How to Clean Knotty Pine Paneling

Limit the work. Don't undertake an entire great room in a single session.

Move the furniture away from the wall you've chosen. Put away miscellaneous items, so you don't have to step over them. Ignore the dusty floor beneath furniture.

Arrange your materials conveniently, perhaps by tucking the spare rag in your waistband, setting up the stepladder and placing the cleaner on a sheet of newspaper (to protect the surface you set it on).

Wear gloves, if you don't want your hands to smell of the product you use. On the other hand, it doubles the benefit and deep-softens to work bare-handed.

Start in a corner at the top of a wall so that any drips run down the wall. Spray cleaner directly onto the paneling or pour a little on the first rag and wipe at ceiling level.

Work from top to bottom in a comfortably confined area, perhaps 2 feet wide. Rub longer in areas of concentrated grime, such as where fingerprints have accumulated.

Move onward and clean swatches from ceiling to floor until you reach the end of the wall.

When one wall is finished, lightly wipe excess cleaning product with second rag (the one in your waistband).