Gleaming From the Ground Up: How To Clean Baseboards
Baseboards help frame a room, but they also see a lot of action regarding dirt and grime. Unfortunately, they may sometimes be overlooked when it comes to creating the chore list for the week.
From scuffs and stains to dust and hair, your baseboards have seen it all, but have you seen how dirty your baseboards are lately?
Let’s explore how to clean baseboards, including:
The basics of cleaning baseboards
Natural cleaning methods to use; and
Things to consider during your clean
Table of Contents
How Often Should You Clean Your Baseboards?
How often you should clean your baseboards may depend on:
Your lifestyle
If you have pets and/or kids
Where your house gets the most traffic
Generally, you should clean all of the baseboards once every other month. Areas that receive a lot of traffic and may be susceptible to dirt and other contaminants, such as mud rooms or hallways, should be cleaned once a month.
We love them, but children and pets can be messy! For houses that are full of love and beloved occupants, baseboards may need to be cleaned every two weeks to keep them free of stains from spills and pet hair.
Regularly cleaning your baseboards helps prevent dust, dirt, and allergen buildup. And if you’re one of the 20 million Americans with a dust mite allergy, this can significantly improve the health and happiness of your home.
Sound like a lot of work? Tidy Up Portland! can help. Contact the professionals today.
What Is the Best Way To Clean Baseboards?
The best way to clean baseboards is whichever way doesn’t hurt your baseboards (or your back). Unfortunately, sweeping and vacuuming alone isn’t enough to keep your baseboards in optimal shape so a little bit of bending and some elbow grease may be needed to clean them.
Harsh chemicals can strip the paint of varnish right off your baseboards, making them appear dull or uneven-colored. By using chemical-free household products, you can save money while ensuring that your baseboards are gleaming from the ground up.
Not everyone has time to manage cleaning with a full house and a full-time job. Baseboards are often an overlooked component of any to-do list, so it can be hard to keep up with them if you don’t have much free time.
Investing in a cleaning service is a great way to maintain the cleanliness of the small details in your home. Tidy Up Portland! includes baseboard dusting in our flat rate inclusions and full baseboard detailing in our spring cleaning inclusion. We only use natural products to keep your home clean and chemical-free.
5 Natural Methods for Cleaning Baseboards
#1: Castile Soap and Water
Plain old Castile soap and water is a time-tested cleaning method that is just as effective as a bottle of chemicals you buy at the store. Castile soap is free of any artificial scents, chemicals, or dyes and can safely be used on any baseboard.
Mix your preferred brand of Castile soap and water in a spray bottle or bucket, grab a rag, and go to town.
Just make sure you wipe away any excess moisture to avoid streaks.
#2: White Vinegar and Water
Vinegar is another famous natural cleaning agent. The science behind vinegar's legendary cleaning powers lies in the fact that it is 5% acetic acid, which helps break down the structure of dirt, oils, films, stains, and bacteria.
Mix vinegar with warm water in a 1:1 solution (one cup of vinegar and one cup of water), put it in a spray bottle or bucket, and use a rag to start cleaning.
Some people find the smell of vinegar distasteful. The same thing that gives vinegar its cleaning prowess (acetic acid) also causes the smell. Fortunately, it only takes about 30 to 60 minutes for the smell to dissipate completely.
#3: Microfiber Cloth
Microfiber cloths easily pick up lint, hair, and dust without using chemicals or making your fingers pruny. They are an excellent method for light baseboard cleaning and they won’t remove the paint or finish from your baseboards.
#4: Baking Soda
Baking soda is excellent at buffing away stains and diminishing scuff marks.
Grease and grime are primarily composed of fatty acids. When they come in contact with baking soda, a chemical reaction called saponification occurs, and the baking soda cleanes through the muck.
It is also abrasive, which can dislodge grit and remove stains from several surfaces.
For cleaning surfaces like baseboards, use two parts baking soda and one part water to make a powerful cleaning paste.
#5: The Sock Over a Vacuum Nozzle Trick
We added this trick because no one likes to spend part of their Sunday cleaning baseboards on their hands and knees.
You can try this trick if your baseboards aren’t too scuffed up or dirty. Stick a sock over a vacuum nozzle, secure it with a rubber band, and swipe it over your baseboards.
Since it’s recommended that you vacuum before cleaning your baseboards, you can give this hack a try. Just make sure you use a clean, hole-free sock (which should be easy because we all have a shameful stash of lone socks somewhere).
Things To Consider When Cleaning Baseboards
Move the Furniture
Whether you like it or not, we should be moving our furniture to clean the forgotten lands of dust bunnies, discarded hair ties, and objects we’ve been looking for for months.
While it’s not fun, it is a necessary part of deep cleaning for a healthier, dirt, dust, allergen, and irritant-free home. But don’t worry, you’ll only need to do this kind of deep cleaning every two months. To make it easier you can have a friend or family member help you to safely move your furniture out of the way.
Vacuum or Sweep the Area Around Your Baseboards
When you vacuum and sweep, you kick up dust particles and hair. If you clean your baseboards before doing so, you may kick and fling all those contaminants on your newly cleaned work.
Avoid this by sweeping or vacuuming the area around your baseboards as prep.
Avoid Using Caustic Cleaners or Anything That Might Damage Your Baseboards
Using bleach or other chemically laden cleaners may damage your baseboards, especially if they are made out of materials such as:
Stained/painted wood
Vinyl; or
Medium-density fiberboards (MDF)
Even magic erasers can strip away the paint from your baseboards, leaving them stained and splotchy over time. Avoid this by using gentle, chemical-free cleaners.
Tidy Up Portland! is one of the few cleaning services in the area that refuses to bring chemical cleaners into serviced homes. We use only green, natural products to preserve the health and safety of you, your home, and the environment.
Use Cotton Swabs for the Ultimate Deep Clean
For the perfectionists out there, the cotton swab is the perfect tool for getting in the deep cracks of baseboards. Whether your in-laws are visiting or you want to guarantee you get your rental deposit back after moving, you can use cotton swabs to ensure no spot or speck dust is left behind.
But not everyone has time to do a fully detailed deep clean in time. That’s when you can call in a trusted cleaning service to get the job done (you can also take the credit and your mother-in-law will never know).
Trust in Tidy Up Portland! To Leave Your Baseboards Looking Stunning
Tidy Up Portland! is the Portland area cleaning company you can trust with your home and baseboards.
Unlike other cleaners, we avoid using harsh chemical products, and we match you with your own personal team of professionals. Instead of a different person coming into your home each time it is cleaned, you’ll always see the same professional and friendly faces.
At Tidy Up Portland! we provide flat-rate cleaning services If you’re looking for a fully comprehensive cleaning package, we have various add-ons that we can include, such as:
Laundry Reset — We’ll wash, dry, and fold throughout the service.
Fridge Refresh — We’ll keep things clean, tidied, and organized regularly.
Pantry Organization — We’ll put your dry foods and ingredients in containers to simplify your pantry.
Leave your home and baseboards in our skilled hands. Book your first cleaning with Tidy Up Portland! today.
