Stage 2 - Cleaning the Room
This stage is complete !
Here are photos of each of the walls.
And below,
for any beginners who are interested,
is a description of how I did it,
with photos of the materials and
equipment that I used.
The window wall.
The top end of the room, wall.
The door wall.
The bottom end of the room, wall.
Preparation
Equipment
- a screwdriver
- a serrated bread knife blade
- a roll of clear tape
- garbage bags
Method
Take out any screws that will be in
the way, with the screwdriver.
I used the serrated knife for scraping
off cockroach larva cases.
Then, cover all electrical items, such
as power points, switches, etc,
with garbage bags cut to a size
with a generous edge to go beyond
them, and, tape over the edges firmly with the clear
tape.
With airconditioners and lights
just drape a garbage bag over them,
but secure them at the top.
This is to stop any water getting into
them.
Scrubbing the Ceiling and Walls etc
* Make sure all electrical items are
turned off when working around them.
And make sure any lights have cooled
down.
Scrub the ceiling first, then the ceiling
fan if you have one, and then the walls,
and then the floor.
This is because dirt always falls
downwards,
so you don't want your already cleaned
areas to be messed up.
I scrubbed the ceiling in the evenings,
because the heat was then going from
it and made it much easier to work on.
I scrubbed the walls in the afternoons,
because that was convenient for me. Then I did the floor in the afternoon
for the same reason.
To make a whole room a manageable
job,
break the work up into reasonably
attainable sections, that you can
cope with physically,
otherwise you will give up!
The whole job took 2-3 weeks.
Equipment
- a step ladder
Method
This is very useful for accessing the
ceiling and upper walls.
Equipment
- 2 buckets
- 2 cloths
- very mild dishwashing detergent
- a scourer
- a small scrubbing brush
- a grout brush
- a pillow wrapped up in a garbage bag.
Method
The two buckets are filled with water.
One bucket is to be kept for
scrubbing water,
the other is to be kept for rinsing
water,
with each cloth to be used with its
particular bucket.
Wet the scourer and wring out some
of the water,
then put a small amount of dishwashing
detergent on it and squish it up a bit
to suds it up.
Then scrub a section methodically
in whichever way you like,
across strokes,
up and down strokes,
circular strokes,
until you are sure that it is clean enough.
Wipe off all the suds with the wet
scrubbing water cloth,
and wash out in the scrubbing water
bucket.
Then wipe over with the wet rinse water
cloth,
and wash that out in the rinse water
bucket (do this twice).
I used the small scrubbing brush for
heavy duty greasy areas.
Go carefully around the electrical
fittings, using as little water as
possible.
I used the grout brush for this.
I used the pillow to lean my knees on
when I had to scrub
the lower parts of the walls.
Scrubbing the Floor
(The floor is bare concrete)
Equipment
- a soft broom
- a hard broom
- a mop
- 2 buckets
- very mild dishwashing detergent
Method
Sweep the floor of all dust etc.
Fill the 2 buckets with water.
In one bucket put a small amount of
dishwashing detergent, about 1/2 to 1
tsp.
This is for scrubbing.
Leave the other bucket of water for
rinsing.
Doing a section at a time - Using the hard broom,
dip it into the scrubbing bucket water
and use this to scrub the floor
until you think it is clean enough.
Pay particular attention to where
the walls meet the floor.
Mop up the suds,
washing it out into the scrubbing water
bucket.
Then mop over the whole floor,
using the water from the rinse water
bucket,
until you think it is clean enough.
With renovating, there will always be
stains that you can't clean out.
Hopefully, they can be covered by
paint etc, or floor coverings.
(c) Katherine Stuart 2014
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