Cleaning furniture and carpet in the Dining room
Cleaning Wood Furniture: Wood furniture must be deep cleaned and conditioned twice a year to prevent drying. Using a clean, old cotton tube sock, pour on some of our Wood Cleaner and Conditioner. It cleans and conditions the wood with one application. Remove water marks and scratches from dining room tables and chairs by adding a bit of elbow grease. It takes a bit of rubbing but the marks will disappear.
To clean your wood furniture on a weekly basis, simply mix 1 part Wood Care to 5 parts water. It leaves your wood with a healthy sheen and will not damage finishes.
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If your family uses your dining room table for homework assignments, craft projects or as a gathering place, keep it covered with either a protectant pad or a plastic table cloth. You can cover the plastic table cloth with one made with cloth for a more attractive setting. The plastic table cloth will protect the table from spills and accidents. Fingernail polish does not remove from wood tables.
- Removing a Coffee Stain: Oh, that spilled coffee used to mean hours of removing the stain. Not any more.Simply mix a 50/50 solution of water to hydrogen peroxide, use a fresh bottle as old peroxide will not work properly, spray on the spot wait 10 to 15 minutes then rinse with 1/4 cup white vinegar per quart of water. Repeat if needed.
If a whole cup of coffee has spilled blot what you can using heavy bath towels. Then treat with water only for the first time or two. Coffee spills for some reason continue to creap up from the carpet backing and the best cleaner in the world will not remove it all. So keep diluting it then finish with the peroxide and water mixture.
- Dinner by candlelight: Never place a candle on any surface without having a holder under it. Even when they are not lit, candle wax sweats leaving nasty stains in wood or any surface. Those stains cannot be removed.
Resist moving a lit candle. In fact never move a candle until the wax has solidified. Otherwise you will be searching my stain removal guide on tips for removing the wax. It's best to blow out the candle, let it set about 5 minutes then move it and relight it.
I highly recommend buying soy candles that do not smoke when burning. Look for ones that have natural wicks without lead. Breathing lead from burning candles is not healthy. Soy candles burn three to four times longer than wax candles. Burning smokeless candles saves your hours of labor cleaning soot from walls. Keep the wicks trimmed on candles to reduce the amount of smoke emitted.
NOTE: For removing candle wax please see our Stain Removal Guide
- Vases: Clean the inside of a vase by filling it about two-thirds full with a 50/50 solution of hydrogen peroxide to water. Then add one teaspoon full of baking soda. Yes do this in the sink in case it bubbles over. Let that set overnight and your vase will be fresh and clean the next morning.
Answers to your questions:
- I have small children and when they spill their drinks at the table, it soaks into the cushions leaving a stain. Is there an easy way to remove those stains?
With small children in the home where spills often happen, you might want to invest in a couple of plastic table cloths. Cut one about twice as large as the seat of their chair. Turn the tablecloth fuzzy side up. When a spill happens the fuzzy part catches the spill and the plastic protects the seat. Keep a second plastic cloth to place on the floor of any room so they can play games without the worry of staining the carpet. It also comes in handy for those youngsters who are potty training to place under them when they fall asleep on the couch or floor.
To clean stains turn to our Stain Removal Guide and search for the specific stain.
- My Grandmother's lace tablecloth has yellowed with age. What can I do to safely remove that yellowing?
Fill the sink with cool water adding 2 cups of 3% hydrogen peroxide. Use one-half cup if you are using a 20% peroxide. Soak the lace for an hour, longer if needed, rinse in cool water and air dry. If the 3% peroxide does not work, call some medical supply stores and ask for their 20% peroxide. It's more expensive but sometimes it takes that extra strength to remove the yellowing although the 3% usually works just fine.
- My dog loves to beg food when we eat dinner. My daughter just can't resist those sad eyes. What can I use to remove the half chewed food from the carpet? I keep getting a rotten odor coming from the one spot.
You must have a dog just like our Pepper. He was a pointer/setter mix. He set his rump on the floor and pointed his nose at the table. You will marvel how easily our Pure Ayre emoves odors. It is so pure you can even spray it in a pet's mouth to get rid of "doggie breath." Sprayed on your pet it removes all kinds of odors including skunk!
To remove the food particles head to a pet store for Natures Miracle. Use it first before you treat the spot with any chemical. It is an enzyme product. Enzymes "eat" away the food particles. However any kind of cleaner will kill the enzymes.
Be sure to sign up for my free bimonthly email newsletter for more of tips then grab your copy of "Whistle While You Work." It's fast and easy to read yet packed with as much information as you need to clean just about anything. When you do you will receive my free speed cleaning article by email. It is full of helpful hints a schedule and quick tips to reduce your clutter and give you back your time.
Please see the Floor Care Guide for cleaning any hard surface flooring.
Now take a tour of my Stain Removal Guide - it's free to print out then stop by the Archived Newsletter section for even more hints.
This article may be reprinted only with proper credit
given to Mary Findley, owner of Mary Moppins, Co.
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