Best Way to Clean Baseboards – 5 Easy Steps

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What is the best way to clean baseboards? Baseboards are commonly overlooked when it comes to cleaning the home. If you ignore them, they will look grimy and get worse over time. In this article, I’ll describe the best way to clean baseboards so that they look fresh and new all year.

What is the best way to clean baseboards? The best way to clean baseboards is by following these 5 easy steps:

  1. Move Furniture Away From the Baseboards
  2. Vacuum the Baseboards
  3. Prepare Your Cleaning Solution
  4. Wipe the Baseboards Clean
  5. Dry the Baseboards

To maintain the cleanliness of your baseboards, clean them once or twice a week with one of these four easy methods:

  • Vacuum
  • Microfiber Cloth
  • Eraser Sponge
  • Baby Wipes

Don’t develop a habit of neglecting the upkeep of your baseboards. They can stand out if they are covered in scuff marks, stains, and dust.

Read on to learn more about the best way to clean baseboards, including tips for cleaning them on a regular basis.

Also, take a look at one of the best vacuum cleaners, the Dyson V11 Torque Drive Cordless Vacuum Cleaner. The Dyson V11 is easy to use, powerful and makes vacuuming a breeze.

Click here to see it on Amazon.

Best Way to Clean Baseboards – 5 Easy Steps

Follow these 5 steps to clean your baseboards and make them look new again. Later in the article, I’ll give 4 easy ways to maintain their cleanliness on a weekly basis.

1. Move Furniture Away from the Baseboards

The first step in cleaning your baseboards is to move all furniture and everything else away from the walls. This may seem obvious, but it will make the whole job easier and faster. First, move everything away from the walls so that you can see and clean your baseboards with ease.

2. Vacuum the Baseboards

Many vacuums come with attachments that are great for removing dirt and dust from baseboards.

The vacuum I use for vacuuming my floors and baseboards is the Dyson V11 Torque Drive Cordless Vacuum Cleaner:

Click here to see it on Amazon.

This is a cordless, lightweight, ergonomic vacuum with multiple attachments, including a perfect brush-baseboard attachment.

The design of the Dyson V11 vacuum allows you to maneuver into corners and around furniture with ease. Despite its lightweight design, this Dyson vacuum has twice the suction of any cordless vacuum.

Alternatively, you can use a microfiber cloth and dry dust the baseboards. If you use a microfiber cloth to clean the baseboard, you can use a yoga mat if you need to kneel on the floor.

3. Prepare Your Cleaning Solution

Make your cleaning solution by mixing two quarts of warm water with a few drops of liquid dish soap in a bucket.

An alternative cleaning solution is a combination of warm water and white vinegar. Mix these two ingredients in a bowl. Dip the sponge into the vinegar-water solution and use it to wipe the dirt and grime on the baseboards.

For an even more powerful cleaner, you can use borax. Borax can be mixed with water to make an effective cleaning solution, especially for caked grime and dirt. To make a borax-based cleaning solution, mix one tablespoon of borax powder with 2 to 4 cups of warm water.

Dissolve the borax in water by stirring. You can mix the ingredients in a bucket and then transfer the solution into a spray bottle. Be sure that you have dissolved the borax powder in water before pouring the solution into the bottle.

You can also add a few drops of lemon essential oil or other essential oils to give the solution a pleasant scent.

4. Wipe the Baseboards Clean

Dip an eraser sponge or other sponge or cloth into the cleaning solution. Or, you can pour the solution into a spray bottle and then spray the sponge or cloth. Don’t over-soak the cloth or sponge because it will leave liquid streaks on the baseboards.

Wipe down the baseboards with the cloth or sponge. Work on your baseboards section by section. Don’t wipe the baseboards all at once because you won’t have enough time to catch the formation of dried liquid streaks. Scrub the baseboards gently to avoid destroying the paint or finish.

Be sure to change out your baseboard cleaning solution when it gets murky.

Remember to also clean the baseboard’s edges and corners, including its accents. These tight spots are often overlooked and can have built-up dirt and grime, so they need extra attention. You can use clean cotton swabs dipped into your cleaning agent to reach into the corners and crevices.

If the stains and grime on your baseboards are quite tough, you can make the job easy by using an electric scrubber such as the Electric Spin Scrubber.

Click here to see this scrubber on Amazon.

This scrubber is best for bathroom tile walls; however, I have used it for all my other walls and baseboards to remove grime and stains. Test the scrub brush on a small part of the baseboard to ensure it doesn’t remove any paint or finish.

This high-torque scrubber will easily remove stubborn stains and marks from your baseboards. It has a 21-inch extendable pole, 4 different brush heads and runs for 1.5 hours after a 3-hour charge.

5. Dry the Baseboards

To prevent dried streaks, dry off cleaned sections immediately before going to the next section of the baseboard. Use a dry, clean towel or cloth to do this step. You can speed up the drying time by having an electric fan running and windows open for airflow.

Ensure there is no soapy residue or streaks as this would attract dust and dirt.

You can also use dryer sheets to dry and wipe down the baseboards. The dryer sheets will leave some amount of cleaner on the surfaces of the baseboards. They also help eliminate static, which attracts small particles to stick on the boards’ surfaces.

4 Ways to Quickly Clean Your Baseboards

Regular cleaning will make your baseboards look fresh and tidy at all times. Here are four simple ways you can perform routine cleaning on your baseboards. You can wipe down your baseboards once or twice a week to keep them free of dirt and dust.

Vacuum

Vacuuming is the most common way to clean the baseboards on a regular basis. Most vacuums these days come with a baseboard attachment. The baseboard attachment is often a brush attachment allowing you to run it easily along the baseboard with ease. This attachment allows the vacuum to get all parts of the baseboard, including the corner areas.

Microfiber Cloth

Alternatively, you can wipe down the dust and dirt from the baseboards with a microfiber cloth. A microfiber cloth will efficiently lift the dust and dirt deposited on the boards’ surfaces.

If you have a hard time kneeling and crawling down, you can wrap a microfiber cloth around a broom or yardstick. If you don’t have a microfiber cloth, you could use an old sock made of wool or cotton. However, a microfiber sock will deliver the best results because it can pick the finest dust particles from the baseboards.

Eraser Sponge

Instead of baby wipes, you can use an eraser sponge (also known as a magic eraser) soaked in water to clean your baseboards on a regular basis. This is perhaps the best way to clean baseboards every week or whenever they get scuffed or marked.

The Oh My Clean Extra Durable Eraser Sponge is one of the most popular eraser sponges on Amazon.

Click here to see it on Amazon.

They are strong, durable sponges that erase scuff marks, stains, and dirt built up on the baseboards and walls.

Baby Wipes

Using baby wipes is another quick way to clean baseboards on a regular basis. Baby wipes can easily remove scuff marks or other stains. One advantage of using baby wipes is that you can control the amount of liquid being produced. There won’t be liquid streaks on the baseboards when you use baby wipes for cleaning.

See the below video for other tips and a great demonstration of how to clean your baseboards:

Tips for Cleaning Stained and Natural Wood Baseboards

If your baseboards are stained or have a natural wood color, there’s a chance that moisture can seep through them. They are not like other baseboards, which are moisture-protected due to their paint covering.

best method to clean painted baseboards

So if you have stained or natural wood baseboards, the steps are still the same as earlier; however, you should also follow the below tips:

Work on Small Sections

As mentioned earlier, it’s best to clean your baseboards in sections instead of all at once. This is especially important when cleaning wood baseboards. Work in small sections so that you will be able to dry those particular sections at once.

This will prevent water or moisture from seeping through the wood and warping the baseboards. Cleaning and drying section by section will also prevent liquid streaks from forming on the baseboards.

So, after removing a stain, immediately dry off that spot. Work on the next spot and repeat the process.

Use a Wood Cleaner

A wood cleaner is made of special chemicals designed for cleaning wood surfaces. So, when using wood cleaners, open the windows to prevent the accumulation of chemical fumes inside the room. Use hand gloves and cover your eyes with goggles when working with chemicals.

Get another clean cloth or rag and wet it with a wood cleaner. Buff out bad stains using this rag.

Don’t use wood cleaners for cleaning painted wooden baseboards. This type of cleaner could destroy the paint on your baseboards.

Conclusion – Best Way to Clean Baseboards

So, to recap, what is the best way to clean baseboards? The best way to clean baseboards is with these 5 easy steps:

  1. Move Furniture Away From the Baseboards
  2. Vacuum the Baseboards
  3. Prepare Your Cleaning Solution
  4. Wipe the Baseboards Clean
  5. Dry the Baseboards

To maintain the cleanliness of your baseboards, wipe them once or twice a week with one of these four easy methods:

  • Vacuum
  • Microfiber Cloth
  • Eraser Sponge
  • Baby Wipes

Baseboards are often overlooked. They are not seen as easily as the walls or flooring. However, if you don’t clean your baseboards on a regular basis, they will attract grime, dust, and dirt over time. Follow the steps and tips in this article, and your baseboards will look fresh and new all year long.

Related reading:

What Is the Best Way to Clean Grout? Tile and Floor

How Long Does It Take for Grout to Dry

Best Way to Clean Tile Floors – 6 Easy Steps

Best Way to Clean Laminate Floors? 3 Easy Steps

Best Way to Clean Hardwood Floors? 4 Easy Steps