Wipe Down the Baseboards With Soap and Water Fill a bucket with a gallon of hot water and a few squirts of dish soap or a cup of vinegar. Use a microfiber cloth and soapy water to wipe down the baseboards.
Mix together a solution of warm water and a gentle dish soap that's safe for your baseboards--Becky Rapinchuk of the Clean Mama blog recommends 4 to 5 cups of water to a few teaspoons of soap. Soak a microfiber cloth in the solution, wring it out (you don't want it too damp), then wipe down the baseboards.
Lysol Wipe Technique
Using a cleaning wipe is an easy and quick way to bust baseboard grime. It can be an effective method for small homes.
This is great for extra dirty baseboards or baseboards in a kitchen that have a little extra oil or grease built up -- the vinegar will cut right through that. You can carefully spray directly on the baseboards or, my preference is to spray on a cloth and just spray and wipe, rinsing out the cloth as you.
According to Matthews, you never want to use bleach or anything too caustic or abrasive on baseboards.
Dish soap is highly recommended due to its grease-cutting and gentle properties, making it effective for removing dirt without damaging the paint or wood, says Marla Mock, president of Molly Maid, a Neighborly company. Use a vacuum with a brush attachment or a dry microfiber cloth to remove dust from your baseboards.
Baby wipes
If you're pressed for time and have cleaning wipes or baby wipes on hand, you can use these to quickly get your baseboards shiny and fresh. This method is ideal if you've got guests on their way over and you've just noticed your baseboards are looking grubby.
Vinegar is natural and safe mild acid that can kill 82% of mold species. Plus it doesn't give off dangerous fumes like bleach. If you want to use vinegar to prevent mold growth on surfaces, spray vinegar on the surface and leave it. Repeat every few days to keep the surface mold-free.
How Often to Clean Baseboards. Food splatters and spills that land on baseboards should be cleaned away as soon as they happen. Then, each time you vacuum or mop, dust the baseboards to prevent dust and dirt from building up. If you don't have time to dust them each time you vacuum, try to do it at least twice a month.
Deep Cleaning Your Baseboards
Use a simple solution of ¼ cup Pinesol or other all-purpose cleaner, mixed in a bucket with a gallon of water. Now simply wipe the baseboard with a damp microfiber cloth. For extra grimier baseboards, such as those in your kitchen or living rooms, you may need some extra scrubbing power.
Magic Eraser: Magic erasers are especially useful if your baseboards are scuffed up with shoe marks. Dip the eraser in a bucket of hot water, squeeze it out, and apply to dirty areas. Note: These should only be used for painted wood or non-wood baseboards.
Fix scratches with a fill stick, restore moulding with hot glue, and cover damage with wood filler. Sand and paint for a beautiful finish.
'Dryer sheets repel dust, too'
What's even better about using dryer sheets to clean baseboards is that they'll stop the dust building up again. 'Dryer sheets are designed to reduce static on clothes, and it makes the baseboard repel dust, too,' my mom explained.
Vinegar is better at killing mold because it can work on both porous and nonporous surfaces. It also terminates molds at their roots so the mold won't return and is also safer than bleach. You can even combine it with baking soda to make it more effective.
White vinegar, also known as distilled vinegar or spirit vinegar, is made by fermenting grain alcohol (ethanol) which then turns into acetic acid. Water is then added to the vinegar, so white vinegar is made of five to ten percent acetic acid and ninety to ninety-five percent water.
The truth is, vinegar does not kill 100% of mold in most cases. It only works on a very small number of surfaces, and only if the moldy area is very small. Even then, mold often comes back after vinegar.
A brilliant white baseboard looks modern, clean, and sharp—unless it's dirty. Here's how to clean baseboards that are ultra-white to bring back the shine: Mix warm water, dish soap, and white vinegar in a bucket. Dip a soft cloth in the cleaning solution and wipe away dust and surface dirt.
Mix a Cleaning Solution
Add one teaspoon of dishwashing liquid and 1/2 teaspoon of distilled white vinegar per quart of warm water in a bucket. Fill a second bucket with plain water for rinsing.
Varela cautions against using Clorox wipes to clean baseboards. They are fantastic at cleaning a lot of things, but they are not recommended to clean baseboards. “They often have abrasive chemicals that will damage your surface over time,” she says.
Fabuloso experiment results
Here's the thing: Both of these products do the same job. The cleanliness of the baseboard overall is not in question after using either product.
Bring that Swiffer out of retirement and use it every week on your baseboards. Purchase a Swiffer with the longer attachments, and you'll save time and effort with your weekly cleanings.