Once every gift is unwrapped and every cookie is eaten, you’re back to cleaning up the messes your family leaves behind – on top of those that come standard with the holiday season. From wiping up candle wax to sopping up tree sap, here are five hacks to help you tackle the chaos that can come with Christmas.
- Banish burned-on food. Overflowing pies and dripping dishes can leave baked-on, burned-on messes in your oven. While the self-cleaning feature can remove much of the mess, sometimes you also have to use a little elbow grease. Mix together a 1/3 cup of water with the juice of two lemons in a baking dish. Bake the combo at 250 degrees for 30 minutes, letting vapors from the lemons loosen up the stains. When the oven is cool, rub the remnants away with a scrub pad or rag.
- Remove candle wax drips. If a holiday candle spills onto your carpet, freeze the wax with ice and scrape off with a knife. For any drips that stay behind, place a brown paper bag over the mess and apply heat with an iron. The bag will absorb the warm wax. If the candle drips on your hardwood floor, scrape it away and then use a hair dryer and towel to wipe up the rest.
- Wash away wine stains. A holiday toast can leave wine spills or rings on your tablecloth. To remove red wine stains, winemaker La Crema says to mix three parts hydrogen peroxide with one-part dishwashing liquid and apply the combination to the stain. Let it sit for an hour, blot clean and then try to wash out the stain. Just be sure to test the mixture on an inconspicuous area first.
- Say goodbye to your tree. Isopropyl alcohol can lift away tree sap from your carpet. Simply dampen an edge of a towel, blot the mess and wipe it with the dry side. To free the pine needles that embed themselves in your flooring, wrap your hand with heavy-duty duct tape and pat the sticky side over the needles to free them. Whatever needles do not cling to your hand can be lifted away using your vacuum’s strongest setting.
If post-holiday cleaning feels too much to handle, let Annointed Hands step in. From cleaning your floors to scrubbing your showers, we can help your house get back to where it was before the holidays hit with our residential deep cleaning services. Contact us today at 618-709-0238 to get your free home cleaning estimate or to book your appointment.