Home| Home Improvement Tips | Cleaning Moulding and Trim
When we think of cleaning around the house, moulding and trim tend to be last on the list, if not forgotten due to all of the hard to reach places and crevices. While it may be difficult to clean and seem like a hassle, it is important to keep up with it to prevent future damage to your beautiful and expensive moulding. Here are some tips to help make cleaning molding and trim a little easier.
Cleaning Moulding
When cleaning moulding, use a microfiber duster on an extendable wand to get to all of those hard to reach places. Then every now and then, run the tip of the extended duster between your ceiling and walls, that way you’ll catch lots of dust and the occasional cobweb. If you don’t have an extendable duster, you can get creative and tape a cleaning cloth to the end of a stick or broom to get the same results.
If you need to take care of more than a simple dusting, you can take a microfiber cloth drenched in a homemade cleaning solution.
For wood moulding, you can use:
- 1/4 cup white vinegar
- 2 tablespoons almond or fractionated coconut oil
- 10 drops lemon or orange essential oils (feel free to combine both oils)
If you are cleaning painted moulding, you can use:
- 8 cups warm water
- 2 tablespoons liquid Castile soap
- 3 drops lemon essential oil
Cleaning Trim/Baseboards
When cleaning trim and baseboards, start by using a vacuum to catch all of the surface dust. You can also use a duster if you have very intricate trim or have a lot of hard to reach places.
To help keep your baseboards clean longer, you can rub them with a dryer sheet. The dryer sheet has antistatic properties that will repel dust. It will also keep your room smelling fresh and clean for a few days.
If you need to remove tough grime or stains, you can wash your baseboards/trim using the same solutions from cleaning your molding:
For wood baseboards, you can use:
- 1/4 cup white vinegar
- 2 tablespoons almond or fractionated coconut oil
- 10 drops lemon or orange essential oils (feel free to combine both oils)
If you are cleaning painted baseboards, you can use:
- 8 cups warm water
- 2 tablespoons liquid Castile soap
- 3 drops lemon essential oil
If you have white moulding, you could also use a magic eraser to get tough spots out. Just be careful when using this eraser, especially with painted trim, as it can remove some of the paint, leaving behind a light spot. If you are not sure how the magic eraser will work with your trim, you can test it by using it first on a small hidden spot that no one will be able to see.
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