Sharing is Caring, Especially When It Comes to Cleaning

How to Rid Your Laundry of Body Odor

Clean Laundry | Flat Rate Carpet BlogDuring the summer it’s hard to stay smelling fresh and clean all day long, but if your clothes smell of body odor before you put them on you won’t stand a chance of making it through the day. Getting stubborn body odor smells out of your laundry is easy, and with a few simple steps you won’t be stuck stinking all summer long.

If the smell is only a slight odor that lingers over your clothing, try sprinkling your laundry basket, and the clothes inside of it, with baking soda. Baking soda absorbs odors, and is great at removing body odor smells, as well as other scents.

For a strong smell in the armpit area of your shirts, coat the affected area with a paste of baking soda and water. Allow the mixture to sit for half an hour before laundering.

Adding one cup of distilled white vinegar to your load of laundry will help kill the bacteria that cause body odor on your clothing, and leave the clothes smelling fresh.

For stubborn smells, follow all of the above steps and when the washing machine has filled with water turn it off for a few hours. Allowing the clothes to soak up to four hours in the machine before starting the rinse cycle will definitely make body odor vanish. If you don’t want to dedicate four hours of your washing machine to soak clothing, just set aside the stinky clothing in a bucket or bathtub full of water and white vinegar.

Give yourself a head start in smelling fresh by getting stubborn body odor out of your clothes.

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.

Make Your Own Dishwashing Detergent

Dish Soap | Flat Rate Carpet BlogMaking your own cleaning supplies is simple, easy and inexpensive. With just baking soda, borax and white vinegar you can clean and disinfect nearly everything in your home! This non-toxic home made dishwashing detergent is easy to make, and really works!

In a sealable plastic container, mix equal parts borax and baking soda. If you have hard water then just double the amount of baking soda so that the ratio is two parts baking soda, one part borax. Shake the mixture well, and you’re all done! Use two tablespoons of the mix in each load.

Use white vinegar in the rinse cycle. Not only will white vinegar keep your dishes sparkling but it will also help clean and disinfect your dishwasher!

Making your own dishwashing detergent is as simple as 1, 2, 3!

How to Clean Mildew From Tile

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.

How to Get Rid of Ants Naturally

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.