Category: House Cleaning

Plane: Aqaba has the second largest airport in Jordan. It is very close to the city and has
flights mainly to Amman

Own car: We make the trip with a rental car, which we believe is the most comfortable
option to move around Jordan by far. Getting to Aqaba is very easy, as it is the end of the
King’s Highway. From Amman, it’s just over 4 comfortable hours in a straight line. From
Wadi Rum is less than 1 hour and from Petra just under 2 hours.

Private bus: There are private companies like JETT or Trust that offer daily departures. The
price is around 7.5 JOD and the journey takes 4 hours. You will have air conditioning and
more comfortable seats than in the public option.

Public Bus: Public buses depart from Aqaba Bus Station and arrive at Amman South Station.
The price is 5.5 JOD and the journey is 5 hours.

Where to sleep in Aqaba
Aqaba is a large modern city, with a multitude of hotels for all budgets.
You will find luxury hotels such as the InterContinental Hotel, the Mövenpick Resort Hotel
or the Hilton with rooms of at least 130 JOD per night and even what you want to spend.
You will also find a mid-range with hotels like Al-Cazar Hotel or Dweik Hotel, in which
prices are around 50-70 JOD per night and that offer very very good quality. We stayed at
Dweik Hotel and we were surprised: 65 JOD triple room with spectacular buffet breakfast
and one of the best hotels we stayed in on our trip.

You will also find numerous cheaper hotels such as Moon Beach Hotel, Al-Amer Hotel. The
best, of course, is to search through one of the famous search engines such as booking, Expedia
or TripAdvisor, especially if you travel in high season.

We recommend choosing the mid-range since we are talking about hotels that, for an
affordable price, offer very good quality.

The city of Aqaba on the Red Sea

The city of Aqaba is the second-largest city in Jordan. Its location in the middle of the desert
and on the shores of the Red Sea, make it have a pleasant temperature throughout the year. If
you also add that it has one of the most crystalline seas in the world … the combination is
explosive. For this reason, it has become one of the biggest tourist spots in Jordan. You can
find large hotel chains, a multitude of restaurants of very high quality, a highly developed
infrastructure, …

Until the 20th century, Aqaba was a rich city, a commercial meeting point thanks to the many
routes that passed through here. Copper minerals from Wadi Araba, pottery from China and
Ethiopian coins passed through the city. Until the year 1068, it was a prosperous town with
great wealth. But then a great earthquake shook the city and the trade routes were displaced,
causing the city to fall into oblivion until the 20th century when the British used the city as a
supply center to support the assault on Damascus.

Today the city does not have exceptional points of interest and its greatest tourist attraction is
the beaches of the expensive hotels and especially diving. The Red Sea has established itself
as one of the most important locations in the world for diving, thanks to its transparent
waters, its more than 1000 species of invertebrates, 1100 species of fish, and 250 different
species of coral.

Diving in the Red Sea

The Red Sea is a gulf of the Indian Ocean that is more than 2000 km long from north to south
and reaches a depth of 2000 meters. It has great world fame and the Dead Sea is known as
one of the 7 Wonders of the Underwater World. Jordan has barely 24 km of Red Sea
coastline, but in them, we can discover a great recital of beautiful corals, colorful fish, and
wrecks that amaze.

Cedar Pride

This old ship was sunk in 1986 on purpose to create a coral reef. Access is not very difficult
since it is shallow and not far from the coast, so even without having a diving course you can
visit it. The marine flora has already colonized its decks and it is impossible not to think
about the Titanic if it is the first wreck you visit.

Power Station

A wall of coral that you can see at a depth of 20 meters and that dips to more than 200
meters. You can see how the coral plunges into an abyss that seems infinite. You will be
amazed by its colors and you can swim along the wall until the tank runs out.

7 Sisters and M40 tank
This reef has 7 coral pinnacles that contain interesting animal and invertebrate life. To
complete the dive you will see this M40 tank in which the coral grows abundantly. It is just 5
meters deep and if you carry a water camera, you will get some envious photos.

Japanese garden
It is a beautiful coral forest with a multitude of colors. You will certainly enjoy it. There are
also many other tourist spots such as Gogone I, Gorgone II, Black Rock, Moon Valley,
Yellowstone Reef … We leave you a diving map of the area, where you can see exactly its
location, although without a doubt they will advise you perfectly at the diving agency that
you choose.

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To keep your carpeting and rugs looking flawless like the first day, you just have to keep in mind some very simple tips.

1. For the carpets and rugs to be as good as new, and also to revive and restore the original shades, you will need to sprinkle on them a generous amount of common salt and leave it to work for 24 hours. The next day, run the broom or the vacuum cleaner, and you will see that the results are surprising. If you don’t have that much time and need to clean the carpet quickly and eliminate odors and disinfect it from parasites, sprinkle abundant baking soda. Let it sit for 15-20 minutes and then vacuum.
2. To restore your carpets to their original bright tones, cover them with dry tea leaves – which you will have previously used as an infusion – and let them work throughout the night. The next day a brush moistened with water, and ammonia passes. They will be like new.
3. To clean your carpets, use a mixture of warm water, a stream of ammonia, and a cucumber’s juice. They will be impeccable.
4. If you have left mud on the bottom of your shoes on the carpet, wait for it to dry and then rub with the mixture of a liter of water and a tablespoon of ammonia.
5. When the labeling allows, wool rugs will be perfect by washing them with a mild detergent. Don’t forget to add a vinegar spray to the last rinse.

Eliminate signs on carpets

1. 1. If what you want is to eliminate the signs that a piece of furniture has left on your carpet, all you have to do is apply to the place pressed by the support; a cloth dipped in warm water. It passes over a very hot iron, but without making any kind of pressure. You must pass it more than once until the cloth is completely dry. In this way, you will get the wool to straighten, and the marks will disappear.
   2. If you have a small cigarette burn on the mat that left a sign that ugly the mat, rub it gently with sandpaper in a circular motion.

• If you plan to store your rugs until after the summer and want to prevent them from losing their original shades while rolled, spray them with sparkling water. Then let them dry before brushing.

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The cleaning experts give us the best homemade tips and tricks to get the house ready before the holidays and not find any unpleasant surprises around the corner.

Every year before we go on vacation, the same story is repeated: packing our bags, watering the plants, leaving the house clean, and for the return…. An endless list of things to do to leave the perfect house before going on vacation prevents us from relaxing and disconnecting.

But all of the above is about to change. The cleaning experts at Helpling have put together a list of things to do to get the house ready before the holidays so that you don’t come across any unpleasant surprises. Take note!

Cleaning begins on the balcony

It is best to start cleaning outside structures, so you don’t bring dirt back home. If you have an iron railing, it is best to clean it with a little water and ammonia. Also, if you add a few drops of oil, they will help prevent metal oxidation. In some terraces, we can also find marble floors, a difficult material to clean. To make it look new, get a good brush, water with Marseille soap and wax for the finish, it will stay clean and shiny until your return!

Don’t forget the flowers

If you have a neighbor that you get along with, it is certainly best to ask them to water your plants during your absence. If you don’t have it, a very effective option is to put a bucket full of water at a height slightly above the plants and connect it to them with filter paper or knitting wool so that it touches the bottom of the pot. In this way, a certain degree of humidity will be maintained, and the plant will absorb the necessary water from the bucket without drowning. Another good method is the inverted bottle, which consists of inserting a 2-liter water bottle in the plant’s soil.

Unplug the fridge and clean it with a 100% natural homemade solution

Did you know that there are 8,000 bacteria for every square centimeter of your fridge’s vegetable drawer? Various natural remedies can be used to prevent odors and mold inside the fridge. First, remove all the shelves and soak them in 2 liters of water with a glass of vinegar for about 1 hour and a half. Then moisten a cloth in vinegar (or in water mixed with baking soda) and wipe it on the inside and surfaces to clean them. This method is ideal even for cleaning supermarket food coolers. To finish, rub the entire surface with a mixture of water and lemon juice to disinfect everything. Don’t forget to unplug the fridge and leave it open with a cloth to absorb the drops derived from condensation.

Check that there are no leaks and discover the best natural plunger

Before you go on vacation, you can not forget the bathroom, or you will find some unpleasant surprise when you return from vacation. Standing water is the main focus of bacteria and mold buildup. There is a most effective method to unclog drains using common ingredients that can be found in every home: 500 ml of white wine vinegar, 1 liter of water, and five tablespoons of salt. On the one hand, heat the water and salt to a boil in a saucepan and, on the other hand, pour the vinegar down the drain. Next, add the water with boiling salt after it. It is a foolproof natural plunger!

Remember to throw away the trash

Is there anything worse than coming home after the holidays and encountering a horrible smell because you forgot to throw away the trash? In summer, heat is the best friend of bacteria found in the garbage can, so before you go on vacation, make sure you remove the plastic bag from the bucket and that there is no moisture. Also, keep in mind that there is not only the kitchen trash, you should also throw the trash out of the bathroom and take a tour of the house to ensure you do not find surprises upon your return as undesirable bugs.

Don’t leave dirty dishes

Whether you have a dishwasher or not, if you don’t leave all the dishes clean before going on vacation, you will surely have to throw them around. If you do not complete this task, the food will remain embedded in the dishes, and it will be much more difficult to clean it and remove all the remains when you return home after the holidays. All this, without considering that the sink contains more bacteria than the bathroom since the sponge alone has more than 50 million bacteria, is not it enough to overcome laziness?

Do the laundry

Why should we worry about it? The more dirt accumulates in the washing machine, the more bacteria there will be, and the odors will become stronger. In fact, in each wash load, there are more than 100 million bacteria, and if we leave our clothes unwashed, they multiply. If you want your washing machine to be clean and disinfected, add a glass of white wine vinegar and start it, it will look new!

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