Cleaning Tips

Heritage Household Services

We are often asked for tips on how to clean difficult dirt, stains and spills and to make small repairs to surfaces and furniture.

Listed below are some home care hints from our home maintenance professionals:

  • Protecting furniture
    • Furniture wax helps delay liquid spills from being immediately absorbed -- providing time to wipe up the liquid before it penetrates the finish
    • Lemon oil applied yearly inside drawers and underneath tables help to prevent drying out
  • Minor scratches
    • Use a wax stick in a matching colour to fill in scratches making sure to rub well
    • Wipe with a soft, dry cloth and then apply your preferred polish
  • Removing candle wax
    • Harden wax by holding an ice cube on it for a few seconds making sure to wipe off melted ice immediately
    • Crumble off as much as possible with fingers and then gently scrape
    • Rub briskly with cloth saturated with liquid wax – wiping dry with a clean cloth
    • Repeat until mark disappears
  • Removing furniture polish build-up
    • Mix ½ cup vinegar and ½ cup water
    • Rub with soft, damp cloth moistened with solution
    • Dry immediately with soft cloth
  • Unsticking drawers
    • Rub a bar of soap or candle wax to drawers or runner
  • Paper stuck on wood surface
    • Pour a few drops at a time of salad oil on paper and let sit
    • Rub with a soft cloth
    • Repeat procedure until paper is removed
    • Do not scrape with a knife
  • Washing tile, ceramic, wood, linoleum floors
    • To prevent streaking when washing any floor, add 2 ounces of Windex to a pail of water
    • Murphy’s Oil Soap cleans woodwork and hardwood floors, but Windex and water is better for tile floors

Seasonal Cleaning Tips
Summer

  • Cleaning BBQ racks
    • Leave racks in the barbecue
    • Place foil paper on racks (shiny side next to racks)
    • Preheat barbecue to ‘high’
    • Close cover and leave for 20 minutes
    • Racks will have a white powder.  Wipe off
    • After grill has cooled, spray with non-stick cooking oil
    • Save time, clean racks after cooking has finished
  • Treating wicker
    • To prevent yellowing - wash with a solution of warm water and salt
    • To prevent drying out
      • Apply lemon oil occasionally
      • To prevent cracking and splitting never allow wicker to freeze
      • Use a humidifier in winter so keep wicker moist