How to Clean High Ceilings Safely and Effectively: Step by Step Guide

Ceilings are that part of the home which are mostly considered as ‘hard to clean.’ However, with knowledge on How to Clean High Ceilings Safely and Effectively, you can turn the whole part from daunting to the easiest and most desirable cleaning job in your house. The nature of high ceilings sometimes make them difficult to clean.

How to Clean High Ceilings

However, whether we like it or not, ceilings get dirty and unpleasing to our sights when they are covered with dust and other stains. Luckily enough, by removing debris and knowing the steps to clean your ceiling, you will be in a better place to clean your ceiling and have it retain the newly pleasant look.

Knowing that cleaning your ceiling will give your home a new look is however not enough. You probably are asking yourself what you need for the process and how to go about it. Well, no need to worry since this guide incorporates all you will need and how to go about the whole process of cleaning your ceiling and giving your home a new look.

The process of cleaning your ceiling is however nor considered complete before you clean the walls too. You are advised to clean the walls last since cleaning the ceiling can lead to dirt falling on the walls. All done, now lets dive into the cleaning process

Remove Debris

Using a vacuum cleaner, clean the surface of the ceiling. The amount of debris removed will absolutely depend on the type of cleaner you are using for the process. Using a duster, clean the entire surface of the ceiling to your satisfaction. You may need to clean or change the duster periodically depending on the amount of dirt that accumulates on it during cleaning. 

Wipe Dirt With a Microfibre Cloth

Some dirt and debris might not respond to a vacuum cleaner or a dry duster. For this sake, use a dry microfibre cloth to wipe the parts. Do not apply too much pressure on the ceiling so as not to rub and stick dust into the ceiling. Once your cloth is dirty or worn out, get a new one. If you cannot reach the ceiling comfortably, use a ladder or chair, or take a broom and fix the piece of cloth on one end and use it to clean. 

Deep Cleaning – Spraying

After dusting your ceiling, the next step is embarking on deep cleaning. In this stage, you will need water, a detergent, a spray bottle, and a paint roller. Some teaspoons of vinegar are an added advantage although it is not a must. Mix the water with a detergent in proportionable amounts and pour the mixture in a spray bottle.

Shake the bottle vigorously to ensure complete mixing. Take the spray bottle and spray the ceiling. Make sure to cover at least every part since you will get patches if you fail to do so. However, avoid soaking the ceiling due to excessive spraying as this will lead to dropping of water to lower places which may be harmful to other house accessories. 

Roll Over The Ceiling Using a Paint Roller

Dampen your paint roller and roll over the ceiling. You can choose to use a systematic pattern so as to cover the whole surface of the ceiling. You can choose to roll ina dubbing or wiping motion depending on the texture of your ceiling. If you have a textured ceiling, use a dabbing motion to get the most out of the cleaning process. Ensure you remove all the detergent solution you sprayed on the ceiling. 

Dry The Ceiling

After using a roller to roll over the ceiling, take a piece of cloth and gently pat dry the ceiling. The purpose of the drying is to absorb any residual waters and detergent on the ceiling. If you have difficulties reaching the ceiling surface, tie up the piece of cloth on a broom or a long-handled roller. Alternatively, you can use a chair or ladder.

Clean Stains

If you have marks or pencil stains on the surface of the ceiling, use an eraser to remove the marks. Take an eraser and gently rub the marks on your ceiling. An eraser will work well and get rid of pencil or even crayon marks on your ceiling. To remove large stains easily and faster, use a large surface eraser. Some stains may be persisting despite using an eraser severally, use baking soda in such cases.

Simply mix two tablespoons of baking soda and water in a bowl and let it settle for two minutes. Use the paste to wipe off the stains in a circular motion. For soot stains on the ceiling, apply Trisodium Sulphate mixed with water. For use of the trisodium sulphate ensure you follow the manufacturer’s directions on the TSP container for safety.

Safety Precautions

The whole process of cleaning your ceiling, just like any other process at home, can lead to accidents. No one likes accidents. Here are some precautions to take to ensure the whole process of cleaning your ceiling is safe and effective.

Be careful when using the detergent to avoid it from getting into your eyes since it may be irritating. Wear safety goggles when spraying the ceiling if need be.

Turn off your ceiling fans prior to your cleaning session to prevent accidents.

If your ceiling is made of asbestos, avoid disturbing the ceiling tiles. If you are unsure of this, consult an environmental testing service to confirm. 

If you are using a ladder, ensure it is firmly placed on the ground before going up to clean your ceiling. Have the ladder leaning on a wall if it is shaky. 

All caught up, you are now all set and know How to Clean High Ceilings Safely and Effectively Go ahead and schedule for your ceiling cleaning session. Ensure you clean your ceiling regularly to ensure it maintains a great impression for you and your visitors altogether. 

How to Clean Brick Floors Easily and Hygienically

Many of us with brick floors normally find it hard and do not know how to clean their brick floors easily. How to Clean Brick Floors can happen in a variety of ways. Whether you have already sealed brick floors or not, you must clean the floors gently with great care then seal off the surfaces of the brick floors with subsequent dirt grout situated among the spaces. 

How to Clean Brick Floors

Discover the best tips for how to clean brick floors below.

Before you begin the cleaning process, you must make sure that the ingredients you are cleaning the brick floors with have been specially made to clean such floors. You could also go for an ingredient, which has been diluted with other natural ingredients for better outcomes on the floors. Apart from that, you will find very many special ingredients for cleaning agents specifically made to remove stubborn blemishes. And can also be used for deep cleaning the surfaces. You will also find polish, which is solvent-based and can also be used with water, which can easily mix with polish.

What you should not do when you using these cleaning agents, is those, which have the potential to corrode the surface. As they tend to leave significant damage. Some of these may end up changing the color permanently. Besides, water mixed with polish or solvent is also not ideal for cleaning. 

Cleaning Your Bricks daily 

You can start to mop or sweep the floor dry, or vacuum cleaning to rid it of any accumulated dirt, which might have accumulated over time. Mix vinegar and water using a bucket, then go ahead, take your micro fibered mop and dip it inside the solution in the bucket. Before you start cleaning the floor, wring it properly. Another option is to use a second mop, this time a dry one to clear anything that might have remained on your brick floor. It will reduce any stickiness.

How to Deep Clean your Brick Floors

Start by sweeping the floor, then proceed to mop it dry, don’t restrict yourself to the two. You can also vacuum clean the whole area too. Always wear gloves, which are resistant to chemicals, which could cause harm to your hands, or face mask. 

To avoid choking from these chemicals ingredients, always ensure that the room is properly ventilated. Read carefully every instruction on how to use these chemicals. Alternatively, soak the flooring using your preferred agent then allow it to settle for some time before cleaning out the stain again.  

How to Wax Your Floors made of Bricks

In case you are waxing these types of floors, then you need to do it in a properly ventilated place. Also ensure that you have your gloves, which are resistant to chemicals on. Sweep, vacuum cleaners, and use a dry mop to clean the whole place. Put a mixture of ammonia and all-rounder cleaning agents. Add about eight cups of either warm or cold water into the mixture. 

Take the mop and smear the mixture onto the floor. Proceed to thoroughly scrub the areas, which have stains before you even apply sealants. Then go ahead and rinse with some cold water. Give the floor some good amounts of time to dry fully. After it has dried completely, then you can wax the floor.

How to Clean Brick Floors from Inside

These kinds of floors can be cleaned regularly using a vacuum cleaner. One can also use a cleaner, which is available in the stores. However, if the bricks had been sealed before being installed, then it would not be so difficult to clean them. 

 After vacuum cleaning such floors, you can also pass a damp mop over the floor after dipping it in plain water and remove the accumulated soil that is stuck there. However, when the soil that is stuck in between the joints and floor itself is heavy, then you might be forced to clean the floor with detergent while scrubbing it with a brush to make it clean before rinsing and wiping.

How to Clean Brick Floors from the Outside

Now we’re going to look at how to clean brick floors from the outside. As opposed to the ones on the inside, these may get dirtier due to their exposure to dirt elements since they are located on the outside. These types of floors require thorough cleaning. They can best be cleaned with the help of a cleaning agent, which is acidic.

 Another viable alternative is a sulfate solution. Care should be taken when mixing these solutions and should be done following the manufacturer’s instructions. Moreover, you may want to loosen out the dirt by the use of a washer, which uses pressure, and any other thing that might have gotten stuck on the brick floor. 

Nonetheless, you should scrub or pressure wash with extreme care as such activities may end up leaving visible scratches on the brick floor. It is best to keep to use the pressure washer at a considerable angle or distance. For more safety measures, you could use one that has either a flat or fanned nozzle. These kinds of washers normally come with a softer touch, unlike those that come with liners.

Mopping your Brick Floors

Apart from the above steps, there are various Do It Yourself ingredients that might come in handy for cleaning brick floors. Hence, it is always better to choose your product wisely. These home-made ingredients include borax, which is a very strong alkaline solution and should be diluted and used minimally on the floors to avoid corrosion. 

Another type of ingredient is Vinegar, a naturally occurring acidic ingredient. It will bring an extra gloss to the floor, as it also gets rid of any odor that might have stuck in there. Just like bleach, it will disinfect the surface leaving it smelling fresh and new. One other cleaning alkaline cleaning agent is Baking powder. Although not as strong as Borax, it is also another very effective homemade remedy for getting rid of those stubborn stains and the bad smell emanating from the floor. If you do not fancy the commercial cleaning agents, then you can have yourself one of the above home-made ones.

Sealing the Brick Floor

Just like floors made of stone, the brick floor is also porous, as they will absorb any liquid that has been leftover on its surface. Furthermore, bricks, which have not been sealed can feel like it has grit under your feet. The flip side to this is that the dust can easily be carried from one room to the next.

For purposes of sealing your brick floor, you can use either go for one of the two varieties of sealant. A penetrating sealant is easily absorbed by the brick floor, which in turn blocks the pores thereabout. This subsequent clogging is what makes it so impossible for anything liquid to pass through. The second type of sealant has been made of a film-coated product. It is usually applied on the top, leaving a glossy coat on the brick floor that is water and stain-proof.

It is the most preferred sealant by homeowners, due to its quality in terms of maintenance to such floors, with its relative and subsequent protection to these types of floors. Such coating covers every pore, hence, making it impossible for the accumulation of dirt to take place directly or indirectly in the spaces. 

Making Up your Mind

Before you settle on your choice of sealant, you need to remember that it might change the color and texture of your brick floor. Moreover, before you apply any sealer on the brick floor, ensure that it has been properly cleaned for you to get the desired results. Apart from that, in case the brick floor was previously sealed, then it is so that you peel off the previous seal before putting a new one.

How to Clean Brick Floors

These types of floors to the modern eye might feel very old-fashioned. However, this should not be the case as a properly maintained brick floor has the potential of being very beautiful. However, as cumbersome as it may seem, cleaning and maintaining brick floors can very easy only if you know how to about it. All you have to do is apply the methods that will always work best for you and you are good to go.

The real problem begins where dust and so much grit have accumulated over time. This is very common with brick floors. You should not get so much worried as there are several ways to clean such dirt. Nonetheless, to prevent this from happening, you can task yourself to regularly sweep and vacuum the brick floors. 

This makes the brick floors clean at all times, preventing any dust and grit from accumulating. Regular cleaning and maintenance make subsequent cleaning very easy and stress-free in the end. All you have to do is choose the right ingredients and equipment. As if it is not enough, you can schedule a deep cleaning every week with the help of a damp mop and for some additional protection, you can even go-ahead to apply a sealant to your brick floor as well.