Two verbs: to clean - some examples of usage...

to clean Please could some Poles give examples of situations in which czyścićand sprzątać are used. I think sprzątać is more like clean up, tidy upwith reference to a mess/bałagan (in a room, in a flat, in a house etc). So in what situations is czyścić used? Maybe cleaning a car? Many thanks, dziękuję bardzo.

You're right.

Czyścić means "to clean" like the bathroom
Sprzątać is to "clean up" a mess for example
To wash a car you would say "myję" samochód, unless it's in the inside then you can use "czyszczę"

When I was in Poland, the 'gospodynia', or 'lady of the house', i.e. landlady in this case, always requested of us guests when entering her tiny apartment: 'Proszę,obczyścić buty!!' = Please, clean off (in the sense of 'wipe off') your shoes!!

Furthermore, 'to dry clean', I believe is 'prać', if memory serves me right:)

'prać' is more generic, although it mostly suggests the use of water.
"dry cleaning" is "pranie/pralnia chemiczna". I'm not sure I ever heard an infinitive form for this. The usage I am aware of is "zanieść do pralni chemicznej" and derivateves

można też 'sprzątnąć kogoś' = to knock sb off
lub też 'sprzątnąć coś komuś sprzed nosa' = to snatch sth from under sb's nose
:D

Dzięki, Dariuszu!! :)

When I was first learning, I used to often confuse verbs with similar-looking infiniritives, yet completely different roots, and therefore, meanings, i.e.:

prać = to clean
pracować = to work

bać się = to fear
bawić się = to amuse oneself etc.
etc......

My error! The sentence should read correctly: 'Proszę oczyśćić (not: 'obczyśćić!) buty!' -:) LOL

Apologies,