How to Clean Up After a Sloppy Santa

Santa Claus is coming to town!  However, after a long night of delivering presents to all the little good boys and girls, Santa might get a little sloppy coming down the chimney.  Not only are those sooty footprints going to be a dead giveaway, they’re also going to be tough to clean.

Here’s how to get it done!

1 – Start off by vacuuming any loose soot to avoid rubbing it in and making it worse.  It is advisable to use a powerful vacuum (think Shop-Vac) and hold the attachment at a slight distance.  This will help avoid the problem of your normal carpet vacuum driving the soot in deeper.

2 – Treat the affected area with baking soda.  Let it sit for a little while (about an hour) and then vacuum it up.  You can use your normal vacuum cleaner this time.

3 – There is a good chance that there will still be some visible soot after all this, so our next step will be to use some dry cleaning solution.  Obviously, test in an inconspicuous place to make sure your colors won’t run.  Pour a little solution onto the stains and let it rest for a little bit.  Then blot the area with a slightly damp cloth.

Obviously, you could skip all these shenanigans by calling ServiceMaster.  Or you just need to make sure your kids are naughty this year…