Eyesore erasers

How the pros tackle the toughest jobs

Umbrellas, hair dryers, and putty knives might not be in your cleaning tool kit, but professional cleaning services and home stagers have a bag of clever tricks they use to make houses look and smell good enough to buy. So we turned to them for advice on how to get rid of some of the most annoying and embarrassing eyesores around the house—we’re talking about things like gross grout, mildew spots, dusty chandeliers, and other dirty jobs that require you to go beyond your ordinary cleaning routine.

Dirty baseboards and molding
They jut out just enough to catch dust, says Kristen Groves of Merry Maids in South Austin, Texas, who
recommends hand-washing baseboards and molding with warm water and a floor cleaner like Murphy Oil Soap.
But most important, she says, apply the mixture with a microfiber cleaning cloth, because it will pick up more dirt with a lot less exertion. Microfiber cloths that have been treated to attract and hold dust (not to be confused with Swiffer products) are also washable.

Grungy grout
You can put out luxurious towels and soaps and scrub the sink and toilet until they sparkle, but if the grout between tiles is discolored, the bathroom still looks dirty. The solution: Try to remove the stains with a toothbrush dipped in a solution of one part bleach and six parts water. You can also use a special grout cleaner and a grout brush—its
narrow head and slim handle make it easier to clean in corners and tight spaces. If that doesn’t work, Barb
Schwarz, co-author of “Home Staging: The Winning Way to Sell Your House for More Money” (Wiley, 2006), recommends going at grout with fine steel wool (from the hardware store) and Krud Kutter, an all-purpose cleaner that she uses for just about everything. Work it into the grout with a circular motion using the steel wool, let it sit for a few minutes, and then wipe it down with a damp sponge to remove any remaining dirt.

Cloudy chandeliers
To make crystal chandeliers sparkle again, use white cotton gloves. Dip one hand into a bowl of window
cleaner and use the other to dry. You can also use a mixture of one-third of a cup of vinegar and two-thirds of a
cup of water. As long as you’re using a streak-free cleaner, Groves says, you can just spray it directly on the chandelier. Place an upside-down umbrella on the floor to catch the drips while it dries. No rinsing required.

Mold and mildew spots
Don’t let them spread. Clean mold and mildew as soon as you see them, wiping walls, grout, and plastic shower liners with a special mildew-removal product or a solution of one part bleach and four parts water. You can machine-wash most shower curtains and liners. If that doesn’t work, spray mildew with the diluted
bleach solution and let it sit for half an hour. Scrub off, then rinse. Tip When working with bleach, make sure the area is well ventilated and wear gloves and old clothes. To prevent mold and mildew, Cori Morenberg of Ms. Green-Clean in New York City recommends adding a few drops of tea-tree oil (found at health-food stores) to water in a spray bottle. Spray on stall walls, tub, and curtain liner or door after each shower. Also, make sure to turn on
a fan or open windows.

Soap-scummed shower doors
To remove soap scum, Morenberg says to mix an all-purpose cleaner like Ecover with water. Dip a metal wire
scouring pad in the mix, add a dab of cleanser to the pad, and scrub away (or use Kaboom).

Scaly showerheads
Use a cleanser regularly to prevent deposits from building up. If a metal showerhead becomes clogged with
scaly deposits, the best way to clean it is to cook out the gunk: Remove the showerhead from the fixture, place
it in a pot with one part vinegar and eight parts water, bring to a boil, and simmer for about 15 minutes.
Soak a plastic showerhead in a solution of equal parts vinegar and hot water.

Filthy blinds and louvers
For regular cleaning, use the brush attachment on your vacuum cleaner. But when blinds, shutters, or louvered
doors are really filthy, use an allpurpose cleaner and scrub them slat by slat. To make the tedious job go
faster, Groves wraps a cleaner-treated cloth around the end of a putty knife or scraper (you’ll need a good 2 to
4 inches of surface area). Another method: Put on cotton gloves with pieces of cotton stuffed in the fingers
for extra absorbency. Then dip the gloves into a detergent solution and run your hands over the slats. Wipe
with a dry cloth or a dry pair of cotton gloves. Sabrina Soto, the host of HGTV’s “Get It Sold,” suggests putting old socks on your hands, spraying them with cleaner, and using your fingers to get between each slat. Then, Soto says, go over the slats with the same kind of dryer sheets you use when doing laundry. The sheets eliminate static, so the blinds or louvers will attract less dust in the future.

Dirty bookshelves
Yeah, we know, it’s a pain to remove all those books. But if you want them white-glove clean, that’s what you
have to do, and use a microfiber cloth that attracts and holds dust. If you don’t have the time and energy to clean
shelves thoroughly, cheat! Just vacuum the front of the shelves with the crevice tool. Also, vacuuming floors around
the shelves regularly can prevent dust from collecting on your books.

Dusty lamp shades
Use a hair dryer on the cool setting to blow dust buildup off lamp shades, or try canned air, the kind made for cleaning computer keyboards. If the shade’s really ugly, Groves says, wipe it using an all-purpose cleaner on a microfiber cloth. Then vacuum with the brush attachment.

Grimy stovetops
Groves suggests using a product made for degreasing or a homemade paste of baking soda and water. After applying it to the surface with a sponge or cloth, let it sit for 3 to 5 minutes, then wipe clean. Buff with a microfiber cloth.

Scuff-marked floors
To clean shoe scuff marks from wood floors, wipe with an all-purpose cleaner. Sealed-finish floors will take a little more elbow grease: Rub with fine steel wool and a wood-floor cleaner. Then wipe dry and polish. You can remove scuff marks from linoleum with paint thinner or a citrus-based cleaner. Remove heel marks from vinyl flooring with baking soda on a damp sponge or cloth

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