Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Frugal Cleaning Tips For The Preschool Teacher

Look Teacher! I drew you a picture on the wall!

After a successful day in the preschool classroom you are sure to give yourself a pat on the back. Then, there it is! The reason why the children were giggling behind the book case...a lovely but not so practical wall mural of crayon and marker scribbles.
Has this ever happened to you? Don't hide it behind that poster! We have teacher tips that will clean up lots of messes without using harsh chemical.

Removing Permanent Marker and Crayon:
Zap marker stains away!
Materials Needed: Tooth paste(not the gel), clean damp cloth, soap
What It Cleans: This cleans painted walls, wood, and porcelain.
The Procedure: Buff a bit of toothpaste over the marker and let it set a few minutes. Then wipe it off with a soapy damp cloth.

How to Make Your Own Baby Wipes For The Kids:
Materials Needed: Paper towels (Viva works the best), A round plastic container with a seal-able lid, a sharp serrated knife, cups of boiled water, 2TSPS of baby shampoo or baby wash (smells divine, doesn't it?), 1 TSP baby oil.
The Procedure: Cut paper towels in half with your knife and remove the cardboard tubing. After the boiled water is room temp. mix all your liquid ingredients and place in the plastic container. Now sit the paper towels in the solution and let is set for ten minutes....then place the lid on and flip it to set for another ten minutes. Hum-dee-dum-dee-dum....
Voila!: Sit it right side up and be sure to pull from the center of the roll to get your wipees. Always keep it sealed tightly to prevent dry out. Just save the next roll for next time you make a new batch! Tre' Frugal!
What It Cleans: Great for outdoor adventures,the messy lunch bunch, and sticky little hands everywhere!


More Crayon Removing Tips:
Mayonnaise- Circular motions and wipe off!
Baby Oil- Buff and wipe.
Baking Soda- Make a paste with water and buff.
Shaving Cream- Generously apply to marks and wipe vigorously.
Hand Lotion- Buff on, buff off.
Hairspray- Works great on walls! Apply with a heavy hand and wipe off.
Baby Wipes- Buff in circular motions.

Have you ever had art disasters in your classroom?

7 comments:

April said...

Toothpaste and mayo? Who knew? Oh...well I guess you did :)

Jenni said...

If it's a wipeable surface and it's permanent marker you can also color over it with dry erase and it wipes right off. It's amazing! I do this all the time where I use clear packing tape on the self and them permanent marker so it doesn't come off. Then, when I change things out and want to relabel just get a dry erase marker, write right over the marker, and wipe! It's seriously amazing to watch! You'll want to just keep trying it over and over.

The other thing totally worth investing in is the magic erasers from mr. Clean. Those are amazing! I had a table that had permanent marker that no trick worked on and, since it wasn't on a wipeable surface the other trick didn't work after more than three years i thought for sure it wouldn't come off. ONE swipe with the eraser! That's all it took! I sweat by those now and they are worth their weight in gold and more!

Barbra The Bloggess said...

@ April
Amazing isn't it? We think it has something to do with the oil. But hey, if it works it works!

@ Jenni
I never heard that about dry erase markers! You have lots of useful tips! I guess veteran teachers like you always do! Thanks, Jenni!

Jenni said...

A LOT of people I run into don't know this trick. I forget who told me, but as soon as I heard I HAD to check it out and have never been disappointed. I've even cleaned entire dry erase boards with this technique after "accidental" misuse or even, as sometimes happens, if the dry erase marker was left on the board for too long.

There are lots of little tricks! Another on for crayon, especially if it gets ground into the carpet, is to use a paper bag over the crayon and a hot iron over that. Let the iron swipe over the crayon and the paper bag will soak it right up! (It's the same trick to get candle wax out of carpet/table cloth/etc...)

Oh, and those times that playdough gets stuck to the table (you know, when it's a really bad batch) clean it up with FLOUR! Never water! Water makes it worse and stickier, flour will soak up the moisture that is really causing the problem and makes it easy to wipe right up!

What a fun post! I'm going back to my mind for ALL the tricks of the trade!

Barbra The Bloggess said...

Hi Jenni! I heard the one about the candle wax, I have never used it on crayon, though. Makes sense-they're both wax! We really appreciate your input!

lyn said...

I had heard, and seen photos of children chemically burned by Mr. Clean type sponges. Therefore I would suggest that an adult use them rather than children independently using them. Arms and cheeks etc had chemical burns. Just and fyi

Barbra The Bloggess said...

Hi Lyn- wow, never knew that. We buy the no name sponges from the dollar store.
I wonder if the brand you are speaking of tells consumers there is some kind of product in there?
Good heads up-Thanks!