Keeping Skirting Boards Clean
It is strange that skirting boards are one of the items overlooked in the home and yet they do so much to add a finishing touch.
06/03/2022
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Skirting boards are one of those elements in a home that no one really pays attention to; they are just there and are often overlooked or ignored. It is only when giving the house a good clean from top to bottom those homeowners realise, they have skirting boards and that they are, in fact, full of dust. More often than not, when sweeping or vacuuming a home, cleaning the skirting boards is one of those cleaning tasks that gets put off until another day until you finally give in and get down on your hands and knees to give them a good dusting - or cleaning if you have white skirting boards.
Considering the important job that they do by protecting walls from damage when cleaning floors, and let's not forget that skirting boards also provide a finishing touch to any room, here are a few nifty tricks to make cleaning skirting boards and keeping them clean easier.
Regular cleaning will ensure skirting boards always look their best as a finishing for any room.
1. Use a Soft Sweeping Brush
When you are getting ready to vacuum or sweep a room, before you do use a soft sweeping brush, or even a feather duster, to remove dust and debris from the skirting boards and then go over the area with a vacuum cleaner. If you do this every time you vacuum, you won't need to get down on your hands and knees to give skirting boards a good clean.
Avoid using a sealer along the top of skirting boards as tends to attract and hold dust.
GOOD TO KNOW:
A word of advice here. In my kitchen, when installing white skirting boards, I applied acrylic sealer along the top of the skirting boards to fill gaps. All fine and well but I overlooked the fact that dust sticks to the sealer and I now have to regularly scrub the top of the skirting boards to clean them. Sometimes good ideas are not that good after all!
2. Use the Brush Attachment on a Vacuum Cleaner
In this past week, I have posted two articles where a brush attachment was used on a vacuum cleaner, one where it can be used to clean curtains and blinds, and here where you can use a brush attachment for cleaning skirting boards. It is far better than bending down and less work to do as and when you are vacuuming the floors. If you do this regularly, the dust build-up will be less, and the skirting boards won't need and intensive cleaning.
Dryer sheets are a popular product overseas and are now available locally via takealot.com. Dryer sheets are known for reducing static which makes them ideal for wiping down blinds and skirting boards in a carpeted home and they will pleasantly scent the home as well.
3. Use a Dry Mop
A dry mop is another method for cleaning skirting boards, particularly if you have laminate or tile floors. You can even wrap a dryer sheet around the mop head to trap dust as you run it across the top of the skirting boards.
Timber skirting boards are the best option all round if white wood or urethane skirtings are not your cup of tea. It is also easier to keep varnished or sealer timber skirtings clean and they don't show scuff marks as easily as white or lightered coloured ones.
4. Intensive Cleaning
For skirting boards that haven't been given a good cleaning in a white, use a cloth and warm water with a dash of dishwashing liquid to give them a good clean. It is better to avoid abrasive cleaners as these can damage the surface and lead to future problems. Wash skirtings down and then use one of the methods above regularly.