Room by room by Antoinette – Entrance Hall
The Entrance Hall in your home is often the first space that your guests will see. Taking time to ensure that this room is clean and clutter-free will enable both you and your guests to feel relaxed as soon as you come through the door.
With so many elements making up an Entrance Hall it is often overlooked as it can be tricky.
Here are my top tips on how to achieve the best for your Entrance Hall. It is the window into your home after all.
Order
- When cleaning your home a common mistake can be doing the hallways last. If the floors need mopping you need to think this through, as the worst thing is mopping and then having to walk back over your hard work. Consider doing the downstairs hallway before you go upstairs or vice versa depending on what order you have cleaned the rest of your house. This gives your floors time to dry.
- Vacuuming rugs and moving them out of the way is essential for a thorough clean. Expensive and delicate rugs should be vacuumed carefully and then placed safely somewhere to air.
- Bookshelves are often housed in hallways and can give a lovely aesthetic to this space. This feature is often neglected and can get very dusty. By using a Feather Duster you can easily eliminate the dust. The much maligned feather duster is great for getting to the tops of books and into the edges of the bookshelf. I highly recommend an annual prune and spring clean where all the books come completely off of the shelves to prevent any stubborn marking on your selves.
- Every home has it! The ‘Tidy Disaster Zone’. You know that drop zone by the front door. Shoes, scarves, jackets, scooters, shopping bags, Abel and Cole boxes… and anything else that randomly gets dumped there. Is it time to throw away the broken umbrella that’s been lurking there for 3 years? YES!
- Entrance Halls are also notorious for cobwebs. Staircases are often the highest ceilings of the house, so by using a Telescopic-Static-Duster, you can dust high-level cobwebs with ease.
- Light fittings and their bulbs show dust off when illuminated. So take time to dust light fittings and chandeliers. If you do have chandeliers in your home be very careful when dismantling. Allow an hour for this task and take a photo before you start from all angles! They are like a jigsaw puzzle, you do not want to be left with a random piece once you have carefully reassembled it.
- Carefully dust tops of pictures. Be careful of precious artwork. I find an old-fashioned feather duster comes in handy here.
- Polish mirrors using a special glass microfibre cloth for a sparkly, streak-free finish.
- Dust Dado Rails and Skirting Boards.
- Dust tops of light switches, then anti-bac wipe and polish them for a hygienic and sparkling finish.
- Dust tops of plug sockets, anti-bac wipe and polish them to ensure no dirt accumulates.
- Dust between the balusters (I bet you didn’t know that term!) for us common folk, they are the spindles or banister supports on your staircase. If they are really dirty, use the damp cloth to give them all a thorough clean.
- Hard to reach windows can be difficult and potentially dangerous to clean effectively. You may need specialist window cleaners. Please feel free to contact us for our recommended window cleaning partners should you require this service.
- Vacuum the whole area including the stairs. Don’t forget to do edges first with the corner nozzle attachment and then use the large attachments for each step. Ensure that you adjust for the correct floor setting for carpet, hardwood or other surfaces to do the landing areas.
- Mop, make sure you always mop your way towards the next room you will clean.
Enjoy
Now you can fling open your front door with pride and let your Entrance Hall welcome guests in. Think how proud (and shame free ;-)) you will feel the next time friends and family visit. Until next time. Happy Cleaning! Antoinette.
