Whether for books, picture frames or other knick knacks, shelves are great storage solutions in our homes. They keep everything organized and clean, but it's important to remember that shelves also need cleaning themselves. Giving shelves a regular cleaning should be one of our cleaning tasks. Here is a cleaning guide on how to clean shelves.
How to Dust Shelves
While shelves do need to be cleaned regularly, a light dusting with a feather duster is sometimes all you need.
Step 1: Remove All Items from Shelves
Remove all the stored items and place them in a safe place, preferably in the same order to make putting them back much easier.
Step 2: Get Your Surface Cleaner
When choosing a cleaner, you can either get one that is specifically made for the material of your shelf, or you can opt for an all around surface cleaner that can be sprayed on almost any material. After choosing your cleaner, spray a small amount on a dry towel or a dry cloth until it's damp.
Step 3: Grab a Feather Duster
Before wiping, sweep away any dust and dirt with your feather duster or a similar tool like a swiffer duster. This step lets you effectively remove larger particles or cobwebs before you begin wiping.
Step 4: Begin Wiping
With your damp cloth, wipe the entire surface of each shelf and let it dry for a few seconds. For a quicker drying process, you can follow up your damp cloth with a dry soft cloth to wipe away any moisture.
Step 5: Return Items
After you've finished wiping every shelf, you can begin returning the items, but not before dusting each one with a feather duster or giving them a good wipe down with a damp cloth. This prevents any residual dust from settling back on your cleaned shelves.
How to Clean Wooden Shelves
When cleaning wooden shelves, or wooden furniture in general, dust is usually the main culprit, but this can be taken away with a regular dusting routine. However, stains and spills aren't as easy to tackle and require a deep clean.
For this, you'll need some warm water, some mild dish soap and a cotton cloth.
Step 1: Make Your Cleaning Solution
After clearing the stained area of any items, you can start creating your cleaning solution. Simply mix together some warm water and a few squirts of mild dish soap to make a soapy solution.
Step 2: Clean the Stain
Get your cotton cloth and soak it in the soapy water before dabbing the stained area. Make sure not to rub the stain in any way as this may only worsen it.
Step 3: Wipe Away Soapy Residue
Once you've dabbed some of the solution onto the stain, get a clean towel. Soak it in some clean water and wring out any excess moisture until it's damp and use this to wipe away any soapy residue.
Step 4: Dry Completely
Once you've made sure that all traces of soap have been removed, get a dry cloth and dry the area completely.
How to Clean Shelves with White Vinegar
It's no surprise that white vinegar is a great way to clean shelves because white vinegar is a very popular household cleaning agent. For this cleaning method, all you need is some warm water, white vinegar, a spray bottle and a soft cloth or a microfiber cloth.
Step 1: Remove All Items from Shelves
As always, you should always store away any items left on your shelves to make cleaning much easier and quicker. Alternatively, you can remove these items and dust in sections if your shelf is large enough.
Step 2: Make Your Cleaning Solution
You can actually clean a lot of things in your home with a simple vinegar solution, including your shelves. All you need to do is combine equal parts of warm water and vinegar into a spray bottle and give it a good shake.
This vinegar solution is a very versatile household cleaning solution, but in case you're dealing with grease stains, you can add a few drops of dish soap into this mixture.
Step 3: Clean Each Shelf
With your cleaning solution ready in your spray bottle, give each shelf a good spray and wipe it dry with a soft cloth after a few minutes. Repeat this until you've finished every shelf.
Step 4: Return Items
After wiping down each shelf, you can now return all the items back to their original positions, but make sure that you give each item a good wipe first.
Things to Keep in Mind
Regular Cleaning
The best way to keep your shelves clean is to give them a regular deep cleaning. By doing this as part of your cleaning routine, you actually make it easier by not allowing the dirt and dust to accumulate too much, making them easier to wipe and clean away.
Tackle Spills and Stains Immediately
As rare as it may seem for spills and stains to tarnish your shelves, they do happen. They'll only get worse if left out for too long without cleaning, especially in wooden shelves that are more porous, so it's best to address any stained area as soon as you see them.
Keep Harsh Chemicals Away from Wooden Shelves
It might seem so obvious, but it bears repeating that harsh chemicals should never be allowed anywhere near your wooden shelves. Not only can these chemicals damage the surface of the wood, but the porous and absorbent nature of the material can actually absorb these chemicals, potentially damaging the integrity of the wood over time.
When in Doubt, Call a Cleaning Service
Not everything goes according to plan. There might be messes that you're unsure of how to handle, you don't get to regularly dust and clean your shelves, or you're too tired to even think about cleaning your home. When life gets in the way, Luce Home has got you covered.
Our well-trained and experienced cleaners can take the burden of cleaning your household off of your already hectic schedule so that keeping a clean home seems effortless and easy.
Send us a message and schedule your first cleaning appointment today!
