So here’s how to remove those ugly and annoyingly stubborn blood stains.

First off, you will remove a blood stain based on where it is. Blue jeans require a different cleaning method than jewelry, for example. So let’s take on the most common victims of pesky blood stains and discover how to make them spotless.

What about fabric? Well, there are so many different kinds of fabric out there! Since a lot of clothes are made of nylon, cotton, and polyester, let’s talk about how to remove blood stains from those types of materials. If a blood stain hasn’t set in much, you can wash the clothes with cold water and usually that will do the trick. However, if this doesn’t work, you still have options. You can soak the blood-stained fabric in liquid laundry detergent, warm water, and ammonia. Then you can scrape or brush off the blood and lightly blot it with a cloth. After the stain disappears, rinse the fabric with water.

For items made of vinyl and most copper and gold jewelry, you can simply apply sudsy water to the blood stain and you’re good to go. Note, however, that silver should be washed with warm water – not cold water.

As well, many materials don’t require very intensive work to get a blood stain out. For concrete, sandstone, marble, brick, and granite floors, for instance, only a sponge soaked in cold water is necessary. For marble, if cold water doesn’t work, you can add powdered detergent to the mix. Same goes for sandstone, concrete, brick and granite – except typically liquid detergent is better in these cases.

Carpets are a lot more challenging than those smoother, rockier surfaces. You’re going to have to rely on some more sophisticated products to remove a blood stain from a carpet. But you might want to mix the carpet stain solution with some detergent as well (in addition to water, of course). It’s crucial that you only gently blot the stain; if you are too aggressive, you’ll only rub the blood more deeply into the carpet, rather than remove it. If you still are looking at that blood stain after all this effort, you might have to turn to ammonia. Use a cloth to gently rub the ammonia and water onto the surface. Let the carpet dry on its own.

(Unlike with many stains that don’t survive when attacked by vinegar, ammonia is more of the standard go-to cleaner for blood stains.)

Leather and suede materials are especially unique when it comes to stains, and blood stains are no exception. They must be handled carefully. Mix some water with the suds from a mild soap (like Dove), and lightly apply it to the stain. Make sure you don’t spread the stain! After this, you can apply some leather conditioner to the area.

If you have a blood stain on wallpaper, you need to try to remove it as quickly as possible. Because once blood gets comfortable on such material, it will stay there for ever. Again, use a cloth dipped in cold water to battle the stain. Make sure the cloth isn’t soaking wet, however, as water can carry the stain to other parts of the wallpaper. After you’ve softly rubbed the stain with the cloth, get a drier cloth to help it dry. You will actually use this same method for wood! However, wood should be exposed to water for less time than the wallpaper.

An additional tip that you might find useful is that peroxide apparently can get rid of an especially irksome blood stain. But considering that peroxide has powerful chemicals, you’ll want to research it before you go around attacking stains with it left and right!

The basic rule of thumb for a blood stain, or any stain for that matter, is to deal with it right away. You may like to put chores off, but when it comes to this, you can’t afford to procrastinate. We all will endure cuts and bruises in our lifetime, but we don’t have to have permanent reminders of it on our clothes, furniture, floors, and walls. And it’s not likely your guests will want to have reminders either!

So hopefully this article has enlightened you about how to clean blood stains and you can make sure that when the color red pops up in your house, it is part of a planned color scheme and not an unplanned accident.

The post How to Clean Blood Stains appeared first on .

It’s not so simple, though. You can’t just throw the mattress in the washer or even wash it off in the backyard with a hose. Well, I suppose that you could, but a hose and a bucket of soap are not the most effective cleaning methods, nor are they the best for your mattress.

Proper Mattress Cleaning Methods

By now, you’re probably regretting not buying one of those airtight mattress wraps that keep just about everything from living in your mattress. Don’t fret. The good news is that when you are through giving your mattress the cleaning of its life (even if it’s brand new from the store), you can then go back and wrap it to keep it sanitized and free from life’s little accidents and side effects.

There are numerous mattress cleaning products on the market. However, discerning the good from the bad—and the totally worthless—takes more than just a willingness to read the back of the package. Remember that products are also a form of advertising, so their recommendations might be a little slanted. You should be cleaning your mattress once every three to four months under normal circumstances; more often if there are frequent spills, pets, or accidents. Cleaning a spot on a mattress is not the same as cleaning the entire mattress.

Start by choosing a product that you feel comfortable with. Steam cleaning is a great and thorough method for cleaning a mattress; however, not everyone is comfortable with the idea. Dry powders generally do not penetrate the mattress fibers well enough to do anything more than leave a pleasant aroma behind. There are numerous detergents that mix well into a solution that will allow you to thoroughly clean the mattress. Many people are perfectly happy with diluting their regular laundry detergent with about 5 cups of water for their cleaning needs. This is the cheapest and often the most effective method.

Once you have chosen your cleaning weapon of choice, you will want to attack your mattress vigorously with a vacuum cleaner. Suck up as much dust and debris as possible with the appropriate attachment before moving on to the next step. It’s recommended that you attack all four sides of the mattress.

After that, you can either scrub the mattress with a mild solution of detergent or steam clean it (my number one pick). Either way, you will want to approach the cleaning process methodically to ensure you clean the entire mattress evenly. Do not saturate the mattress, as you are simply trying to use minimal moisture to attack the remaining “ook” that lingers in a well-used bed. Creating a sopping wet mattress will only invite mildew, mold, and a strange, wet mattress smell that isn’t too far from the scent of a wet dog.

Stains from inevitable accidents—whether from a dog, child, or other sources—are a much harder beast to tackle once they’ve been left to sit for a while. As soon as the incident has been discovered, the mattress should be cleaned thoroughly. Initially, a wet stain shouldn’t absorb any more fluid. Use a few cloths or paper towels to remove as much moisture as possible from the area. This might take a while, but a little patience here can really pay off in the long run. Once you’re sure you’ve soaked up the moisture, scrubbing with the same solution of detergent and water should be enough to lift the stain. A little lemon juice can help with aroma issues and color problems. If at all possible, the mattress should spend some time sunbathing, as the sun’s intense rays can have a bleaching effect on stains.

Never, ever put a bed back together while the mattress is still wet. Regardless of the detergent or solution that you used, a wet mattress is still a wet mattress. Why go through the hassle of cleaning it only to encourage mold growth? Putting even a slightly damp mattress into a mattress bag will only lock in that growth, creating a haven for it to fester. This would completely defeat your efforts. Even if it means camping out on the couch, the mattress should always be given sufficient time and space to dry thoroughly before returning it to its proper location and purpose.

The post How to Clean a Matttress appeared first on .

Five Steps to How to Clean Pen from a Leather Couch

1. First of all, as with most stains, the longer it sits the worse it gets. This means that you should act as quickly as you notice the stain in order to make your job easier.
2. Next up is blotting the stain. Remember that when you are ‘blotting’ you aren’t rubbing it into the leather (or any fabric for that matter) but are instead using a clean, dry cloth to firmly press down on the stain. With an ink stain on leather, you may want to try using a cotton ball. Just be sure not to wipe it in further.
3. Once you have blotted all you can get off, you should get a clean cloth and moisten it just a little. Use soft circular movements to see how much of the stain you can lift. Circular motions will help you to avoid making marks in the leather that you will not be able to remove.
4. If the stain is still there, use saddle soap. There are also other types of cleaners that you can use available in almost any drug store. Just make sure to read the label. You might even want to contact the manufacturer or look at the label on the bottom of the couch to see if a cleaning product is recommended. If you don’t have any leather stain removal products handy, mild shampoo and some water may just do the trick.
5. Let the stain dry. Facilitate the drying process by blotting again with a clean and dry cloth. Let it sit for a few hours so you can see what type of damage is left. There might not be anything. If the ink pen that made the stain dug into the grains of leather, there may be a permanent mark left that any amount of stain fighting won’t get out.

Learning how to remove ink pen from a leather couch brings up another point. Many consumers think that since they are buying leather, the sofa cannot or doesn’t need to be treated by the manufacturer with a scotch guard or stain protectant. Nothing is further from the truth. Before you bring your leather sofa home, ask the manufacturer to pre treat the sofa. They can also use products that will make the leather more supple, reducing the amount of time it takes to break in.

If the stain is not coming out, or has been left by a permanent magic marker, you may want to contact a professional cleaning company or the manufacturer directly to see if there is anything that they can recommend. Often they will see solvents. It is important, if possible, to know exactly what kind of ink made the stain.

When it comes to removing stains, there are of course timeless, tried, and tested home remedies as well. One is to slice a tomato in half and blot the ink stain with the inner side of the tomato. The acid in the tomato is supposed to help break down the chemicals in the ink, making it easier to remove. You can also use milk, following the same steps as above. Remember however, if your leather sofa is light in color, that using a tomato or any solvent that is dark in nature – may cause a stain to the leather bigger than the ink itself. Whether you use milk or tomato, the stain area needs to be blotted dry afterwards.

Also, in order to not ruin your leather furniture, NEVER use products that are sandy or granular in nature – even if they dissolve in water, to remove ink (or anything else) from leather furniture. The scouring nature of these products can leave permanent divots in the leather and weaken the hide making it more prone to tearing.

When you know how to treat stains, even something that seems as terrible as ink on a leather sofa – there is virtually no need to worry. Remember that furniture is meant to be lived on, and that sometimes – especially when you have children, accidents happen. At least with the leather, 9 out of 10 times, you can rest assured that the damage is not permanent. Plus, it’s the battle scars in your house that make it a home!

The post How to Clean Pen from a Leather Couch appeared first on .

How to Effectively Remove Cat Urine Stains

Removing the stain with household cleaning products is ineffective. Uric acid contains crystals and salts that are reactivated by moisture, whether when cleaning or during humid conditions. Ammonia-based products are the worst to use, as they contain ammonia, which is also found in the urine. These cleaners can actually attract the cat back to the spot instead of deterring them.

Enzyme cleaners are the only effective way to treat urine stains and odors, as they break down the crystals and bacteria.

The damage caused by cat urine will depend on several factors such as the cat’s age, diet, and sex. The first step is to clean up as much of the fresh urine as possible. Use a paper towel or white rag to absorb the liquid, pressing firmly for thirty seconds rather than rubbing. Repeat until the area is dry. Then rinse the spot with cool or room temperature water. Follow up with your choice of cleaning methods, such as:

• Baking Soda: Sprinkle over the affected area and rub it in. Let it dry, then vacuum the excess powder. This method works well on surface odors but doesn’t deeply penetrate.
• White Vinegar: Mix ½ cup white vinegar with 1 quart of warm water and sprinkle over the stain. Cover with towels and apply weight to apply pressure. After a few hours, remove towels and brush the area to raise the carpet nap.
• Hydrogen Peroxide: Spray a 3% hydrogen peroxide solution on the area, then blot with a clean, white cloth until dry. A pet odor neutralizer may be needed to fully remove the stain.

Unfortunately, it’s not always easy to predict where your cat will urinate. Cats can sometimes urinate on hardwood floors or upholstery, so here’s how to handle those situations:

• Hardwood Floors: Blot the puddle with paper towels, then wash the area with white vinegar. Blot dry and apply a commercial pet odor neutralizer.
• Upholstery: Blot the stain with a clean towel, then apply a solvent in a circular motion. Dry with a cool hairdryer.

Commercial pet odor and stain removers are effective if used properly, as they break down the enzymes. Consult your local veterinarian or pet supply store for product recommendations.

The post Cat Urine Cleaning Products – Removing the Pee Smell appeared first on .

Most people know soap scum as that frustrating, cloudy residue on shower doors or tubs. Technically, it’s “the substance resulting from the reaction of hardness minerals in water with common household soaps, typically appearing as a bathtub ring or glass shower door film.”

Delving into the chemistry, soap molecules have a “free end” that attracts fat molecules. Essentially, soap scum is a mix of soap and fat, often exacerbated by hard water. Surprisingly, using more soap can reduce soap scum. Most people apply enough soap to clean themselves or dishes but not enough to fully react with all the fat, leaving the freed fat to stick to the tub or sink.

Prevention and Cleaning Solutions

Defining soap scum is straightforward; eliminating it is the challenge. Prevention is a key step. After showering or bathing, wipe down the tub or shower stall. Alternatively, daily shower cleaners can be sprayed on surfaces to prevent buildup. For best results, use this method after a deep clean.

Some users claim switching from fatty bar soaps to liquid body wash gels reduces scum. From personal experience, I agree. However, environmentally conscious individuals might hesitate due to the recycling demands of plastic bottles, making this less appealing for some.

Another preventive approach involves applying furniture or car wax to walls and tubs to repel soap scum. This method doesn’t appeal to me—it seems slippery, and I’d be concerned about wax affecting grout—but some advocate for it.

If prevention fails, you’ll need to tackle existing scum. Its fat content means soap scum can be dissolved by fat-dissolving agents. Many commercial cleaners use sodium hydroxide or ammonia, which are effective but harsh on skin, requiring gloves.

For a gentler option, try Krud Kutter, a non-toxic cleaner with positive reviews. Alternatively, make your own cleaner with household items.

Most commercial removers include an abrasive for scrubbing. You can mimic this by mixing baking soda with water to form a paste. Apply it, let it sit for ten minutes, then rinse thoroughly.

Vinegar is another staple for homemade cleaners. Use it full-strength in a spray bottle, douse the shower or tub, let it sit for a few minutes (longer for stubborn scum), and wipe clean.

Short on time? Dryer sheets have a reputation for removing soap scum. Use them like a rag to wipe surfaces. However, consider the potential health effects of fabric softeners before trying this.

The post Cleaning Soap Scum appeared first on .

• Make sure that the pens we put in our pockets have their caps on
• Not buy cheap pens that bleed

Not use our pockets to put pens in (we’d put them on top of our ears like construction workers do)

Alas, this isn’t a perfect world, and as humans we tend to leave our brains behind. That’s why disasters like ink stains happen almost everyday. If we’d venture a guess, we bet our top dollar that an ink stain happens every 1.2 seconds around the world.

There are many suggestions for removing ink stains from clothing. We’ll provide a handful so if the first method doesn’t work, try method 2 and then method 3 and so on. Before removing any ink stains from clothing, read the care labels. There will be pieces of ink-stained clothing that are best left to professional dry cleaners.

Various Methods for Removing Ink Stains from Clothing

Method 1:This is the simplest method. Lay your ink-stained clothing on a white dry towel. Apply a few drops of water to the stain. Let it rest for 5 minutes then gently blot the stain with a white clean rag or cloth. A white blotting cloth is best because it will show you how much ink is coming off. Continue blotting until the stain is completely removed.

Method 2:Follow the same steps in method 1 except this time use hot water.

Method 3:Again, follow the steps in method 1, this time using alcohol. Use a clean white towel to blot off the stain with gentle dabs. The stain should come off and the cloth should be ready for the usual laundering.

Method 4:If none of the first 3 methods work, try using nail polish remover. Gently paint over the stain with the brush. Blot off the stain.

Method 5:
Take detergent powder or liquid and apply on the stained area. Leave for 5 minutes and then rub, causing slight friction. The stain should come off.

Method 6:
This method calls for more “ingredients.” Prepare a clean white cloth (a light-colored one will do as well), bleach, dish-washing detergent, vinegar, alcohol, and water. Mix your water (1 cup) and dish-washing detergent (1 tbsp). Set aside. Rinse the ink-stained spot. Then apply your water/detergent solution on the spot. Add a few drops of vinegar.

Wait 30 minutes. From time to time, blot the stain with your clean cloth. When the 30 minutes are up, rinse the spot which you worked on. Next, put a few drops of alcohol and blot the stain with your clean cloth. Use another area of your cloth to blot so you see how much ink has come off. When dry, add more water and more detergent. If there are still traces of the stain, apply ammonia with a bit of detergent and wait 30 minutes. Rinse.

If the stain is proving to be a stubborn one, use your bleach pen but don’t let the bleach dry on the stain. Wait a few minutes and then rinse with water.

Method 7:
Try using glycerin this time. Rinse the stain with glycerin and then apply a bit of detergent and ammonia. If the stain is still there, use your bleach pen and then rinse completely.

Method 8:The final alternative: use hair spray! Then blot with a cloth or paper towel.

Note that not one method is the best one. A lot will depend on your type of fabric and on your type of ink. The methods above are generally for water-based ink. There are certain types of ink (e.g. dye ink, pigment ink or permanent inks) that will require the use of special agents which only professional cleaners know about. So if you have an expensive fabric and you don’t want to take the chance, let the pros take care of your problem. It will save you precious time and effort plus spare you from frustration.

Removing Ink Stains from Clothing (discussion forums)

Reading about other people’s experiences can also add to our inventory of ideas on how to remove ink stains from clothing. For instance, a famous detergent manufacturer created a discussion forum where everyone can share their tips on removing different kinds of stains. We selected “ink stains” and here are some of the ideas we found:

Apply alcohol on the stain and blot with paper towel. Use Tide Liquid to pre-treat and then launder as usual.

Use OxyClean or Shout.

A bowl of milk? Someone said she soaked the stained spot on a small bowl of milk. It removed most – not all – of the stain so it wasn’t a perfect job.

WD-40 will work like magic according to one poster. Spray on the stain, wait 30-40 minutes then launder as usual.

Use Dawn dish-washing detergent

If you have a permanent black ink stain on a cotton shirt, you’ll need the same ingredients mentioned in the first 7 methods. Permanent blank ink is used by calligraphers so getting a stain from this type of ink is a little different. But it will come off as long as you act quickly.

You’ll need:

A white thick towel (to put right under the stain and to avoid the back of the fabric from getting stained as well. Make sure the towel is thick enough to avoid this contamination or “leak.”), hairspray, alcohol, baking soda, acetone (nail polish remover), cotton balls or Q-tips.

Lay your cotton shirt on a flat surface and put the thick towel underneath the stain (not under the shirt). Squirt some hairspray into the stain. Wait for a minute and then blot the stain with cotton (do not rub). Hairspray contains certain chemicals that will loosen the stain particles. If the stain persists, dab the stain with alcohol using a cotton ball or Q-tip. Keep repeating this step until the stain comes off.

If your efforts are not paying off, mix water and baking soda to make a loose paste and apply on stain. Blot, blot, blot.

Last resort: use nail polish remover.

For ink stains that are old, try Oxy-Clean. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions and then launder as usual!

The post How to Remove Ink Stains from Clothing appeared first on .

First off, what is a stainless steel appliance? Despite its misleading title, stainless appliances – basically, objects made of stainless steel – are some of the most difficult to keep clean. Something made of stainless steel has a lot more chromium (at least 10 percent more) than its peers, and thus won’t rust or fall prey to various chemicals. While these items are not as vulnerable to rusting, staining, and corroding, however, they have other problems unique to themselves. They’re long lasting but can be a challenge to keep up with.

So before you get to scrubbing down your silverware or cutlery, better get in the know about how to clean stainless steel properly. Especially since more and more folks these days are investing in stainless steel ovens, dishwashers, refrigerators, and commonly barbecue grills – the question of how to clean stainless appliances is constantly popping up.

Whether you’re just curious about how to maintain your appliances or you want to remove frustrating smears and fingerprints (which commonly plague stainless steel), grease, buildup, or even get rid of plain old stains (don’t take the word “stainless” too literally!), there is an answer for you here.

Steps for Cleaning Stainless Appliances

First off, it’s important to routinely clean stainless steel, as the protective layer that so beautifully prevents corrosion is hindered if there is dirt or food buildup blocking oxygen from interacting with the steel. In fact, the more you clean stainless steel, the better. You can actually help improve how chemically resistant your appliance is by wiping it down frequently! This is not the case for other appliances, made of wood or plastic, etc. Those appliances might actually wear and tear if they are cleaned too often.

Furthermore, in order to find the best method of cleaning for your appliance, you have to answer two major questions: “What is the finish of the steel?” and “What kind of grime am I dealing with?” Appliances with epoxy paint should be treated differently than those with a simple perforated design. (There are more than a dozen stainless steel finishes!) As well, dirt should be handled differently than grease, etc.

But, for the most part, make sure you have some vinegar on hand. Instead of buying expensive cleaning products like steel wool and steel brushes, go with some vinegar and scouring powder (which can be bought or made at home). Brushes can actually lead to rusting, whereas vinegar is harmless. After you take to the steel with some vinegar, then rinse it well with warm water. Water will often leave ugly spots on the steel however. If this is the case, just make sure to immediately and thoroughly dry the stainless steel surface with a towel or two.

Probably the most difficult things to ward off for stainless steel appliances are surprisingly, stains, and also, fingerprints! They cause more of an aesthetic problem than anything. Use a glass cleaner to tackle these problems. Also, sodium carbonate will often do the trick. Again, always follow your cleaning by rinsing the steel with some warm water.

For grease and other oils, you’ll probably want to get some cleaners designed specifically for them. You just have to check that those products are okay for stainless steel before you use them.

As a rule, try to simply keep up with your stainless steel by frequently cleaning it with mere water. Water will take care of buildup in most cases. However, sometimes you have to use solvents to keep your stainless steel shiny and spotless. Just avoid using solvents that have chlorine as an ingredient. Detergents containing chloride are the last thing on earth you should ever put on a stainless steel appliance! In general, however, you have to be careful with powerful solvents. If you’re smoking while cleaning or confound to a small place, don’t use them.

It’s probably a little disillusioning that stainless steel really isn’t quite “stainless,” and can be difficult to maintain in its own right. However, the advantages of stainless steel trump the disadvantages and as long as you clean your steel appliances regularly, you and your barbecue or oven or flatware should be in good shape and last a long, long time.

The post Cleaning Stainless Appliances – Removing Smug and Hand Marks appeared first on .

First, a few caveats:

Get to the stain as soon as possible so it does not set.

Rubbing can cause the stain to set, so always dab gently, no matter which cleaning method you choose.

Where time allows, test the stain remover on a small, inconspicuous area first to ensure it does not damage the fabric or carpet.

If the garment you spilled on is dry clean only, it is probably best to let a dry cleaner take care of it.

Commercial Wine Removal Products

For both clothing and carpeting, modern science has devised several stain removal products.

If you have spilled wine on yourself, you can use a standard laundry stain remover. Some people recommend Shout. After diluting the stain with water and dabbing up as much liquid as possible, spray the stain with Shout and let it sit overnight. Use warm water to blot up the remaining stain.

For carpets, many people recommend Oxy Carpet Cleaner. It lifts stains and provides some degree of stain protection to the area.

Another product that is highly recommended is Wine Away. This stain remover was specifically created for wine stains on fabric and carpet. Wine Away does not use bleach or phosphates and is derived from fruit and vegetable extracts, making it safe for use around children and pets. This product has been endorsed by many high-profile consumer magazines. If you drink a lot of red wine, Wine Away might be a smart investment.

But what happens if you don’t have any of these products on hand? As our mothers and grandmothers did, you can turn to a few good home remedies.

Home Remedies for Removing Wine Stains

Perhaps the best known home remedy for red wine stains on clothing or carpet is club soda. For clothing, moisten a clean cloth with club soda and then blot the stain. For carpets, pour the club soda on the stain – the carbonation will lift the stain right out.

Another option is white wine, which neutralizes the red wine. Simply pour a little white wine on the red wine stain and gently blot the area with a thick towel. Follow up with your standard cleaning method to wash the stain out.

If you have neither club soda nor white wine on hand, use the one thing that every household is sure to have: salt. Sprinkling salt on the stain prevents it from setting until you can get your hands on an effective stain remover.

Baking soda is another common pantry item that can help combat red wine stains. The general procedure is as follows. Blot up as much of the stain as you can, then pour cold water on the stain and blot again. Continue the cold water/blotting until you cannot remove any more stain. Apply a baking soda/water paste, let it dry and then vacuum. If the stain remains, use a standard carpet stain remover.

If you had no choice but to let the stain sit, you can try soaking older stains in a solution of equal parts lemon juice and water or equal parts vinegar and water.

The post Red Wine Stains – How to Remove Them appeared first on .

Better to be safe than sorry. After all, we’ve heard stories about how the regular use of bleach in the home can lead to respiratory problems, headaches, dizziness, and even diminishing mental clarity. We even read online that a boy’s handwriting became erratic; he could not concentrate on his homework because he was inhaling the bleach from the vents in his bedroom which was connected to the laundry room.

So how do we bring back that sparkling white and shine to our clothes without using bleach?

1. Lemons, anyone? On a good day when lemons are overflowing on the shelves of our local supermarket, and are selling for 99 cents/dozen, why not purchase a bagful and leave some aside for your laundry needs. When you have soiled laundry and need to whiten it, cut up some lemons and throw them into a tub of hot water. Let them soak for an hour or two and then wash them as you would normally do. For badly-soiled clothes, boil some water and soak your clothes with several slices of lemons. Leave them overnight. Next morning, wash them and then smell that clean! And they’ll come out brighter too!
2. Baking soda – it’s amazing that what we keep in our kitchen cupboards can also be stored in the laundry room. Throw a cupful of baking soda into the wash and enjoy the whiteness and hygienic smell of your clothes. Baking soda does a wonderful job of maintaining pH balance because it neutralizes acids and bases. It works well when you also want to eliminate odors from the kitchen and your shoe cabinet. This inexpensive solution is a true deodorizer and cleanser; we have yet to hear about any adverse effects it can potentially cause. So go ahead, whiten your clothes without using bleach because baking soda is all you’ll ever need.
3. Natural sunshine should do it, folks – this seems to be a frequent advice from people who believe in hanging their clothes out in the sun to make them brighter and cleaner. It’s your natural vitamin D at work! We’re bombarded everyday with ads about “the fresh smell of spring” and “mountain air cleanness” which commercial products promise to deliver, so we tend to forget that Mother Nature can do as good a job if not better. Besides, by line drying our clothes, not only will they appear whiter, but they’ll last longer as well. So let the sun and wind caress your clothes back to their original color!
4. White vinegar for whiter clothes – here’s another inexpensive way to whiten your clothes without using bleach. When you start a wash, use your detergent as usual but add ½ cup to 1 cup of white vinegar. Don’t worry about the smell. It will be there only initially. Once you put your clothes into the dryer, the vinegar smell will disappear and your clothes will come out cleaner, whiter, and safer to wear. Vinegar is a powerful disinfectant. We use it to clean our coffee brewers once every quarter and it beats using dishwashing liquid. It does the same for your clothes. In fact, another tip is to substitute your regular fabric softener with white vinegar.
5. Dishwashing liquid – many homemakers have said how they’ve used dishwashing liquid when they ran out of laundry detergent, but be careful about how much you put in. You might get a laundry room filled with floating suds! To whiten your clothes, pour about ¼ cup of dishwashing liquid into the tub along with your regular laundry detergent. Use warm water. Dishwashing liquid apparently has some whitening chemicals in them. Someone also suggested Cascade which she calls a great detergent booster that never fails.

Safe Homemade Bleach

If you no longer wish to use Clorox because you’re concerned about your family’s health, you can make your own homemade bleach. We did our homework and found one “recipe” you can try.

Ingredients:

• 1-1/2 cups of hydrogen peroxide – you can buy hydrogen peroxide from any drug store
• Fresh lemons – about five tablespoons
• ½ gallon of lukewarm water

Procedure:

Mix all three ingredients but do not overmix. Just make sure they’re blended well. Pour this mixture into individual glass containers with tight lids. Stick date labels on each container. They’ll be effective for three months. When you run out, make a new batch. Use this homemade bleach the same way you used your old bleach product.

Word of caution: use only 3% hydrogen peroxide. This is the percentage that’s sold by retailers. Make sure this percentage is stated on the label. Anything higher can be dangerous for home and health.

Hydrogen peroxide works best on white clothing but you may want to try using it on darker clothes…with caution.

For dark color clothing, the combination of vinegar and baking soda is effective. Use 1 cup of vinegar and ¼ cup of baking soda and pour them straight into your clothes when you turn on your washer. Since vinegar is acid, it “eats” away at the stains, dirt and grime. The baking soda will produce a bubbling action which will boost the action of the vinegar, leaving your clothes disinfected, squeaky clean, and cloudy white!

“Now they show you how detergents take out bloodstains, a pretty violent image there. I think if you’ve got a T-shirt with a bloodstain all over it, maybe laundry isn’t your biggest problem. Maybe you should get rid of the body before you do the wash.”
(Jerry Seinfeld)

The post How to Whiten Clothing without Using Bleach appeared first on .

How to Remove Cat Pee from Your Duvet

What’s worse than climbing into bed after a long day, ready to settle in and drift off into a well-deserved sleep, only to realize that cold, wet feeling at your feet is cat urine? After getting over the initial shock (and perhaps resisting the urge to chase your cat down and plaster her to the wall), you now have to strip the bed, make it up with fresh sheets, and deal with the cat pee before it settles in permanently.

Start by using dry cloths or paper towels. You want to remove the urine, not spread it through the fibers by adding more liquids. Soak up as much as possible before moving on to the next step of treating the stain and eliminating the odor.

Removing cat pee from a duvet is a two-step process: first, you need to remove the stain, which isn’t too difficult, and then tackle the odor, which can be next to impossible. The stain can typically be removed in the wash cycle. Most comforters and duvets can withstand a gentle cycle. Treating the spot itself, however, can be tricky. Never, ever use ammonia-based products—ammonia smells too much like cat urine and will invite your cat to mark the bed again.

Never mix ammonia with bleach, either, but you probably already know that. For a duvet that can handle a bleach-and-water solution, this is an acceptable option. However, very few duvets are perfectly white, as eggshell tones are in fashion this year. And if you have a brighter-colored duvet, you may be in for a challenge.

Soak the stain in a pretreater. The Oxyclean line does deliver on most of its promises, except for being colorfast. Oxyclean can often leave white staining on colored fabrics. Trust me, I have enough faded, whitish-out blue shirts to confirm this. Also, Oxyclean requires complete dilution before use, which can be difficult with front-loading machines.

Enzyme-based products are the best for removing cat pee. They are specifically designed to tackle both the stain and the odor. However, if a cat repeatedly pees in the same spot, the odor can become permanent, no matter what you try. Cat urine is naturally designed to ward off predators and rival felines, so the strong aroma that benefits wild cats can quickly ruin your comforter or duvet with just a few solid dousings.

Once you’re sure the pretreater has soaked in and you no longer smell the urine when you hold the duvet close to your nose, wash the comforter on a gentle cycle until you’re absolutely certain the smell is gone. For most machines, this takes two cycles.

If you’re still using a laundromat, keep the area your cat has peed on continuously soaked in fresh water and enzyme-based detergents. You don’t want it to dry out until after you’ve had a chance to wash it thoroughly and remove the lingering scent.

Some people debate whether to throw the duvet in the dryer or to dry it outside in the sun. In my opinion, the answer depends on your climate and the time of year. The sun is a great natural bleaching agent and can help deodorize the duvet while it dries. However, if it’s January and you live in Minnesota, the sun isn’t likely to offer much help. If possible, drying the duvet in the sun will make it easier to get rid of the smell.

When removing cat pee from a duvet, always, always, always smell-check before drying. Even pressing your nose close to the area, you might not be able to detect any lingering odor until the duvet is fully dry. If, after drying, you still notice a smell, you’ll need to repeat the process until your comforter or duvet smells like it should. In the meantime, you might want to consider keeping your bedroom door closed until you figure out why your precious cat insists on christening your bed.

The post Removing Cat Pee from a Duvet appeared first on .