Without a doubt the fastest way to clean any room is to walk is to walk in and sweep it with a glance! Nothing could apply more aptly than to the living room. A few little tips and cleaning really doesn’t have to be a chore anymore.
How to Clean Mini Blinds:
- This speedy trick is for blinds that are past the point of no return when nothing but a good soak in the bathtub will clean the grime scene. If you do prefer to soak mini blinds in the tub protect it against scratches.
- Measure the blinds then drive two sturdy nails into the back of your home one foot shorter than the width of your blinds making sure they are high enough off the ground that the blinds don’t drag on the ground.
- Remove the blinds and hang them from the nails. Turn the slats downwards. Start at the bottom of the blinds and spray your way to the top using a foaming tub and tile cleaner. Wait until the foam has begun to drip from the top then sponge off, reverse the slats, flip the blind over and repeat from the back. Dry and rehang. This painless procedure should only take you 10 to 15 minutes.
- Be sure to spray the cord as well!
- Dusting: Let’s do it the easy way. Grab an old, but clean, cotton tube sock. Spritz the sock with our Wood Care diluted 5 parts water to 1 part Wood care. Use one hand to move objects and your gloved hand to dust. You’ll find yourself zipping through the dust.
Caution: Do not use microfiber towels for dusting. They are made from 80 to 85% polyester, which is plastic. Plastic scratches and it will over time scratch the sealant off the finish of your furniture, your car, the paint on the walls of your home, or any sealed or painted surface. The boxes used to carry warning labels but that stopped when sales were not going as well as they liked. Microfiber is wonderful for cleaning glass and mirrors.
- Cleaning Glass table tops. Never spray a glass cleaner directly on glass if it is surrounded by wood framing. You will destroy the finish. For all glass furniture, spray our Lint Free Towel with Benya and tuck that in a back pocket. Benya will not leave smears or streaks on glass or any surface. When you come to the glass table, you don’t need to remove the sock, just whip out the Lint Free Towel, clean the glass and return the towel to your pocket. Our Swifter Towels are wonderful and safe for cleaning TV or computer screens.
- Cleaning TV and Computer Screens: Use a mixture of 50/50 water and isopropyl alcohol to clean TV and computer screens. Never touch or use paper towels, microfiber or terry towels to LED TV or computer screens. Soft cotton like baby diapers or flannel cotton are fine to use.
- Carpet and upholstery: Carpet and upholstery stains got you puzzled? Please see our Stain Removal Guide for complete instructions on removing specific stains.
- Remvoing Cobwebs: Cobwebs tend to hang around the door hinges, window sills and across the tops of blinds and in those corners that are just out of reach. Purchase a new one and one-half inch paintbrush and tuck that in your back pocket while you clean. It is so much faster at removing cobwebs than feather dusters and you don’t spend hours removing the cobwebs from the fibers. One quick wipe with a clean rag and you keep going. Ok, so I use the back of my pants but who is looking?
- Removing Pet Hairs: Pet hairs on the furniture clings to anything you are wearing when you sit down. Our Dry Sponge is used dry. Without water it is safe to use even on delicate surfaces. Wipe over the furniture. It removes not only dog and cat hair, but dust and dirt as well. These handy sponges work wonders on pleated shades, lampshades, fabric car seat cushions, and just about anything fabric material.
- Cleaning Leather and Vinyl furniture: Leather and vinyl furniture also must be cleaned and conditioned regularly to prevent drying and cracking. Ink is particularly difficult to remove. Our Leather and Vinyl Care is the best on the market. Most leather cleaners only remove the dirt on the surface. They do not penetrate into those tiny crevices to deep clean and condition. This cleaner is one of the few that removes ink from leather and vinyl.
To clean leather and vinyl weekly mix 1 part Leather/ Vinyl Care to 5 parts water. Spray on and wipe to clean. For stubborn stains apply Leather Care full strength, allow to sit then clean.
Removing ink and blue jean dye from leather and vinyl furniture can be difficult. If our Leather Care cannot remove these marks nothing will.
- Removing Scratches in Wood Furniture: Most light scratches, water ring marks and greying in cabinets or furniture can be removed with our Wood Care. Apply, add elbow grease and let it set about 30 minutes then buff but do not remove the Wood Care. It will soak into the wood, which will restore the color.
- Young children: For young children, who are just beginning to potty train, purchase a plastic table cloth and keep it handy. When they lie on the couch for a nap, put the cloth on the couch fuzzy side up. If they have an accident, the fuzzy side catches the accident while the plastic protects your couch. Take the table cloth with you when visiting to prevent accidents on their furniture as well.
- Oil paintings: You can safely clean and dust oil paintings with our Dry Sponge . Use it dry, wipe over the painting making sure to change spots frequently to prevent dirt from spreading. Use our dusting brush to remove dust in the crevices. This brush comes in our package of the most useful tools you could ever have around your home.
Answers to your questions:
- My daughter just opened my gel pen and the ink stained my couch. I tried alcohol but it doesn’t help. What can I do?
It is very wise to write all your checks with a gel ink pen. Gel ink cannot be acid-washed off a check if your check is ever stolen out of your mailbox. Just be very careful to keep the cap on and out of the hands of young children or puppies.
Unfortunately I do not have any suggestions for removing the ink. Locate the company on the internet and find their customer service number. The service reps are very helpful and may be able to give you some suggestions. Sometimes there may be information on their website as well.
- Is there an easy way to remove cobwebs from my stucco ceilings? My walls are textured and the cobwebs smear when ever I clean those as well.
Grab a metal paint roller and attach it to a long handle. Purchase two to three replacement tubes of lint removers. They fit right over the paint roller and you can roll the cobwebs off any kind of rough surface. The cobwebs adhere to the sticky tape. Just be sure to keep removing the tape as it soils. This works quite well for stucco ceilings, textured walls, wood beams and wall paper.
When stucco becomes soiled it really needs to be removed and the ceiling reworked. It is difficult to paint over stucco without it falling down.
- I set a glass down on my coffee table and it left a white mark. What can I do to remove the mark?
First of all rub a bit of real mayonnaise into the mark. Let that set 30 minutes then buff to polish. Wait for two to three days, then treat your entire table with out Wood Cleaner and Conditioner. The Wood Cleaner and Conditioner will finish restoring the mark, you may need to rub a little extra on that area, and will clean and condition your entire table. Treat your chairs as well. All wood needs to be deep cleaned and conditioned at least twice a year to prevent dry and cracking. Our Wood Cleaner/Conditioner works well on all kinds of finishes on both furniture and cabinets. It will also prevent your bathroom cabinets from drying and cracking if you follow manufacturers guidelines.
- My metal table legs left rust stains on my carpet. Is there any help?
First of all, all fabric stores carry felt pads that are sticky on one side. I highly recommend putting them on all metal that touches any floor surface. And you want to put them on furniture legs that come into contact with hard flooring to prevent scratches.
To remove those rust stains, get a fresh lemon or two from the grocery store. Roll the lemon then slice it lengthwise. Squeegee the juice onto the rust spot and sprinkle it with salt. Keep the area damp with the lemon juice for several hours. Covering it with a plate will help keep the juice from evaporating. The next day use a damp cloth and blot to remove. See my Stain Removal Guide to learn the right way to blot. You may need to repeat this a time or two but it will safely remove the rust. It works well for any fabrics.
- The windows and skylights in my home are to high to reach without a ladder. What is an easier way to clean them?
Lightly dampen one of our Microfiber towels over the mop head. Extend the handle to reach those tall areas. Clean your windows with one side then turn the mop over to dry. This is a fast and easy way to do windows or skylights that you can’t reach.
Be sure to use a dry towel first to whisk away the cobwebs. Run the edge of Mary Moppins along the edge of the window sill to clean that along with dusting the cobwebs. You will love having one cleaning tool to do so many chores for you and quickly as well.