If you just read the title of this article and said “wait I am supposed to clean the baseboards?” you are in for a treat. Clean baseboards make a room look so much cleaner.
If you just read the title of this article and said, “ugh, cleaning baseboards is so hard that’s why I only do it once in a blue moon,” you, too, are in for a treat.
Cleaning baseboards is one of my favorite tasks simply because it makes the room look fresh and clean! I also paint my baseboards every few years for the same reason.
Clean Baseboards Last
Cleaning kicks up dust. Dust settles on the baseboards! Do them last, even after vacuuming the floors.
This also means that you are not cleaning JUST the baseboards. If cleaning baseboards is a task on your list of things to do, you will most definitely keep pushing it to another day.
Cleaning the baseboards should be part of our cleaning routine. So if you are cleaning the living room, clean the baseboards in the living room. It makes the task of baseboards much more manageable and regular.
Vacuum The Baseboards
I use the brush attachment to my vacuum cleaner. This is great. And if you do it regularly it can be all you need to do except for your Spring Cleaning or whenever you do your deep cleaning.
If you have lost the brush extension to your vacuum (we have all done it) or if you just don’t want to use it, a sock and a yardstick or some long pole like thing will do the trick as well.
Stains and Gunk
Even if you vacuum your baseboards regularly, there is a chance that your baseboard despite regular vacuuming will have stains and grime. It happens. For me, I somehow spill coffee on my baseboards? Why and how I do not know. I do drink a lot of coffee though.
A rag wet with water and dish soap can work. Your kitchen or bathroom baseboards might need a little extra love. I personally love Krud Kutter, but you may want to dilute it and definitely test it on your paint first. But this stuff is non-toxic and magic. I have used it in far more places than the baseboards, and I have never been less than shocked at its power.
You can also use a cotton swab to get in the crevices and bevels of your baseboards. Now you're really cooking!
As an alternative to the above, you can also use a Magic Eraser. This product is also magic, and you can do wide spaces as well as the crevices though you may need to twist or rip a little of the eraser off. I like these also because you can reuse them. I try to avoid using one-use cleaning materials. It is just so wasteful!
Repel Dust
Ok, admittedly I have never tried this, but I will. It was a recommendation from Bob Villa. Are you ready?
After you have put in all that work cleaning those baseboards, rub them with a dryer sheet. This will help them repel dust! And your room will smell fresh and clean for a few days longer!
And lastly, before you go and do all this work, please move the furniture from the walls. I know it is tempting to clean around the furniture, but then is it really clean?