Sharing is Caring, Especially When It Comes to Cleaning

Make Your Own Green Cleaners

Green Cleaners | Flat Rate Carpet BlogMany of us would like to make the switch to a totally green and organic home, but are limited by the high cost of green cleaning products. By making your own green cleaning products, it’s easy to keep your house spotless and free of chemicals. All you need are these five simple household items to make your own green cleaner for almost everything in the home.

  • Distilled Vinegar- Vinegar is the king of green cleaners. Vinegar kills most bacterias and molds, wipes out odors and makes surfaces shine.
  • Liquid Castile Soap- What vinegar can’t clean, a good castile soap like Dr Bronner’s can. A little bit of liquid castile soap mixed with water is perfect for cleaning dishes, marble, floors and even yourself!
  • Baking Soda- Baking soda wipes out odors and makes the perfect whitener or scouring agent for any surface. Sprinkle baking soda on a stinky rug or inside shoes, and smells disappear. Mix baking soda with vinegar and make your whole house shine.
  • Essential Oils- Adding a few drops of tea tree or lemon essential oils not only makes your house smell fresh and clean, but it also adds a powerful antibacterial punch to any cleaner.
  • Cleaning Rags- Green cleaning isn’t just about what you clean with, it’s also about how your cleaning impacts the world. No matter what kind of cleaner you use, you can save money and the world by switching from paper towels to cleaning rags. Either purchase a few microfiber cleaning rags, or rip up some old t-shirts or towels to make your own cleaning rags.

Green cleaning doesn’t mean choosing between your values and your wallet. Make 2013 the year you start making your own all natural green cleaning products.

Move Over White Vinegar

We all know the wonderful cleaning and green power of baking soda, distilled white vinegar, and lemons. All of these products offer so many amazing cleaning options in all parts of your home and everyday life.

But, lurking in the medicine cabinet stands another super powerful and green cleaning product—hydrogen peroxide. Hydrogen peroxide provides a useful alternative to most major commercial chemical-based cleaning products.

Hydrogen peroxide, chemically-speaking, features the same make-up as water, just with one extra hydrogen molecule. This gives the product strong oxidizing properties.

While many forms of hydrogen peroxide exist, the safest for domestic use comes in a 3% solution available at all drugstores. With this solution you can enjoy a cleaner, brighter, and healthier home.

Use hydrogen peroxide in the following ways and enjoy the benefits for days:

  • Pour your bottle of hydrogen peroxide in a spray bottle and use it as an all-purpose cleanser for your sinks, counter tops, and tubs.
  • Pour a couple of tablespoons into your white laundry load for a brighter white.
  • Disinfect cutting boards, sponges, and toothbrushes by soaking them all in straight hydrogen peroxide. Rinse thoroughly with fresh water once properly soaked.
  • Use it to kill mold and mildew spores. Mix together one part water and one part hydrogen peroxide in a spray bottle then spray the affect areas. Let stand for at least ten minutes, and then scrub clean with fresh water.

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How to Remove Coffee Stains

Coffee Stain | Flat Rate Carpet BlogIt doesn’t matter how careful you are, at one point in time we all wind up with a big coffee stain. Whether you’ve spilled coffee all over a new shirt on the way to work, or on a nice new table cloth, we have the tricks you need to remove coffee stains.

As quickly as you can, try to blot up any coffee with a clean paper towel. Gently blot the area with a clean piece of towel each time until no more coffee is coming up. Remember never to rub the area or you’ll wind up helping the stain to spread further.

Next, make your own stain remover by mixing distilled white vinegar, cold water and a bit of powdered laundry detergent. Mix all three until it makes a little paste, the same consistency as toothpaste. Gently spread the paste on both sides of the fabric and let it sit for about five minutes.

Using a toothbrush or other gentle brush, scrub both sides of the fabric with simple, circular motions, and then rinse with cold water.

Pretreat the area with a dab of liquid laundry detergent before laundering regularly.

As with any stain treatment, make sure that you test the stain remover on a small, inconspicuous, area of the fabric to make sure that it doesn’t discolor the fabric.

Remember to treat stains as quickly as possible to ensure that the stain comes out completely.

Don’t let a little coffee spill ruin your fabrics ever again with this easy coffee stain remover.

How to Clean an Iron

Iron | Flat Rate Carpet BlogSo you’ve finally finished the laundry, the sorting, the folding, the putting clothes away, and now all you have left to do is iron a few shirts and you’re done. You run the iron over a nice shirt and you see a dirty smudge appear! Of all the things we clean in our house, the iron is often overlooked until it’s already causing trouble. Take a moment and protect your laundry with these simple tips on how to clean an iron.

Before cleaning your iron make sure that it is off, and cool to the touch. Next wipe down the iron with a clean cloth and either glass cleaner or white vinegar. Then take a cotton swab dipped in glass cleaner or white vinegar, and gently clean each of the little holes. When you’re done wipe down the whole iron with a clean cloth and water.

To clean the inside of the iron, fill the water reservoir with a mixture of half water and half white vinegar. Now turn on the iron, and once it’s hot allow it to steam for a few moments. Spray the mixture through the iron a few times, and then turn off the iron and allow it to cool. Once the iron has cooled repeat the process using only water.

This easy way to clean your iron takes almost no time to do and will keep your iron, and your clothes, sparkling clean!

How to Remove Indentations on Your Carpet

Carpet Indent | Flat Rate Carpet BlogSo you finally went and replaced that old coffee table, but now you have indentations in your carpet where the old one stood for so many years. Getting new furniture is fun, but not when the dents in your carpet won’t go away. Removing furniture dents from carpets is super easy, just follow these quick steps.

First take some ice cubes, one for a small dent and more for a larger mark, and allow the ice to begin to melt into the dent. The melting ice cube should completely fluff up the carpet!

Use a clean, white cloth to blot up any water in the carpet. If the dent is still there, you can use a fork to very gently lift the remaining fibers.

It’s so easy, you’ll never be stuck with unsightly furniture marks again.