The Party’s Over : And Turning Out the Lights Isn’t Going to Make the Post-Holiday Mess Go Away

Pine needles wait in the carpet to jab into a sock-covered foot; spray-on snow holds tightly to the corners of the living room windows; the silver cookie tray tarnishes before your very eyes.

The holidays have come and gone, and all that’s left is the disaster area you once called home.

Even though the festivities are barely over, it’s time to buckle down and get to work, because the only way the house is going to get clean is with good, old-fashioned elbow grease. And, unless you managed to not spend all your money last month and can afford to hire help, it’s probably going to be your elbow grease.

“Cleaning after the holidays can be overwhelming,” said Gina Flores, owner of Nature Maids in Newport Beach. “The truth is, it’s got to be done, and no one else is going to do it. So you may as well make the best of it and put on some music, maybe boil some potpourri, and start.”

Here are some tips from cleaning experts on what to do after the party is over:

WHERE TO BEGIN

The best thing to do is use the kitchen as your base of operations, say the pros. Then start cleaning in the rooms farthest from there.

“Get a trash bag and start filling it up as you move from the farthest point toward the kitchen,” Flores said. “Once that’s done, go back with a good (hand-held) duster, like the ones made from lambs’ wool, and dust up all the crumbs.”

Follow the same route with a sponge and cleaner. Then go through again with broom or vacuum.

The exception to this routine is stains and spills. They need to come first, because if they get your immediate attention, you might be able to mitigate the damage.

CARPET STAINS

Was your carpet left with a few unwelcome holiday decorations?

It is possible to get out wine and food stains. The key, say experts, is to act quickly and have a little knowledge of chemistry.

“The most important thing is to reverse the pH of the stain,” said Zachary Betts, owner of Betts Carpet Care in Anaheim. “Most food and wine stains are acid base, and that can be a real problem because acid can take out the color of a carpet.”

To remove a stain, the acidity, or pH, of the spot needs to be brought back to neutral.

Betts advises not reaching for the spot removal products sold at grocery stores. These cleaners are mostly de-greasers and are useless against food or alcohol stains. They can break down grease but will not remove it.

“People forget that carpet is made of fabric, just like clothes, and the best way to get rid of a spill is to use laundry detergent,” he said.

The detergent will take the stain out without leaving a residue to attract dirt, because the pH has been put back to a neutral state.

Michael Barnes, claims manager for Aladdin Carpet Mills in Fullerton, agrees that laundry detergent is the best way to remove spills and stains from carpet. “The sooner you can get to the stain the better,” he said. “At least get the stain mopped up during the party and then clean as soon as everyone leaves.”

The first step is to lay a towel over the stain and walk over it, absorbing liquid into the towel. (No, this does not push the stain down into the carpet, Betts said.) Next apply a solution of one teaspoon colorless mild laundry detergent dissolved in one cup lukewarm water to the stain. Working from the outside of the stain toward the center, gently rub the stain with a sponge or soft brush. Again place a towel over the stain and keep walking on it until all the solution is removed.

If the stain is from Rover or a guest whose upset stomach couldn’t reach the bathroom, the process is the same. But Betts suggests following up with a vinegar bath to remove any odor. “As those stains sit, they turn to ammonia and can give off a horrible smell and fade the carpet color,” he said.

Use one-half cup of white vinegar to two-thirds cup of warm water. Apply the solution to the stained area and blot with a towel. The vinegar smell will eventually evaporate.

LINGERING TREE

The biggest damage to carpeting from a pine tree is sap that is apt to weep onto it. The bad news is there is no easy way to remove tree sap from carpet, and experts agree this is one stain that should be left to the professionals to avoid further damaging the carpet.

The best way to guard against sap reaching carpeting is to make sure there is a tree skirt around the base that is as wide enough as circumference of the outer branches.

Pine needles burrowing in for a long winter’s nap is the other common problem with carpeting during the holidays. There is no way to avoid getting needles in the carpet, but the number of needles can be significantly lowered with a little planning. Before removing the tree from its stand, wrap it in an old sheet or painting drop cloth. This way fewer needles are dropped to the floor when the tree is being removed from the house.

Needles are also tough on vacuum cleaners. They can clump together and clog up hoses. Rather than overtax the machine, Sue Asford of Asford Enterprises Inc. in Anaheim uses a broom and dust pan to sweep up the majority of the needles before vacuuming. Even then, there will still probably be a needle or two left behind.

“Short of walking back and forth over your carpet in a pair of wool socks, I don’t think there is any way to get every needle,” Asford said. “They sure do make the vacuum cleaner smell great though.”

CLEANING WINDOWS

Orange County residents intent on not being deprived of a white Christmas sometimes resort to frosting their window panes with cans of spray-on snow.

Removing that touch of winter from the windows is easier said than done. What went on with just the touch of an aerosol button seems harder to move than a glacier.

“There is just no easy way to remove that stuff from windows,” said Tony Casillas, owner of Sonshine Glass and Mirror in Orange. “To get it out of the corners you really have to use a razor blade.”

Casillas warns about spraying fake snow into corners because most windows are held in place by a vinyl gasket that can be eroded both by the synthetic snow and the harsh cleaners people use to try and remove it.

The only thing that may work is to gently scrape it with a blade.

“When you use a razor you should get one that’s commercial grade, and you have to be very careful not to scratch the glass,” he added.

Next year, Asford suggests, skip the spray snow and use glass wax. It dries opaque white and, when applied with a sponge, has the textured look of frost. But the best part is it wipes away with a damp cloth, cleaning as it goes.

SILVER CARE

Care should be taken to clean and store silver pieces properly, whether you use them all the time or just on special occasions. Regular use is really best, says Cindy Adler-Larson of Allan Adler Silversmiths in Corona del Mar. “Over time, silver gains a warm patina that makes it even prettier,” she said.

On pieces that come in direct contact with food such as eating utensils or plates, Adler-Larson suggests washing them in warm water with a mild detergent immediately after the meal.

“Foods such as salt or anything with egg as an ingredient can be really harsh on silver, leaving black pit marks,” she said. “If you leave it until the next morning, you could be damaging your silver.”

The best way to store silver pieces is to use silver bags that can be purchased at hardware stores or silver shops. These bags are lined with a tarnish retardant, according to Scott Sarkisian, owner of Normandy Metal Refinishers in Costa Mesa. He also warns against storing silver in plastic wrap because a chemical in the plastic will eat away silver. A soft cloth such as flannel or cotton is a better choice. But don’t secure the wrap with a rubber band. Rubber bands contain sulfur, one of the chemicals that tarnishes silver, Adler-Larson said.

When polishing silver, only use a good quality polish--”either a paste or polish that’s the consistency of calamine lotion,” Adler-Larson said. “Never use one of those dipping agents; they’re much too harsh.”

CHINA/CRYSTAL

When cleaning fine crystal, especially stemware, it is important to keep the pieces from extreme temperature fluctuations. That is why it’s not a good idea to put crystal in the dishwasher, said Joan Diamond of the Lenox shop at South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa. She recommends washing crystal by hand in lukewarm water with a mild detergent and then hand-drying with a lint-free cloth. To reduce the risk of breaking crystal during washing, place a rubber mat or double-folded towel on the bottom of the sink. A rubber head on the faucet is also a good precaution.

Manufacturers of most fine bone china say their products are dishwasher safe, but Diamond suggests a few precautions to ensure safe machine washing: “You’ll want to use a mild detergent like Cascade and delete the drying cycle; it’s much too hot.” Allow the china to air dry before storing.

OVEN TACTICS

When you finally get down to cleaning the kitchen, the oven will likely be the sorest point of all. No miracle tips here. But if the part you hate most is constantly rinsing out a cloth, Asford suggests using old newspapers to wipe the oven.

“After you spray on the oven cleaner, it can be a pain to reach in to wipe off all that.” She suggests using crumpled newspaper to wipe it away, dropping the soiled pieces into a plastic-lined wastebasket. “Once the main gunk is gone, you can use a cloth,” she says.

WAX REMOVAL

While candles go a long way toward setting a holiday mood, the spilled wax they leave behind can dampen spirits.

For wax on carpeting, the best removal process is to lay an old towel over the spot and use an iron to melt the wax up into the towel. “Turn off the steam and put it on the highest setting. The towel will absorb the wax,” Betts said.

With wax that has dripped onto silver candlesticks, place the piece under a stream of hot water until the wax is softened and easy to lift off. For ceramic or glass pieces, Asford suggests placing them in a microwave oven for a few seconds to loosen the wax.

“Another trick is to get a blow dryer and get real close to the wax; as soon as it gets hot, it will peel right off,” Asford said.

STORING ORNAMENTS

Holiday ornaments are often treasured more for their sentimental value than their monetary worth, so it can be heartbreaking when it’s discovered that some of them were broken in storage. The best way to guard against that is to purchase ornament boxes divided into compartments so the baubles are not bumping against one another. Make sure each ornament is wrapped in tissue before placing it in the box. These boxes can be bought at most stores that sell decorations. A good sturdy shoe box can be substituted for the specialty boxes; just take care not to crowd the ornaments.

Once packed, don’t send those decorations to the attic or garage for storage. The changes of temperature in those areas are too extreme for delicate creations such as hand-blown glass ornaments. Temperature changes can also cause condensation inside the ornaments that can affect their color.

TREE RECYCLING

If you had a cut tree as part of your holiday decor, recycling it may be as simple as putting it out on the curb.

Trees will be collected through Jan. 7 in curbside recycling programs in Anaheim, Brea, Buena Park, Costa Mesa, Dana Point, Fullerton, Garden Grove, Irvine, La Habra, Laguna Hills, Laguna Niguel, Newport Beach, Orange, Placentia, San Clemente, San Juan Capistrano, Santa Ana, Seal Beach, Stanton, Tustin, Villa Park, Westminster, Yorba Linda, Aliso Viejo, Capistrano Beach and Cowan Heights.

Los Alamitos will collect curbside trees through Jan. 5; Cypress will collect Jan. 3 through 7.

The county also has two Christmas tree recycling sites. People can take their trees to Mile Square Park in Fountain Valley or Laguna Niguel Park in Laguna Niguel on Jan. 8 and 9 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Cities participating in the county program include Huntington Beach, Lake Forest, Rancho Santa Margarita and Cota de Caza.