Pet Stains

My puppy got sick on the carpet - I have tried to clean it up with pinesol, bleach, vinegar, febreeze and baking soda but with no luck. Help - what should I do?

Mom of Sick Puppy

I feel your pain. Pet stains are some of the hardest to get rid of and if you have a pet, chances are you have dealt with this problem - successfully or not. One of the trickiest things about pet stains is that if you don’t completely remove the stain - odor and all - your pet will keep going back to the same spot. Also, a lot of the commercial “pet stain removers” don’t really work that well.

Here is a technique to try to get out these most stubborn of stains:

For fresh (ie, still wet) stains: 1. Remove any excrement and blot the entire wet area immediately and firmly with a clean, white, absorbent towel or cloth until all liquid is absorbed. If you can, place newspapers underneath area as well. 2. Pour a small amount of liquid detergent onto the cloth or towel and rub stained area with just enough firmness to remove the stain. 3. Mix together 1 quart warm water and 1/2 cup white vinegar and slowly pour the mixture onto the stain. 4. Place several clean, dry, white towels over the stained area and press frimly on towels to absorb excess moisture. Place books or other heavy objects over the area for 4 to 6 hours, then remove the towels. For old stains:1. Mix 1 tbsp. neutral detergent (mild, non-alkaline, non-bleaching) into 1 cup warm water and slowly pour the mixture onto the stain or odor area. Blot the area with a clean, dry, white towel. 2. Mix 1/3 cup white vinegar with 2/3 cup water and pour onto the stain or odor area and blot the area with a clean, dry, white towel. 3. Mix 1 tbsp. neutral detergent with 1 cup warm water and slowly pour onto the stain or odor area. Blot with a clean, dry, white towel. 4. Dribble clean water onto the area. and finally blot again with a clean, dry, white towel.

Clean Your Oven the Natural Way

Cleaning your oven can be quite a chore - and the fumes from many commercial products can be especially harsh. Here is a method for cleaning a non-self cleaning oven naturally with our good friend baking soda:

Make sure your oven is cold and sprinkle baking soda in a thick layer on the bottom of the oven. Use a spray bottle filled with water and spray until the baking soda is damp and of a paste-like consistency. Let sit overnight and then scrape the baking soda off - the food particles will be broken down and come off with it.

Use a damp cloth or sponge with a little liquid detergent to wipe off the bottom of the oven. Natural and no oven cleaner taste on your food next time you cook something in your oven!

Cleaning Your Lampshades

Here are some steps to clean your lampshades:

For fabric lampshades, start by removing the shade from the lamp and dusting the shade inside and out with a microfiber cloth, vacuum brush or even a make up brush. Plastic, glass or ceramic shades can be wiped with a dry cloth.

Next it’s time to wash. For all shades, look at the cleaning directions first and proceed as directed. For non-fabric shades - plastic, glass, ceramic, etc. - you should be able to use window glass cleaner applied with a clean cloth - rub and repeat until all traces of dirt are gone. Then use a damp cloth to remove cleaner residue and wipe dry with a clean paper towel. For fabric shades, take a 1/4 cup of mild detergent (I like Dawn) and combine with 1 cup warm water. Take a clean white cloth and immerse in the cleaning mixture - wring out so it’s damp and gently wipe down the shade. Take another clean cloth, dip in clean water, wring out and use to remove any residue. Let all shades completely air dry before replacing on lamps.

Also take this opportunity to wipe down the lamp base from top to bottom. If you keep on maintaining your shades by dusting/vacuuming regularly, you should be in good shape.

* A lintroller also works well on smooth lampshades.

Cleaning your StoveTop

How can you do to clean the splatter off your porcelain stovetop?

I'm a big fan of the baking soda, vinegar and water mixture because it is non toxic and not so abrasive as some other cleaners. You can make a paste of these ingredients and then rub it on your stove with a dish rag in a circular motion until the spots are clean. Then give it a nice rinse.

Shirt Collar Stain Removal

Try the following techniques to get the stains out and in the future, throw the shirts in the dryer with the rest of the load for just a few minutes to remove excess water, then line dry or dry flat:

Stain Removal Methods:

Vinegar method: Pour our old friend white vinegar directly on the stain. Then, rub with a paste made of vinegar and baking soda. If the stain is still there, add a couple tablespoons each of vinegar and laundry detergent to a bucket of hot water, and soak over night. Once stain is (hopefully) gone, launder as usual.

Oxyclean method- Put a few scoops of Oxyclean (a miracle worker in my book) in a bucket with hot water - soak the shirts for a few hours and check on the stain. If still there - put back in the bucket to soak some more. Once stain is (hopefully) gone, launder as usual.

Lemon juice - Squeeze a good amount of fresh lemon juice on the stains and put out in the sun to dry. Launder as usual.

Cleaning Coffee Pot

If you have a glass pot and are sick of looking at the brown coffee stains that are lining the inside, there’s an easy fix. Empty the pot and rinse it out with water. Add 1 cup of distilled white vinegar to the pot and sprinkle 2 tablespoons of baking soda inside. Swoosh it around a little and watch it fizz and foam and leave it to rest for about 5 minutes. Take a paper towel and wipe the insides of the pot with the solution then give it a good rinse. The pot will be clean and look brand new. Also, you can take this solution and pour it into the coffee maker where the water would normally go and let it run through a cycle with no coffee of course. Do this once and then do it with just water so it gets rinsed clean and that will clean the insides of the maker. This solution is non-toxic so even if a little is left behind, it won’t hurt you to ingest it.

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Other Suggestions:

Use Ice. Put ice in the empty pot and just sloosh it around and waa laa! Works really well on the pot you accidentally left on and the coffee burnt to the bottom. Amazing, I couldn’t believe it worked.

Use Baking Soda. I have another suggestion for cleaning your coffee pot or for getting hard to remove tea stains off of cups. Just use a small amount of baking soda on a damp paper towel. I use this method every day and the stains will come off immediately and easily. Rinse with warm water. This also works great on any other surface without causing damage, because the baking soda isn’t as abrasive and some other powder cleaners. Hope it works for you.

Use Lemon. About once a week cut a piece off of a lemon and squeeze it into empty coffee pot and then throw the piece in and pour 1 tbl of salt in ( acts like an abrasive) and swish it around for a little bit and then wash out. comes out nice and clean.

Get Rust Stains off Tile

Do you have rust stains from flower stands on your tile floors? Try a lemon and a pumice stone from the bathroom to remove it.

The pumice is abrasive enough to take rub off the stain but not too abrasive so as to scratch the tile…and we all know the bleaching power of lemon juice.

The stuff was like magic. And on top of that, the solution was totally non-toxic.

Vinegar- The Miracle Cleaner

Yes, it’s true, vinegar is a miracle cleaner. It kills germs, bacteria and mildew due to its high acidity content. I think today we are all trying to find ways to avoid using harsh cleaning agents, yet many of the “environmentally-friendly” products sold at the store can be pricey. Vinegar is a great option as it’s very affordable and can be used to clean just about every surface in your home.

I have been using vinegar, cut with water, for as long as I can remember to clean my kitchen and bathroom floors, counter tops and bathrooms. You can buy the big jugs of white distilled vinegar and your house will be spic and span. For the floor, I use a cup or 2 of vinegar in a bucket of hot water. For counter tops. I use vinegar cut with just a little bit of water, or straight up if the counters are really dirty. The only surface you should never use vinegar on is marble, as it can damage it. Here are some other tips for cleaning with vinegar (from www.vinegartips.com):

To shine chrome sink fixtures that have a lime buildup, use a paste made of 2 tablespoons salt and 1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar.

Make your own scouring cleanser by combining 1/4 cup baking soda with 1 tablespoon liquid detergent. Add just enough white distilled vinegar to give it a thick but creamy texture.

Clean counter tops and make them smell sweet again with a cloth soaked in undiluted white distilled vinegar.

Clean and deodorize a drain by pouring in 1 cup baking soda, then one cup hot white distilled vinegar. Let this sit for 5 minutes or so then run hot water down the drain.

Deodorize the garbage disposal by pouring in 1/2 cup baking soda and 1/2 cup hot white distilled vinegar. Let sit for 5 minutes then run hot water down the disposal.

Clean the microwave by mixing 1/2 cup white distilled vinegar and 1/2 cup water in a microwave-safe bowl. Bring it to a rolling boil inside the microwave. Baked-on food will be loosened, and odors will disappear. Wipe clean.

Clean the shelves and walls of the refrigerator with a half-and-half solution of water and white distilled vinegar.

To clean a grease splattered oven door window, saturate it with full-strength white distilled vinegar. Keep the door open for 10 to 15 minutes before wiping with a sponge.

For cloudy glassware, soak paper towels or a cloth in full-strength white distilled vinegar and wrap around the inside and outside of the glass. Let sit awhile before rinsing clean.

Remove the smell of spoiled food from a refrigerator by first rinsing the area with soap and water. Spray surfaces with full-strength white distilled vinegar and wipe them down with a damp cloth or sponge. Fill some containers with baking soda and place inside. Close the door and leave for a few days.

To remove a label, decal, or price tag, cover with a cloth soaked in white distilled vinegar. Leave the cloth on overnight and the label should slide off.

Renew sponges and dishrags by placing them in just enough water to cover them. Then add 1/4 cup white distilled vinegar. Let them soak overnight.

Deodorize the toilet bowl by allowing 3 cups white distilled vinegar to sit in it for about a half hour before flushing.

To make the toilet bowl sparkle, pour in a cup or more of diluted white distilled vinegar and let it sit several hours or overnight. Scrub well with the toilet brush and flush.

Clean up pet accidents by first blotting up the area and then adding a white distilled vinegar-and-water solution. Blot until it is almost dry. Then sprinkle baking soda over the area and let it dry. Vacuum up the residue the next day.

Create your own window cleaning solution by combining 1/2 cup non-sudsy ammonia, 1 cup white distilled vinegar, and 2 tablespoons cornstarch in a gallon of water.

Clean woodwork and walls with a mixture of 1 cup white distilled vinegar, 1 cup baking soda, 1/2 cup ammonia and 1 gallon warm water. Wipe on with a sponge or damp—not wet—towel.

Clean wood paneling with a solution of 1/4 cup olive oil, 1/2 cup white distilled vinegar, and 2 cups warm water. Wipe on with a soft cloth.

Get decals off walls or doors by letting undiluted white distilled vinegar soak into them for several minutes before trying to peel them off. Repeat if necessary.

Remove white water rings from wood with a solution of equal parts white distilled vinegar and vegetable oil. Rub with the grain.

To kill germs, spray full-strength white distilled vinegar on doorknobs and then wipe them dry.

Outdoor Clothes Line

One way to save money this summer and to help the environment is to invest in an outdoor clothesline. You can buy all sorts, from one string to the many-stringed umbrella style, and they make them retractable these days. It may seem old fashioned to dry your clothes this way, but you save money on your electric bill and your grocery bill as there is no need for dryer sheets, obviously. Who needs dryer sheets when you can get the real thing-there is nothing like that fresh air smell flowing through your sheets.

If you like this idea but feel you need the dryer sheets to soften things up, add fabric softener or baking soda to the rinse cycle.

Baking Soda, an Essential Cleaning Tool

I happen to notice recently that each box of baking soda, depending on the brand, has a different list of uses. If you look at them all, you realize this is one impressive box of powder! I couldn’t begin to explain to you why this mineral does what it does, but I can give you examples of what it does:

Baking Soda can put out fires. Remember in grade school you made the handy fire safety kits? I had to take a coffee can and fill it with non other than baking soda and was told to keep it by the stove in case something caught on fire. Throwing baking soda on the fire would put it out (apparently). I can’t recommend this as a serious fire extinguisher, but it’s a good thing to know, just in case.

Baking soda can be fun! Baking soda and vinegar, especially when mixed with food coloring, make a great fake lava fall or a witches’ brew for kids who like to make some fun in the kitchen!

Baking soda is a natural way to clean and disinfect many items.

Your mouth. Recently I was visiting my dentist who was telling me about the best way to keep my gums clean. She said to keep a box of good ole’ baking soda handy in the bathroom and mix it with water or hydrogen peroxide to make a paste. Use the paste and brush my teeth and gums with it, swish it around with some water and rinse out for a clean and effective mouthwash.

Your tub or sink. Ever look at the side of a can of sink scrubbing powder? It’s scented baking soda. Take regular baking soda, sprinkle it on your sink or tub and scrub away.

Laundry. If you throw 1/3 cup of baking soda in your wash cycle, it will help your laundry detergent work better, help eliminate odors, and soften fabrics.

The fridge. We all know a box of baking soda in the fridge will help eliminate odors, and it will. So will a sprinkle on your rugs or on your furniture or even in your litter box. Baking soda will help eliminate the odors in the rug and furniture and will also help absorb the spill.

Fruits and Veggies. I like this idea of cleaning veggies without harsh soaps. You just mix a little bit with water and scrub the fruits and veggies and rinse them clean.

Your bod. Sprinkle a little baking soda into your bath tub for a relaxing soak that also lifts off oil and dirt from your body. Ever get one of those fizzy bath balls? Look at the ingredients next time and I bet you’ll see sodium bicarbonate!

Kitchen Sink. Good to pour in your sink drain then pour vinegar over it…it will help smells and help to unclog the drain in kitchen, bathroom or anywhere.

Clean Stove. Make a paste of baking soda and a little water and use this on top of the stove to remove stubborn spots.

Poison Ivy or Poison Oak. If you get Poison Ivy or Oak on your skin, make a paste with baking soda and water or vinegar, apply to affected area and allow to dry. (You’d better sit over a tub or outside because soda will begin to fall off and make a mess on your floor otherwise).
Then take a washcloth, wet with hot water and scrub your skin very hard. The baking soda will cause the poison to rise back to surface of the skin and the scrubbing will help remove it and skip the blister stage. The baking soda also stops the itching. This method needs to be repeated every 12 to 24 hours for 2 to 3 days.

Coffee Pot or Carafe. A paste of baking soda and water takes all the gunky coffee stain off your coffee pot or carafe.

Clean bugs off car. Make a paste using a little water with the baking soda, take a damp cloth, put a little of the baking soda paste on the cloth and scrub the bugs off the front of your car and windshield. Then wash the car as usual. Works like a charm!

Garbage Disposal. Pour some baking soda in your garbage disposal and add a couple handfuls of ice cubes. Run the disposal for a few minutes and it will make it smell much better!!

Bee Stings. If you get stung by a bee or other stinging bug you can make a paste of baking soda and water and apply it to the sting and the paste makes the sting go away!!! (I have actually done this many times!

Car Battery. Baking soda can be mixed with a little water or vinegar and poured on your car’s battery terminals to remove all that gunk.

High chair. Effective to clean tray of high-chair which can get quite stained (as well as other baby items).

Pots and Pans. Keep a shaker container of baking soda on the sink and use it for getting burnt or food stuck to bottom of pans off. Just add hot water with a little baking soda, soak for 1 or 2 minutes. It is also good to make a paste and rub of old grease spots on baking sheets or bottom of pans. Rub and wham, most of it is gone.

Facial Scrub. I use Cetaphil cleanser and a shake of baking soda to scrub of dry flaky skin. Works great and is so much cheaper than any other scrubs out there!

Remove chlorine from hair after swimming. I use baking soda to remove chlorine from my hair after swimming. I make a paste with baking soda and shampoo and rub it into my hair. If you leave it about 10 minutes, you’ll smell the chlorine leaving. Then, rinse it out and shampoo and condition normally. The hairdresser said she turned a platinum blond’s chlorine-green hair back to platinum with this treatment. It’s way more effective than the chlorine shampoos.

Stuck fabric on hot iron. Make a paste with water and baking soda and clean the iron. It also cleans the steam holes.

Burnt food in pans. When you have burnt something in a pan just put enough water in the pan to cover the burnt area plus a couple tablespoons of baking soda. Place back on the stove and bring to a boil. The burn will lift right off.

Detox Bath Salt. Baking soda and epsom salts makes a great detox bath soak. Use hot water and soak, then wrap yourself in towels and sweat some more.

The Benefits of Lemons

Using lemons to clean your house is another way to make your home environmentally- friendly and save money at the same time. Lemons smell good, are readily available and have a multitude of uses. They are also effective against most household bacteria. You can buy big bags of lemons at most warehouse stores to stretch your dollar even further.

Some ways you can use lemons to clean your home:

• Disinfect a wood chopping block or cutting board by rubbing a lemon slice across it – pour lemon juice straight on stubborn stains, let sit 10 minutes and wipe clean with water
• Make a home made air freshener spritzer by dissolving 2 – 3 tablespoons baking soda in 2 cups hot water, add ¼ cup lemon juice, pour into spray bottle and spray into air
• Make an air freshener by placing cut lemon slices in a bowl on your counter for a natural fresh smell; or place a few leftover lemon rinds in a pot of simmering water on the stove for a few hours to remove odors
• Make a glass cleaner by mixing ½ cup lemon juice and 2 cups water in a spray bottle; you can also add ¼ tsp Murphy’s oil Soap
• Remove hard water or rust stains - pour straight lemon juice on the stain, let it sit until the stain dissolves, rinse and repeat if necessary
• Put a whole lemon peel down the garbage disposal to clean the disposal and freshen the whole kitchen
• Mix 1 cup olive oil with ½ cup lemon juice and you have a natural furniture polish for wood – apply a thin coat with a soft cloth, let sit 5 minutes and buff with clean soft cloth (make a fresh batch each time you use it)
• Cut a lemon in half and sprinkle with baking soda to clean surfaces, dishes and stains
• Use lemon juice to clean and polish brass and copper
• Dried lemon peels in a cheesecloth deter moths

Any citrus rinds can be used as a ‘green’ way of cleaning your disposal. Just cut the rind into 1/4″ strips and place in an airtight jar, which you’ll keep in your fridge. Once or twice a month, run your disposal and drop some of these strips down. The rinds will clean the blades of all the gunk and will release any remaining citrus oils to keep the disposal fresh smelling!


Use fresh lemon and bottle lemon juice at night on face to close and tighten pores (just put in on your face at night before going to bed and rinse it off in the morning with juice water).

Put it in hair to highlighten it ( i sprinkle it where i want highlights and sit in sun or most of the time I do my yard work or jog) then i come back wash my hair and I have instant hightlights without the high cost of store brought items.

Spruce Up Copper Pots

Looking to make dull copper pots gleam without splurging on tarnish remover? Simply coat the pot's surface with a thin layer of ketchup and let sit for about 30 minutes. Then rinse and dry immediately. The citric acid in the tomato-based condiment will strip off the dark oxide coating, leaving the cookware sparkling.

Money Saved: $9 for tarnish remover

Source: First Magazine

Instant Fix for a Grease Stain

You're enjoying a burger at a cookout when a blob of grease hits your cute capris. No need to change! Instead, head to the bathroom and squirt a dime-size drop of clear shampoo onto the spot. Gently rub it in, then dab the mark with hot water. The alcohol-derived ingredients in shampoo are designed to eliminate sebum (natural oils), and they work for oil-based stains too! In mere minutes, you can get back to more fun things... seconds, anyone?

Source: First Magazine

Double-Duty Dusting

Forget spending money on disposable dusters. Used dryer sheets work just as well! Simply save 'em in an old tissue box when you take the clothes out of the dryer; then use these super-soft sheets for dusting the furniture. Not only do they smell sweet, they trap dust within the cloth itself. Plus, they work great on staticky items like computers and TV screens.

Gourmet Cleansing Bar Steam Cleaning Solution

I just came across this article while reading the March 2009 Mia Bella News and thought I would share it with you. If you are interested in purchasing a gourmet cleansing bar, visit all the products here!

I've read where other distributors have mentioned having a
gourmet cleansing bar solution for carpet cleaning. I agreed.
My husband found a solution. We needed to clean our beige
carpet after our cat was injured and bled on it. We didn't find
the blood until it was dry and set in.
My husband took a gourmet cleansing bar and my cheese
grater. He grated about 1/4 cup gourmet cleansing bar
into a 2 quart pitcher of hot tap water.
He gave it time to melt and then stirred it. He then put it into
the tank of my carpet cleaner.
I took the rest of the gourmet cleansing bar and rubbed the
spots until thoroughly soapy. Then my husband went to work
with the steam cleaner.
It worked like a charm. I have a Hoover Steamvac. We put
the gourmet cleansing bar solution into the tank that holds the
solution.
I also have a friend whose two year old son took black Sharpie
marker to her beige carpet. I remembered reading the
distributors story about how the gourmet cleansing bar worked
on her Sharpie carpet disaster. My friend used my gourmet
cleansing bar solution and her steam cleaner with excellent
results.~Terri Waldridge

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Turn a Bread Pan into a Window Planter

Project Estimate:

• Loaf Pan, $1
• 3 Succulents, $1 each
• Potting Soil, $1
• Hammer & nail or awl, on hand

Use the hammer and awl/nail to poke evenly-space drainage holes in the bottom of the bread pan. If using a nail, widen the holes by pushing in an old screwdriver.

Gently remove the plants from their pots and place in the bread pan. Fill the pan with the soil, water lightly and you're done! Succulents like bright, filtered sunlight, good air circulation and a watering once every week or two. (Better to water too little than too much.)

Total cost: $5

* I have seen many times at Goodwill or other thrift stores, bread pans very cheap. Yard sales are also another good place to pick them up at for a quarter or so.

Source: Giant Jeans Parlor

Recycle a Soda Bottle into a Coinpurse

Plastic bottles are an enormous contributor to landfill waste taking nearly 700 years just to begin decomposition and as much as 80% of plastic bottles aren’t recycled. Well this little guy was upcycled from two typical 20oz soda bottles with some simple stitching of a zipper between two cut bottle bottoms. This could be a hip green change purse, make up kit, condom case, or a carrier for all your psychiatric medication! Some variations include cutting a bottle lengthwise to create a clutch purse. Along those lines you could find a two liter bottles and make a larger pocket book. A simple DIY and sure to spark some conversation.

Source: Green Upgrader

Make Pretty Vases from Recycled Lightbulbs

I just found this idea and I love it! I love flowers and I'm always looking for ways to display them. I found this idea on Dollar Store Crafts.

Veronica Peterson at Care2 designed these pretty vases that make use of old light bulbs. The bulb shape is pretty and modern, and makes use of something that would otherwise go into a landfill. These aren’t strictly a dollar store craft, because if you don’t already have a metal-cutting saw, you might have to spend some money to get a blade that will do the job. You will definitely be able to find the wire at the dollar store, though!

Project Estimate:

• Light bulbs, recycled
• Wire, $1
• Metal-cutting saw, from $6 for reciprocating saw blades, on up (or borrow from a family member, neighbor or friend!)

Source: Dollar Store Crafts