Baseboard and chair rail cleaning

[DawnM]

We have those wood 1/3 walls with lots of framing like baseboards, and then bottom baseboards and chair rails.   We also have crown molding.

Anyone have a tried and true EASY way to keep them clean?   I would like a pole type cleaning tool to just run over them every couple of months or so.

Right now I run the vacuum tool over them every so often, but I really need more of a system.

Thanks.

[KungFuPanda]

I think the trick is to do it more often. You don’t even have to do a great job, but a quick pass weekly with the vacuum hose, swifter, or even a broom with a towel taped to it is going to be much better and easier than trying to manage it quarterly. The dust will morph into grime and then you have to actually pay attention and make an effort to get rid of it. 

[Carrie12345]

Yup, the majority of the issue is about frequency rather than method. Build up always requires more effort than routine “sweeps”.

Personally, I find that cleaners with lots of ingredients then attract more dust/grime, so I try to stick with regular dry wipes unless something has been dripped or splattered.

[matrips]

I give that job to my kids.  It’s an easy and fast one, and they get get down easier than me. We use damp rags.

[Katy]

Get an extension swiffer duster for you (and a short one for your little one). I first use a new one on our large TV, then art & photos, then any cobwebs on light fixtures or ceilings, ceiling fans & high vents, shelves, molding, doors, and floor molding/low vents. We don’t have ceiling molding in this house but it worked in our last one for that too. Quick swipe & you’re done. Delicate stuff first, thin high to low. My house is about 2500 sq ft and I can do the whole thing in less than 15 minutes with one swiffer duster refill, minus DH’s office & the basement furnace room, but including stopping squabbling with the two youngest over taking the “better” swiffer. I only need two if I’ve gone longer than two weeks. 

The environmentally correct option is a lambswool or ostrich feather duster, but IME they don’t work as well and they need to be hand washed every time. I’d rather have a quickly cleaned house than be right about the way I clean. 
 

ETA: Oh yeah, the heavy duty 360 ones are worth it, but avoid the scented kind unless you have an unusually high tolerance for strong artificial smells. I haven’t tried the pet kind yet. 

Edited January 24, 2022 by Katy

[kbutton]

I would probably use a Bona mop. They have flexible heads, and the handle can be made a variety of lengths. I use a plain, clean Bona cloth to dust my painted walls. They have several different kinds of mop pads for different purposes. 

If they are grimy/greasy, I would guess that Murphy's oil soap would work as people use that on kitchen cupboards. 

Bona has a hardwood floor cleaner that would work on finished but not painted wood. I use it on my stair railings and such. Once it's clean, you don't need very much at all. 

I have also had good experiences with Liquid Gold for cleaning and occasional conditioning (1-2 times per year). It's not needed for dusting. 

[MercyA]

Swiffer dusters. I hate dusting with a passion and they are the easiest and most effective way for me to get the job done.

[ktgrok]

Do it more often, then you can just dust or wipe them quickly. I agree with the above that the swiffer 360 extension thing is awesome. I can use that to QUICKLY dust on top of bookshelves, door frames, etc as well. 

For baseboards I am trying to do "zone cleaning" where I do one area of the house a week, and baseboards get done at least every other time, so about every 6-12 weeks. And even then if i am mopping weekly I try to hit them with the edge of the mop if they look icky. 

[Beth S]

I got this telescoping duster for $3 at Walmart recently:
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Evri-Telescoping-Duster/580454564?athcpid=580454564&athpgid=AthenaItempage&athcgid=null&athznid=ptsub&athieid=v0&athstid=CS056&athguid=6MV-Dd_3pZa1tRi8lu2Cf-c_IhB9GR7U-FhP&athancid=null&athena=true

It's easy to use, and I never had dusted the baseboards, or chair rail before!

[lynn]

I followed a house cleaning service owner on you tube and  I deep cleaned all baseboards, doors frames etc as she suggested now in just maintain weekly by dusting everything with a swiffer.     Keeps the dust from building up again.  

[DawnM]

My house is mostly this:

And it is a large house.....so it isn't so simple as "just go over it quickly every week."   it will take some time.   It is pretty, but a PITB.

[Sneezyone]

I feel your pain. That is all.

[Katy]

28 minutes ago, DawnM said:

My house is mostly this:

And it is a large house.....so it isn't so simple as "just go over it quickly every week."   it will take some time.   It is pretty, but a PITB.

It's beautiful.  I still say a 360 swiffer duster with telescoping handle, a quick pass will do, but even quickly it will likely take 45 minutes to an hour.

[Drama Llama]

I have no advice, but every time I see a bit of your house, it's gorgeous.  I wish I could see the whole thing!  I don't wish I had to clean it though.

[KungFuPanda]

1 hour ago, DawnM said:

My house is mostly this:

And it is a large house.....so it isn't so simple as "just go over it quickly every week."   it will take some time.   It is pretty, but a PITB.

You need an Electrostatic Duster. The WORST vacuum I ever owned in my life had one of these and I kept it when I trashed the vacuum. The static grabs the dust quickly and efficiently and it’s easy to clean with a vacuum hose. The bigger the head on your duster, the faster the job goes. It seems like all of your molding would take forever, but if you actually timed it, it’s probably about 2 minutes per room. 

[Carrie12345]

7 hours ago, DawnM said:

My house is mostly this:

And it is a large house.....so it isn't so simple as "just go over it quickly every week."   it will take some time.   It is pretty, but a PITB.

Absolutely gorgeous!  But doesn’t defy physics.  It’s still going to be x amount of time on the regular or some exponent of x occasionally. I can only guess, but I’m thinking the exponent is a very hefty one with all that detail! 

Normally I’m on board with the idea of farming dusting out to kids. In this case, I might try it out, but I’d be a little worried that they’d leave a lot of gunk trapped in all those corners. 
 

[Pawz4me]

I'd set up a rotational schedule where I did a room (or two or three) every week with a Swiffer or one of those electrostatic dusters. You may need a schedule where you do your most used rooms more frequently than those that get less use. It wouldn't add much to the cleaning time--if you do it regularly a quick swipe is really all that should be needed. The hard part (for me at least) would be sticking to the schedule consistently. But the trick there is that if you miss a week you pick up where you left off the next week. If you do it regularly it really should just take a quick swipe, because the dust won't be settled to where it's grimy crud. If that happens then you are going to be looking at lots of time in each room.

[ktgrok]

10 hours ago, DawnM said:

My house is mostly this:

And it is a large house.....so it isn't so simple as "just go over it quickly every week."   it will take some time.   It is pretty, but a PITB.

Do one or two rooms a week, is my suggestion. Rotate through them. Swiffer or electrostatic or microfiber duster. (I like the swiffer just because you can change the angle, for getting on top of bookshelves, fan blades, etc but that isn't needed for this). Electrostatic is probably best for this, those things are amazing. I bet they even make adjustable ones...I should check.