How to Clean Baseboards With Vinegar And Branch Basics & Why It's Important
By Marilee Nelson |
Baseboards are so easy to forget…until you notice they’ve taken on a grayish brown dust hue (not a good look)!
It’s times like these when you need a quick cleaning solution that works, and we’ve got you covered.
With just a couple of natural cleaners and a few swipes, you can quickly remove that unsightly (and toxic) dust, and restore your baseboards to like-new condition.
This article shows you how to do it using, Branch Basics or your favorite non-toxic dish soap, water, and vinegar or lemon juice for stains and the right tools.
The Supplies You’ll Need
Baseboard cleaning requires minimal supplies, and a few extra if you’ve let it go for too long (but don’t worry, even the dirtiest can come clean using this method).
- A microfiber cloth OR a baseboard cleaning tool, like Baseboard Buddy
-
A HEPA vacuum (optional) or microfiber cloth
- Branch Basics All-Purpose or Concentrate
- A bucket
- Distilled white vinegar or lemon juice
- Coconut oil for removing stubborn stains and scuff marks
- A rubber eraser for removing scuff marks
Related reading: 12 Ways to Use Vinegar in Your Home
How To Clean Your Baseboards With Branch Basics Plus Vinegar
Cleaning baseboards require only a bit of intention, the right products, and minimal effort.
Plus, with handy new tools like a baseboard buddy, you don’t even have to get on the floor to get a really good clean.
Here’s how to clean your baseboards naturally, step-by-step.
1. Dust The Baseboards
Although it may be tempting to skip this step and move right onto the damp cleaning, removing dust is essential to getting a true clean.
You have two options:
- HEPA vacuum using a brush attachment to suck up dust, pet hair, and contaminants.
- Run a dry or damp microfiber cloth or baseboard buddy over your baseboards to remove dust.Once the dust is gone, it’s time to remove dirt and grime, wipe them down, and remove scuff marks.
2. Clean The Baseboards
Cleaning baseboards requires soap and water to remove built-up grease and grime. Use a powerful, human-safe cleaner like Branch Basics that is gentle on the paint.
How To Clean Baseboards Using Branch Basics All-Purpose:
- Spray All-Purpose directly onto baseboards. Let sit a minute or two.
- Scrub and wipe clean with a microfiber cloth dampened with warm water.
- Make sure to dry the area well, especially if cleaning baseboards in a room with wood floors.
Sometimes this is enough to remove everything, including stains and scuff marks with some extra elbow-grease, if not, move onto the next step.
3: Scrub Any Remaining Stains And Scuff Marks
Baseboards are typically painted with semi-gloss or high-gloss paint. This makes stains relatively easy to remove, but care should still be taken to avoid damaging the paint.
Vinegar is an effective solvent that can further cut through grease and grime and remove stains from baseboards.
However, since vinegar is acidic, care must be taken as it can impact paint.
- Always use diluted vinegar on a painted surface.
- Use a solution of one part vinegar diluted with one part water.
- If you know the baseboard paint is oil-based or alkyd-acrylic, then it is very durable.
- If the paint is water-based, it is more vulnerable to vinegar.
- Test the diluted vinegar solution on a small area to determine compatibility with the baseboard paint.
If you still see stains and scuffs after dusting and cleaning with soap, follow these steps to remove them:
- Make a cleaning solution of one part water and one part vinegar. Again, always dilute vinegar as it is acidic and can impact a paint finish.
- Dip a microfiber or no-scratch scouring pad into the vinegar solution.
- Wipe to remove remaining stains and scuffs.
- To avoid damaging paint, rub some coconut oil into stubborn scuffs and stains, let it sit for a few minutes, and wipe clean with a microfiber dampened with warm water.
- Wipe the baseboards with a microfiber dampened with warm water to remove any lingering vinegar and oil residues.
For scuff marks:
- A natural rubber eraser also works great for removing scuff marks from baseboards!
Note that chips, damage, or stubborn stains may require touch-up paint.
In this case, we recommend ECOS Semi-Gloss or Gloss Paints as the safest, low-tox. non-VOC and non-SVOC option.
Related reading: How to Use Branch Basics Oxygen Boost [Complete Guide]
Can I Use Baking Soda To Clean Baseboards?
A baking soda paste of 3 parts baking soda to 1 part water is sometimes used as a gentle scrubbing paste to remove scuffs and stains from baseboards.
To be on the cautious side, we only recommend the paste if all else fails.
Baking soda has the potential to wear down paint film, especially if applied frequently or with too much scrubbing pressure.
Why It’s Important To Clean Your Baseboards
Baseboards are easy to neglect, but their proximity to the floor makes them a hot bed for toxin-harboring dust which degrades indoor air quality fast.
Plus, addressing stains and scuffs sooner rather than later, will save you on re-painting and touch-ups down the road.
Learn more in: Our Human-Safe Spring Cleaning Guide.
How Often To Clean Baseboards
Every household is different, and the foot traffic, number of family members, pets, etc., all make a difference inhow often to clean your baseboards.
Generally, you’ll want to shoot for once a month deep cleaning (as outlined here) and dusting/vacuuming at least twice per month.
Healthier Home Cleaning With Branch Basics
Using vinegar is an effective way to clean your baseboards without harmful chemicals, especially if combined with a natural surfactant-based cleaner, like Branch Basics or your favorite non-toxic dish soap.
You can also simplify things by using just Branch Basics All-Purpose spray, which does the whole thing in one quick swoop.
Branch Basics All-Purpose is made using Branch Basics Concentrate plus water, and works on baseboards, surfaces, stains, as a produce cleaner, dish soap alternative, oven cleaner, and so much more.
The same Concentrate is used to make all our other cleaning products including Branch Basics Bathroom, Streak-Free, Foaming Wash, Laundry, and custom dilutions.
We also offer Oxygen Boost, a human- and pet-safe bleach alternative, laundry booster, scouring agent for tile or grout, pots and pans, and stain remover made from two natural minerals: sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) and sodium percarbonate (powdered peroxide).
With Branch Basics, you can make quick work of baseboard cleaning and every other cleaning and laundry task in your home (talk about simple!)
Check out our Starter Kits to learn more about Branch Basics all-in-one, refillable, Made Safe, cruelty-free, plant- and mineral-based cleaning system.
For more natural cleaning tips like this, check out the following articles:
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Marilee Nelson
Marilee Nelson is an Environmental Toxins expert who has spent nearly 30 years advocating for the chemically-sensitive and chronically-ill. She is a Board Certified Nutritionist, Certified Bau-Biologist and Bau-Biology Inspector and specializes in Food As Medicine. She has helped thousands of families and individuals identify, heal and recover from toxic exposures and is on a mission to revolutionize the way American families view their health.
