It’s cleaning time for your dining room! Here are some tips that will help you keep everything in your favourite room looking good.
Chairs
Chairs are great dust collectors so don’t forget to wipe them, including the legs.
- Vinyl: Use vinegar and water mixture then rinse with a damp cloth.
- Fabric: Wash loose fabric covers or removable cushions regularly, either by hand or using the washing machine. If you can, have two sets of covers so you can replace them immediately. You can use different colours to change the whole mood of the dining room. Brush thoroughly with a lint or vacuum upholstered chairs.
- Leather: Apply leather dew on scratch. For other colours, use shoe cream along the scratch.
- Timber: Use a small amount of cider vinegar, water and a damp cloth. Clean shellac or French polish with a good non-silicone furniture polish.
- Plastic: Use a cloth wrung out in water. For stubborn stains, use dishwashing liquid applied with a cloth. Treat minor scratches with a small amount of glycerine on a cloth.
- Stainless steel: Mix bicarb and vinegar together on a sponge and wipe over the chair, then wipe with a cloth that’s been wrung out in water.
- Chrome: Use a cloth with a little detergent and water or vinegar.
Tables
- If you have a valuable timber dining table, use a table protector to guard it against scratches.
- Use heat-resistant placemats and have extra mats for the centre of the table when serving.
- Use tablecloths to cut down on mess and speed up your cleaning.
Ornaments
- Brass: Use a proprietary cleaner or my choice of cleaner, bicarb and vinegar. If you’re coating it, use shellac rather than brass coat because to remove it more easily. Brass will tarnish even after you coat it, but the coating will help it last a little longer.
- Bronze: Use a damp soapy cloth, but never rub it or you’ll remove the patina.
- China: Use a hairdryer on a low setting and a small paintbrush for those difficult-to-reach areas. Every six months, wash it in blood-heat water and dry thoroughly with a hairdryer. If it’s very dirty, add a little detergent to the water, unless the item has non-china elements such as lace or paper.
- Clay: Vacuum and dust it regularly. Never soak clay because it absorbs moisture. If you wash it, do so quickly and dry thoroughly so you don’t lift the glaze.
- Cloisonne: Clean it with a vinegar and water. Never use soaps because it will tarnish.
- Embroidery: Keep it covered, inside cabinets, and where possible, out of direct sunlight. Hand wash it gently if it’s colourfast. If not, take it to a restorer or a dry cleaner.
- Ephemera: Keep it as flat as possible under glass or in cabinets. To keep bugs away, spray fabric with surface insecticide spray.
- Fabrics: Treat them as you would your best table linen. Keep them well dusted and vacuumed.
- Ivory: Use sweet almond oil applied with a cloth.
- Lace: Hand wash it in pure soap and rinse very well. Glue medical gauze underneath a hole in it until you’re ready to repair it properly. Embroider over the gauze in the same pattern as the lace, trimming away any excess gauze when you have finished.
- Paper: Keep it dust free and away from direct sunlight. Wash it carefully with a slightly damp cloth. Just dab rather than wipe the paper. If unsure, use a restorer or conservator.
- Silver: Use a proprietary cleaner or bicarb soda and vinegar. Polish it with bran.
- Timber: If it’s sealed, use a good silicone-free furniture polish. If unsealed, clean it with furniture oil.
- Tinware: Wipe it with warm soapy water and dry thoroughly with a rag dampened with sewing machine oil. This will prevent rust. To stop bugs eating paper labels on tinware, wipe the labels with a damp tea bag.
To speed up your cleaning, keep anything that collects dust under a shelf. The shelf will collect the dust rather than the item. If you have rugs, take them outside, hang them over the clothesline and whack them with a heavy item such as a tennis racquet, cricket bat or golf club, although be careful not to bend it. Vacuum the room.
If you need the help of experts, consider hiring the top cleaning service providers in Australia.