 |
| image credit |
House cleaning can be an overwhelming matter to think about. We may wish to shrug and put it off until the next week, or next month or next year. However, this is a reality each one of us needs to face. Do the cleaning task portion by portion to make the task easier. Here are cleaning tips for walls, upholstery, and carpets:
Interior walls
The paint job you imagined necessary might not be after all! To clean painted walls, clean with a vacuum to remove dust and wash them using a sponge dipped in a mild detergent solution. Wring out excess water and rinse the sponge when it gets dirty. Always wash walls starting from the bottom up to keep detergent from running down onto a dirty surface, creating streaks that could be difficult to take out.
Wall coverings
A lot of today's wall coverings can be washed off the same way as painted walls. However, if your wallpaper isn't washable, it can be cleaned using a wad of fresh bread or a dough-type wallpaper cleaner sold in several wall covering stores. Roll the material over the surface of the paper to lift up soil and keep folding it to expose a clean surface.
Upholstered furniture
Use a vacuum to remove dust and dirt from upholstery and clean with a commercial upholstery shampoo. You can also combine 1 part mild dishwashing liquid with 4 parts water and whip to bring out lots of foam. Put on the foam using a brush. Scrub one cushion or section at a time, trying not to wet the fabric more than necessary. Wipe away the foam with damp cloths or blot dry with towels.
A rug-cleaning machine that has a hand nozzle will do an even better job of cleaning upholstery. Shampoo each item by hand as described above, then go over them again with the machine to pull up deeply embedded dirt.
Carpet
To thoroughly get out embedded dirt, use a vacuum having a power-driven rotary brush (vacuums that rely only on suction do not do as good a job). Spots left behind by food or beverages can be removed by rubbing lightly using a cloth dipped in a solution of 1 teaspoon white vinegar and 1 teaspoon dishwashing liquid in 1 quart water. Don't wet the carpet any more than necessary. Blot dry with paper toweling. Greasy stains that are not water-soluble can be wiped clean using a cloth dampened with dry-cleaning solvent. A small plant mister or spray bottle kept filled with liquid rug shampoo and stashed away in a closet near your carpeted rooms makes it easy to spray and wipe up spills and soiled areas at once.
Instead of shuffling furniture from one room to another to shampoo the carpet, you will be able to save time and effort by putting a small plastic bag over each furniture leg and securing it with a rubber band. Then move the furniture aside to shampoo the area and bring back the furniture to its original spot right away; the bags can be taken out after the rug has dried.
By: Tip Writer © 2012