Cleaning Paintwork

You've got lovely fresh paintwork in your foyer -- moldings, stair rails, walls, and banisters -- painted in that crisp white or soft buttery yellow that wakes up the whole look of your house. You enjoy the look every time you walk in... at first.

Then come fingerprints,dust from the street, and scuff marks from packages you've carried upstairs. Those lines right about the height of your dogs, since they brush against the woodwork when they come to greet you. The grubby fingermarks all around the light switch.

It's not the same any more, is it?

Don't despair. You can keep paint fresh and clean.

• Start with washable paint. It just makes sense for high-traffic areas.
  
• Wipe baseboards, moldings, door and window frames regularly with soapy water. It's always easier to keep a clean surface clean than to get a dirty one cleaned up.
• Use cream cleanser to clean up any marks on paint. Test your favorite brand in an inconspicuous spot first to make sure it doesn't change the color.
• While you may think that repainting a grimy spot would help, it takes an expert to do paint touch-ups without showing. Chances are, doing it yourself will leave you with a more obvious mark than you had before.
  

If that fresh paintwork just doesn't look fresh any more and the dinginess is letting down your house and your spirits, you can repaint the woodwork and trim, or that one large wall right by the entry door, to freshen things up a bit between major painting jobs. It's an economical means to keep your home looking good.

Mould Control

Mould and mildew form on painted walls when there's a high level of humidity and inadequate ventilation. Once mould forms, the spores can become airborne. They can lead to allergic reactions and breathing troubles, as well as unpleasant smells and unattractive spotting.

Sometimes mould develops in hidden corners, up high in the back of a cupboard, or around a window frame where it's hidden by the window treatments. You may not realize you have a problem with mould until smells or health concerns bring it to your attention.

If you've been coughing and sneezing, or your home doesn't seem as fresh as you like it to be, check those hidden areas and see if mould is the culprit.

Here's how to avoid mould troubles:

• Keep your home clean, dry, and well-ventilated.
• When you dry washing inside, whether it's intimate apparel on a line over the tub or wool jerseys lying flat on a counter, open a window to allow the extra moisture to escape.
• When you run a bath, run the cold water first and then warm up the tub with the hot water. This creates less condensation than running warm water from the beginning.
• Use an exhaust fan when you shower.
• Deal with leaks or spills quickly, before the moisture soaks down into carpets or soft furnishings. Leaks around windows and damp carpets can eventually create mouldy walls, as well as mildew in the fabrics and fibers.
  
• If weather permits, open a window in your bathroom, kitchen and laundry room. Let the steam escape and have less trouble with mould.
• Insulate cold pipes.
  

Once mould is established in your home, you will need to deal with the source of excess moisture before cleaning it up. Once you've fixed the source of damp, you'll need to decide whether to try to clean the mould yourself. Here are some factors to consider:

• The size of the problem. If the mouldy area covers more than one square metre, you must have professional help with the job.
• The health concerns of your household. If you have infants, little children, elderly people, or anyone with breathing difficulties in your home, then you would be wise to have professional help.
• If you have tried to eliminate the mould once and been unsuccessful, you should have professional help.

If you have a small mould problem on a painted or papered wall, scrub the surface with water and detergent and dry it throughly. check the surface in a few days and make sure no mold is growing.

Even after the damp is eliminated and the mould is cleaned, you may still have spots and discoloration. If you decide to paint or paper the area, make sure that your painting and decorating contractors are qualified to deal with the mould problem as well as to do the painting. Preparing the surffaces completely will save you from having to deal with the problem all over again in the future.