I bought some little wooden chairs for my toddler from a yard sale. They are great quality, but marked with paint, glitter and dirt from general use. I've been scrubbing them with alcohol, which I found suggested on an internet site and does seem to working, but it is taking forever. Is there a shortcut or another product to get these clean or is it just time and effort?
BTW: before anyone freaks out about me using alcohol: I'm not doing it anywhere near my DS and I will wash it down before he gets it. Although he is unlikely to consume any unless he starts licking the furniture, which he hasn't done yet...!
Thanks!
The magic eraser worked a treat: the first chair looks good as new. Building up my energy to tackle the others! Thanks for all the suggestions. I will refer back to this as I tackle the inevitable messes created by a small child!
hi, I know you already used it, but I love the magic eraser. It has made my cleaning life, a bit easier. i use it for a lot of things. FYI, target has their own brand at a less expensive cost and works just the same.
BTW: I use alcohol on my girls ears anytime I put earrings on them. they have sensitive ears and the studs need to be cleaned everytime they use them, works great ;)
I use the Mr. Clean Magic eraser on ours, it has taken, crayon, marker, paints, dirt, and even sharpie off her table and chair set!
If you are looking to go non-chemical, check out a new line called wowgreen. You can find all the products at www.wowgreen.net/mygreenhome
There is a wood and dust cleaner as well as an all-purpose cleaner that I would suggest. Feel free to get ahold of me if you'd like to hear more about it.
There is also a link through member perks.
Try Goof Off - use it outdoors - it's stinky.
Also, good old steel wool and a lot of scrubbing and then maybe just repainting them with an easy to clean paint.
BTW-
The rubbing alcohol evaporates - you kid won't injest enough to make a fly sick from licking the furniture.
Boys DO tend to put EVERYTHING in their mouth! I just busted my 4 yr. old for licking the decorative rocks in the flowerbeds. If you ask them WHY they did that - they can never tell you!
I wouldn't touch another Magic Eraser if I was paid to do so! They contain toxins like formaldehyde=not safe for anyone. Sure they work, but it's because of the harsh chemicals. Just remember, we assume that cleaners are on the market because they're safe, but that's not true. The FDA does NOT require manufacturers to list the ingredients on their products. Now if these products didn't contain caustic and hazardous chemicals, don't you think they wouldn't mind listing them??? Let's not be naive, let's be conscious consumers.
Check out this article:
http://prohowtos.com/content/mr-clean-magic-eraser-produc...
Environmentally friendly, cruelty free, chemical free. . . . your grandma swears by it . . . it's been around for over 120 years . . .Bon Ami!!!
Check out the website for how you can use it- I love it!
http://www.bonami.com/products/
Greetings E.: Having 5 children, and several grandchildren I have learned to use a very old product called HEXOL. It has been used in hospitals for years and is safe.
Short of sanding down the furniture and repainting - which takes time but can be fun- you may not get all the stuff off just good and clean. Have fun with your little one, Nana G
We have a wooden high chair. It gets pretty gross. For really tough, caked on crud I use a swifter pad. Just be sure to wear gloves, it is hard on skin. The rest of the time I clean it with "a fold it yourself" cloth diaper (useful for just about anything). I use a little dishsoap and lots of water. It takes off gunk without damaging the wood.
My preference would be just to start with some plain warm soapy water. This should clean most of the stuff off. Then use a good quality furniture polish. Find something that is not petrolium based. The one I use is from the Melaleuca company and is called Rustic Touch. If you aren't a Melaleuca member, you might find someone who is and get it that way, or I'm sure you can find a good product somewhere in the stores. Sometimes a good polish will finish cleaning off stubborn spots by continuing to apply and rub it too. And don't be afraid to gently rub spots with a scrubby sponge. If you are gentle in using it, it shouldn't scratch the wood, but will loosen the dirt, paint and glitter.
And I have documentation of 3rd degree burns on a little boy from this "magic" eraser. Not to mention that the chemicals are still inhilated whether you are rinsing or not. GO GREEN!!!
You may think this odd, but a proven solution for many things is WD-40 or even better is Break cleaner spray. If you ever have Sharpie on anything break cleaner will get it off with no scrubbing,then once you clean it, wipe it down again with a non-chemical cleaner to get the solvent smell off the furniture. I even got sharpie off a leather couch with it.
Have you tried Goof Off? It's great for glue/sticky stuff.
I know you've cleaned the chairs already, so as a follow up... I would always buy washable markers and crayons. They're the best! I'n not sure how "green" these are, but it takes one wet nap to clean off basically anything in the house. So, washable markers or crayons are the only types of items I let my son use for drawing.
I've found that Mr. Clean magic erasers work wonders on just about anything, or there's always the option to sand them down and repaint...
