Sharing is Caring, Especially When It Comes to Cleaning

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.

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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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!

All Natural Hair Highlights

Lemons | Flat Rate Carpet BlogIf you’re looking to spice up your hairstyle without spending a ton at the salon, then do some at home highlights with all natural ingredients. With just a few ingredients from the kitchen, you’ll have a hot new look in no time.

For beautifully lightened locks lemon juice is the way to go. Mix ¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice with ¾ cup water. Spray the mixture lightly onto your hair before going out into the sun. Make sure that you don’t get lemon juice on your skin or scalp, as it will cause you to burn and blister, however it’s totally safe for your hair. Leave the lemon juice on your hair for at least two hours, and make sure that you get plenty of sun. When you’re done condition your hair very well to avoid major drying.

If your hair is already dry, and you want lovely light locks without turning your head into a broom, use olive oil to lighten your hair. By combing copious amounts of olive oil into your hair and spending an hour in the sun, you’ll have naturally lightened hair that’s also soft and silky. Results aren’t as instant as with lemon, so use olive oil in your hair at least three times a week until you get the shade that you’re looking for.

Brunettes can lighten up their hair easily with a bit of chamomile tea. Make a big pot of chamomile tea and let it cool down to room temperature. Rinse your hair with the tea until it’s totally soaked in, and then hang out in the sun for at least half an hour. Unlike lemon juice or olive oil, chamomile tea is the least noticeable treatment, and it’s super easy on your hair. Use chamomile tea treatments every other day until you get the highlights you love.

No need to buy expensive products or soak your hair in damaging peroxide. Lighten your hair naturally with these three common kitchen items, and get a gorgeous summer look – naturally!

How to Clean a Cutting Board

Keeping a clean cutting board is one of the most important steps to kitchen safety. Kitchen counters have a smooth surface that’s easy to clean, but cutting boards have lots of tiny places for germs to hide.

To keep a cutting board clean, you need to do more than just rinse it with a little bit of soap. Fortunately, white vinegar is a great disinfectant and is much safer than using chlorine bleach.

Just mix a little bit of white vinegar with water, and generously cover the cutting board in the mixture. Allow it to sit for about 10 minutes before rinsing the board and washing with soap and water.

Raw meat has lots of bacteria that can make your family sick, that’s why it’s a good idea to have a separate cutting board for meat. Unlike cutting boards that are only used for vegetables, meat cutting boards need to be sanitized after every use.

The same mixture of white vinegar and water will work to sanitize a meat cutting board, but make sure you also sanitize the counter area around where you’ve been cutting meat. Any invisible splatter could spread salmonella or e-coli.

A little extra effort to sanitize and clean your cutting boards will keep your family safe and your kitchen clean.