Wednesday, August 30, 2006

Quick Cleaning Tip of the Day

This is not about cleaning house but your yard! Still struggling with broad leaf weeds? Simply pour half a cup of distilled white vinegar on top of the center of the weed. The weed will eat itself to death and be gone in a week or two. Mother Earth will fill in the hole. All without pesticides!

Thursday, August 17, 2006

Blanket Care

Blanket Care
How to clean your wool, cotton and synthetic blankets
Autumn is close at hand and I'm sure for those of you who have sweltered through this summer it can't come soon enough. And that is just my point. It is warm out and the best time to wash the blankets and spreads since they can be put out to dry.
Follow the manufacturer's guidelines for cleaning. If you machine wash your bedding  be sure it will fit the washer with room to spare for effective cleaning. Otherwise the bedding will not come clean. Usually the large capacity washers at the laundromat are your best bet and faster since you can run 3 or 4 loads at one time.  (Always clean these tubs before using them)
To Clean Wool Blankets: Some wool blankets can be machine washed in cold water with much caution. Check the tag first. Dry clean when specified. Wash wool blankets in "Brown Sheep Shampoo." I recently learned that Woolite changed the formula. It is no longer considered safe by the yarn wool associations for cleaning wool. They recommend The Brown Sheep Shampoo made by the Brown Sheep Company.
Machine wash wool blankets by filling the tub with cold water and adding a small amount of the "shampoo." Pretreat any stains and clean the binding around the outer edges of the blanket with Bi-O-Kleen  (remember it's on sale) Let that set 15 to 30 minutes. Be especially gentle if the blanket is old and the binding could tear easily. Let the blanket soak for 30 minutes before allowing the cycle to run. After the wash cycle finishes allow the blanket to spin for just a minute then advance the timer to the deep rinse cycle. Then let the cycle finish.  Lay the blanket on a table outside or in your garage on top of some clean towels.
Or alternately fill the bathtub with cold water adding ¼ cup of the Brown Sheep Shampoo. Let the blanket or spread soak for 30 minutes, agitate gently then rinse in a tub of cold water adding a cup of white vinegar to help extract the shampoo. Rinse them a second time in plain water.  Do not wring. Fold them in half then roll them up to help remove most of the water while the blanket is still in the tub. Then roll them up placing large bath towels on top of the blanket as it is rolled to absorb the moisture.
Cleaning Cotton and Acrylic blankets can be machine washed in cold water and dried on low. These blankets dry faster without the expensive cost of electricity by hanging them outside to dry. They can be draped over a rail after the rail has been covered with plastic or hung on a taut line.
Cleaning Nylon Flock blankets like Vellux, can be washed in cool water. They dry quickly outside or in the dryer on medium heat. If you machine dry them do remove them promptly so set your kitchen timer as a reminder.    
Now you have your bedding ready for holiday guests giving you one less hectic thing to do during the holidays that are more than rapidly approaching.
This article may only be reprinted giving full credit to Mary Findley and her website at http://www.goclean.com. Copyright @2006 All rights reserved worldwide.

Wednesday, August 02, 2006

Cleaning a car interior

                                                        Cleaning a Car Interior    

     This is the third of a series of articles about cleaning your car. This one covers the interior. See the two articles below for tips on washing and waxing your car. You will also find helpful tips on how to clean and care for tires.
     Thank you to all who tried our Advantage http://www.goclean.com/advantage.htm and wrote to tell me how excited you were with the difference it made on the shine and looks of the finish of your vehicle. Now let’s tackle the inside and get that area sparkling as well.
     Get rid of car odors:
     First of all for anyone with odor problems, there is a product called Pure Ayre www.pureayre.com – they can tell you where to buy it – that is the most incredible odor remover I’ve ever used. From mold to pets to cigarettes it has permanently eliminated them all.
-         A dry eraser like what is used on dry erase boards does a fast job removing the film that builds up on inside windows. Alternately spritz a bit of rubbing alcohol on a clean dry cloth then wipe over the windows.  
-         A foam paint brush reaches into those small areas like cup holders that can be tricky to clean. Dip it in a diluted solution of our Bi-O-Kleen http://www.goclean.com/bio-kleen.htm wipe those areas then dry with one of our Swifter Towels. http://www.goclean.com/towels.htm#swifter.  They don’t fall apart like paper towels or even shop towels and can be machine washed and dried many times to save you money. The foam paint brush is also thin enough to clean the open storage areas on the sides of your doors.
-         Vacuum carpet regularly and put down protective mats to keep the original carpet in good condition. The rubber backed mats are wonderful to protect the floor against rain soaked shoes, spills and pets who occasionally get a bit overly excited about their trip in the car.  
Remove carpet stains
-         To remove most stains from carpet or cloth seats, spray on our Ion-A-Clean http://www.goclean.com/ion-clean.htm let that set about 20 to 30 minutes and blot. It’s an amazing stain remover and never needs rinsing. It even removes oil and grease.
** Go to http://www.goclean.com/stainremovalguide.htm to learn the proper way to remove a stain.  
      -         Vacuum the ceiling of your car to remove dust that accumulates in the cloth.
-         There simply isn’t anything better to use on any leather, vinyl or ultra leather seat than our Leather Care. http://www.goclean.com/leather-care.htm   Out of the 8 or 9 I tested, this is the only one that deep cleaned. The others removed dirt from the surface but none removed the imbedded dirt. It cleans and protects in one step. It will remove some ink stains and most blue jean dye. It can be diluted 1 part Leather Care to 6 parts water for regular cleanings.
-         If you have young children or pets take a plastic table cloth cut it in half and cover the seats with the fuzzy side up. The fuzzy side catches at least the small drips and spills while the plastic protects the seats.
This article may only be reprinted giving full credit to Mary Findley and her website at http://www.goclean.com. Copyright @2006 All rights reserved worldwide.