Sharing is Caring, Especially When It Comes to Cleaning

How to Clean Mildew From Tile

June 7 by

Cleaning Gloves | Flat Rate Carpet BlogMildew, that gross, black smudge between the tiles in your bathroom, is a problem that every home faces. Mildew on your bathroom walls is unattractive, and is bad for your health. But don’t worry, with a little bleach and good old elbow grease, that mildew is as good as gone.

Start by scrubbing the mildew area with a tough brush with bristles. This loosens up the mildew from the walls.

Next mix a small amount of bleach with water in a spray bottle, a ratio of 10 parts water to one part bleach is good. Make sure the room is well ventilated, with doors and windows open and even the fan going. Then spray the bleach mixture on the walls and allow it to sit for 10 minutes.

When you are done, rinse the walls with water and the mildew is gone.

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How to Get Rid of Ants Naturally

June 4 by

Ants | Flat Rate Carpet BlogGetting rid of ants can be a full time job. It seems like every time you get rid of one line of ants another one shows up. Bug repellents can work, but they also leave trails of poison all around your kitchen. Instead of buying expensive bug repellents, a few household items will help you get rid of your ant problem once and for all.

The number one top all purpose cleaner, white vinegar, also keeps away ants. Wiping down all surface areas with a 50/50 mixture of white vinegar and water wipes away the scent trails that ants use to get from place to place.

Another way to get rid of ants is to spread a line of baby powder, or plain talcum powder, where the ants are getting into your home. Theirs no fancy science behind this method, ants just hate talcum powder, and will stay away.

Certain spices and herbs have strong scents that repel ants. Leaving these spices in ant trouble spots will keep them from coming back. Some ant repelling spices are; cinnamon, chili, black and cayenne pepper, cloves, garlic and mint.

With these simple, all natural household items, you can win the war on ants.

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How to Remove a Coffee Stain

May 29 by

Coffee & Cookies | Flat Rate Carpet Blog

No matter how careful you are, the only way to prevent a coffee spill in your home is to avoid drinking coffee.

For the rest of us, coffee stains are inevitable. Knowing how to remove a coffee stain from fabric right away can keep a minor spill from becoming a major disaster.

Your first step is to, very gently, blot the stain with a white towel to soak up any leftover liquid.

Although the cleaning isles are full of stain removers and spray cleaners, the most important stain remover in your home is usually found in the food isle. White vinegar mixed with a some white water (mixture of 1 part vinegar and 2 parts water), is a safe, effective and inexpensive stain remover.

You can spray the mixture onto the stain and gently blot with a clean towel. If you don’t have an extra spray bottle handy, dampen a towel with the mixture and blot the stain.

If the stain is treated quickly enough, it should come up easily. For older stains, or stains that just won’t come out, call the professionals.

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Soap Nuts: The Only All Natural Laundry Detergent

May 24 by

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Studies have found that the most common pollutant found in the human bloodstream is laundry detergent. Even from a very young age we are exposed to high levels of laundry detergent residue.

To avoid over exposure to detergent pollutants, try soap nuts. Soap nuts, one of the most fun alternatives to standard detergents, give you the clean you need without the yucky left overs.

Unlike most alternative laundry cleaners, soap nuts are actually soap! That’s right, soap nuts are the dried berries of the soap nut tree.

These little berries contain saponins, which create a sudsy lather that washes away dirt without leaving behind any chemical residue.

Soap nuts are reused multiple times until they turn mushy and gray, and then they are easily composted.

To see these little cleaners in action, check them out on youtube at http://youtu.be/wN5w_HMvsfQ.

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How to Clean a Keyboard

May 21 by

We clean so many surfaces of our home carefully, but one of the most used, often shared, and hardest to clean places in the house is literally left in the dust.

Whether it’s your personal keyboard, or the keyboard of the shared family computer, keyboards are perfect for collecting grime. Follow these simple steps to keep your keyboard sanitary!

 

 

Start by unplugging your keyboard or turning off your laptop. Although the following cleaning methods won’t harm your computer, they might cause some trouble if the computer is running.

Dust your keyboard thoroughly. Electronics stores sell small dusters and cans of condensed air to remove dust from between the keys, both of which are worthwhile investments if you want to prolong the lifespan of your electronics.

If you have a regular feather duster at home, this can also help, but the condensed air removes dust that’s stuck deep between the keys.

Next get a bottle of rubbing alcohol, and make sure that it’s isopropyl alcohol because ethyl alcohol will rub the letters off your keyboard. Dip a q-tip into the alcohol and gently clean the entire keyboard.

Run the q-tip along the sides of the keyboard, and even in between keys to take away any deep down dirt.

If any surfaces are super sticky and can not be cleaned, you can gently pop off the key and scrub it with a toothbrush.

Dusting your keyboard on a regular basis will help prevent build up of dirt and grime, and add years to your keyboard.

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