March 29, 2011: Carpet Cleaning and Care Tips

One thing that continues to amaze me about the house we bought here in the mountains is that whoever owned it before us decided it would be a good idea to replace the carpet before putting it on the market. That’s all good – except that the color they chose is a very light tan, almost off-white.

The problem? Well, for one thing we live on a dirt road. When the wind isn’t blowing dirt throughout the house, the rain turns it into mud, which is tracked in by us and our dogs. For another, the dirt around here is a reddish color which shows up really nicely against the light carpet. And then there’s our pellet stove. Even though I put down newspaper to catch the excess ash accumulation when I clean it, I always manage to get ashes and soot ground into the carpet.

So… needless to say I detest the carpet in my house! Eventually, when it gets really, really bad and we can afford it, the carpet will be replaced but for now I have to live with it – and do what I can to keep it somewhat clean.

As you go about your spring cleaning chores, keep these carpet tips in mind:

• To remove an indentation in the carpet from furniture that’s set in one place too long, drop an ice cube into the indentation. Remove the ice cube before it melts completely; wait for the carpet to dry before vacuuming.

• Before you vacuum, sprinkle the carpet with baking soda. Do this first as you begin to clean a room and by the time you are ready to vacuum, the baking soda will have absorbed all odors.

• For pet stains, sprinkle with baking soda immediately. The baking soda will absorb moisture and deodorize the fibers. When it has dried, vacuum away.

• Various recipes for cleaning carpet stains and spots:
    o Mix a bowl of warm water with 1/cup ammonia and a squirt of dishwashing soap.
    o Squirt the stain with dishwashing soap then scrub with a mixture of 2/3 cup vinegar plus 1/3 cup water.
    o Grate a bit of Fels Naptha bar soap, add borax and hot water to make a paste (you may have to heat this slightly to get the right texture OR shake very vigorously).
    o Use the homemade laundry soap recipe I shared with you earlier this month.

These recipes and tips aren’t going to make your carpet look brand new again (especially if it’s as dirty as mine is!) but they are a good alternative to buying expensive spray cleaners – and they’re always handy since the ingredients are so simple.

March 3, 2011: Homemade Laundry Detergent Recipe

Have you seen the price of laundry detergent in the grocery store? Yikes! You’ll pay over $10 for a large size box or bottle and if you’ve got a medium- or large-sized family, that’s not likely to last very long. Think about it – your kids will be playing baseball soon and you’re bound to have lots of grass-stained uniforms to wash!

I use the following recipe to make my own laundry soap and because it’s so concentrated, it lasts for months! Another advantage of this recipe is that it doesn’t have any added dyes or perfumes so it’s perfect for washing baby clothes. And honestly? It works just as good, if not better, than most commercial formulas.

You can easily find the ingredients in most hardware stores, like Ace or True Value; some grocery stores also carry these ingredients. And if you live in a rural location and prefer the convenience of ordering by mail, you can call Arm & Hammer at 1-800-524-1328 and give them the UPC code 33200-03020 to find out where washing soda is sold in your area, or have it delivered to your home. I called them about two years ago and they had a great deal where you could buy two and get one free, which made up for the cost of shipping – plus I didn’t have to pay sales tax.

Homemade Laundry Soap

1 bar Fels Naptha, Ivory, or Zote soap (Fels Naptha preferred)
1 c. borax
1 c. washing soda
9 c. water
Few drops tea tree oil (for disinfectant purposes) or other essential oil (for fragrance), optional

Take a large stock pot and grate the soap, using a fine cheese grater, into the pot. Add the borax and washing soda and mix well. Slowly add the water, stirring continually. Heat slowly to boiling over medium heat, continuing to stir occasionally until all the soap and powders are dissolved.

When cool, pour into one large or several small containers (when you use up your current jug of laundry detergent, just rinse it out and use that). The longer the soap sits, the thicker it will get.

Per load of laundry, use one to two tablespoons of soap.

Tips: This soap works best with warm or hot water in your washing machine during cold weather. It tends to get very thick in cold temperatures so set the container out near a heater to warm up before using in the winter.