Blog – MDFSkirtingBoards.co.uk®

How to clean skirting boards

October 17, 2016June 10, 2016 by admin

A lot of you out there, probably clean your house once a week, but most of you probably don’t clean your skirting boards once a week. Yes, skirting boards and the back your radiator are often the areas got forgotten, then gradually they become your dust trap.

So now, here you are at the annual spring clean trying to figure out how to clean the skirting boards that you haven’t got around to clean. First of all, find out what type of material or wood you have for your skirting boards, this is simply because you don’t want to introduce a lot moisture to your skirting boards then indirectly to your wall which will cause your problem. Some pine or oak skirting boards product can even start to change shape or curl up with a lot of moisture.

Second of all, what finish do you have on your skirting boards. If you have oil, lacquering, paint or gloss then you don’t need to worry as much as say your skirting boards don’t have any finishing products on them, and only have the raw materials. Because raw materials soak up moisture far quicker than if they have some layers of finish on them.

After you determined the type and finish of your skirting boards then you can decide what to use. If you have unfinished materials, then make sure you don’t use any water content cleaning solutions. Simple dusting and dry wiping can get rid of a lot of the dust, or use the vacuum to go over it as well as dusting.

If your skirting boards have some sort of finish on them, it doesn’t mean that you don’t have to worry about the moisture, only that you can use a small amount moist if it is necessary. You can start to vacuum majority of the dust first, then use a mix cleaning solution of water and soda powder and slightly damp the cloth, and run the cloth through all the profiling sections of the skirting boards which seems to trap most of the dust. If your skirting boards in the kitchen have grease on them, you can add a drop or two dish soap into the mix solution. If your skirting boards have mould or mildew on them, add a drop of bleach into the mix cleaning solution. However, if the mould or mildew come back within a short space of time, you may need to check whether there leaks or major damp behind the skirting board.

Once you have spring cleaned your skirting boards, just make a habit of giving them a quick vacuum when you vacuum your floor.

How to create your shabby chic skirting board decoration

October 17, 2016June 8, 2016 by admin

The term of shabby chic style of decoration was originated in the US in the 80s. This type of style basically creates the appearance of distressed, worn or tear furniture or home decor to achieve antique looking decor style.

This type of style isn’t for everyone, you either love it or hate it. The colours and shapes of the furnitures can be quite similar to the ones that are traditional style, the main difference is the worn colours. Usually the furnitures and decors can have layers of paint, some of them partially or fully worn out. To create that style, there are a few things you can do. Use your skirting board for examples, (real wood skirting boards like oak or pine works the best, because MDF wasn’t invested back in the days.) you can paint or glaze part or all of your skirting board, leave it to dry and settle down sufficiently, then sad or rub part of the top coat paint or gloss. Don’t worry if it is not neat, which is a the point, as natural worn effect can be random and uneven. If you like the partial wood shown, then you can stop there. If you really want to show the age of the board, you can carry on painting more coats on then rub or sad away more layers as you like.

Although real wood is preferable, that is not to say MDF is totally not acceptable. What you need to be careful is that your undercoat sufficiently cover the MDF surface, only leave some layers of worn paint or gloss. There you go, you can achieve your very own unique shabby chic looking skirting boards. You can use this method on any furnitures you wish.

What is the best material to use when painting skirting boards and architrave?

October 17, 2016June 7, 2016 by admin

This is an excellent question. One which we have been asked by customers on several occasions. We do get approached by customers looking for new skirting boards or architrave for redecoration projects who often ask us about which material we would recommend if they are going to be painted. We hope this article will help answer that question.

A large number of people tend to assume that pine skirting boards would be the best skirting board or architrave option to paint as it is the traditional style often found in older Victorian or Edwardian properties and are very common within the market. Pine makes an excellent material for skirting board and architrave as it is a budget timber however as a softwood it is prone to being dented and knocked overtime as a result of everyday living after being bashed by the vacuum cleaner and knocked with shoes/furniture. Pine makes a fantastic material for skirting boards and architrave in older properties but looks more the part when unfinished or lacquered.

The better alternative that we would recommend is MDF when painting skirting boards and architrave. There is a common misconception in the marketplace that MDF skirting boards are flimsy and break easily as a result of being cheap however this is simply not true. MDF skirting boards are a more rigid option compared to a softwood like pine, it is true that they are substantially cheaper though but at no compromise making them a more suitable product for interior re-decorating. The only downside with MDF skirting boards and architrave is that they will always have to be painted as they would be the standard green or brown buff colour that people find quite ugly!

MDF skirting boards and architrave are now also typically sold in moisture-resistant (MR) versions making them more suitable for kitchens and bathrooms where timber is usually a complete no-no.

However if you insist on using a timber rather than MDF for skirting boards or architrave we would recommend a paint-grade tulipwood to do so. This is usually a more expensive option but as a hardwood it offers similar properties to the MDF in terms of density. The truth is that once several paint coats are added to the skirting boards or architrave you cannot tell which material is used for your mouldings. If you plan on lightly coating to allow a wooden grain to show through then obviously MDF would be the worst option for your skirting and architrave as it has no visible grain whatsoever!

So if you are looking for new skirting boards or architrave for redecorating your property we would recommend MDF if you are looking for a more robust skirting board or architrave for your home, pine and tulipwood are good alternatives but ultimately the decision lies in what you want to achieve.