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Wondering how to clean outdoor light fixtures?
You’d agree that your outdoor lighting needs to stay bright and the fixtures spotless. Not only for safety but also since you picked out the most eye-catching lighting fixture to make your outdoors elegant.
Being outside, light fixtures get dusty, pick up dirt, attract bugs and get bug debris. It’s inevitable.
For this reason, you need to know how to clean outdoor lighting fixtures effectively, and regularly too.
Fixtures are also made up of different materials that get dirty differently. For instance, sconces made of copper and bronze could get tarnished.
Are you ready to get started? Let’s get your outdoor lighting and appeal back!
Before you begin the cleaning process, here is a list of tools you’ll need to have at hand.
Once you’ve made sure you have all your tools, follow this step-by-step guide on how to clean outdoor light fixtures.
1. Turn off your lights from your main power source. This is crucial for your safety. As you may already know, you’ll be dealing with electricity and the last thing you want is water getting in contact with anything electric. Be it your sockets or light fixtures.
2. Set your ladder up to a suitable level depending on how far off the ground your outdoor wall lights are. If you don’t have a ladder, you can use a chair or anything stable enough to hold you up there.
3. Put on your safety rubber gloves and prepare your soapy water in a bucket. Rubber gloves protect your skin from harmful detergents or chemicals from glass cleaners.
4. Remove your light bulbs and place them aside, on a soft surface. Then, using your screwdriver, remove any globes, grills, or casings and soak them in soapy water.
5. Use your soft brush to dust your pendants and remove any bug debris or cobwebs.
6. Take your soft piece of clothing and dip it in soapy water. Then, wring it out to wipe the fixtures on the wall. Remember not to get any of your electric sockets wet.
7. Remove the fixtures out of the soapy water and rinse them in a second bucket with clean water. After rinsing thoroughly, wipe them out to dry.
8. For any glass surfaces, use a piece of cloth to apply a professional glass cleaner. This will revive its shininess.
9. Use non-abrasive cleaners on metal surfaces to remove stains. Some easily-accessible household items you could use include white vinegar, lemon, and baking soda. We’ll discuss how to use them later in the post.
10. Wipe your screws and light bulbs gently with a damp cloth.
11. Reassemble your fixtures and wait for everything to dry out before turning the lights back on.
When you’re learning how to clean outdoor light fixtures, there are some helpful and precautionary tips you must not miss. These will keep you safe and potentially make everything easier for you.
This tip to clean outdoor light fixtures ensures your safety. As mentioned, always turn off the power before you start cleaning. Also, keep water away from your light switch and ensure that the fixtures dry before turning the power back on.
Stay away from generic chemical cleaners as these dull your copper or brass coatings.
How do you clean them then?
Instead, use soap and water to clean your globe pendants and fixtures.
Image via Claxy
Rough textured clothing could damage your surfaces and cause scratches. The best item to clean outdoor light fixtures is a soft piece of cloth.
For brass and copper fixtures, there are a few household options you can use to restore their shine.
Image via Claxy
This is if your surfaces are still tarnished after following the basic outdoor light fixture cleaning process.
Before applying these hacks, ensure your fixtures – and not just their coatings – are made of copper or brass.
To maintain the shine of your metal surfaces or prevent future dulling, you can use metal polish or liquid wax coating.
Insects are attracted more to white and cool light. And how can you avoid them?
Using yellow (warm) lights reduces the number of bugs your fixtures will attract. Using an LED light bulb also helps.
Image via Claxy
You could also spray the area around your fixture with bug deterrents to keep them from accumulating in your fixtures.
1. How do you clean metal light fixtures?
To clean metal light fixtures, use a soft piece of clothing with dish soap or mild detergent. Avoid scrubbing metal parts using abrasive items like steel wool or rough-textured clothing.
2. How to clean outdoor light fixtures that are rusty?
If you wish to clean rusty metallic fixtures, you can use non-abrasive pastes or liquids. Some DIY household solutions include
3. How to clean hanging outdoor light fixtures?
To clean hanging light fixtures, first, turn off the power. Then, disassemble the light fixture from the fixture, and remove the light bulb. Clean each piece separately with soap and water, dry them out, then reassemble each piece.
4. What can I use to clean glass light fixtures?
All you need to clean glass pendants is warm water and a mild detergent. Once you soak your glass globes in soapy water, rinse them and dry them up, they’re as clean as it gets. All that's left is to use a professional glass cleaner to shine them up and they’ll be good as new.
5. What happens to brass outside?
Brass turns darker over time with exposure. However, it doesn’t corrode, making it suitable for outdoor light fixtures. On how you can clean outdoor light fixtures, you can restore the shine of brass by using lemon juice, salt, and flour.
Now that you know how to clean outdoor light fixtures, it’s time to restore the sconces on your porch, hallway, and decks. Whether they’re metallic, glass, acrylic, or any other material, going in with warm water and dish soap should get the job done.
Unless, of course, there are tough stains. In which case, you’d have to do more than just soap and water. All in all, you have all the information you need now.
Your exterior fixtures need regular cleaning. Don’t allow dust and dirt to build up and affect your home’s exterior look.
And to get new outdoor lights, you can always head to Claxy.
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