Home Management

Posts Tagged ‘stains’

Regular cleaning removes all cushions and vacuum, using attachments, or uses good attachments, or use a good stiff brush. Pay particular attention to inner sides and corners where dust may collect; this can be an attraction to mice. After vacuuming or brushing, fluff up the cushions and replaces them, making a point of reversing them if possible as this distributes wear. It is also beneficial to occasionally give cushions on airing out of doors.

Stains: These should be removed as soon as possible. Some furniture with loose covers can be totally cleaned; this can be either by washing or dry cleaning – follow the manufacturer’s instructions. For small spots and stains, you can sometimes use a solvent. Dry foam upholstery shampoo is also effective. Always test an inconspicuous place first, for color fastness if using water, of for any possible reactions to chemicals.

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Rub with metal polish in the direction of the grain. For cigarette burns, try rubbing with fine steel wool followed by linseed oil. Alcohol is also effective. Wine and spirit marks can be removed at once. How? Light marks may be removed with cigarette ash and linseed oil, and then polished. Sticky marks can be removed using a well wrung cloth, rub with a solution of vinegar and warm water. If scratches and dents are small then they can be disguised with iodine, shoe polish or commercial scratch cover polish. Be sure to polish regularly. Dents may come out if you carefully use a warm iron over a damp cloth on them. Regular treatment with scratch cover polish will remove the fades due to sunlight.

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In order to avoid a ring, first treat an area around the stain, and then work in towards the center. When a stained part of a fabric has to be dipped or soaked in a solution, hold the cloth by this area and then twist the unstained parts to prevent the solution spreading when the stained area is immersed. If the stain is to be treated with solvent first and washed afterwards, the best results will be obtained by washing immediately. Many solvents are highly inflammable. Never use near a naked flame. Always work in a well ventilated room, and do not smoke. Do not use methylated spirits on acetates or triacetates. While spirit may be used.

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Treat all stains as soon as possible. The longer they are left on the fabric, the more difficult they will be to remove. If treated quickly, washing powder and water is often all that is necessary. If this does not remove the stain and alternative treatments are available, try the mildest one first. Apart from those stains which should be soaked in cold water first, it is best to use warm suds immediately. Tests must be made to see whether a chemical or solvent is suitable for all colors. Try to do this on an inconspicuous part of the garment or article. Always place the area to be treated over an absorbent cloth or wad of kitchen paper. An old piece of toweling is ideal for this purpose.

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For stains which require special treatment a number of products are available. Laundry borax is safe on most fabrics. Use it in solution 15ml to 500ml of warm water for sponging or soaking washables. For white cottons, sprinkle borax on the dampened stain, stretch the item over a basin and pour hot water through. Glycerin lubricates and softens stains. Use diluted, 1 part of 2 parts water. Methylated spirit can be used as a solvent. It is inflammable and poisonous, so care is needed when using it. White vinegar is useful on certain stains. Keep acetic acid away from acetates, and avoid contact with skin. Household ammonia is useful for neutralizing acid stains. Use diluted 1 part to 36 parts water, and use on wool and silk. Household bleach is used on white cotton or linen only, dilute 14ml to 1 liter of cold water. Grease solvents come in several forms. Liquids should be used only in a well ventilated room. Aerosols contain powder to absorb the stain as it is lifted out by the solvent. Paste solvents can also be used on wall paper and stone. Turpentine substitutes, such as white spirit and lighter fuel, are useful as solvents. Petrol can be used as a solvent but it is dangerously inflammable.

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There are a great variety of these on sales in every super market, and the choice is bewildering. It is helpful to have some idea of the different categories of cleaners available in order to make a sensible choice to suit your requirements. By doing this you treat all things in your home in the way that is best. The following table gives a quick guide to the different cleaning problems around the house, the various products available and their suggested uses. There are various kinds of house hold cleaning liquids are available in the market place to choose from. Generally they are thick liquids that should be stored in plastic containers.

They can be used undiluted to remove scuff marks or burnt on fats on kitchen surfaces. Rinse with clean water. For floors or large surfaces, use diluted on a mop or sponge. Rinsing and drying and unnecessary. Scouring powders are cleaners with disinfectant properties. They are stored in canisters and often contain bleach. Scouring creams are liquids stored in plastic bottles. They are less abrasive than powder scourers. Scouring creams will clean surfaces without scratching. Good for stainless and porcelain sinks, cookers, baths and basins. Cleaner/disinfectants are dual purpose household cleaners in plastic packs.

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These are a luxury. Few people really need one, except perhaps those with a very large family of small children and those who have to entertain frequently. Indeed, many of the kitchens are not large enough to take one most must be plumbed in take up quite a lot of space. However, let us dispel some myths about them, if you really are considering one. They are quicker than doing the dishes by hand. You could only stack them in the time it takes to load and unload your machine.

They do cope with pans and backing trays, and they certainly get most if not all the food off. They are more hygienic than doing the operation by hand because the water used is so much hotter than your hands could bear. They dispense with the need for tea cloths, too. They will wash almost anything, but care should be taken with cutlery that has handles attached with animal glue, some types of glass ware and some plastics if in doubt, do these by hand. Dishwashers, however, can be expensive to buy. Add to that plumbing and running costs and they can be an expensive luxury. If your circumstances are such that you feel that having more time is more essential than wasting endless hours washing up, you might consider one. But take a careful look at the whole range before deciding. Size and noise are two priorities; some machines only take four place settings, others are noisy.

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Cracks or splits in wood can be glued, providing the glue can be spread fully on the meeting surfaces. The glue should be the strongest obtainable if the trouble is not to recur. Avoid general purpose glues. Buy one intended for boats and follow the directions, as these glues are strong as well as water proof. If good penetration of the glue into the split is doubtful, screw across head comes inconspicuously on an inner surface. Always drill a clearance hole for the neck of the screw, then a smaller hole for the threaded part. Use a countersink bit to let the screw head in level. If a glued joint has come apart, does not put new glue on top of the old as it will not bond. Scrape through the old glue to expose wood fibers. It helps to draw a fine saw sideways across the wood to roughen it before regluing.

Modern glues do not require tight cramping, but the surfaces have to be brought closely together. With framed furniture, such as a chair, rope tied across and twisted with a piece of wood to tighten it, can act as a cramp. If a joint has loosened, but cannot be opened enough to clean and reglue, a strengthening bracket can be screwed on, inside the framing where it cannot be seen. A triangle of wood could be sued at the corner of framing under a life out seat. Slope the screw holes towards the corner so they draw the bracket in. Metal repair plates can be bought, or an angle bracket, like a small shelf support, can be used in a corner instead of a wood bracket. For a flat repair there are straight and L-shaped plates, already drilled.

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If upholstery cloth has been torn, the easiest repair for a section that is not under strain is to sew a patch to the inside of the upholstery. Cut a piece of cloth that will overlap about 25mm all round. Pass it through the tear and position it with the end of table knife. Use the knife or a tapered piece of wood to push through latex adhesive. Spread it around and press the edges tightly, so that it penetrates woven fabric. If the material is plastic limitation leather, use an adhesive intended for PVC.

Fray the edges of a cloth patch before sticking it down, and round the corners of a limitation leather patch. If the plastic patch is thick, thin the edges by sanding underneath. If the tear or cut tends to pull open there will have to be some stitches as well as a patch. Use stout thread and zig-zag stitches if the pattern will not show them up too much. Do this over a patch if possible, but in some places it may be easier to stick the patch on to the outside of the upholstery, although it will then be more obvious. It may be possible to cut a piece for a patch from a turned in edge of the old fabric or the bottom of the back.

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Windows: If windows are very dirty, use a solution of methylated spirits and a little warm water, applied with chamois leather and rinsed off. There are many proprietary glass cleaners out there. After using one of these, polish the glass with a soft cloth to remove smears.
Mirrors/glass-framed pictures: Use the same solution of warm water and methylated spirits or a window cleaning preparation. Never rub dirty glass with a dry cloth or it may mark.

Blinds: Venetian blinds should be cleaned with warm water with detergent and a sponge. Wear rubber gloves to protect hands. You can use a special pronged brush for the slats. Treated fabric blinds should be wiped with warm water and detergent. Do not soak. Delicate lacey blinds should be washed, with care, with warm water.

Walls and Ceilings: before you begin cleaning, remove all objects hanging on the walls – mirrors, pictures, etc. and take down curtains or tie them up so that they are away from the walls. Also move the furniture to the middle of the room and cover it. Using a wall brush or a cloth covered broom, begin to dust the walls from the bottom up, clearing away all cobwebs and threads of dust as you go then dust the ceiling.

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