Sharing is Caring, Especially When It Comes to Cleaning

How Healthy is a Bacteria-Less Home?

Commercial cleaning companies continue to come out with new and improved products. These products claim to sterilize all surfaces and items in your house—we’ve all heard their claims, “kills 99% of all germs and bacteria.”

But, does a completely sterilized and germ-free home really keep you healthier in the long run?

Recent findings say no. According to new research, sterilizing an area removes natural and harmless bacteria from the environment. This creates stronger, drug-resistant forms of brand new germs. Exposure to these new germs causes all kinds of illnesses since your body does not recognize them.

Not to mention, that these new germs also attack and kill and the good bacteria in your body. Not cool.

So, in order to keep your home healthier and clean, take a break from the harsh chemical-laden, anti-bacterial products. Instead, use a simpler product or an all natural alternative for everyday use.

Try using a simple combination of water and distilled white to clean your home. Or mix together a few 100% all-natural essential oils. Certain essential oils feature mess and germ fighting qualities.

So trade out your chemicals for a natural substitute and reserve the serious products for a heavier mess.

Fall Cleaning Tips

Autumn Cleaning | Flat Rate Carpet BlogAlthough Spring gets all the hype as the perfect time for cleaning, whenever seasons change it’s a good idea to do a big house cleaning. A major cleaning twice a year keeps your home clutter free, and gets the house ready for a new season.

Colder weather means more time indoors. Start your big Fall clean by rearranging the home in a comfy way for winter. It’s time to break out comfy blankets and throw rugs that you’ve had stored all summer. Any thick fabric that’s been stored away for a season might smell stuffy, so make sure you wash blankets, and hang throw rugs outside where they can air out.

This is also a good time of year to send area rugs to get cleaned. Pollen, sand, dirt and other outdoor entities get build up inside the house all summer long. If anyone in your family suffers from allergies, getting your furniture and carpets cleaned goes a long way in relieving allergy symptoms.

While you reorganize your closets, replacing summer dresses with sweaters and light sheets with heavier flannels, take a look and see what you can get rid of. As the years roll by we tend to accumulate clothing we don’t wear, and more sheets and blankets than we know what to do with. Set aside anything that you don’t use or need for donation. Then you can get rid of some of the clutter while helping others in need.

Check both medicines and foods for expiration dates. It’s time to throw away anything that went out of date, and evaluate if you need to buy a new one. If your head ache pill expired you might want to replace them, however if you have a jar of pesto from 2009 still in your refrigerator it’s best to accept that you’re just not a pesto person.

Taking the time for a thorough fall cleaning will clear out clutter and get your house ready for winter. Cleaning isn’t only for Spring anymore.

How to Choose a Toothpaste

Toothpaste | Flat Rate Carpet BlogWith all the amazing claims that toothpaste manufacturers make, it’s hard to know what to look for in a toothpaste. Choosing the right toothpaste is integral if you want to avoid a life of expensive and painful dental work, so how do we choose the right one?

The one thing everyone should look for in a toothpaste is fluoride. Fluoride helps to strengthen teeth, and protects them from cavities. Although many neighborhoods have fluoride added to their water supply, toothpaste containing fluoride is essential for proper cavity prevention.

Whitening toothpastes help remove stains from teeth with special chemicals that scrub stains away. Although these toothpastes can be effective whiteners, they can also weaken tooth enamel and make teeth vulnerable. Be careful using anything too harsh on your teeth.

All natural toothpastes are under the same scrutiny as other all natural cleaners, although some swear by certain brands. For anyone suspicious of using chemical cleaners in their mouths, make sure you pick an all natural toothpaste that contains fluoride, or make sure you’re getting it from another source.

Whatever you are looking for in a toothpaste, make sure you trust your own judgment. If a toothpaste makes your mouth feel clean, and keeps your breath fresh, then it’s probably working just fine.

Toxin Free, DIY Dishwasher Detergent

Believe it or not, you really can find a highly effective and powerful, all-natural, home made cleaning solution for everything in your home.

Traditional dishwasher detergent uses some pretty scary sounding chemicals to keep your dishes clean and sparkling. With this recipe, you get the same high quality clean and shine but without all the unpronounceable and toxic chemicals.

  • 2 cups borax
  • 2 cups washing soda
  • 2 cups Lemi Shine
  • 1 cup kosher salt

Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl and transfer to a storage container. Fill your dishwasher soap well to the line with your mixture, close the door, and hit start every time you run your dishwasher.

To fight off residue, fill the rinse well in your dish washer with distilled white vinegar.

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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.