Halloween brings about all sorts of difficult stains and other cleaning challenges that are very spooky. For many, Halloween is the best party season of the year. The entire month of October leading up to Halloween, parties rage on from one end of the nation (and the world) to the other. These parties range from candy-fuelled sleepovers after trick-or-treating to all-night adult cocktail parties. The two things that every Halloween party has in common are 1) costumes and 2) a huge mess afterward.
Even the most polite guests can leave a spill, walk candy into your carpets, or accidentally smash a pumpkin – and less well-behaved guests might leave more than a little mess to clean up. If you are looking at a post-Halloween disaster on your floors and furniture: don’t worry.
Here at Steamatic of Red River Valley, we have done more than a little post-Halloween cleaning, and we have all the answers you need to clean up your house after a Halloween party expertly. No matter how wild it may have been.
Melted Chocolate in the Carpet and Upholstery
Everyone loves chocolate. The big chocolate candy bars and little fun-sized chocolates are almost everyone’s favorite when trick-or-treating and picking candy from the Halloween party bowl. Unfortunately, that also means smashed chocolates and chocolatey fingers can wind up all over your house. While you can wipe off most oily milk chocolate from hard surfaces with a warm sponge, what about your carpets and upholstery?
Let the chocolate harden in the carpet. You can use a fan or a hair dryer on the cool setting to speed this up. Then scrape off as many crumbly pieces as you can. Use a plastic tool to avoid re-melting at your touch. Finally, dab away the rest with a dish soap and water mixture.
Stuck Gum in the Carpet or Furniture
There is always a little bubble gum in every trick-or-treat haul, and someone might have left it in your carpet fibers or embedded it in the upholstery. Once you get over the “ugh” factor, chewing gum is surprisingly easy to remove if you know the trick: freeze it.
Use a piece of ice to freeze the gum until it is hard, like a pebble. Then pull and chip the gum out of your carpet fibers or carefully lift it off the fabric of your upholstery.
Wax Drips on Your Floor or Carpet
Halloween candles are a seasonal favorite for many families, events, and groups of friends. Having huge dripping candles can be a spooky addition to your ambiance at the moment but not so delightful when you need to remove all that dripped wax from your floor and even your carpet.
Wax on wood, counters, and hard floors can be gently re-melted with a hairdryer and then lifted with a scraper or wiped away with a cloth if runny enough. Wax on upholstery or cloth can often be gently lifted from underneath, and it is easier if you can roll the cloth or fiber to break the seal. Wax in your carpet, however, may require a professional.
Costume Makeup Smears on the Walls or Furniture
When someone puts a lot of effort into their Halloween costume makeup, it really shows. Unfortunately, it can also really show on your couch and even wind up as smudges on the walls and bathroom. How do you get costume makeup out of upholstery and off your painted drywall? We’re glad you asked.
Costume makeup is typically grease paint. Start by gently scraping away what you can by trying to lift any chunks or ridges. Then use a grease spot remover to dissolve the grease paint and gently dab it off your wall or furniture with a microfiber cloth. Be sure to blot, not scrub, to avoid driving the makeup in further.
Cleaning Up After a Sick Guest
Halloween is the one type of party that does not require alcohol for guests to become violently sick. From too much candy, dehydration on the dance floor, or a little too much punch, every Halloween party host needs to know how to clean up after a sick guest. Both swiftly at the moment and then how to remove the stain after.
If someone gets sick at your party, first absorb and pick up most of the mess with a towel that can go right in the washer (or rinse out quickly in the sink). Then shake out a layer of cornstarch, baking powder, or pine shavings – whichever you have lying around. Let this dry, pull up any residue with a towel, vacuum, and then clean the spot with a hydrogen peroxide cleaner.
Professional Residential Cleaning Services in Grand Forks & Fargo
Lastly, never underestimate the importance of good cleaning service on your side. If you don’t have time to clean and scrape away the post-Halloween party mess, or if there’s a stain that won’t go away, a professional residential cleaning service can ensure that your home is back to its beautiful state.
Here at Steamatics of the Red River Valley, we know Halloween is a big time for Halloween bashes and post-bash cleaning. From office parties to house parties and everything in between, you can count on the Steamatic team to take care of those horrifying and downright spooky messes left behind after all your exhausted ghouls go home. Contact us today to book your Halloween cleaning. Send us an emergency post-party call about a particularly terrifying carpet stain, or book ahead and know that the cleaners are already on their way when the mess is revealed on November 1st.
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