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House Cleaning Tips: A Three Part Series, Part I: The Living Room
Whether you are staging your home for selling or your place needs some sprucing up, this three-part series will help you get your place looking brand spankin’ new. To start the series, we will begin with tips on cleaning the living room.
The living room can take a beating as it is one of the most trafficked areas of the house. Here we break down the main elements of the room and offer our the best tips for cleaning each.
Carpet Rehabilitation
Furniture can leave a heavy imprint on the carpet which can be difficult to release. To un-train the fibers, place several ice cubes on the indentations and let them melt. Once dry, use a fork to pull up the fibers and vacuum to loosen them and make them soft to the touch again.
Organic carpet stains such as food, dirt and pet stains, can be removed with a recipe of one part vinegar, and two parts water. Place the mixture in a spray bottle and douse the stain with the spray. Lay a damp kitchen rag over the sprayed areas. Place a heated iron over the rag for 30 seconds. If the stain is darker, repeat the steps for a deeper clean.
Wood Furniture
If it has been a struggle to get kids and guests to use coasters, your wood furniture is probably covered with unsightly cup rings. There is hope, however. You can eliminate drink rings by placing a pillowcase over the ring and ironing it for 5 seconds. Lift the case to keep an eye on the wood and repeat until the stain is gone.
Those pesky scratches on the wood furniture can be buffed out with a mixture of ½ cup of vinegar and ½ of olive oil. Combine the vinegar and olive oil in a mixing bowl. Dip a microfiber cloth into the bowl to saturate it and ring out the excess. Rub the cloth over the table scratches and you'll see an improvement in the appearance of the scratches.
Sofa Stains
First and foremost, check your sofa’s label tag to see what cleaning limitations there are. Couches come in all different, shapes, sizes, colors, and materials. Be sure that you are not about to use water or cleaning solution that will ruin the fabric. Here are a few different upholstery codes that you may find:
- W: can be cleaned with water
- S: cleaned with solvents; no water
- S/W: water and solvents can be used
- X: vacuum only
If you are using a rag or scrub tool to clean your couch, use either white or beige colored sponge, cloth or bristled brush. Sponges and rags that are colored may bleed onto your couch.
Dusty Blinds
An easy way to get in between the individual slates of your blinds is to take a pair of cooking tongs, wrap each end of the tongs with small microfiber towels and tie hairbands around to keep the wrapped towels in place. Rubber bands tend to stick while sliding across the slats. Pinch each slat and slide all the way across each individual blind for dust-free blinds.
Dusty Vents
Clean your air vent grates by first using the bristle hose on your vacuum cleaner to collect vent dust. Next, spray 409 on a microfiber towel, drape it over a butter knife and slide across each slat on the vent. No more dusty vents.
Stay tuned for the next blog for when we clean your kitchen to be staging-ready. Need help with your move?Contact Compass today for a quote.