Maintaining a museum and old historic home combines both traditional and unique cleaning techniques. The first step you need to take to rejuvenate it is to know the distinction between the materials used today and historic structures so that its integrity, architectural charm, and sturdiness will not be affected.
Homeowners of old houses often make the mistake of hurrying up to fix any damage when it arises. Most of the time it results in taking unsuitable measures when restoring or repairing its materials. It is essential to understand how a historic home responds to its inhabitants, the environment, and weather. This will enable you to determine the proper action you need to take.
Learning About The Structure And History Of The House
Before you start with your cleaning and maintenance project, learning everything about your home first. Old houses have stories to tell, from the person who built them to past owners and how they have developed gradually throughout the years to cater to the requirements of succeeding owners. Knowing your home’s architectural evolution is the best way of maintaining it properly.
Cleaning Tips That You Can Apply To Your Museum Home
It’s that time of the year where you bring out your scrubbing brushes, harsh detergents or liquids, garden hose, and other cleaning essentials. All of these are great at getting any normal home in shape, but when it comes to historic houses, it’s a whole different story.
Using modern ways to clean 100-year-old woodwork, fragile glasses, ceramics, linens, silverware, and upholstery will not cut it. Here’s a list of cleaning tips you need to keep in mind when dealing with a museum home.
- What are you dealing with? The different precious items in your home draw in various kinds and levels of dirt and grime and can also be damaged in many ways. Understanding what you’ll about to tackle will help you avoid any disaster.
- Dry cleaning is the safest technique. You can start removing dust with the gentle dry clean process which will not degrade or destroy any delicate items you have. You can use a gentle brush to clean small items, while vacuum cleaners are ideal for massive items.
- When to use wet cleaning. If dusting can’t get rid of the dirt, you can go ahead and wet clean using a safe, mild, and non-toxic cleaning solution. Make sure to be really careful, and it is highly recommended to patch test first. You may also apply diluted alcohol in cotton buds and remove those stubborn specks of dirt that the vacuum can’t handle.
- Maintain a schedule. Items in display cases don’t need frequent cleaning since they are shielded from dust. But for those vases, artworks or ceramics that are out in the open, a regular cleanup is required to prevent dirt and grime from building up over time.
Getting The Glasses At The old house To Sparkle
Cleaning the gorgeous light fixtures at the dining area and other parts of the historic house takes patience. Every piece of it is cleaned using a solution free from abrasives, acids, alcohol, or ammonia to prolong its life. It also gives glasswares a pleasant sparkle. Distilled water combined with a little ethyl alcohol is used to wipe them down so that there will be no marks.
On the other hand, the exterior windows are treated with a cleaning solution that contains a higher alcohol percentage to get rid of grime on the panes. Simply spray a clean cloth with the solution first and then wipe down your windows with it ensuring that the window frames are not touched.
Delicate figurines, vases, tea caddies, bowls, and dish sets are handled with the utmost care. These items are not supposed to get soaking wet so using an electric dishwasher is a big no. These pieces are cleaned using cotton swabs or facial pads dipped in water mixed with a bit of ethyl alcohol.
What Makes Dust So Dangerous?
Dust is made up of pollen, soil, debris, and even skin but varies a lot. If you live beside a busy road, your home will acquire more pollutant and emission dust, while those by the beach will be a bit saltier and sandier. Those who have pets will have plenty of fur and skin.
Dust is inevitable even in historic homes and museums. Keeping it at bay and from spreading is an actual battle. Most museums and historic houses acquire dust from passing traffic, clothing fibers and skin from visitors, and metal dust from the items inside.
Aside from being an unpleasant guest, dust is organic, which means, it will draw in creatures that feed on it once it starts building up. In turn, these tiny creatures may attract bigger ones like spiders and even mice at times. In addition, dust also helps in the buildup of rust and mold growth. Also, even if you don’t encounter these problems, it will be cemented on your items and furniture the longer you leave them there.
Regularly cleaning your old house and the antique items you have may cause damages to it especially if you’re very enthusiastic at scrubbing. Instead, try to clean periodically depending on how delicate the items are and how dirty they seem.