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Spring Cleaning (Part 3)

OK. It's almost Summer and we need to be done with our Spring cleaning because the beach is calling and we need to work on our tan.

This post will cover cleaning floors and rugs.

1. One of the most important things you can do to keep your floors in good shape is to put a good quality door mat at each entrance to your home. Secondly, have family members remove their shoes at the door.

2. Next, vacuum your floors. If you have a canister vacuum, you can use the floor attachment to clean all of the hard floors and the carpet attachment (with beater brush) for the carpets and rugs. If you have an upright vacuum, vacuum each area with the appropriate setting on the vacuum. You might need to use a dust mop to get under furniture or into corners where the vacuum cannot reach.

3. Every type of hard flooring has a different guidelines for care. If you had your flooring installed then the retailer/installer probably gave you car instructions. If you inherited the flooring with your home, then you need to try your cleaning procedure in a small area that won't show (like in a closet or behind a door).

4. I clean wood, laminate, brick, and ceramic tile with a mixture of 1/4 cup vinegar to 1 gallon water. Make sure your mop is dampened with the mixture and doesn't leave puddles on the floor. Don't every use vinegar on marble floors. It will leave marks on the marble. In fact, if you have a marble floor, use a special marble floor cleaner.

5. When you are mopping, be sure to mop all the way up to the baseboards, behind and under furniture, and under throw rugs.


Rugs:

1. First, vacuum rugs "slowly". I say "slowly" because most of us tend to vacuum as if we are in a race and we don't give the vacuum a chance to pick up the dust and dirt. Once or twice a year, have someone help you flip a large rug over and vacuum the back side. This will help to remove imbedded dirt. For smaller rugs, a simple shake outside will get rid of a lot of the bad stuff.

2. To spot clean an area rug, use a little rug shampoo mixed with water. Dip a small cleaning brush into this solution and scrub the spot. Lay a clean towel over the wet spot. Press down on the towel to absorb the cleaning liquid. You can even stand on the towel if you want to. Now, add some clear water into the area to rinse the cleaning solution. Lay another clean towel over the area and press to remove the water. Remove the towel and let the rug air dry.

3. If you have carpeting throughout your house, you can use the above procedure to spot clean soiled areas. For allover cleaning, you'll do best to hire a truck-mounted cleaning service. If you have children or pets, I'd also pay the extra to get the stain protection service.

Comments

  1. What do I do to keep my rugs clean when I have toddlers? I'd love to have people remove shoes at the door, but there are always crumbs everywhere, even after vacuuming. If I walk around in my socks, they will be cruddy. I have tried putting tarps down under the chairs, but I was always tripping over them so I trashed that idea.

    Thanks for your suggestions ahead of time.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Let's face it.. . toddlers are messy. If you can, keep a small hand vac near your eating area. After meals, you can quickly vacuum up any crumbs. I personally think it is important to teach children to eat in a designated area. If you allow your child to walk around willy nilly, eating as they go, you WILL have crumbs everywhere. Have a little rug or chair that is called the "snack place". If your child wants something to eat they go to their "snack place" and have their snack. My daughter started doing this with my grandson and it works well. Even at my house, he looks for a rug in the kitchen, sits down, and asks for a snack or a drink. We still have crumbs and drips, but they are contained so they are easier to clean up. I hope this helps a little bit.

    ReplyDelete
  3. THANK YOU FOR YOUR GREAT TIPS ON SPRING CLEANING!! I FINALLY FOUND YOUR SITE!!
    lOVE MOM

    ReplyDelete

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