The house could use a major cleaning once in a while. Cleaning expert MarjaMiddeldorp therefore helps to solve everyday problems. This week: the printsof sticky children’s hands on walls and cupboards.
With hands in her hair, a loyal reader of this column is sitting. Anenterprising two-year-old daughter touches everything: the white kitchencupboards, the windows, the TV, the white doors, the glass table… “Andpreferably after I’ve just cleaned it!”
The biggest brain teaser: the sticky toddler hands on the white, texturedwalls. If you use cloths and sponges, the fluff will remain in the structure,with brushes the structure grain will break again. Cleaning expert MarjaMiddeldorp comes to the rescue.
Kids proof house
Cleaning guru Marja has studied this problem. “Before I start: I’m not aeducator, but besides cleaning you can try to stop your children from touchingeverything. You teach them: this is for the children, this is for me. Givethem their own playground, a Lego, I know a lot. Touch that, it’s all yours.And first of all, see if your home is ready for a new family member. Of courseyou think: ‘children, yippee’, but then it is best not to choose the mostexpensive beige carpet that they can and will spill on. And keep the walls assmooth as possible. Coarse, textured walls can also be dangerous, scrapingtheir fingers or forehead if they fall.”
Quote >>> Apply white toothpaste to the stain and move as if you were brushing your> teeth. Your wall will become whiter and look neat again.>> Marja Middeldorp
Anyway, you have a structured wall and it has to shine again. And that isquite difficult, says the cleaning expert from The Hague. “First you canvacuum your wall with a vacuum cleaner with a round mouth and soft bristles.Because where there are dirty fingers, there is also dust.” Then the St. Marcappears. “That is a product that is specially made for degreasing. The bestremedy in my opinion. Read the user manual carefully. You can buy it at DIYstores. Perhaps you can check there whether it is suitable for your type oftextured wall. The disadvantage of such a structured wall is that it islargely made of lime and is porous (ie there are air bubbles in the material,ed.). This makes it difficult to clean it. But with this tool it still works.”
Do you still see spots? “Buy the cheapest white toothpaste, not with those redand blue stripes, and put some of it on an old, soft toothbrush. Apply it tothe stain and move as if you were brushing your teeth. Your wall will becomewhiter and look neat again, the structure has been polished. But again: achild should know that a wall is not his domain. With a coarse structure wallit is always difficult to clean and it is an obstacle every time. So I’d saytake the kids to the grandparents for a day and smooth out that wall. I myselfhave a protective layer with transparent paint in the kitchen, which causesmuch less staining.”
Quote >>> If you don’t feel any resistance when rubbing it dry, your cabinet is free> of grease.>> Marja Middeldorp
film layer
Okay, those walls are clean. But then you still have the fingerprints on glassor on the kitchen cupboards. “You can clean the refrigerator and the mirrorswith my ‘lean soapy water’ (a half-full bucket of water with a dash of all-purpose cleaner, ed.). Then wipe it dry with a soft cloth. If you don’t feelany resistance when rubbing it dry, it is grease-free. No resistance, it wasso easy with children.”
“The kitchen is fat-free, delicious, but in no time there will be those greasyfingers again. Then I have another tip that I think works really well. Ialways have a bottle of car wax in the shed. You spread it very thinly on yourcupboard or refrigerator. Car wax is made to repel grease, raindrops andlimescale. Rub it in thinly with a soft cloth and rub it again with a cleansoft cloth. If children do touch it, the film layer protects the wax. The waxlayer is getting thinner and thinner, so every once in a while you have torepeat the procedure. Or in the meantime you have taught your children not totouch everything.”