Showing posts with label cleaning. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cleaning. Show all posts
Thursday, January 23, 2014
A Bipolar Mom and Her Daily Life! : DIY: Carpet Cleaner Powder
A Bipolar Mom and Her Daily Life! : DIY: Carpet Cleaner Powder: So have you guys made your own laundry soap? Well I am a big fan of that but one problem is always have borax left over and when not sealed ...
Wednesday, January 22, 2014
DIY: Carpet Cleaner Powder
So have you guys made your own laundry soap? Well I am a big fan of that but one problem is always have borax left over and when not sealed properly it hardens. So I started researching what can you do with borax besides what else is on the box? Well I found a great recipe for DIY Carpet cleaner powder and I tested it out myself and I am sold! I am horrible about doing before and after pictures. Here is my recipe and it will call for some unlikely items but trust me and keep reading!
DIY CARPET CLEANING POWDER
Borax (I use what is left from making my own laundry soap)
2 Boxes of Baking Soda (standard size)
Cornmeal (optional but strongly suggested)
Cinnamon (optional)
Container with lid large enough for mixture
Scoop/Measuring Cup
Before I begin this recipe as I stated calls for unlikely items but please bare with me and I will explain. This recipe is easy-peasy. All you do is mix your Borax Powder and Baking Soda Powder in the container and make sure the mixture is well mixed. Now you can stop there and use this on your carpets by sprinkling it on there, letting it sit, then vacuum. You should have plenty of mixture for multiple cleanings.
However, the recipe I use calls for cornmeal. Now why cornmeal? I asked the same questions and was very skeptical of its purpose on my carpets. So here is my best way to explain why there is cornmeal used in the DIY Carpet Cleaning Powder. If you put a little bit in your hands you can feel how rough/abrasive it is. Well when it is put in the cleaning powder mixture it requires your vacuum to work at getting up and I guess what you would call fluffing the nap of the carpet. It also causes us to go slower when we are vacuuming and making sure we get all the powder mixture up (which I am guilty of). If you do not believe me try it out yourself in a small area. If you decide to use cornmeal in your recipe the question is often how much do you use? Well that is just really personal taste really. I add just enough to really tell/feel the abrasiveness of the powder.
The Cinnamon is just simple I just sprinkled it in there for smell. There are all sorts of fragrances you can add to the mixture but once again that is for personal taste.
How long to leave the carpet cleaning powder on? one of the reasons I used this powder was to drastically freshen my home. One of my dogs was sick and had a very much "sick dog smell" . It was horrible and no matter what I did I could still smell it. Well we were going to visit family and I decided to sprinkle this on the carpet and leave it until we got back. So it stayed on my carpet for a week. It really worked and my carpets looked great and my house smelled back to normal. Well I know a week is not an ideal time. So I have tested out a couple of times. If your entire house leaves for the day you can sprinkle the powder on the carpet and then vacuum when you return. I did find it when I was cleaning you can leave it on your carpets for about 30 minutes and get the desired results.
HAPPY CLEANING!
WARNING: I AM ONE PERSON AND HAVE ONLY TESTED THIS OUT ON MY CARPETS. I HAVE GIVEN THIS RECIPE TO OTHERS BUT HAVE EXPLAINED THEY SHOULD TEST THIS RECIPE OUT ON THEIR OWN CARPETS BEFORE USING!
The Cinnamon is just simple I just sprinkled it in there for smell. There are all sorts of fragrances you can add to the mixture but once again that is for personal taste.
How long to leave the carpet cleaning powder on? one of the reasons I used this powder was to drastically freshen my home. One of my dogs was sick and had a very much "sick dog smell" . It was horrible and no matter what I did I could still smell it. Well we were going to visit family and I decided to sprinkle this on the carpet and leave it until we got back. So it stayed on my carpet for a week. It really worked and my carpets looked great and my house smelled back to normal. Well I know a week is not an ideal time. So I have tested out a couple of times. If your entire house leaves for the day you can sprinkle the powder on the carpet and then vacuum when you return. I did find it when I was cleaning you can leave it on your carpets for about 30 minutes and get the desired results.
HAPPY CLEANING!
WARNING: I AM ONE PERSON AND HAVE ONLY TESTED THIS OUT ON MY CARPETS. I HAVE GIVEN THIS RECIPE TO OTHERS BUT HAVE EXPLAINED THEY SHOULD TEST THIS RECIPE OUT ON THEIR OWN CARPETS BEFORE USING!
Sunday, April 14, 2013
A Bipolar Mom and Daily Life! : DIY Laundry Soap
A Bipolar Mom and Daily Life! : DIY Laundry Soap: Now I thought I was never going to be a person making my own laundry soap just to save a few bucks over the year. However, this is a product...
DIY Laundry Soap
Now I thought I was never going to be a person making my own laundry soap just to save a few bucks over the year. However, this is a product that I stand by and it will last you forever!
There are numerous recipes that you can find online on how to make laundry soap and the basically consist of the same components- Borax, Washing Powder, and a bar laundry soap. I know of a ton of people that make it so it really not a new idea but I will put in my tips that I used to make my laundry soap.
Here is what you will need to make your own laundry soap (the powder version)
1-cup of Borax (One of the most popular brands is 20 Mule Team)
1- cup of Washing Powder (I bought Arm & Hammer)
2-cups of a bar laundry soap (I use Zote and Fels Naptha Soap)
You can find this all in the laundry section at Walmart and I am sure other supermarkets (if not you can buy it online).
If this is your first time making laundry soap here is what you will also need
A container with a lid (I found mine at Walmart it holds 3-4 batches of powder laundry soap)
A cutting board and knife (you can buy it new but I just used an old set that will be used for this purpose- I do this instead of grate the soap!)
A Blender or Grater- (I used the blender over the grater and the powder comes out super fine instead of chunky)
Measuring cups
Large Bowl
1 Tablespoon (this can be an old one or new- it is for the finished product)
The first thing I do is chop the bar laundry soap into little cubes. The soap is soft and easy to cut!
*Now I have done Zote (I have seen it in white bars and pink bars it does not matter which one) by itself and Fels Naptha Soap (it is a yellow type soap bar) by itself (you can use one or the other) but I used a combination of both. I just think it personally works better but I also have hard water! However, experiment with what you like (I mean that is the reason there are so many laundry soaps out now)! I have come across some soap recipes that use Ivory, Sunlight, and Kirk’s Hardwater Castile. The key here is not to use heavily perfumed soaps. You house will smell great while making it!
The second thing I did was pour a small amount of the powder into a blender first (the borax and washing powder)
*The reason I put the powder in first is it helps break up the bar soap. I do small amounts at a time to make sure I really get it mixed up. I also will put the mixed up product in a large bowl so that I can re-mix it a final time. However, experiment with your method! I just do what is easier for me!
The third thing I did was put in a good handful of the chopped up bar soap in the blender and then blend
*The blender for me got the powder chopped up fine vs. hand grating it and for it me it saved time!
The 4th thing I did was put in the container I bought with the 1 Tablespoon (it is 1-2 Tablespoons of the laundry powder per load).
* I bought a plastic type container at Walmart. I found it where they sell the canisters for the kitchen. The container I bought is large enough to hold 3 to 4 batches of the laundry powder (which is normally what I make at one time).
I strongly suggest that you experiment with the recipe and use what you like as well as the method you prefer to make it! You can also make into a liquid/gel form if you like. I have tried both and I love the powder version. Let me know how you did and what tips you have to share!
Here are a couple of websites that have laundry soap recipes!
http://tipnut.com/10-homemade-laundry-soap-detergent-recipes/
http://www.ehow.com/way_5477229_homemade-laundry-detergents.html
There are numerous recipes that you can find online on how to make laundry soap and the basically consist of the same components- Borax, Washing Powder, and a bar laundry soap. I know of a ton of people that make it so it really not a new idea but I will put in my tips that I used to make my laundry soap.
Here is what you will need to make your own laundry soap (the powder version)
1-cup of Borax (One of the most popular brands is 20 Mule Team)
1- cup of Washing Powder (I bought Arm & Hammer)
2-cups of a bar laundry soap (I use Zote and Fels Naptha Soap)
You can find this all in the laundry section at Walmart and I am sure other supermarkets (if not you can buy it online).
If this is your first time making laundry soap here is what you will also need
A container with a lid (I found mine at Walmart it holds 3-4 batches of powder laundry soap)
A cutting board and knife (you can buy it new but I just used an old set that will be used for this purpose- I do this instead of grate the soap!)
A Blender or Grater- (I used the blender over the grater and the powder comes out super fine instead of chunky)
Measuring cups
Large Bowl
1 Tablespoon (this can be an old one or new- it is for the finished product)
The first thing I do is chop the bar laundry soap into little cubes. The soap is soft and easy to cut!
*Now I have done Zote (I have seen it in white bars and pink bars it does not matter which one) by itself and Fels Naptha Soap (it is a yellow type soap bar) by itself (you can use one or the other) but I used a combination of both. I just think it personally works better but I also have hard water! However, experiment with what you like (I mean that is the reason there are so many laundry soaps out now)! I have come across some soap recipes that use Ivory, Sunlight, and Kirk’s Hardwater Castile. The key here is not to use heavily perfumed soaps. You house will smell great while making it!
The second thing I did was pour a small amount of the powder into a blender first (the borax and washing powder)
*The reason I put the powder in first is it helps break up the bar soap. I do small amounts at a time to make sure I really get it mixed up. I also will put the mixed up product in a large bowl so that I can re-mix it a final time. However, experiment with your method! I just do what is easier for me!
The third thing I did was put in a good handful of the chopped up bar soap in the blender and then blend
*The blender for me got the powder chopped up fine vs. hand grating it and for it me it saved time!
The 4th thing I did was put in the container I bought with the 1 Tablespoon (it is 1-2 Tablespoons of the laundry powder per load).
* I bought a plastic type container at Walmart. I found it where they sell the canisters for the kitchen. The container I bought is large enough to hold 3 to 4 batches of the laundry powder (which is normally what I make at one time).
I strongly suggest that you experiment with the recipe and use what you like as well as the method you prefer to make it! You can also make into a liquid/gel form if you like. I have tried both and I love the powder version. Let me know how you did and what tips you have to share!
Here are a couple of websites that have laundry soap recipes!
http://tipnut.com/10-homemade-laundry-soap-detergent-recipes/
http://www.ehow.com/way_5477229_homemade-laundry-detergents.html
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