less cleaner for glasses, windows and mirrors Pour ½-1 cup white vinegar into the bottom of the dishwasher to banish white streaks from your glasses. Window cleaning with vinegar will make your windows gleam and will not leave the usual film or streaks on the glass. Mix equal parts of white distilled vinegar and warm water. Dry with a soft cloth. 4. Clean the microwave Boil a solution of 1/4 cup of white distilled vinegar and 1 cup of water for 3 minutes in the microwave. Will loosen cooked-on food and deodorize. 5. Kill weeds Many municipalities – including Fernie – have now banned the use of cosmetic pesticides in backyards and gardens. To stop weeds growing, spray white distilled vinegar full strength on tops of weeds. Reapply on any new growth until plants have starved. Share your tips! What is your favourite green cleaning tip? Post them at the Goldstar Cleaning Services Facebook page.

Five ways to make a newly built or renovated home easier to clean

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Goldstar Cleaning Services often sees the long-term problems when a newly built or renovated home doesn’t align with the amount of time, money and effort the home owner wants to spend on cleaning and maintenance. Here are Goldstar’s five tips on making sure your new build or renovated home meets your cleaning and maintenance expectations.

1. Choose easy-to-clean materials for high traffic areas

When choosing materials for your new home, consider the amount of maintenance and cleaning they will need. Will they stand up to the level of wear and tear your household will put on them? Tip: Dark floors highlight even the thinnest layer of dirt and also show scrapes and scratches more clearly than light flooring. Tip: Glass shower screens show up soapy hand prints – so use a shower curtain unless you will wipe down the glass every time you shower, and in a kids’ bathroom. Glass also shows up limescale build up in areas of hard water, such as Fernie, Sparwood, Elkford and Cranbrook.

2. Plan storage for easy access to cleaning supplies

Tip: Make sure there is storage on every floor and in each kitchen and bathroom for a basket of cleaning supplies. Tip: Where will you store recycling in your new home? Ensure it is large enough for your family, and that you can easily sort plastic and glass.

3. Choose a layout that will assist cleaning

Tip: If you have several floors, install a central vac system and save lugging a vacuum cleaner up and down the stairs. Tip: If you have children, pets or an outdoors lifestyle, create an easy-to-clean mudroom next to the main entrance to prevent dirt being trampled through the house, with access to water, clean towels and boot and glove dryers. Tip: An en suite bathroom for each guest room may sound luxurious – but have you considered the level of cleaning they will require versus the use they get?

4. Have a monthly and annual maintenance plan

Talk to your architect or designer about how much time and money you want to spend on maintaining and cleaning your new home, so they can choose materials and a layout to suit your budget and needs.

5. Schedule a post-construction clean

A Goldstar Cleaning crew typically spends 20-25 man hours cleaning an average 2000 square ft, four-bedroom, three-bath home after a major construction or renovation project. Avoid spending your first days in your new home vacuuming, peeling stickers off windows and doors and wiping drywall mud off floors, and negotiate a post- construction clean when you hire your building contractor, or consider hiring an experienced cleaning services company like Goldstar Cleaning. You can also ask your contractor to keep the construction site clean throughout the build, which will help minimize the mess left at the end. How Goldstar Cleaning can help you Contact us [EMAIL LINK] to find out more about Goldstar Cleaning Services’ post-construction and residential cleaning services [LINK TO RESIDENTIAL PAGE]. By Jill Barclay, Goldstar Cleaning Services