Last updated on March 19th, 2017
Some time ago, I promised to show you how, exactly, I clean the various rooms in this old, old, house. We’ve already tackled the master bedroom. Shall we get down and dirty in the entrance hall?
The entrance hall was an important feature in 18th- and 19th-century homes. Guests waited here until the host was ready to “receive.” The quality of the hall indicated the quality of the rest of the house, and, by association, its inhabitants. Decorative features were minimal but highbrow.
My own entrance hall is “L”-shaped. You pass through the double front doors, walk 20 feet or so, and then turn left to find a big, sweeping staircase. The hall is loaded with romance.
The hall is not, however, loaded with…stuff. It is sparsely furnished, and free of clutter. You will not find boots and shoes beside the door. Nor will you find mail piled up on tables, and coats flung over chairs. Tables are for the display of decorative items. Chairs are for…sitting.
Re-reading the previous paragraph, I realize I sound like a stuffy old queen. And perhaps I am.
In any event, I’d like to encourage you to keep your own entrance hall (or “entrance way”) company-ready.
The weekly cleaning-routine:
1. Dust the ceiling and walls. These are easy to clean with a dry, micro-fiber dust-mop. The mop pictured above is equipped with a very long extension handle.
On a side note, a good dust mop always makes a fine dancing partner. It can twirl, dip, and tango like nobody’s business.
After dealing with the ceiling, drag the mop down the walls. This is fast work. I start at the corner nearest the front door, and work clock-wise ’round the room.
The mop head is narrow enough to fit into tight spaces, like the gap between bay window arch and ceiling.
I also use the mop to remove dust and pet hair from the wainscoting that runs the entirety of the hall.
And speaking of pet hair, please say “hello” to Camille the Cat. She loves to watch me clean. If only she’d offer to help.
2. Dust chair rails and baseboards. Here, a clean, dry, microfiber cloth does the work. You can find such cloths in supermarkets and hardware stores. They are washable and thus reusable. They are not expensive.
I do not fall for cleaning “fads.” You will not find a “Swiffer” here. Nor will you find disposable “cleaning sheets.” They are a waste of money.
3. Clean painted door frames. For these, I use a terry cloth sprayed with Murphy’s Oil Soap. The soap quickly removes fingerprints, grease, and grime.
And how do I reach the top of my door frames? I climb a ladder, baby. A well-used, well-loved, paint-spattered ladder.
4. Clean Finished Wood Doors. Murphy’s Oil Soap is my choice for finished woodwork, including the mahogany pocket doors in the entrance hall. (These lead to the parlor, which you can visit in this post). I spray the soap on a terry-cloth rag, and go to town.
To get into the crevices in carved panels of doors, hold a blunt knife (or a plastic spatula) against the rag, and apply gentle pressure. Pay particular attention to the lowest crevices on a door, as dust always settles in them.
I use the same knife-and-rag technique to clean the (highly-carved) newel post at the base of the staircase.
5. Dust the furniture. Dust tables and the wooden parts of chairs with a clean, dry, microfiber cloth. Dust any tabletop decorative pieces, too.
Tip: When it comes to decorative pieces, remember that less is best. Cluttered tabletops are a visual horror. Furthermore, they are difficult to clean. It takes me all of two seconds to remove the three photos from the empire “games table” pictured above.
The table near the staircase contains just one antique soup tureen. The item gets noticed, too, since it has no competition.
When you dust a table, make a complete job of it. Wipe not only the top and front of the piece, but its sides and legs, too.
Tip: To bring out the sheen in antique tables, rub them periodically with lemon oil. A few drops on a clean terry cloth is all you need. I use lemon oil not only on my entrance hall tables, but on my mahogany pocket doors, too. The oil has a gorgeous scent.
6. Vacuum floors and stairs. I use the flat attachment to suck up dirt from hardwood floors…
And the narrow “crevice” attachment to clean the awkward angle where floor meets baseboard.
The upholstery attachment quickly removes the pet hair that adheres to the two French chairs in the hall…
While this motorized attachment refreshes the stairs.
True Confession: I hate vacuuming stairs. But someone’s gotta do it.
7. Check Window Hangings. If you dust your ceiling and walls regularly, you’ll find that your window treatments rarely need attention. The hangings in my bay window, above, require vacuuming only twice each year. Thank goodness.
Tip: When you vacuum draperies, use the upholstery attachment, and reduce the suction power to “low.” Otherwise the machine can mangle the fabric trim.
8. Mop the floors. I pour a solution of 10 parts water to 1 part vinegar into the nifty bottle that’s attached to my Rubbermaid mop. The formula works wonders on the 188-year-old wood floors in the entrance hall.
9. Swab light switches and door knobs. Don’t forget these! You can clean them with any all-purpose cleaner, including Murphy’s Oil Soap. Probably Murphy’s should pay me something for mentioning them so frequently (and shamelessly) in this article.
Got any entrance hall-cleaning tips of your own? By all means share them in the comments field below. And here’s another topic of conservation: Does your spouse or partner help out with the cleaning chores?
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Related Posts:
My Entrance Hall, Before and After Papering
Music Room Restoration, Part 2
Antique Games Tables — And Why I Love Them
badger gardener says
Your entrance hall truly is loaded with romance. I absolutely love it.
Glad for the vinegar tip. I use vinegar on my hardwood floors too, but am always guessing at the vinegar to water ratio.
myttle miller says
I buy stuff to help me cleam my house and before I know it it’s no longer working. My swiffer even after I charge it does not pick up anything. The only thing today that kind of motivates me is spic and span now has the gain scent that smells reslly good. So the chances of me mopping today are good. Your a trooper for insisting on clesning your own home but things that you have to climb ladders to do you should hire help. Hip injuries are serious business.
gina gillispie says
wow…I’m impressed…how often does this take place? Hoping yearly so I won’t feel such guilt and shame
Kevin Lee Jacobs says
Hi Gina Gillispie – I clean the entrance hall (and all other “public” rooms in this house) once each week. In my “affluent” years I plan to hire a live-in maid, a butler, and a couple of good-looking footmen.
Durf says
Kevin, you’re awesome. I love reading these kinds of posts; I learn so much. I just wish it would actually motivate me to follow suit. I’m the type that doesn’t follow a schedule; I just clean when it looks dirty. Of course, my standards are really low!
My house was built in 1875 but it’s a workingman’s cottage, so kinda small and not so grand. I don’t even really have any entrance to speak of, but I still really love my house. Someday I’ll come visit on a Garden Conservancy open day. Mom and I saw Lynden Miller and Margaret Roach’s gardens this September. Are you far from them?
Susan says
Very nice, Kevin. Thank you for the encouragement. I am very slowly restoring a water damaged living room, dining room and hall. You give me so much encouragement and good ideas. Thank you for the declutter reminder. Never had a spouse that would help so I discontinued spouses and have only half the cleaning to do. 😉
Louise says
Question about Murphy’s soap. Do you use this straight from the bottle or add water to it? this is my favorite soa. I even bring it to work.
Louise says
Sorry for the poor sentence and here is my correction. “This is my favorite soap.”
Morag says
Love cleaning old houses and if you do it frequently, this kind of routine doesn’t take long at all. Suggestion: buy a Swiffer or similar flat mop, but use microfiber clothes instead of the manufacturer’s product. After you vacuum, run the flat mop with microfiber across the floor. You’ll be amazed at how much dust the vacuum misses and the flat mop picks up.
Kevin Lee Jacobs says
Hi Louise – I buy Murphy’s Oil Soap (multi-use wood cleaner) in a spray bottle, and use it “straight up.”
Hi Morag – Great tip. I sometimes swipe my ceiling/wall mop along the floor. You are right — its microfiber “fingers” can pick up dust and debris that the vacuum left behind.
Bethane says
BRILLIANT! Now time for a spot of tea.
Beverly, zone 6, eastern PA says
I have always marveled at how much time I am willing to devote to garden clean up and how little time and patience I give to inside cleaning. I pay a cleaning lady (to forestall marital arguments about whose turn it is to vacuum) and I only rarely dabble in serious cleaning, leaving the tough jobs to my wonderful, willing husband.
Joni says
We have a wood burning stove that heats most of our house, which is a wonderful heat – unfortunately, it’s a very dirty heat! I am constantly “dusting” ceilings, walls, etc. – LOVE microfiber! Twice a year – minimum – I wash the walls – LOVE Murphy’s Oil Soap! Now, I just need to find some help to do all of this!!! LOVE your home!
Linda Woodworth says
This is a wonderfully helpful and specific article – I am a bit cleaning impaired and there seems to be no maid in our 150 year old house. I hope some time to see an article focused on the care and treatment of those old floors. So far I have only pulled up the ’80s shag carpet, removed staples, Murphy’s cleaned and lemon oiled…. Thanks so much for sharing your adventures.
Ardelle says
If you have furniture or other woodwork with carvings, ridges, reeding a favorite ‘tool’ of mine has been a good quality natural bristle shoe shine brush. It is a godsend – it gets into crevices with little effort and is quick and thorough. Mine has been with me for many years. Thanks for all the suggestions. I am anxiously awaiting your ceramic tile routine – or did I miss it?
Stephanie says
Thanks for the post! What kind of vacuum do you use? How effective is it on pet hair?
Heather says
Love it all!! I use Murphy’s too…and vinegar and water is best for wood floors. As a side note, does anyone enjoy vacuuming stairs?? LOL Certainly not me!!
Ardelle says
Oh, forgot; actually my favorite cleaning method is greeting the cleaning lady at the door 🙂 However, whenever I find a really good one someone hires her/him away full-time. Needless to say I do have to do follow-up every so often just to make sure. I do everything but the floors and bathrooms on a regular basis which is more than enough.
Today is the day I do one final thorough watering throughout the yard and garden. Then I will store everything for our predicted 5-6″ snowstorm tomorrow. Love winter!
kathy passie says
I use both murphy’s oil soap and lemon oil almost exclusively on all my furniture, cabinets and wood work…it’s easy and does an awesome job1. Thanks for the tips. Oh do you ever wax your floors?
Tks.
Connie says
Did you find linoleum under the shag carpet like we did? We keep asking older relatives (ages 86, 88, and 94) when and why anyone thought it was a good idea to cover hardwood floors with linoleum, especially BLACK! I removed the stuff from the kitchen and all of the upstairs of our 1900 house. Except for the carpet tacks (to cover the ugly linoleum) at least the hardwood floors were protected.
Rebecca says
Camille looks so regal…definitely a red carpet cat.
Janice says
I am pleased (not surprised, though) that you use healthy natural cleaning products. Kind to Mother Nature and to old houses and antiques. I will have to look for the kinds of mops you mention. Impressed with your energy too!
Lisa B says
thanks so much for all the tips!!!!
Denise in Colorado says
Inspiring cleaning techniques! Your entrance hall is bigger than my house! We clean weekly, and my sweet fiancé vacuumes with the “Animal” Dyson, I do the rest, and I dust once a month whether it needs it or not! 😉 Burning the woodstove does make for more dirt so winter means more cleaning… I miss gardening!!
Naomi Shelton says
Well, what can I say? Cleaning is not my forte and my front entry hall, small tho’ it be, definitely does not get cleaned weekly—more like semi-annually! Of course, I don’t cherish my ordinary, small ranch dwelling as you do your lovely old abode. Perhaps, if I did, it would metamorphose into something more cherish-able. Anyway, I find your dedication remarkable and laud your choice of cleaning products and methods. I’ve been using vinegar and baking soda in various cleaning jobs for a while now and love Murphy’s for lots of cleaning jobs.
I just recently ripped up the very old and soiled carpeting in my living room and small bedroom hallway. I knew there were hardwood floors underneath and also knew that they were covered with the remnants of the foam rubber padding under the original carpeting. I have not undertaken the job of removing these remnants as eventually I hope to have the floors refinished. Since I don’t really know when I will be able to have them done, however, I have been thinking about trying some method other than scraping and sanding to remove the foam rubber. I wonder if there is something that would dissolve it–any ideas?
Camille reminds me of my “grand-cat”, Rhoda, who lives with me. Her coloring is very similar to Rhoda’s and she has that air of regalness that I imagine Camille has Rhoda is clearly the captain of her ship and does not let anyone forget it! We get a lot of chuckles out of her displays of “attitude”. Then, sometimes, she is just downright annoying! Aren’t pets entertaining? How dreary our lives would be without them!
Elaine ransom says
Why people covered their hardwood! The old finishes would water spot constantly, the wax would need to be buffed frequently, and had to be reapplied at least 2x a year. It was hard work…not the new and easier to maintain finishes and equipment available these days. And carpet was softer and warmer underfoot.
Jeannie Alvin says
I live in Panama, where house construction and cleaning is totally different.
This house is built with cement blocks covered with stucco, and bright, shiny ceramic tile
floors.
Thank heavens the neighbor lady cleans my floors in 2 hours once a week. May she be
blessed! First she sweeps the whole house. I like a dustmop, but she had never used
one before, and prefers a broom. Then she puts water in a bucket from the garden hose,
right outside the front door, adds laundry detergent, and mops. She then washes out the
long string mop of the dirt and detergent, and fills the bucket again.
Then she mops two more times with some disinfectant in the water. I pay her $6.
Most of the local people do this sweeping and mopping routine every day!
I enjoy helping her grandkids with their English homework.
LynnB says
Makes me exhausted just reading this article!
I use methylated spirits in a 1/10 ratio to clean my floors. I find it gives more of a glow to the wood than vinegar. I have trained the very nice young man who cleans our house to do likewise.
My partner’s contribution – he pays for the cleaner. I’m not complaining.
LynnB says
Naomi – you might find acetone removes the foam rubber – I found some nasty sticky stuff on my floors when I lifted the carpet after we moved in. I think it was the underlay that had perished. I tried all sorts of household chemicals to remove it but found that acetone was the only one that helped. I still had to scrape it off but it came away much more easily.
SharonH says says
Is the vinegar you use white or cider vinegar? And here is my cleaning tip: Don’t forget to wipe off every light bulb. It not only looks brighter, but helps them to last longer!
Michele Layne says
Kevin thank you so much for sharing how you clean. I learned a lot and I have a lot of questions! !I never thought about micro fiber the walls. Do you do that because you have wallpaper or can you do it on painted surfaces also?
Question, do you have to rinse off Murphys Oil Soap? Do you mix it with water? Is it made just for wood because I noticed at my store that they also have all purpose Murphys soap? And last but not least do you use the Murphys soap in addition to the lemon or is the Lemon oil only on occasion? One more question isn’t oil bad for finished wood furniture? I think I read that somewhere once.
Anyway thanks again Kevin
Kevin Lee Jacobs says
Hi Michele Layne – The micro fiber dust mop is great for both papered and painted walls (see “master bedroom” link in first paragraph of the article). Regarding Murphy’s Oil Soap, I use the “multi-use wood cleaner” product that comes in a spray bottle. No need to rinse. As for the lemon oil, I use it only periodically — about once each month. It is not harmful to finished wood.
Audrey says
No rugs.. you have snow.. and pets.. how do you stop wet and dirt from being tracked in
Kevin Lee Jacobs says
Hi Audrey – I have thick, rough, doormats on either side of the double front doors. These greatly reduce the amount of dirt that gets tracked in. (If no dirt was ever tracked in, I’d never have to mop the floors!)
Gretchen says
Kevin, you made my heart smile when you told us about using Murphy’s oil soap. I’m a 3rd generation user of this product and heartily add to your comment – this stuff really works! Not only is it for cleaning hard surfaces, but also ghastly dirty laundry such as muddy garden work clothes, works as good as any pre-treatment chemical I’ve tried.
Truly love your site andt the genius behind it.
Billie says
What are methylated spirits?
janet g metzger says
….And, thank you for the water with vinegar tip. Will use this week!
Addie B. in FL says
Hi, Kevin – I do believe you have the cleanest house on the planet, and I’m sure you’ve somehow figured out to add another 12 hours to every day 🙂
Cheers,
Addie
P.S. Did you have any luck in figuring out my caramelizing issue?
Bev says
I worked in a high end restaurant some years ago and we used Murphy oil soap every night to clean all the wood chairs and tables. We diluted it 1-10.
Sunni says
Nice to see Camille the cat. You have a lovely entrance hall…..how long does it take to do the weekly maintenance? Murphy’s gets used a lot in my home. Vinegar is another go to cleaning/disinfecting product of choice. I use the Rubbermaid mop also; glad to see I’m doing something right! LOL
John G says
I have a friend who uses a dust mop sprayed with window cleaner. There home is late 1900 . century as well.. This she uses on all her wood floors and they look great
Jean says
I enjoy your posts so much. There is always something new to be learned! I also use a cloth to dust the carving, reeding, etc. but I don’t use a knife. I save wooden popsicle sticks for jobs like these. I also use them to clean the crevices around my window sills. The sticks can be broken or clipped to whatever shape will do the job best. I started using them when i discovered they do not leave any scratch marks.
Audrey says
I do like Murphy’s Oil Soap. Have you ever tried Milsek furniture polish? It is made with real lemon oil. It is made in Ohio. I just love the stuff. I buy it locally for $2.89. They also have a product made for antiques. You can read about it here http://www.milsek.com
Caroline says
But….where are the shoes, boots, coats and mail? Thx.
Nancy says
I have used Murphy’s Oil soap all my 53 years of married life. I don’t use the spray but mix a solution of one glug from the concentrate bottle to a half bucket of water. Wet a terry cloth, wring out well and go to town. I always have a dry cloth in the other hand to follow up. When I was a girl my mother used flax soap which came in a can, looked like a gel, and needed to be put in water and mixed well. I really think that was the early version of my Murphy’s Oil Soap.
Yes, my former Navy sailor hubby is in charge of cleaning the bathrooms and vacuuming and he does a bang up job for which I am most grateful.
Happy Thanksgiving, Kevin
Jeanne Meeks says
What a lovely home! I love the smell of Murphy’s soap and have used it for years. Well, until my husband retired and suddenly I can’t clean well enough for him and he has his own methods. So guess who does all the cleaning now. And he does a darn good job.
Thanks for all the tips. I’ll pass them on to my husband. 😉
Pamnela says
Just love all these tips. Thanks everybody! I have until recently been the worst housekeeper on record, but am beginning to use all the tips I read here, and plan to change that status : )
Marina says
Hello,
I love your house and like to read your articles.
Sorry, but when I entered Murphy’s Oil Soap in the search the first thing
I found was article not to use it (http://woodfloordoctor.com/_product_reviews/articles/cleaning_with_murphys_oil_soap.shtml).
What do you think Kevin?
Kevin Lee Jacobs says
Hi Marina – Murphy’s does a terrific job on my mahogany doors. As described in the article above, I use vinegar to clean my wood floors.
Laura says
I would love this! Happy Spring! ☺️