Ask Lucy: I’m sharing how to make your home sparkle
From stubborn stains to muddy floors, I’ve got you covered
Content creator Lucy Kalice is one of Ideal Home's Open House contributors, sharing her thoughts on cleaning, home decor and making the most of small spaces. See the rest of her articles here.
I spilt some curry on our work surface last night and forget to clean it off, now its stained! Can I get the mark off and if so, how?
I think we’ve all been there done that! And why does the stain always end up being an illuminious orange or yellow?! Not ideal, especially if you have white work surfaces like me!
Okay here’s what you’re going to do...
- Step 1: whatever you do, don’t panic.
- Step 2: get some Bar Keepers Friend powder. It does come in a spray form but personally I think it leaves a horrible lingering smell. Pour some powder out equivalent to the size of a 1p coin. Dampen a cloth or a kitchen towel and rub the powder into the stain and watch it slowly disappear (it’s like magic). If the stain is fairly big then of course use some more powder until it’s all gone. Then just wipe the area down with some water or a kitchen spray.
All in all it takes less than 30 seconds and no one will ever know the stain was ever there!
My wooden flooring is getting scratched by our kitchen table chairs…HELP how do I stop this from happening?
This is a real annoyance of mine too. Unfortunately there’s no way to get the scratches off the floor unless you replace the floor and that’s definitely not a cheap fix! However you can get little pads that you stick to the bottom of your chair legs that stop the scratching.
They are super cheap and are made from a soft material so they won’t scratch the floor. You should replace them when they get worn down (every couple of months or so) in order to stay on top of the scratch marks. You’re welcome!
What are your top tips for keeping your floors clean? I have 2 children (aged 3 & 5) and a dog and the floors are always filthy!
Autumn and winter are the hardest months to keep a house clean I think, mainly because the floors always need cleaning! And with two young children and a dog who are probably splashing in puddles, getting all muddy and walking their dirty shoes (and paws) inside, I can imagine it’s not easy.
There’s 4 easy things I’d recommend you do that will make a huge improvement to the state of our floors. The first is a no shoes indoors rule. Obviously your dog will bring their paws inside but we will get to that in a second. If you and your children (and any visitors) take your shoes off at the front door, it stops any mud or dirt being brought inside and your floors will stay much cleaner.
The second is have an indoor mat by each exit/entrance. We have a mat by our front door and our back door and one of my rules is that shoes come off, on the mat. So any dirt or mud that’s brought in on your shoes, is contained to the mat only. You can then give the mat a quick vacuum.
Now this next one is specifically for the dog. My third tip is to have a towel by each exit/entrance and to wipe and dry your dogs paws on the towel every time they come inside. With the amount of times my dog comes in and out the garden, if I didn’t wipe his paws down my floors would become a mud bath! It’s the best hack, especially in the wetter months when dogs get dirtier easier.
And the last tip is to vacuum your floors every day to stop any excess dirt from building up. It won’t take long and it will make such a big difference to your home!
