How To maintain your completed project

Hey ya’ll! It’s Laura! Long time no see. I’m back from maternity leave and boy how I’ve missed you my Lambert Homies (Is this still not a thing? Because it should be, LOL). I am so glad to be here and what better way to come back than with a blog on something I am VERY passionate about! HOW TO TAKE CARE OF OUR NICE THINGS. Because, like I tell my husband, if we want nice things…and we want to keep our nice things…then we have to take care of the nice things! AHEM…meaning do not demo our bathroom without a game plan and do not leave our cast iron skillet on our new stainless steel stovetop griddle, babe! Kidding. But not really because he did do that…but it’s totally okay! He didn’t know. You just don’t know what you don’t know, but guess what? WE know. In this blog I’m going to break it down for y’all exactly how we break it down to our clients after a big remodel. I’m going to give you the inside tips on how to maintain your shiny new surfaces and what products we all use to clean our homes. And if your husband likes to go rogue on occasion (like mine) label your cleaners by room and thank me later!

GRANITE. QUARTZITE. MARBLE.

Everyone thinks “get granite because it’s durable” and they are right! But natural stone isn’t indestructible. These all can be prone to: etching, scratching, breaking, staining from harsh chemicals, and chipping (from dropping heavy objects) if you aren’t careful. This means don’t throw your free weights onto your counter after a workout. I don’t know who would do that anyway, but I’m sure that person is out there! And don’t use any acidic chemicals to wipe up your mess. We like to use warm water and dish soap and we recommend sealing your countertops annually. This is the biggest tip to keeping these bad boys looking new! And don’t forget to seal the edges!

QUARTZ

Quartz is more durable than natural stone in many ways….except heat. Do. Not. Put. Your Hot Pans. On Your Bare Counter. It’s also likely to chip if a heavy object drops on it! Again, warm water and dish soap or any regular surface cleaner will do. We also like a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser for any tough marks.

BUTCHER BLOCK

Fun fact: our desks at the studio are made of butcher block so we are basically professional butcher block cleaners! We love the antimicrobial / antibacterial properties of this kind of surface. The key is to oil, oil, oil. Until the oil is fully saturated the countertop remains super porous. This is another surface that you can use dish soap and warm water…just oil it up once a week and use fine grit sandpaper to remove stains and scratches.

HARDWOOD

Hardwood is gorgeous, but can be a little high maintenance. You can’t leave standing water, wet towels, wet dogs, spills, or anything of the like on hardwood. Excessive humidity can even ruin hardwood. Not to mention the scratch-ability! We personally love a good worn in hardwood, but that takes time. Like a hundred years. Do yourself a favor and protect your hardwood with felt pads for moving furniture! For cleaning we like Bona the best and we always keep a pack of Varathane Wood Pens around to touch up any scratches!

TILE / GROUT

Tile seems sterile because it’s easy to clean, but grout is porous and can harbor mold. Clean your tile and grout regularly to avoid any scaling and scum build up. We’re talking weekly. You can bleach white grout, but if you have any other color you should also know and fully expect your grout to discolor over time. It just is what it is. To clean tile we say any cleaner will suffice, but we personally try to avoid harsh chemical cleaners on our tile because it can affect the finish…Scrubbing Bubbles is a no go. Another secret we tell clients is to NOT use a bucket and a mop. Mopping with a traditional old-style mop only pushes dirty water into your grout lines to settle and stain over time. We ONLY use semi-dry sponge mops and LOVE Swiffer Wet Jet because you can keep your grout dry and clean!

LVP

LVP is my top choice for flooring because it’s virtually non destructible. Or at least that’s how it seems. This is the flooring you need in your house when you have small kids and dogs, y’all. Hardwood just would not cut it at my house right now! LVP is where it’s at! Standard sweeping and mopping works best for LVP. As far as products, pick your poison. Just be sure you have real LVP…there is fake LVP out there and boy will it deceive you. (We know cuz the Lambert’s mom got the wrong stuff!!) Another reason it’s so important to hire Lambert Home to help you through your design process!!

CARPET

We should all be familiar with carpet. True story…Katie and I literally had carpet in our bathroom at one of our rent houses in college (GROSS). It’s absorbent. It clings to dust. Yet can feel sooooo nice on your feet. You gotta vacuum, vacuum, vacuum. Then vacuum some more. If you can’t vacuum every day make it at least once a week. We recommend getting a professional carpet cleaning once a year and in the interim buy yourself a Bissell Little Green. It works great on upholstery and rugs too. I use mine weekly, because kids. It’s legit! For a quick spot remover we love Folex Instant Spot Treatment (can get out red wine y’all) and My Pet Peed for pet stains. Silly name, but it works!

CABINETS

Warm damp washcloth and a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser for tougher marks! (Always be careful with the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser because it kinda works like sandpaper and can dull the finish of your cabs)

SHOWER GLASS

Clean your shower regularly. The seal WILL get moldy. Hands down. You can always remove the seal if it’s not necessary for your space. If it is necessary then remove it once a week and soak it in bleach! For the glass itself- our ride or die is Magic Glass Cleaner. You can throw your squeegee away if you use this stuff!

HARDWARE & FIXTURES

Repeat after me: Do. Not. Use. Harsh. Chemicals. On your hardware. It WILL change them. So unless that’s what you’re into…please refrain. This means faucets, drains, cabinet hardware, and your robe hooks (etc). Warm water and dish soap will be fine. If you have polished nickel buff it out with a soft dry cloth!

STAINLESS STEEL

This is easy peasy. Disinfect with any store- bought cleaner then use a stainless steel cleaner for shine. It makes al the difference! If you have scratches and dents, reach out to us. We will schedule you with our stainless steel specialist for repair!