Carpets
When dealing with red wine you need to move fast. To keep red wine stains from setting in carpets or linens, quick blotting or rinsing with cold water is key. On a wet stain, dab the carpet or tablecloth with a dry, white absorbent cloth to remove the excess liquid. If it’s the next morning or the stain has dried, apply a small amount of detergent solution. This should be 1/4 tsp. dishwashing liquid and 1 cup lukewarm water. Apply this to a white cloth and gently blot, working from the edges of the spill to the center to prevent spreading. Let it sit for several minutes. Repeat as needed until the stain is removed. Next you want to rinse with cold water and dab with a clean rag until dry.
Tablecloth
On a new, wet stain, sprinkle coarse salt to absorb liquid from the fabric. Then blot with cold water or rinse under cold water to remove excess sugars and prevent oxidation.
For an older, dry stain, rub a bit of liquid laundry detergent into the stained area. Launder in the hottest water safe for the fabric with laundry detergent and color-safe bleach.
Repeat as needed until the stain is gone.
Area rugs are very durable, but spills and stains are bound to happen, especially if there are small children in the house. Below are some general guidelines to help keep your rugs in the best of shape.
General Care
The first step in caring for you rugs is regular vacuuming. This not only removes grit, but also prolongs the life of your rug. Be careful if you have a fringed rug, because a vacuum machine will damage the edges of the fringe. If the fringe needs cleaning, it is better to use a broom or a brush. Once or twice a year it also helps to flip the rug over and vacuum its back. This helps knock out grit that has fallen into the rug’s foundation. Depending on how much traffic your rug sees, it is a good idea to rotate your rug every six months to a year. This helps ensure even wear of the rug’s pile.
Over time, grit and dirt will become embedded so deeply in your rug that it will require a professional cleaning. This will not only remove the deeply embedded dirt, it will also brighten the rug’s overall appearance. It is recommended that a rug be thoroughly, professionally cleaned every 4-5 years. This timeline depends on the amount of traffic that the rug gets.
If you need to store your rug for any extended period of time, It is suggested that it be cleaned first and then rolled against the nap and wrapped in heavy brown wrapping paper.
One mistake that people often make is to douse their hardwood floors with too much water when cleaning. Make sure the mop you use is only somewhat damp, not soaking wet. Just add a little water to your floors to clean them. Too much will damage your flooring. Before you put a mop on your floors, make sure your hardwood has been thoroughly vacuumed to remove excess dirt.
Cleaning your hardwood floors routinely should prevent many problems down the road. This is because a clean hardwood floor is less vulnerable to deterioration and as well, stains and dirt buildups won’t collect over time and thus become difficult to remove later.
Never use ammonia to clean your hardwood floors. Ammonia is one of those miracle cleaners for many materials, but it will only hurt your hardwood floor. Ammonia can discolor and take away a few years from your floor’s life. So when you do have a cleaning product around that you’d like to use on your floor, check the ingredients and if there is ammonia included, do not use it! Vinegar, on the other hand, can be useful. In that sense, hardwood floors really won’t cost you a lot as you can often fight tough stains with simply water and vinegar.
There are some easy things you can do to help keep your hardwood floors in good shape. One of those things is to buy some area rugs to protect your floor in different spots where there might be high traffic. For example, at the entry way of a door, or the middle of a room, you can place a rug down so that your hardwood floor can be saved from some serious wear and tear. Rugs are also a great way to dress up your home and even though hardwood floors are pretty, they can also look bland if there aren’t a few rugs here and there to jazz things up.
Mini blinds should be dusted regularly so that cleaning will be easier. To clean the blinds, take them down and put them in a warm tub of soapy water with some white vinegar. Swish them around a little and rinse with warm water. Hang them to dry.
To keep the dust from collecting on the blinds, try collecting the used fabric softener sheets in a little box next to the dryer. Use the old sheets every now and then to wipe the dust off your blinds. This will create an anti static reaction on the blinds and the dust won’t be able to settle on them.
The old standard for window cleaning still remains as effective as it did fifty years ago—newspapers and straight white vinegar will get windows spotless but often leaves streaks. The formula below leaves your windows clean, without the streaks, and is less expensive than commercially used products.
- 1/2 cup white vinegar
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- Add ingredients to 3/4 gallon of water.
Dry windows on the outside in one direction (e.g. side to side) and inside in the other direction (e.g. up and down). This will help you see if there is any streaking.
The major complaint with using newspaper to clean windows is the ink stains left on your hands. To avoid this try using large coffee filters. They are lint free and relatively cheap. They also leave a shine that paper towels don’t leave. Many window frames are not only made of a delicate aluminum but are also painted, making cleaning even more of an issue. Window frames seem to pick up some of the most difficult to clean dust. Grease, sticky pollen and bugs are especially attracted to window frames. Always use a mild non-abrasive cleaner with a soft cloth as to not damage the paint or the aluminum.
Baseboards can be difficult to clean. The longer a baseboard goes between cleaning, the more dust there will be to clean off. Over time, dust particles can become stuck to your baseboards and it will take more time and energy to scrape them clean again.
First take a vacuum cleaner and go over the baseboards where they meet up with your flooring or carpet. This will help remove as much dust a possible.
When you have finished vacuuming, use a clean rag dipped in water to wipe the baseboards clean. If water is unsuccessful at removing the dust that has accumulated on the baseboards you may have to use some sort of cleaning solution. Start with soapy water. If that doesn’t work, try one of the home remedies that are listed below. Make sure that you continue your baseboard cleaning all around the room.
As most people have baseboards that need to be cleaned regularly, there are some common and not-so-common cleaning solutions that you can try. Listed below are some clever home remedies for a dirty or dusty baseboard:
Once you have cleaned the baseboards, wipe the baseboards again with a used fabric softener sheet. The fabric softener sheet will create a mild static charge that will actually help to prevent dust from settling on the clean baseboard again.
Once you give your baseboards a good cleaning, another way to prevent having to clean them again in the near future is to go back over a clean baseboard with some auto wax (turtle wax). You won’t have as much buildup on your baseboards and the dust that does settle can be easily cleaned with a vacuum extension hose.
To make a simple homemade baseboard cleaner all you need is vinegar and water. Add 1 cup of white vinegar to 5 cups of hot water. Mix the solution together and use a rag or sponge to wipe down the baseboard.
Make sure that you do not over saturate the area of the baseboard that you are working on. If your cleaning solution drips onto the carpet it may cause discoloration. Make sure that you wring out the rag or sponge that you are using so that it is just damp enough to loosen the dust without dripping.
