Dusting

Dusting Pricey Wood and Pianos



For Dusting I again chose to utilize a natural fiber rag/dust cloth. Diaper Services will sell their older, cloth Diapers, which make nearly perfect dust cloths. If you have any hesitation, recall the times you have paid for your Auto’s Washing/Detailing. These professional automobile detailers are the #1 clients for Diaper Services, when selling their slightly worn cloths.

If your Porsche, Volvo, or Olds shimmers to satisfaction, than the idea of home use with diaper rags, as a prime cleaning tool, is surely applicable.




DUSTING DRY


For fine wood, such as a piano, I recommend dry dusting with cotton or cotton flannel. Dust all antique or pricey woods following the grain of the (natural) wood. Newer/Modern pianos and their technological advances on finishing’s should require much less care. Older, expensive models with basic finishes, therefore, will require more external care. Always dust prior to polishing your prized possession.



CLEANING KEYS:

The “key” to cleaning your Piano’s keys is cleaning one to two keys at a time. Again, your soft cotton dust rags will be used. Slightly dampened the cloth with water and a drop of natural dish/hand friendly soap. Very little soap is to be used. I recommend METHOD, ECOVER, or SEVENTH GENERATION. Have an additional dry cloth adjacent, drying each key precisely after cleaning.



The interior of the piano/case should be professionally cleaned every few years, or more if you are in a high humidity or severely dusty/windy locale. Once clean, “Wool String cover kits” can be purchased for longer-term storage or homes that again see high humidity or dust.


TUNING:

A new piano, during its first year of life, should be meticulously tuned four times, in ideal environmental settings, by a piano specialist only!

Remember:
For all wood cleaning, lightly dry dust
prior to polishing wood to avoid ingraining the dirt.

by Europa Pirate

The Cleaning of Rugs and Carpets Part 1

Rugs and Carpets:


A Broom may be used in a variety of ways, depending upon the type of broom and construction. Again, keep shop/garage brooms separate from indoor and interior wall brooms.

A stiff, clean broom can even sweep out dirt in carpets as well as beat the dust from rugs. When remembering your new broom, also purchase a dustpan to collect the unwanted particles.

Dustpans:
Plastic Dustpans are available produced from 80-100% post consumer material or otherwise used material- RCP’s!

Metal Dustpans are better for the environment if you cannot locate recycled plastic/material dustpans. There are even metal car License Plates fashioned into useable dustpans!

A Note of Caution:

Do Not use metal dustpans on wood floors!




Rugs:

Many rugs may be cleaned on delicate cycle of your washing machine. The rug will most certainly bleed or fade it’s color upon initial washing depending on it’s material and whether or not natural or synthetic dyes were used in the construction. Always assume your rug is not colorfast, and wash with another like colored rug. And, becareful of the surface that your rug touches when damp or wet.

A Natural Rug’s material may be from silk, cotton, abaca, hemp, nettle, or wool.
Peasant style sprayable rugs (non-washer friendly) may be closer to that of twine or twigs, than fabric.



Carpet:
Even though there is the old story of the flying carpet, a carpet is not very similar to rug. Carpet in most Western Countries has been mass-produced from synthetic fibers and is tacked to the carpet padding. Unfortunately, carpet padding is almost always very Toxic!

I.A.Q. stands for
Indoor Air Quality

As weather and work draws us more and more indoors, the quality of this air indoors should be of prime concern.

Carpet can be made from natural fibers and certain “seals” of environmental safety do exists, even if the average salesperson wishes not to divulge such information. Green Label and Green Label Plug are examples. Higher-End retailers will carry wool and wool blends. Ask about the backing of the carpet, the avoidance of chemical so-called “stain protection” and moth guard. Jute, a natural option, has been around for much longer than synthetic materials and is now a good option for backing. Natural adhesives, such as those from the rubber tree should be used over toxic, non-degradable substances.

Cleaning Equipment: Brooms

Cleaning Equipment:
Brooms by Europa Pirate


Starting with the top of each room, most likely there will either be dust, cobwebs, or insect cocoons that will need removal from the walls and corners. For walls, a clean natural broom is recommended. This broom should only be used for this sort of “Seasonal Cleaning” and not to be substituted for a random, worn broom perhaps found in your garage or basement.

For your needs, this information should assist with the purchase of
Your New Broom(s):

When purchasing a broom either for the first time or recently, within the past few years, you are bound to notice a pleasing surprise. Not only are there the availability of the standard looking, natural material brooms, which have been seen in all Western Euro/American Homes unchanged for decades, yet the are a myriad of sleek, stylist, or just plain silly ornamented brooms that will make this chore much more lively.

Your broom should be constructed of renewable materials, hopefully from a company that guarantees its labor/manufacturing doesn’t violate any deforestation/eco practices and human rights.



Your choice of broom may be constructed from
any single or a combination of the following:



Corn and Rattan

CORN
(*Additional reading: the three sisters growing system)
Corn has been a staple of Native Americans/Tribal Peoples
As food for animals and humans
Now, Corn/Maize is also used as
Biofuel
(bio-organic fuel)

RATTAN
(Palm family)
Fast growing, eco-friendly alternative
to deforestation practices of logging


Palmyra plant
and the select/superior part of this plant
which are
the Bassine/Bassine Fibers

Tampico
(desert climate edible plant,
cream to off-white colored fibers in there natural state)
Purchase only if grown in sustainable farming.
Do NOT purchase product reaped wild or from Preserve Lands.


Horsehair
(if Company has been backed/inspected by Cruelty-Free 3rd Party Inspectors)
Horse Hair that has been Cut/Trimmed
Without Harm to animal)

Sotol
(Yucca Fiber)
*Pollination in nature requires a moth for Yucca plant reproduction

Sorghum
(Originally from Egypt)
a.k.a. Broomcom (grass)
*Avoid
red-brown color; the inferior material

Bear Grass
Fire-resistant plant (not grass)
growing just above timberline, sub-alpine, and coastal regions


and Union Fiber

(the combination of natural fibers)

The above information should clearly detail the options for avoiding the purchase of any un-natural, petro-chemical sweeping device.