Monday, January 28, 2013

DIY Baseboard Duster/Scuffmark Remover

Every so often at the airport I'd see the cleaning people with a tennis ball on the end of a broomstick and watch them as they used the end of a tennis ball to remove shoe scuffmarks from the floors of the long corridors of the airport without having to bend over.   When the vestibule and hall area of our church was prone to getting black scuffmarks I thought of making one.  Googling brought me to this link.  Then I was watching one of Malitose79's videos on youtube (not sure which one!) and she showed the tennis ball on a stick but put a dryer sheet on the end and used it to clean baseboards in the home!  Brilliant!   So, I'll kill two birds with one stone and have a dual purpose tool!
The dryer sheets can be added by taking the ball of the stick and tucking as many as the edges as you can into the hole.  The dryer sheet leaves a coating on the baseboards that deters dust and makes it less likely to stick to the wood.  How cool is that? 
 
I cut my tennis ball with a box cutter, making an X into one side.  After I dusted all the baseboards from the downstairs this is what was on my handy dandy duster.  Pretty icky and I am a regular duster of my baseboards.  The fabric sheets really grip the dust and remove dust and dirt. 
***DISCLAIMER***
I must tell you to PLEASE use caution when cutting your tennis ball!  I kept reminding myself to be careful over and over and was being very cautious.  While holding and cutting my ball open, I slipped and sliced the palm of my hand open which took an emergency trip to the ER to get a tetanus shot to see if I needed stitches.  No stitches thankfully!  So please stick your tennis ball in some channel locks, a vice or some other contraption that will hold the ball AWAY from your hands.   I cannot stress this enough!




More the Merrier Monday

20 comments:

  1. What a great idea! I will definitely be trying this before our newest little one arrives! Thanks for stopping in at the blog!
    -Holly

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  2. You're very welcome Holly! Thanks so much for stopping by!

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  3. I am definately going to try this one as we have a few tennis balls around here. great idea thanks for sharing.

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  4. Thanks for stopping by Anna! Let me know how you like it~ have a great day!

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  5. ouch! I guess doing what we do, it never hurts to have that tetanus shot. happy there were no stitches involved!
    gail

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  6. So glad you stopped by Gail! Have a wonderful day!

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  7. I need to try this tip. We are a tennis playing family, so getting a ball to use is no problem.

    I hope you wound heals quickly. It sounds painful!

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  8. Let me know how you like it Paula! The fact that you are a tennis playing family really makes it easy too! Thanks so much for stopping by and for the well wishes! I'm healing speedily!

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  9. How funny-- my daughter just told me they use this "method" at her school!

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  10. Oh, I am definitely trying this! Interesting about the dryer sheet -- I'd do anything not to have MORE dust! And I promise to be careful when slicing that tennis ball!

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  11. This is brilliant! Thanks so much for sharing -- I have a lot of baseboards!

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  12. Great idea but now I'm nervous about about cutting the tennis ball!

    Thanks so much for joining in this week.

    xo
    Claudia

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  13. Hope your hand is healed! Thanks for this information, I never knew dryer sheets would help with baseboard dust. My baseboards drive me crazy (we have a very shedding dog) and I've been thinking a lot lately about how to cope with this - thanks for a great idea!

    Mary

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  14. Diane, I believe it since they have the industrial tiles in airports and in schools too. Thanks so much for stopping by too!

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  15. Sarah, YES~ DO be careful! Let me know how you like it as well! Thank you so much for stopping by!

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  16. Thanks for stopping by Carol!

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  17. Thanks for stopping by Claudia! I LOVE your blog and appreciate the opportunity to link up with you!

    I was careful, but obviously have to be MORE careful. I want to make one more but need to get out the channel locks when I do.

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  18. It's doing great Mary Clark~ thanks for asking!

    It sure was easy whizzing along in the house and even getting behind the couches and piano with the long arm. I'd love to know how you like it!

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  19. Another wonderful idea, Lil! Thank you so much.

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  20. Thank you Haworth! Always appreciate you stopping by!

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