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Thread: Home cleaning and laundry tips

  1. #176
    Administrator Olivia's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by nestlequikie View Post
    Liv - be careful of how much shampoo you use in them. Too much soap residue makes your carpet dirtier a week after you cleaned than when you started.
    I followed the instructions - I hope I did it right! I think I love it. I paid $200 for it when retail is $579.

  2. #177
    Senior Member ApRyL's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Olivia View Post
    I followed the instructions - I hope I did it right! I think I love it. I paid $200 for it when retail is $579.
    great deal!

    Here's the thing...Nestle is right, use a bit less, and also go over with a clear water rinse. I do mine as hot as possible.

    I know it's a pain to keep going back and forth etc but it will keep your carpet nicer longer.

  3. #178
    Senior Member TheFavoriteDaughter's Avatar
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    We closed on our house and will be moving in 2 weeks. Yay! But it smells like the other people. Boo.
    We're obviously going to clean but does anyone have any tips on how to get the smell out?

  4. #179
    Senior Member queenaevadamthng's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by TheFavoriteDaughter View Post
    We closed on our house and will be moving in 2 weeks. Yay! But it smells like the other people. Boo.
    We're obviously going to clean but does anyone have any tips on how to get the smell out?
    Baking Soda lots of Odo-ban. I like the lavender scented. I went in after the previous owners were gone with a big pool bag of baking soda put it every where. Cracked the windows and sprayed the walls down with the odo-ban and locked the front door and let it sit over night. The next day there was a huge difference. After a good scrubbing it will be all yours.
    Last edited by queenaevadamthng; 08-03-2013 at 04:22 PM.


    "Theoretical physics can prove that an elephant can hang from a cliff with its tail tied to a daisy. But use your eyes, your common sense".... JIM GARRISON

  5. #180
    Senior Member TheFavoriteDaughter's Avatar
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    There's only carpet in two of the bedrooms, thankfully. It doesn't necessarily smell bad. Just doesn't smell like my home.

    I'll try odo ban for sure.

  6. #181
    wibbly wobbly timey wimey Seraphim's Avatar
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    Had that happen once. Used fabreeze that had arm and hammer in it on EVERYTHING . I mean i even washed the walls.

  7. #182
    Senior Member queenaevadamthng's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Artemis View Post
    Oooh. Good thread. What's the best way to clean floors? We have almost all hardwood floors (shitty ones, so I don't need a special wood cleaner or anything) and it's tough to clean them. It's like the dirt just gets smeared. I also don't like swiffers.
    This is how I cheat clean mine. It's fairly fast and gets them really clean. Either get one of those floor mate floor cleaners if you don't have a big area. They are great they suck up everything without any residue left. I did this for awhile but I have 3000 sq. feet of wood floor and I got tired of having to change the damn dirty water every five minutes. So I went and got the biggest shop wet dry shop vac I could find. I got a 5 gallon bucket and a soft broom with the plastic bristles. I have a little bucket that I dip my mop water out with. I use the lysol wood floor cleaner. I put some water down working it in with my broom and suck it up with my shop vac using the rubber squeegee attachment. I do the room in sections so that the water is on the floor long enough to harm the wood. I put a coat of the wood protector on once a month to keep it shiny. My next house I am outting in tile floors with drains in strategic places to where all I gotta do is put water down scrub and squeegee down the drain.


    "Theoretical physics can prove that an elephant can hang from a cliff with its tail tied to a daisy. But use your eyes, your common sense".... JIM GARRISON

  8. #183
    Senior Member Peavey's Avatar
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    I know home buying is generally a huge undertaking, but any chance in changing out the carpet in those two rooms? I've only had carpeting in one room of the two houses I've owned. It went quickly. I just couldn't.

  9. #184
    Senior Member TheFavoriteDaughter's Avatar
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    Supposedly there's a ton of leftover tile but we can't find it. We want to put that in the rooms with carpet. It's really nice too. It's ceramic but looks like hard wood.

  10. #185
    Senior Member queenaevadamthng's Avatar
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    I only have it in bedrooms and I hate it . It is not going to be with us much longer. The people who built this house out in the SC country where the dirt is red and it stains everything out touches were insane. They put in cream fucking colored carpet. I finally bit the bullet and bought a carpet cleaner cuz I got tired of renting one.


    "Theoretical physics can prove that an elephant can hang from a cliff with its tail tied to a daisy. But use your eyes, your common sense".... JIM GARRISON

  11. #186
    Senior Member TheFavoriteDaughter's Avatar
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    We're painting the hall bath and our bedroom so I hope that helps. It has a very heavy cooking smell and I like my house to always smell sweet and fresh. I'm actually kinda obsessive about it. I have 6 air fresheners plugged in throughout the house so when the electric gets turned on on Monday, it will smell better. I also sprayed febreeze today and pulled down the curtains to wash.

  12. #187
    Senior Member queenaevadamthng's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by TheFavoriteDaughter View Post
    We're painting the hall bath and our bedroom so I hope that helps. It has a very heavy cooking smell and I like my house to always smell sweet and fresh. I'm actually kinda obsessive about it. I have 6 air fresheners plugged in throughout the house so when the electric gets turned on on Monday, it will smell better. I also sprayed febreeze today and pulled down the curtains to wash.
    It seems like they have paint out now that is treated with Arm and Hammer..Oh goody I found it!


    "Theoretical physics can prove that an elephant can hang from a cliff with its tail tied to a daisy. But use your eyes, your common sense".... JIM GARRISON

  13. #188
    Moderator nestlequikie's Avatar
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    Putting pans (I used the disposable pie pans from Dollar Tree) of charcoal (plain ones) briquettes out will help. I set them inside my cabinets in the kitchen when we moved to absorb the cooking smells. Little dishes of white vinegar absorb odors, too.

    Washing the curtains will help. Shampooing carpets (if you have to keep them down for a bit) will help a lot - it will be easier since the rooms are empty but use lots of water and only a tiny bit of detergent - the detergent acts like a dirt magnet later.

    Fresh paint helps more than anything - but be careful of fumes being preggers.
    Last edited by nestlequikie; 08-03-2013 at 06:02 PM.
    I hope that when the world comes to an end, I can breathe a sigh of relief, because there will be so much to look forward to. - Donnie Darko

  14. #189
    Senior Member TheFavoriteDaughter's Avatar
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    Yeah, my husband wants me to paint since he hates doing it. It's like he can't comprehend why I shouldn't be painting.

  15. #190
    Moderator nestlequikie's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by TheFavoriteDaughter View Post
    Yeah, my husband wants me to paint since he hates doing it. It's like he can't comprehend why I shouldn't be painting.
    I swear... men sometimes...
    I hope that when the world comes to an end, I can breathe a sigh of relief, because there will be so much to look forward to. - Donnie Darko

  16. #191
    Senior Member Morticia's Avatar
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    I've got some white poly/spandex tops and tanks that get dingy even with oxy and a clear detergent. Bleach definitely makes it even worse. Not sure how to get them snowy white again. Any ideas out there?
    I Feel More Like I Do Now Than When I Got Here

  17. #192
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    Another great way to get rid of stains on clothes is:

    In a Spray Bottle, Mix 2/3 cup Dawn Dishwashing Soap (Blue), 2/3 cup Ammonia, 6 Tablespoons of Baking Soda, and 2 cups of hot water.

    Shake lightly and spray onto stain. Wash as usual and the stain should be gone.

    I used to swear by Shout, but this mixture is AMAZING!!

  18. #193
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    Quote Originally Posted by Morticia View Post
    I've got some white poly/spandex tops and tanks that get dingy even with oxy and a clear detergent. Bleach definitely makes it even worse. Not sure how to get them snowy white again. Any ideas out there?
    Something that I have done in the past was: Boil a pot of water, Add fresh Lemon slices it (along with some Lemon juice), and let the Garment soak for a good hour or 2. After it has soaked, wash it as you normally would. I hope this helps even if it's a few months late :smile:

  19. #194
    Senior Member ShellJett's Avatar
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    I had my house closed up and vacant for five months, and I am finding mildew on coats, furniture, part of a carpet, and the smell permeating my kitchen cabinets. I already cleaned most of it with bleach, but I don't know anything about mildew and how it spreads. I'm concerned that there is much more that I just can't see. I may have to file an insurance claim and have professionals come in, but I'm already freaking out about the mess the contractors left after they replaced the windows. They have been here for the last two days, and they're driving me crazy.

    Does anybody have any knowledge of mildew, the cause, or how to get rid of ALL of it? I hurt my back moving a huge dresser and am done trying to clean it myself.

  20. #195
    Senior Member ShellJett's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Morticia View Post
    I've got some white poly/spandex tops and tanks that get dingy even with oxy and a clear detergent. Bleach definitely makes it even worse. Not sure how to get them snowy white again. Any ideas out there?
    I have the same types of tops that are dingy and have found nothing to make them white again. You're right about the bleach, it does make it worse. I ended up throwing most of them away. I think the bleach killed them.

  21. #196
    XoXo Miller22's Avatar
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    Alright pet owners, specifically cat owners, I need some advice, which is two fold.

    Firstly, we've had to add a second litter box downstairs to prevent jinx from peeing on the couches. But now our laundry room is starting to get the litter odor versus the nice fresh laundry scent it usually carries. I've tried the febreeze stick ons and it didn't work.

    Secondly, we're trying different litters out because clay litter is starting to (well, has been) causing me headaches and I can smell it on kitty when he comes up to cuddle (often my head/face) long after he's used the box. Right now we're trying the newspaper kind of litter and it seems to have zero odor control which only makes the laundry room odor issue more compounded.
    We also fear that the litter switch may not be successful as we've had 2 clear acts of protest presented to us already.

    Does anyone have any suggestions for cat smell reduction/elimination and/or kitty litter (the litter, not the cat smell) reduction?

  22. #197
    Senior Member bermstalker's Avatar
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    Cats sometimes don't like the strong scented litters. Usually if a cat is peeing anywhere other than the litter box it means- either it hates the litter or the location of the box, it hasn't been cleaned, or they have a UTI. (I would get the cat checked for UTI. They are notorious for getting those.)
    Another thing I found- cheap cat food can cause terrible smelling cat pee. B/c the cheap food is full of so many fillers, it really makes the cat's waste smell awful. Changing to the higher quality food really can make a big difference in some cat odors. My cat has been gone for over 2 years now....so I am really not up to date on what's the best cat food anymore. I do believe the brand I used to use was "Wellness CORE"

    I usually avoid any pet food that contains Corn, Soy, etc.

    Sprinkling regular old arm and hammer baking powder helps with smells.

    Carbon litter box liners work well for some people.

    When all else fails- Air purifiers. I bought a small one and kept it in the cat room. It worked great.

  23. #198
    XoXo Miller22's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by bermstalker View Post
    Cats sometimes don't like the strong scented litters. Usually if a cat is peeing anywhere other than the litter box it means- either it hates the litter or the location of the box, it hasn't been cleaned, or they have a UTI. (I would get the cat checked for UTI. They are notorious for getting those.)
    Another thing I found- cheap cat food can cause terrible smelling cat pee. B/c the cheap food is full of so many fillers, it really makes the cat's waste smell awful. Changing to the higher quality food really can make a big difference in some cat odors. My cat has been gone for over 2 years now....so I am really not up to date on what's the best cat food anymore. I do believe the brand I used to use was "Wellness CORE"

    I usually avoid any pet food that contains Corn, Soy, etc.

    Sprinkling regular old arm and hammer baking powder helps with smells.

    Carbon litter box liners work well for some people.

    When all else fails- Air purifiers. I bought a small one and kept it in the cat room. It worked great.
    We might just have to try different clay litters and see which one is best for my migraines and then see about adding in the arm and hammer. I'll look into the air purifiers too.
    And the food. We were feeding them Iams, we just decided to try Costco's brand.

    (jinx's peeing out of the litterbox was discussed in the pet thread. Long story short: she was put in a room by herself for like a month. No peeing outside of the box. I even put some of the dog's bedding in there. Nothin. Pretty sure it was that she felt "trapped" downstairs and there wasn't a box down here. Now there is and there's no more peeing on the couch. Also, she's MUCH more lovey and out and about now that she's out of the room. It did a world of good!)

  24. #199
    Moderator nestlequikie's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by ShellJett View Post
    I had my house closed up and vacant for five months, and I am finding mildew on coats, furniture, part of a carpet, and the smell permeating my kitchen cabinets. I already cleaned most of it with bleach, but I don't know anything about mildew and how it spreads. I'm concerned that there is much more that I just can't see. I may have to file an insurance claim and have professionals come in, but I'm already freaking out about the mess the contractors left after they replaced the windows. They have been here for the last two days, and they're driving me crazy.

    Does anybody have any knowledge of mildew, the cause, or how to get rid of ALL of it? I hurt my back moving a huge dresser and am done trying to clean it myself.
    Maybe your new windows aren't sealed properly?

    Mildew requires dampness to form. Keep your heat on for a bit. Put fans on in the areas that have dampness and/or rent a couple of dehumidifiers at a rental center (you can also rent carpet fans they look like a plastic whistle on it's back. LOL). Move all your furniture out from the walls so air can circulate everywhere. Buying an air purifier will help to keep you healthy during all of this. Tea tree oil is an anti-fungal and is much gentler to use than bleach. So is vinegar.

    Check the seals around your new windows with a candle. If you see the flame flickering, you should have the contractor back out and have them make it right!

    There are companies you can hire that do mold remediation. Your insurance may even cover it.

    Don't hesitate on getting this done - it can make you and your fur-kids SUPER sick.

    Let us know how it goes! I am glad to hear you are back home!!
    I hope that when the world comes to an end, I can breathe a sigh of relief, because there will be so much to look forward to. - Donnie Darko

  25. #200
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    The best house cleaning tip is to clean everyday.

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