How To Clean Light Fittings

How To Clean Light Fittings – An increasing number of people are using glass light bowls instead of the traditional fabric lightshades, which makes cleaning somewhat easier. Quite simply, take the bowls off and stick them on a low wash on the top rack of the dishwasher; they’ll come out gleaming and you’ll have done barely anything!For stainless steel stands covered in fingerprints; unplug then wipe over with a kitchen towel dampened with a little olive oil – it removes all evidence of sticky fingers! Leave it for a while, then clean using a glass cleaner to bring that shine back to life.

Fabric lampshades, while more traditional, are not dead and gone. Far from it, they soften a room and create a fabulous light. Fabric covered lampshades can be cleaned either using the soft brush nozzle on a vacuum or a hand brush out in the garden. We suggest cleaning them with a lint roller once a week and her shades are always spotless, so it must work!

With most of the dust off the shade, use a mix of water and fabric softener to dampen a sponge and gently wipe the shade to get rid of any stubborn stains. The fabric softener will give a scent to the shade that will radiate around the room when the bulb is burning.

Adding scents to lights has been en vogue for several years. Many sites suggest adding the scent or oil directly to the bulb, but any good domestic cleaner would tell you that putting anything on the bulb (including wiping the bulb with drier sheets) leaves a film that will burn and, after a couple of weeks, will not smell all that great.

Nonetheless, leaving the bulb alone completely will also cause problems. A light-bulb caked in dust will start to smell musty and unpleasant. Clean it frequently with a dry wipe and it’ll work more efficiently and light more effectively.

There are other odors that linger quite unpleasantly in soft furnishings – smoke and pets are pretty whiffy.

Your first line of attack against these tenacious smells is an afternoon in the sun for your lampshades. If that doesn’t shift it, bring out the big guns. Put your shade in a large plastic bag with newspaper covering the bottom and a tray of bicarbonate of soda or coffee ground for a week. By the end of the week most, if not all, of the smell will have gone.

Clean lampshades will change the feel of your room, and will save energy at the same time. Lampshade cleaning is far from a big task and the results far out-weigh the time.