Tips for Speed Cleaning Your Way Through Holiday Entertaining.

Business Editors

OAKLAND, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 11, 2002

The guests are coming, the guests are coming! Those words are enough to strike fear into the heart of anyone scrambling to get their homes clean before the next holiday party.

"People get crazed this time of year cleaning the house before company arrives," said Laura Dellutri, a nationally recognized expert and author on speed cleaning. "They clean for hours, when really they should spend no more than an hour, tops."

Clorox ReadyMop, the leading all-in-one mopping system, is ideal for speed cleaning during the holidays when you've got to prepare for guests. With Clorox ReadyMop, you can have spotless floors in half the time it would take with a conventional mop. It eliminates the hassle of filling buckets and wringing mop heads, which also make post-party clean up a breeze.

"If you have the right tools and the right techniques, speed cleaning for holiday entertaining is easy," said Ms. Dellutri. "The idea is to work smarter, not harder."

That's precisely the idea behind Clorox ReadyMop. It has an on-board cleaner and uses disposable pads for mop heads. The swivel head makes it easy to use under and around furniture, low tables, beneath kitchen cabinets and appliances, behind the toilet and in corners. The floors dry in no time, leaving a fresh, clean scent and no sticky residue that requires rinsing. When you've finished mopping, lift off the disposable cleaning pad, toss it in the trash, and put the mop away. You start with a clean mop head every time.

The cleaner, available in a fresh, clean scent and a new orange scent, is safe on tile, linoleum, marble, laminated wood and hardwood floors. The Clorox ReadyMop starter kit is priced at $24.99 and is available at mass merchandisers and supermarkets.

To get you through the holidays, Ms. Dellutri suggests the following to help turn you into a speed-cleaning whiz:

1. Focus on the areas your company will see. Skip bedrooms and

spare rooms if you're rushed. In the living room or family

room, vacuum the visible, high-traffic areas -- your company

won't be looking under the couch for dust bunnies.

2. Don't clean what's already clean. Most patio doors are only

dirty around the handle. Bathroom mirrors are usually only

dirty near the bottom, where they get hit with toothpaste and

water splats. Go where the dirt is, not where it's not.

3. Never be without a damp cloth. With a damp cloth you can dust

shelves, doors, bookcases or baseboards in just a few seconds.

A damp cloth can also clean marble, brass, oak, leather, wood,

walls and laminated surfaces safely.

4. Throw away conventional sponge and string mops. Dirty,

bacteria-infested sponge and string mops never seem to be

clean after their first use, and between filling a pail with

cleaner and wringing out the mop head, they take too much

time. Use a speed-cleaning mop such as the Clorox ReadyMop --

there are no buckets, no wringing, and you start with a clean

pad every time. Because Clorox ReadyMop is so easy to use, you

might be able to talk your spouse or kids into helping.

5. Don't spend more than 10 minutes on the bathroom. Use

convenient disinfecting wipes to speed-clean surfaces. Just

wipe, toss, and you're done. For the floor, simply grab Clorox

ReadyMop for a quick wipe down.

* Suggested retail price. Price may vary by retailer.