Easy Ways to Clean Dirty Baseboards

Cleaning baseboards is an arduous chore, and they quickly collect dust, grime, dirt, and lots of hair, especially in households with pets. Baseboards are often ignored, and they're sometimes the last areas of the home that are cleaned, but they're noticed more than people realize. Dusty, grimy, hair-covered baseboards stand out, and even if the floors are vacuumed, the dishes are done, and everything is in its place, dirty baseboards make a home look less than clean.

If you're looking for easy ways to clean baseboards, give the following cleaning methods a try. They make an otherwise time-consuming and backbreaking job fast and easy. You have nothing to lose but dust, dirt, grime, and hair. Try these easy ways to clean baseboards and your home will be truly clean, all the way from the ceilings to the floors.

Sponge Mop Method

I don't use a sponge mop to clean my linoleum floors, but I use one to clean my painted baseboards. A sponge mop and a bucket of white vinegar and warm water is really all it takes to clean dirty painted trim. Without bending and crawling around on the floor, the baseboards will be clean and free from pet hair, dust, and other grime that typically accumulates on the edges of trim.

Sock and Toilet Wand Method

A friend of mine uses a different method to clean dirty baseboards, and they always look clean and dust-free. Simply cover a disposable toilet wand with a sock, and depending on the trim, spray the sock with wood cleaner or vinegar and water. Her baseboards are wood, and a light coating of orange oil is all it takes to keep them looking clean. Also, the orange oil keeps her home smelling exceptionally fresh.

Soft Broom

It isn't always necessary to use a cleaning product on wood or painted trim. In between using vinegar and water I clean the trim with a soft long-handled broom right before vacuuming. This makes it very easy to vacuum up pet hair, dust, and anything else that happened to settle on the baseboards.

Sweeper Attachment

Sometimes a broom isn't enough to remove stuck-on pet hair, dust, and grime. A long-handled sweeper attachment with a soft-bristle brush is ideal for cleaning baseboards and trim if the dust and grime is a little more stubborn, and a crevice tool is especially helpful in corners. Consider buying a sweeper with attachments if you don't already have them. They're well worth the investment, especially when baseboards become extremely dirty and dusty.