Tag Archives: cleaning

How to Care for Teak Furniture

Teak furniture is treasured because it is a very beautiful and durable tropical hardwood. It is a strong, tightly knit wood with few knots and it does not warp very easily. The fact that it is behaves better in high humidity then most woods accounts for why it is used to make high quality furniture in so many tropical countries.

 

Teak also holds up well in water (even salt water!) and it also withstands cold temperatures well. The fact that it was so hard, dense and versatile which once made it very popular with British and Nordic shipbuilders. Teak is also termite proof. This resistance to being eaten by bugs makes it a good investment.

 

Another nice thing about teak is that it looks unique. The grain of the wood is never even giving it a fluid wavy appearance. The curvaceous appearance of the grain is very flattering on furniture that is also carved or molded to look curvy.  The wood grain of teak also ages in a very graceful way that makes it look more valuable as time passes.

 

Teak does not require any special treatment to take care of it. However if you leave the furniture out doors for too long without rubbing it with oil it will eventually turn grey. If you want your teak furniture to maintain its rich red or golden honey color then you should apply teak oil (available online and in hardware stores) every couple of months. However if your teak furniture does turn grey as the result of exposure to the element you can usually remove this silver coating with a soft brush and soap and water.

 

One caveat before you oil you teak furniture – make sure that it is completely dry before you apply any kind of treatment. If you apply oil while the furniture is wet then any moisture trapped then black mildew spots will develop. . Usually it takes two full days for teak furniture to dry after it has been rinsed with a hose or rained on so make sure you wait at least this long before you apply any teak oil.

 

Always remember to use teak oil and not any other type of oil to clean your teak furniture or you may ruin it. If you can’t find teak oil in your usual shopping outlets then try shopping for it in marine shops that sell materials for cleaning the inside of boats.

Tips for Cleaning the Bedroom

Here are some cleaning bathroom tips that are sure to make it gleam and sparkle —

 

First of all attack your shower wall and scrub it until it is free of mold. However if your tiled shower wall is really grimy you might want to fix up the grout before you do any cleaning. Repair the grout if necessary (you can get simple kits to do this at a hardware store.” Once you have touched up the grout, you can then scrub away the remaining filth using a brush and a mixture of one gallon of water to ¾ cup nonchlorine or hydrogen peroxide based bleach. ‘;’

 

To clean porcelain bathtub use a non-abrasive cleanser such as Vim.  Stay away from grainy cleansers and metal scrubbers when cleaning a fiberglass or acrylic tubs.

 

To clean tiled showers try using one of the new self-maintaining spray-on products in stores such as the one made by Lysol. Otherwise you can keep a squeegee in the bathroom and use it after a bath or shower to remove excess water from the walls. For the shower door you can use squeegee and glass vinegar or the much more ecologically correct solution of vinegar and water.

 

Cleaning the shower curtain should also be a part of your cleaning bathroom ritual. If the shower curtain is dirty you can usually just throw it in the washing machine. If the liner of the shower curtain is covered with soap scum then it can also be wiped down with hydrogen peroxide-based bleach solution or a non-chlorinated cleaner of some kind.

 

When cleaning bathroom, a toilet can be made white again using hot water or bleach or with one of the many commercial preparations put on the market for that purpose. If your toilet or showerhead is exposed to hard water you may find that ugly lime stains is a problem. To remove lime stains from your showerhead or the bowl of the toilet use a lime scale remover like CLR.

 

You can clean countertops with an abrasive cleanser. A soak in Clorox bleach can make a sink appear whiter. Use a good glass cleaner such as Windex to polish your taps and other bathroom fixtures to a fine shine. Use Windex or vinegar and water to give your bathroom mirror a streak free finish.

 

The ceiling of a bathroom is often forgotten yet it is a place where moisture often collects thus making it a breeding ground for bacteria. As part of your cleaning bathroom ritual you should always inspect your ceiling for mildew and if you find any wash it away with a non-chlorine or hydrogen peroxide-based bleach solution.

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