Sharing is Caring, Especially When It Comes to Cleaning

Valentines Day Stain Removal Tips

Valentines Chocolates | Flat Rate Carpet BlogAre you planning the perfect Valentines Day for your special someone? A special dinner can quickly turn into a disaster with spills and stains. Know how to treat the most common Valentines Day stains, and make sure your night stays magical.

Chocolate: To remove chocolate from fabric, simply run under cold water and pretreat. Removing chocolate from furniture or carpeting requires nothing more than an ice cube. Hold the ice over the chocolate until it’s solid, and gently scrape with the edge of a spoon. When nearly all the chocolate is gone blot gently with cold water.

Candle Wax: Wax spills are much easier to clean up than most people think. When the wax is solid, simply pick off the large clumps and scrape away what you can with a plastic knife. Next you’ll need an iron and a clean, white cloth. Place the cloth over the wax and iron. Continue moving the cloth around, careful to only iron clean cloth and avoid spreading the wax. Soon the wax will be as good as gone.

Red Wine: Wine stains are pretty scary, but don’t fear. Sprinkle salt on the spill to soak up excess wine, and then rinse well with white wine or club soda, then cold water. If you have a stain treater handy go ahead and pretreat the stain as well.

No matter what kind of spills happen during your romantic evening, the best way to treat any disaster is to stay calm. A ruined dress doesn’t have to mean a ruined night.

Happy Valentines Day.

Ideas for an Easy Valentines Day

Valentines Day Ideas | Flat Rate Carpet BlogAre you bored of the same old Valentines Day routines? Do something special this year with these sweet and simple Valentines Day ideas.

Forget the stress of finding a sitter, making a reservation and running out the door to spend the evening in a crowded restaurant. Instead, opt for a romantic dinner at home. Many restaurants offer gourmet take out meals so nobody has to worry about cooking and cleaning, both serious mood killers. Make the night special by decorating the dining room like an Italian bistro, or having a relaxing picnic on the living room rug. This romantic and stress free evening will give new couples time to get to know each other better, and longer lasting couples time to rekindle and reconnect.

For the adventurous types, why not go and see a professional burlesque show? These risque and artful shows will definitely get you and your date in the mood. Just make sure it’s something you know you’ll both enjoy.

Does every Valentines Day turn into a disaster? This year try a stress free night at home. So many couples worry about what to do on this special day that they lose sight of the point, a celebration of the person you love. If it’s been ages since the two of you sat down and spent quality time together, then skip the big act and just hang out at home.

This Valentines Day step out of the boring routine and do something fun.

How to Remove Champagne Stains

Champagne | Flat Rate Carpet BlogMost people who host a New Year’s party spend the night worrying about red wine spills and ground up appetizers ruining their rug, but few think about spraying champagne all over the house at midnight. Although champagne is colorless and bubbly, it can still leave behind marks on furniture and other fabrics. Here are some simple tips in removing champagne stains.

Add a small drop of dish soap to warm water and mix. Dip a clean, white cloth into the solution and gently dab the stain. Repeat the process until you’ve covered the whole area.

Next use a different clean, white cloth and redab the area with warm water to rinse.

This method will get champagne stains out of upholstery, carpets and clothing without any added hassle.

If only everything in 2013 will be this easy!

Christmas Cleaning Tips

Christmas Clean | Flat Rate Carpet BlogAs we get closer to Christmas it seems like there is so much more to do, and so much less time to do it. Before you get even more overwhelmed, we’ve got a few tips to help you make it to Christmas with a clean house and some sanity!

Start by sitting down and making a list of all the housework that needs to be done. Now take a second look at the list and cross off anything that doesn’t really need to be done. For example, Christmas means guests dropping by, so it’s good if any bathrooms open to guests are clean but your own bathroom can wait. Made beds are less important than a tidy living room and allowing yourself to forget less important chores will open up time for the important stuff.

Don’t do it all alone. Sure it feels like everything falls on your shoulders, but it’s time to call in the backup troops and put the rest of the family to work. Put a positive spin on chores by giving the kids a chance to earn bonuses on their allowances.

Take it all one step at a time. If you’re trying to do all the laundry, you might find yourself so overwhelmed that you get nothing done at all. Instead, decide to do one load of laundry a day. That way clean clothes keep coming and you still have time for other activities.

Remember, in the end nobody will know if you haven’t cleaned your bedroom in a week. What’s really important this time of year is spending valuable time with the people you love.

Merry Christmas.

Hanukkah Traditions

Hanukkah Latkes | Flat Rate Carpet BlogHanukkah, the Jewish festival of lights, has many fun and interesting traditions that date back over two thousand years. Traditions include giving gifts, eating foods fried in oil and playing traditional Hanukkah games.

Hanukkah gift giving comes from the tradition of giving Hanukkah gelt. Gelt was the name for small coins given to children on Hanukkah. In America, the traditional giving of gelt evolved into the giving of more elaborate gifts that we see today.

Traditional Hanukkah foods are fried in oil to celebrate the miracle of Hanukkah in which the oil in the sacred lamp burned for eight days even though their was only enough oil for one. The most common fried Hanukkah foods are latkes (potato pancakes) and sufganiot (donuts).

Every night of Hanukkah a candle is lit on the nine branch candelabra called a menorah, or chanukiah. Special blessings are said over the candles every night and then many families sing holiday songs. This is why Hanukkah is often called the festival of lights.

The game of dreidal is traditionally played every Hanukkah by the children. A dreidal is a four sided spinning top with a different Hebrew letter written on each side. Each child places a few pieces of candy in a central pot, and then spins the dreidal. Depending on how the dreidal lands the player either wins everything, wins nothing, wins half, or has to add to the pot.

Whether you’re eating latkes by candlelight or playing dreidal with your cousins, Hanukkah traditions are a fun way to enjoy the Jewish festival of lights. Happy Hanukkah!