Entries Tagged as 'Family Room'

Ceiling Fan Cleaning 101

January 26th, 2009 13 Comments

Dear Home Ec 101,

How do you clean ceiling fans? I’m especially wanting to know how you manage to clean them without dust bunnies falling down onto the furniture.

Signed,

A fan of fans

retrochick.JPGIvy says:

I suppose, theoretically, if you cleaned your ceiling fans constantly that there’d never be any little bits of dust falling off when you clean them. I, however, only remember to clean my ceiling fans every once in awhile, usually if I happen to be looking up when the fan is off. Or during spring and fall cleaning. So yes, I feel your pain about dust going everywhere when you clean the ceiling fan.

My old way of cleaning ceiling fans is to put some old pantyhose on the end of a broom and go from there. But when I worked as a professional maid, I was introduced to the wonder of lambswool dusters, and I got one immediately and never looked back. But that still doesn’t address the main problem- those weird snakes of dust that come tumbling down everywhere.

This was another trick I learned while working as a maid. Start in the master bedroom. Peel off all the bedding but the fitted bottom sheet. Get the comforter or coverlet out of the way and put the top sheet in the laundry (might as well take care of 2 chores at once, right?) Then just dust the fan, one blade at a time toward the sheet. This way all the dust comes down onto the sheet and not the floor.

Then take the sheet into any other room you’re cleaning and use it to catch the dust bunnies. Before you put it in the laundry, make sure to take it outside and shake it out- that dust is really dirty and you don’t really want that in your washing machine. Then just wash the sheet and put fresh sheets on the bed in your master bedroom.

Pretty simple, eh?

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Inky upholstery, oh noes!

February 14th, 2008 6 Comments

Dear Home Ec 101,

Hello! My three year old son decided it would be fun to draw on our car upholstery with black pen.

In the past I have been able to use hairspray on crayon with wonderful success (couch and table cloth), but I have never attempted it on pen. Any tips or am I better of just leaving the unsightly mess? I’d hate to try something and have it look worse.

Thanks,

Inky in Indy

retrochick.JPG Ivy says:

Give a little kid a pen and they will create a masterpiece. Unfortunately, if they don’t have any paper on hand, they’ll draw on anything that happens to be around, whether it’s their own skin or your walls or your car upholstery.

Fortunately, cleaning it isn’t that bad. You’re going the right direction with thinking hairspray, but it is the alcohol in the hairspray that does the actual cleaning. So skip the middle man and get some rubbing alcohol.

First, blot the stain to get up any excess ink. Don’t rub. Nowhere in this process should you rub*- rubbing will cause the stain to spread, so blot only. Then put some alcohol on a rag and blot again with the alcohol. Keep alcoholing and blotting until the stain comes up.

I find it really amusing that we’re using rubbing alcohol to clean something that is blot-only, but perhaps that is only me. Good luck!

*If you have a very large ink blot, you may have to do a tiny bit of rubbing. Work from the outside of the blot inward to make the stain smaller.

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Kitchen Grease: Not for Your Loveseat

November 14th, 2007 1 Comment

Hello ladies!

I’ve asked my mom, I’ve asked my friends, and I don’t know why I didn’t ask you two first.

Here’s the skinny: we bought our first new furniture early last year; a couch and a recliner.  My husband works in a kitchen, so he comes home sweaty and covered with kitchen grease and steam and all that good stuff (Ivy, you know what I’m talking about).  After a year and a half of him coming home exhausted and flopping into his beloved chair, we’ve got a nice dark mark right where his head rests.

The chair is covered with regular upholstery but was sprayed with Scotch Guard type stuff when it was manufactured.  Any bright ideas on how to get the kitchen funk out of our living room?  Other than covering it up with a towel, which I’ll likely be doing anyway.

Signed,

Mrs. Danny Zuko

Heather says:

After spending nearly ten years in restaurants, I do know the particular funk of which you speak. Before you do anything, I want you to look for your stain / warranty information.  There will probably be a phone number to call.  If you cannot find your paperwork, look up the manufacturer online and see if you can find care information.  If you have a warranty, you do not want to void it by improperly caring for your furniture.

My first suggestion is to try cornstarch.  Use a generous amount and rub it into the stain.  Work it in gently with either an old toothbrush or the brush attachment on your vacuum (while it is not running).   Vacuum the area thoroughly then wipe with a slightly damp rag.  You may need to repeat this process several times.  I have also heard of using this technique with salt, cornmeal, or talcum powder.  My only concern with salt or corn meal is they may act as an abrasive and weaken fibers.

If this is ineffective try using baby wipes on the affected area.

Your care tag will likely have some guidelines:

W – water based cleaners

S- solvent based

SW – Water or Solvent

X – Vacuum only

For tags marked W  try using diluted dishwashing soap.  Gently rub it into the area, use a dry cloth to soak up as much as possible before using clear water to rinse the area.  Blot, then blot some more.  Finally fold a white towel, place it on the armrest, and weight it with a large book.  Every hour or two change the towel for a dry one and replace the weight until the fabric is dry to the touch.   Use a fan in the room after the towel has been removed to further encourage thorough drying.

If your care tag is marked S, try an upholstery foam but please check it in an inconspicuous spot first and follow all the label directions.

Good luck.

Send your household questions to helpme@home-ec101.com.

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Carpet Care: Can it be saved?

April 20th, 2007 3 Comments

Please help me, ladies!

We’ve been in our new townhouse for about eight months. We have neutral-colored wall-to-wall style carpet in our living room. There are a couple of stains from who knows what – beer spillage, chocolate drool from a friend’s happy baby, etc. I spot-treated them (the stains, not the babies) and sometimes they have come out, sometimes they haven’t. Yesterday, the sun was shining in for the first time in a while and I saw stains all over the place. Anyway, I cannot get them out! I tried Resolve Foam Cleaner, no dice. I have a Bissell small steam cleaner and that isn’t helping much, either.

Is there any tried-and-true method for spot-cleaning a carpet and KEEPING it clean? There’s nothing worse than mystery stains that return every few months.

Thank you,

Spotted in Spencerville

Heather says:

Such is the life of builders’ grade carpet. We are currently saving to replace the carpeting in our bedroom. The original homeowner knew they would sell quickly and did not invest in upgrades  and compounded the problem by selecting a shade of cream. As I have severe allergies, we’re saving for hardwood as a replacement.

Spot treating:

Always test your carpeting in an inconspicuous area before attempting spot removal!

One of the biggest problems with many commercial stain removers is they offer a temporary solution and may leave the area more vulnerable to oils in the future or worse, leave a sticky residue that attacts more dirt. For water soluble stains, I have had the best luck spot treating with vinegar diluted with warm (NOT HOT) water. I pour a small amount over the stain and blot gently with white rags. When the surface dirt is completely gone, I place several white rags over the spot and weight them down with a heavy object for a couple of hours. The cotton wicks the moisture from the carpet and helps prevent the pad from becoming saturated, thus avoiding the potential for mildew growth.

Oily stains are more difficult to remove. Use a small amount dilute dish detergent and blot the stain. Remove as much moisture as possible then follow with the vinegar solution, blotting and wetting until all soap has been removed.

In each case, I suggest running a fan in the room for several hours after removing the weighted rags to help the area dry thoroughly. Vacuum to restore the carpets texture.

There is a chance the stain will wick to the surface and “reappear.” Simply repeat the steps.

General cleaning:

Frequent vacuuming is essential to carpet longevity.  Dirt destroys carpeting and frequent steam cleaning will substantially reduce a carpet’s life. Most builders’ grade carpeting is made of nylon which will stain unless treated with a product such as Scotchgard Carpet Protector. These products should be used immediately after a steam cleaning to protect the fibers from new stains. Other products such as DuPont’s Teflon Advanced Carpet Protector must be professionally applied. Personally, I find there is a trade off with these products, spot free carpeting, but a possible increase in chemical exposure.

Builders’ grade carpeting is often warrantied for five years, but will begin to show wear in less time.
Good luck!

Submit your household questions to helpme@home-ec101.com.

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Help with hardwood

March 15th, 2007 5 Comments

Dear Home Ec 101:

Any helpful hints on cleaning wood floors? I can get them clean and I can get them shiny, but not at the same time without doing two rounds. First with water/vinegar, then going over it with Orange Glow wood floor cleaner. But who has time for that?

And another thing about my wood floors:
Its been cold here this winter, the heat is always on. Its very dry, and the wood has actually shrunk! There are small separations between the pieces. Like cracks! They are getting filled in with crud! yuck! Aside from sitting there with a nail file and digging it out, any ideas? And how do I stop this from happening again?

Hopeless in Hartford

Heather says:

Chin up my dear, the secret to shiny floors is to STOP using Mop and Glo! Mop and Glo leaves behind a film. In fact some hardwood floor manufacturers say nothing but vinegar and water. Now, it sounds as though you may have a layer of build-up. It may take several moppings and some elbow grease to get rid of the crud. This is before

Always make sure you sweep or vacuum thoroughly before mopping, otherwise you’ll push grit into the finish. A slowly dulling finish is inevitable if you have children, pets, or feet, but we would like to put it off as long as possible.

Personally, I alternate between very dilute Murphy’s Oil Soap and heavily diluted vinegar. Why? It’s chemistry folks. The Murphy’s Oil Soap is a base and will leave one kind of reside behind, while the vinegar is acidic and will leave a different layer of goo. By switching between the two, you pick up what the other left behind.

My boards also contract and expand during the year, it’s almost like glacial movement on a micro scale and I find it oddly fascinating. I give the floor a good once over with the vacuum on occasion, to catch the bits that fall between the boards.

The picture on the left is of the area where my rug monkeys have breakfast, it gets sticky in a hurry. A once over with a damp mop was all it took to restore the shine. A final note, when you mop, always follow the grain of the wood to prevent streaking.

Submit your household questions to helpme@home-ec101.com.

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