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Home Helpers 3 to 5 / Week 09 / Monday
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Week 09 · Clean Up Crew

Monday

Wipe it down
// Wipe, sweep, sort and take it out
⏱ about 15 min

Monday: Wipe it down

Chris the Coyote skids into the den and knocks a cup of water over. "Oops. Who has a towel?"

Samantha the Squirrel is already there with a cloth. "Clean Up Crew, reporting! A spill is nothing. Watch the cloth do the work."

She wets the cloth, wrings it out and wipes in one long stroke. The table shines. "Warm water, a wrung-out cloth and a plan. That is wiping."

Ferris sweeps into a dustpan while Bennie sorts paper, cans and bottles into recycling bins.

The cloth does the work

Wiping is the most common cleaning job. Tables, counters, shelves and sinks all get wiped.

You need a clean cloth and a bowl of warm water. Warm, never hot. Your grown-up handles any sprays or cleaners.

A soaking cloth drips everywhere. A wrung-out cloth is just damp. Damp is what you want.

  1. Clear the surface. Move cups, papers and toys off first.
  2. Dip the cloth in warm water. Wring it out until it stops dripping.
  3. Wipe from the back edge toward you, in long strokes. Overlap each stroke a little.
  4. Fold the cloth to a clean side when it looks dirty. Rinse it if you need to.
  5. Wipe around the edges last. Catch crumbs in your hand or the cloth.
  6. Rinse the cloth, wring it out and hang it to dry.

For sticky spots, hold the damp cloth on the spot for a few seconds. Then wipe. Let the water loosen it.

Wipe high things before low things. Crumbs fall down, so you clean the shelf before the floor.

WIPE THE TABLE
  • Tap a card.
  • Then tap its spot.
1First
2Second
3Third
4Fourth
5Last
WIPING SENSE
  • Read the question.
  • Tap your answer.
What kind of water do you use?
Your cloth is dripping. What do you do?
Who uses a cleaning spray?
Which do you wipe first, the shelf or the floor under it?

What a clean cloth needs

A cloth that stays wet in a heap grows a smell. Rinse it, wring it and hang it over the sink edge or a hook.

Use one cloth for the table and a different one for the floor. Ask your grown-up which cloth is which.

What do you do to a cloth so it stops dripping?
Do you wipe high things or low things first?
After wiping, where does the cloth go?
StatementTrue or false?
A soaking wet cloth is best for wiping.?
You clear the surface before you wipe it.?
A child may use a cleaning spray alone.?
Holding a damp cloth on a sticky spot helps loosen it.?
WHY THIS EXERCISEClear, damp cloth, patience on sticky spots, and sprays for grown-ups only.
Samantha wiped the table in one long what?
WHY THIS EXERCISELong overlapping strokes cover the whole surface without missing spots.
Try it
Ask your grown-up for a cloth and a bowl of warm water.
Wipe one table or counter using all six steps.
Rinse, wring and hang the cloth when you finish.
Safety first
Warm water only, never hot. A grown-up fills the bowl if the tap runs hot.
Sprays and cleaners are for grown-ups. Water and a cloth are for you.
Wipe up any drips on the floor right away so no one slips.

Shiny table, Helper! Tomorrow Samantha hands you a broom and a dustpan.