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Want in on our insider secrets to cleaning up post Holi? These post-Holi cleaning ideas for home interiors will help you aplenty. Check them out!
The festival of colours is just around the corner. And we know none of us can keep calm. Let’s face it, Holi is the best way to wash away your stress. So, what’s a better way than enjoying the new year with Holi? However, we must know that the festival demands a series of planning. No, we are not thinking about what to wear this Holi, or maybe we are! (winks). But the more significant part of Holi plans is to strategise a safeguard program to protect your home from happy but unpredictable outbreaks of colours.
From the burning question ‘how to remove colour stains from walls’ to the sensitive question ‘how to wash away the colours from the sofa cushions’ — we have covered it all! So, let’s take a look at our eight colour-proofing ideas to safeguard your homes for Holi.
Protect Your Walls With A Before And After Holi Cleaning Strategy
How To Remove Colour Stains From Walls?
Well, this question is trickier than you know. Walls are the most exposed parts of your home and hence they are the most susceptible to surprising splashes of colours during Holi. Therefore, you need to be doubly ready to protect your walls. To give your walls the ultimate shield, here is a list of things you need to cover before and after Holi.
Before Holi: How To Safeguard Your Walls
To protect your walls from colour splashes, follow these steps:
- You can go for a washable or easy paint on your walls. This type of paint can be easily cleaned with a cloth or a sponge, so they work as great protectors of walls from colour stains, pencil marks, and even tea stains!
- Protect wall cracks before colours fill them up! If you have cracked wall corners, please fill the gaps with some crack protection coating to make your walls uniform, otherwise getting the colours out of these gaps can become really tough.
- You can also opt for anti-stain varnishes on the walls.
After Holi: How To Remove Holi Colours From Walls
- If your walls already fell prey to the colours, don’t go hard on them. First, determine the impact of the colour and then clean your walls with washable paints. The best way is to use a damp sponge and softly apply it to the wall in a circular motion.
- If you have the non-washable wall paint with Holi colour stains, firstly soak the wet colour stains with a tissue paper and then apply a baking soda and water paste on the stained areas. Now let it dry for 15 minutes. Next, you can gently clean up the paste and the stains with a soft, microfibre cloth. Rub the cloth on the wall in a circular motion until the colours are gone.
- You can renovate the walls with an after-Holi touch-up. In case you skipped our pre-Holi steps, your walls are washed with colours everywhere, you can go for a touch-up. While you can DIY your wall paint, you must go with professional painters if there are stubborn marks and irregular stains.
Keep Your Furniture Away Or Protected With Covers
Furniture, especially wooden ones, are prone to colour stains. So, the most appropriate thing to do is hide away your major furniture sets. Either place them in a spare room and lock them up or cover them with plastic sheets. In case you have less space and can’t move the furniture, start cleaning them on the same day.
- For dry colour sprinkles, vacuum the furniture. If there are wet colour stains on your wooden furniture, you can clean it with a cotton pad dipped in acetone.
- For sofa cushions, you can brush away the dry colours with a nylon brush. You can remove the wet colour stains from the cushion covers by soaking them in vinegar or lemon juice for some time and then washing them with clean water. You can also apply lemon juice or vinegar to the affected areas on the cushion and then dry them up in the sun.
- For a leather sofa set, you can gently remove the stains with a damp cloth and ethanol.
Don’t Overlook The Floors, Protect Them From Colour Stains By Blotting
Floors are as susceptible as the walls, especially when you have carpet or wooden flooring. So, the first thing to do is to keep away all the carpets and rugs a day before Holi. Carpets or woollen rugs can catch colour stains that may get difficult to wash away. And even if you machine-wash them or dry clean them, chances are the colours will interfere with the carpet material and may lead to permanent changes.
In case of wood or paper flooring, cover it up with plastics. Yes, gather some plastic sheets and cover your floors by tapping them with sellotape on the edges. You can cover the floors with sheets and fix them so there would be no chances of misplacing the cover sheets. You can also get some resin floor paper to cover the floors.
If there are splashes of watercolours on the floor, use a paper towel to blot them as soon as possible to avoid any slippage and permanent staining. You can also dab any water on the floor with an old newspaper or tissue paper. You can use a sponge for laminated wooden floors and try to clean the colour stains gently with water and baking soda paste.
Clean Your Kitchen After A Holi Colour Outburst With Acetone Or Soap-Soaked Brush
The kitchen can be a mess after a Holi party mostly because we decide to wash our face or clothes in our kitchen sinks. Also, kitchens are primarily open areas; therefore, they can be susceptible to Holi colour invasions. So, the first tip would be to avoid the kitchen sinks and directly go to the shower. But if you have already messed up the sinks with colours, scrub them with a soaped sponge or brush. Do it gently as rubbing the surfaces and sinks with brushes can leave permanent marks. You can use the same soap-soaked brush for cleaning the kitchen countertops too. If the Holi colours have stained your kitchen cabinets, go for sponge cleaning with some acetone. Don’t forget to keep all the utensils under the kitchen cabinets as colours on utensils can lead to harmful health issues. Try to protect the kitchen walls, however, you can use paint touch-ups later if they get stained.
Oil Up All Your Door Knobs And Bathroom Fixtures To Avoid Holi Stains
In a rush to wash away the Holi colours, you may stain the door handles and bathroom fixtures in your home. So, the best way to protect them from colour stains is by oiling them prior to your Holi party. Apply some mustard oil on all the doorknobs and door handles as well as the bathroom fixtures. The oil will shield the knobs and keep them safe from colour stains. Instead of mustard oil, you can also use petroleum jelly.
Quick tip: After your Holi celebrations, head to the shower to avoid staining areas of the rest of the bathroom floor.
Clean Holi Colours From Bathroom Walls With Baking Soda
If your bathroom has white tiles and stained with Holi colours, blot the colours with some tissue paper to dry up tIf your bathroom has white tiles and are stained with Holi colours, blot the colours with some tissue paper to dry up the areas. If the stains remain, you can DIY and clean the white tiles by applying a baking soda and water paste to the stained areas. Wait for the paste to dry before cleaning it with a wet towel or cotton cloth. You can use the same baking soda and water paste or hydrogen peroxide for the bathroom floors and brush the floor tiles.
Never Postpone Cleaning The Holi Colours From Glass Window Panes
Stains on glass can stay back and create a messy look on your window panes and mirrors. So, don’t postpone washing the Holi colours from your window panes. The quickest way to get rid of the stains is by using a glass cleaner and wiping away the stains immediately. You can also use a baking soda and water paste and apply it on the glass surfaces with a soft microfibre cloth to clean the stains. Remember to gently wipe the glass surfaces as you don’t want to scratch them.
Hide Away Indoor And Balcony Plants To Save Them From Colours
Our last tip to protect your house during Holi is to not forget about your indoor and outdoor plants. Chances are, on the day of the festival you might forget to keep the plants away, so plan this a day before. Covering the plants might not be a good idea as the cover can mishandle the branches and flowers, so the best way to not mess the greeneries at home during Holi is to keep them away. Just put them in a room or cabinet until the colour splashing is over. If you have balconies with planters, either block the space so that colours can’t reach the plants or keep them away in a spare area.
Unlike the famous tagline “Daag Acche Hai!”, we’d say stains are good as long as they are easy to clean. Plan your post-Holi cleaning the right way and keep your home’s interiors cheerful but stainless with our Holi colour-proofing tips. Try them this Holi and thank us later! And, hey, have a great Holi!
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