The Living Room

When you invite friends or relatives over, the first room of your house they are introduced to is the living room. Hence, it becomes the face of your house. The style you adopt, and the way you design your living room, gives a good idea of how the rest of your house looks, while also speaking about your individual flair for design and decor.

The living room is usually kept cleaner than the other rooms, because it is where you meet and entertain guests. This can turn out to be the easiest or the worst job, depending on how you go about it. This room is usually decorated the most, because others see it the most. Therefore, it is necessary to clean the living room thoroughly.

Various Components of a Living Room

The Walls - The walls are the facade of the interiors of your home. The color you paint the walls or the wallpaper you use should be pleasing, long lasting, and even heat resistant because the chimney is an integral part of most living rooms. The walls can be cleaned with a damp cloth or just dusted, depending on the material and texture of the wallpaper, or the kind of paint used.

The Furniture : How people choose to decorate their living room depends on individual taste. If it is an old fashioned style that is chosen, wooden furniture is usually used. Modern styles, however, dictate a minimalist style, with the furniture made of artificial material. Wooden furniture needs to be polished and cleaned from time to time, keeping it free from termites. Leather sofa sets can be just wiped with a soft cloth, and is much easier to maintain. Nevertheless, they need to be cleaned more often to keep them from drying and cracking. Glass can be washed with a soap solution or plain water. Avoid using very strong solutions as they make contain harmful chemicals that may stain the glass.

The Drapes / Curtains / Blinds : The upholstery used in the living room tends to be more expensive and elegant. Hence, the material used can be equally delicate; therefore, care should be taken while washing them. As far as possible do not wash them in the washing machine. It would be better to wash them with a mild detergent. Blinds can be cleaned with detergent solutions, as they are usually made of plastic or synthetic material.

Carpet : Carpets need to be handled according to its type. For example, using a steel brush to clean a Persian carpet would obviously ruin it. You could either vacuum clean it, or get professional help. There are many varieties of carpet cleaners and rug shampoos available in the market.

Chandeliers and Light Fittings : Living rooms usually have beautiful light fittings and chandeliers to bring out their best. These can be delicate, and one should take care while cleaning them.

Besides the major components of the living room, other accessories like foot rugs and corner tables, paintings and showpieces, also add to the decor of the room. Paintings, for instance, should be wiped clean with a soft cloth avoiding liquid or detergent touching their surface, which could damage them. Electronic home entertainment systems like televisions, music systems etc, are also usually set-up in the living room. They should be covered after use to keep them dust-free, and protect them from direct heat. Ceiling fans are generally the most neglected part of the room. After cleaning the ceiling, remember to wipe the ceiling fan.Tips on Cleaning the Living Room

Plan how you will clean the room, starting from dusting, down to scrubbing and polishing the floor.
When cleaning the living room, one should first remove all delicate items like showpieces and glass collections, to avoid breakage.
The sofa and living room couches should be covered while dusting the ceiling. Any dust falling on them could be hard to remove later.
While dusting book racks, be gentle with rare and expensive books to avoid damaging them.
Arrange magazines neatly, preferably keeping the latest editions on top.
Do not place rugs next to the fireplace; they may burn from the embers of the fire.
Keep detergent solutions handy to quickly clean stains in emergencies.
Do not forget to clean doormats; dirty doormats look ugly and uninviting.
One should not forget to clean the powder room adjacent to the living room.
Spray a mild air-freshener or burn incense, to keep the air smelling good.

Enhancing the Interiors

Besides cleaning the living room, you can also make changes to the arrangements of the room occasionally, to change its look and feel. One could try different themes for changing seasons, to renew the freshness, and to imbibe the color of the current season. For example, for the winter season, one could decorate the living room in an old fashioned English way, e.g. Burberry couch covers, laced table covers, with dim lighting to add to the whole ambiance.

Cleaning what is considered the most important room of the house gives a sense of satisfaction because you know it is ready to welcome anybody at any time of the day, not to forget the seasons.