Cleaning Your Home With Club Soda, Alcohol, Sandpaper and Other Items

If you are like me you have had things happen in your home that you thought might be the ruin of an item. It might be a family pet that wet a carpet or piece of furniture. Perhaps a family member has spilled something on a lovely carpet. Whatever the issue; we will have the cure.

Let’s say that Fido has wet your favorite couch. Simply mop up the excess with a paper towel or anything you wish to throw out, then sponge with clean, warm water and rub until it is dry. Repeat this process making sure to not saturate through the fabric. Then, make a solution of 3 tablespoons of white vinegar and a teaspoon of liquid detergent. Mix this and then drip it onto the stain, and leave for 15 minutes. Then rinse off with clean water and rub dry.

Carpet and rug treatments depend on both the fabrics used in the carpet, and the stains that have happened. If you are not sure what the carpet or rug in question is made of, simply look for the tag that is generally on the underside of the item. Cotton requires you to use a less strong detergent to clean them. You should also take care when drying them. They tend to wrinkle a great deal. Drip dry on a flat surface to avoid wrinkles and shrinkage if possible. If the stain happens on a colored fabric item, then make sure you add a pinch of salt to the cleaning solution to avoid the colors from running together. If the cotton item is white then wash in very hot soapy water. Mild chlorine bleach may be added as well if the stain is stubborn.

Now on to the stain type. Alright, we have a cotton fabric rug or carpet. We have identified if it is color or white. Now we will look at various stains that can occur. Let’s say we have spilled milk, tea or coffee on the rug or carpet. We have to drip a mild detergent solution or carbon tetrachloride onto the stain. After that, we sponge it off with warm water and dry well.

If you have accidental drawn ink on the rug or carpet then first sponge the stain with denatured alcohol. Drip the solvent on the stain and when the ink is dissolved, rub with a cloth and alcohol.

Let’s say that after rain one day or a snowy day your family member has walked into the house and dripped muddy water or slush on the carpet or rug. You want to take denatured alcohol and sponge the stain until the slushy mud fades. It is as simple as that.

Perhaps after a cold day you have used your fireplace and accidentally gotten soot on the rug or carpet. Just cover the stain with a thick layer of salt and carefully sweep it up. Never wet the soot. It will make matters far worse.

If you get chocolate on the carpet or rug simply remove the hardened chocolate with a blunt item. Then, take carbon tetrachloride and gently rub this on the remaining stain. Then, sponge the remaining stain with clean, warm water and a few drops of club soda.

Fruit juice stain got you blue? Cover the stain with dry starch and leave on for one hour. After that brush off and gently wipe the former stain with a mild detergent. Be careful not to soak the item. Just a bit will do.

Mildew happened after a water spill that was unknown? Take hot soapy water and scrub carefully on the stain. Take care not to soak the item. Then repeat this with cold water and no detergent. If it is really having problem coming out the you can add a bit of chlorine bleach to a white item in the first step.

This tip is my best yet. Let’s say that you find this gorgeous antique rug while looking through an antique shop one day. But it has a cigarette burn on it. Ruined you think? No it is very salvageable. Here is what you do. Take fine sandpaper and rub the charred fibers until they are no longer apparent. Then create a solution of mild detergent and rub it gently to completely cover the area. Then, let it sit for about 5 minutes. After that, sponge it off with a solution of 2 tablespoons of borax and 2 cups of water. Repeat until it is clean. Dry well in a vented area.

My final tip for today is the romantic evening that spills some wine on your carpet or rug. First, soak up the excess as soon as possible and sprinkle the stain with an absorbent powder. Salt, powdered borax or talcum powder may be used for this purpose. When the powder becomes sticky, carefully remove and add more powder. Repeat this until the stain is gone. Apply a final layer of more powder and let it set for two hours. then after, brush it off. Remove the remaining stain with a mild detergent and rinse with clean water. Gently rub dry and air it out a bit.

That’s it for this issue of miracle tips you have in your home to clean those nasty stains that inevitable will occur.