Our Best Tips for Cleaning Up After Our Children
Children. They change our lives, warm our hearts and sometimes they can create very creative messes that their parents have no idea how to clean. Any mom with a toddler can attest to the wide range of cleaning challenges that a small child can throw your way. From the crayon Mona Lisa on your living room wall; to the gum in your carpet; to the stickers on your furniture this video goes out to all of you puzzled parents!
Here are some tips on how to clean up after your children’s usual mistakes that end up leaving a mess around your home.
Remove Your Children’s Crayon Scribbles
If you have a budding artist at home chances are you might have some of their artwork on your walls. Here are three methods for removing the scribbles from your painted walls. You should test the method on an inconspicuous part of the wall first just to be safe:
- Rub it with toothpaste, just make sure it’s toothpaste not gel. The toothpaste should lift crayon off of most painted walls and then you just wipe the surface clean with a damp rag.
- Spray hairspray on it. This one is also good for permanent marker scribbles. Just spray and wipe it clean.
- Try an art eraser, you can pick them up at big grocery stores now. They magically erase all kinds of scribbles on a variety of surfaces.
Chewing Gum
Chewing gum is tasty, fun and a parent’s worst cleaning nightmare. So what to do if you have a sticky lump of gum in your carpet?
First, remove as much of the gum as you possibly can by hand. Careful not to damage the carpet fibers! Then put some ice cubes in a bag and hold the bag against the gum until it freezes. Once it’s frozen you can chip away at the frozen gum with a metal spoon, collecting the frosty shavings as you go. Once you have removed the gum completely you can use a little dry cleaning solution on the spot to zap any remaining hidden stickiness. Blot that up and finish up by giving the spot a quick scrub with a bit of soapy water, a mild dish soap works well. Rinse and blot dry with a clean towel for the win!
Remove Stickers That Your Children Leave Everywhere
Who gave your toddler the stickers? We don’t know but now your home is sticker-fied. When you try to pull them off you may be left with either a gray or white sticky spot. Clean freaks to the rescue! You can try:
- Nail polish remover – obviously you don’t want to use this on anything painted or on delicate materials.
- Hair spray – No really! Just spray it on and wipe it off.
- Heat. Use a hair dryer to heat the gooey stain and then clean it with warm soapy water. Rinse and dry as needed.
We hope these children-inspired cleaning tips made cleaning up after your children a bit easier. That’s it for this edition of Clean Freaks and as always: if it sounds like too much work just call Dallas Maids!
Remember you can contact us or just visit our booking page.
And here you can watch the entire video on our YouTube channel!