What Is the Best Cleaning Method for Baseboards?

Baseboards can accumulate a lot of dirt over time. If you have kids or pets in the house, the baseboards can be tough to clean, and there are some right and wrong ways to clean them.

We would like to offer you suggestions for the best ways to clean baseboards, giving you some good options and ensuring you can get the job done well. Your baseboards don’t have to be a challenge any longer.

Baseboards Can Be Tricky

One thing most people hate about cleaning baseboards is that they have all sorts of little edges and features that can make them difficult to clean. If you are trying to clean a baseboard, and you have to navigate around the lip and decorative features and are having a hard time cleaning the dust off, you are not alone. A lot of people will struggle with this task, which is why some basic cleaning techniques don’t always cut it for baseboards.

If you have simple baseboards, then the cleaning is easier, but even so, baseboards are next to the floor. That means you have to stretch or bend or squat to clean them well, and that is a pain. So, yes, cleaning baseboards is not easy, but we will share with you a few methods you can use that will ensure you do the job right and don’t give yourself any added difficulty as you clean.

Do a Light Dusting

The first step is to dust off the baseboards. You can use a feather duster, scrubbing pad, or even a broom. You are simply trying to remove the surface dirt, getting rid of that layer of dust and revealing what needs to be scrubbed and worked hard on to make the baseboards look great.

The best thing to use for this step is any kind of long tool with a brush or pad on the end. That will save you from having to bend down and strain your back as you clean. Just make sure that the tool is not too long and the cleaning end is not too loose that it would give you trouble dusting effectively.

Work from one side to the other and wipe down the entire baseboard before moving onto the next step. Doing this step the right way makes the rest of the cleaning easier.

Use a Scrub Pad/Magic Eraser

For the scrubbing part, you want to make sure you are using the right tool. We recommend using a magic eraser or a durable scrubbing pad. The Magic Eraser comes with a cleaning solution already in it, so it can wipe away stains and grime pretty well. A scrubbing pad will work best when accompanied by some cleaning agent, like soap and warm water or a multipurpose cream surface cleaner. Anything that whitens and brightens will work nicely in conjunction with the scrubbing pad.

For this part of the job, you will have to squat down or sit down to reach the baseboards and clean them effectively. That can be a lot of work, and it can be tough on your back and can strain your leg muscles. If this is too much for you, then you can have baseboards wiped by a local cleaner. Hiring someone can be a great way to take some pressure off yourself and make life easier while still getting all of the work done. Consider this option if cleaning baseboards is too strenuous for you.

Can You Scrub with Any Tool?

There are lots of cleaning tools you could use to scrub baseboards with. You could even wet a mop or a broom if you wanted to in order to clean the baseboard. Many people will use terry cloths and rags to clean as well, and these methods work okay, but they don’t deal with one specific problem that is a big one for this part of your house.

None of them can really get rid of scuff marks. Those are the often dark lines that are left when someone’s shoe or a door hits against the baseboard. That leaves a mark, and you won’t get those off without some scrubbing.

Magic Erasers and scrubbing pads are thick and strong enough to handle the problem, deftly removing scuff marks with some pressure applied. You cannot get the marks off quite as easily using a cloth or other thin item, and you can’t remove them by using a long tool that doesn’t allow you to put some serious pressure into the wiping action.

Keep Your Baseboards Clean

How do you make sure that your baseboards are easy to clean and don’t get as dirty as often? The simple solution is to clean them regularly. This can be tough work, and those baseboards are not always easy to reach, but this is the most effective way to keep them clean. You can do a light cleaning most weeks and a more thorough cleaning other weeks. The light cleaning can be as simple as running a broom over the baseboards.

If you want some help, you can always call on local cleaning experts to come in and clean the baseboards as part of their basic cleaning package. Or you can hire them for a deep cleaning. It is up to you how often you want to use them, but doing so can alleviate your workload and make it easier to keep the baseboards cleaner.

The more you clean, the easier your baseboards will be to keep clean and the nicer they will look. With these effective cleaning methods, you should have no problem making them shine all the time.

Conclusion

There are many variations of the tools and methods we have recommended, so if you want to search for alternatives that work pretty well, you can find some of those online. These are simply the methods and tools that we most recommend. Your baseboards do not have to be the hardest thing in the house to clean, and cleaning them does not have to be backbreaking work, if you follow the suggestions we have laid out for you here.