Six Tips to Clean Your Fiberglass Columns

Fiberglass columns are not hard to keep clean. They do not rust, age, and are not particularly attractive to dust. But like any aspect of your home, they do need to be cleaned from time to time. And if you are currently looking up at a two-story column wondering "How the heck am I going to clean that", we've got you covered. As experts in column installation, we also happen to know a thing or two about keeping your columns looking as beautiful as the day they were installed.

Whether you have indoor columns or outdoor columns, you'll find these tips helpful any time you want to spruce up your columns for company or just because you like a sparkling clean home.




1) The Garden Hose

For outdoor columns, there are few tools more convenient than your common garden hose. Attach the sprayer head or just use the thumb trick to get a nice pressurized spray and soak your columns starting at the top and working your way down to the bottom. Because they are fiberglass, you don't have to worry about damaging the woodwork. The water from the hose will dislodge everything from spiders to clingy dust and tree pollen giving you a great head start on washing your columns.




2) The Vacuum Cleaner

Of course, if you are indoors then the hose is not an option. Instead, start off with the hose of your vacuum cleaner. Again, start at the top (possibly with the help of a step-stool) and then work your way down with a brush-attachment at the end of the hose. This will pick up all the spider webs, dislodge the dust, and then suck the dust away before it can fall onto your furniture.




3) A Straw Broom

Need a little more direct cleaning of the upper reaches of your columns? A sturdy straw broom or a broom made to sweep ceiling corners are both great options for knocking the dust off the overhead half of your column. Although, if you are using a broom we highly suggest that you also wear a bandana over your face and possibly cover your hair to protect you from falling dust. Especially if it's been a while.




4) An Extendable Car Squeegee

What if you want to wipe down your columns or give them a bit of a scrub? Indoor columns, you may want polished and perfect, not just dusted. And outdoor columns may be contending with sticky pollen clinging to the fiberglass. Here, your best tool is an extendable car squeegee, the kind you use on your car's windows and is built to help you wash a large truck.

Extend your squeegee to its maximum length and use a step-stool as necessary to reach the top of the column, then firmly swipe down in stripes. Keep a bucket handy to rinse the squeegee so that each swipe makes the column guaranteeably cleaner. Change out your bucket water partway through, if necessary. Now you will have a truly beautiful and well-polished column.




5) A Clean Sponge Mop

Don't have a squeegee? In that case, equip yourself with a clean mop head on your sponge mop. A sponge mop is basically a squeegee designed to clean the floor but it also comes with helpfully long handle. A clean mop head and fresh hot water will handle just about anything that might have built up on your columns over the last few months or years. Just remember to start at the top and work your way down.




6) Getting Creative

Finally, don't be afraid to get creative. If you have a dust mop that will do the trick, go for it. If you want to switch a squeegee head onto a longer mop handle, you can absolutely do that. You can even tie a rag to the end of a broom or broom handle if you're short on handy cleaning tools.

Keeping your fiberglass columns clean is easy. But if you want to give them a special polish, any of these techniques are sure to do the trick.

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