Weigh-in Wednesday: Cleaning Hard Floors

After moving into a home with primarily hard wood floors for the first time, I truly miss carpet! Sure, wood floors are attractive, but when you have an 80 pound yellow lab that sheds, they are a nightmare! Vacuuming carpeted floors is SO much easier than sweeping and mopping hard floors.

My only experience with a traditional mop was in the Navy. As an Operations Specialist, whose job is pretty unessential when the ship is in port, I swabbed the deck quite a bit. I found the mops to be absolutely disgusting and vowed to never use one again.

I put my swabbing days behind me and bought a Swiffer Wet Jet. Let me first say, I obviously always sweep before I mop. I used the Swiffer in my home in Great Lakes, where I had laminent flooring in the kitchen and bathrooms and tile in the basement. It did ok. It always seemed to leave a bit of a film behind and wasn't great at getting dried up little messes off the floor, but I never felt like trying anything new. If something stuck I would just resort to a brillo pad.

Now, in the new house with the wood floors, I just couldn't stand the film left behind by the swiffer. I decided to try a steam mop. I'm pleased with it. The steam sanitizes and certainly breaks up dried messes better than the swiffer. I have the SteamFast Floor Steam Mop, which I think is very reasonably priced, and as I said, I am happy with it.

What do you use to clean your hard flooring? Why do you like it? Did you try anything in the past that didn't meet your expectations?

Tuesday Tip: Wax Removal from Carpet

Yes, it’s happened to me, I fell asleep with the candle burning and wax ended up all in the carpet. No fun!

I went online and read all the different methods and decided to try the “paper bag” method, or it started out that way.

All the different methods agreed that the first step to wax removal is to scrape the wax to remove any loose wax. I used a butter knife but hindsight being what it is, I think a stoneware scraper would work much better. Don’t scrape too hard, you don’t want to rip carpet fibers out.

For the next step you’ll need a dry iron, a paper bag or an old towel you don’t mind ruining. The directions I was attempting to follow suggested laying the paper bag on the wax, using a low heat on the iron, and then ironing the paper bag to bring the wax up. This did work. It just seemed to take forever, I even tried turning up the heat a little. I finally decided to use an old hand towel. I was able to keep it at the warmer temperature and it came up very quickly. Plus, as silly as it sounds, it felt more natural ironing a hand towel instead of a paper bag. It’s important you don’t use too high of heat on your iron or you could burn your carpet.

The upside to spilling wax on your carpet, even after you’ve removed it, your room smells good every time you vacuum.

Tuesday Tip: Hydrogen Peroxide

I know many people that clean with chlorine bleach. I, however, have never been one of those people. I’ve always found bleach to be far too intimidating. It’s ruined some of my favorite shirts, has a pungent smell, and is rather toxic. A wonderful green alternative is hydrogen peroxide. Hydrogen peroxide is simply water with an extra oxygen molecule (H2O2). It is produced naturally in both animal and plant cells and occurs in the environment as a product of sunlight acting on water. Did you know that H2O2 is typically the active ingredient in many “oxygen” cleaners?

When you purchase hydrogen peroxide at the super market or drug store it is commonly diluted down to a 3% solution, which is the safest way to purchase it. Here are some H2O2 tips and uses which I found on greenlivingtips.com and helium.com:

- Keep H2O2 out of direct sunlight and in a cool place, as exposure to the sun and heat will quickly break it down into oxygen and water; rendering it ineffective. Store it in a dark bottle and remember to keep it out of reach of children.

- Dip your toothbrush in a 3% solution of hydrogen peroxide solution to help kill bacteria on the brush after brushing.

- Mouthwash: A tablespoon of 3% hydrogen peroxide solution in a cup of water can be used as a mouthwash - swish for up to 60 seconds once a day; but don't swallow and be sure to rinse your mouth out afterwards. This can also help whiten teeth.

- Hydrogen peroxide can also be used as a gargle to help relieve a sore throat or to help prevent the onset of certain illnesses such as colds and the flu. By killing some of the cold and flu germs present in the throat, you decrease the likelihood of getting sick.

- To help kill bacteria such as E. Coli on fruits and vegetables, add a quarter cup of 3% hydrogen peroxide to a sink full of cold water. immerse, rinse with cold water and drain. By killing bacteria this will also help keep fruit and vegetables fresher for longer. You can also use a spraybottle containing a 50/50 mix of 3% hydrogen peroxide and water - just spray and rinse.

- Household disinfectant: Hydrogen peroxide can be used to disinfect almost any household surface, including cutting boards, countertops, toilets, and floors. Simply wet the surface to be cleaned with hydrogen peroxide, then leave it sit for a few minutes. If germs are present, you will see fizzing and foaming as the peroxide does its job. After a few minutes, rinse and repeat if desired.

- Half fill a spray bottle with a 3% solution and then top it up with water for use as a bathroom and toilet disinfectant and cleaner. This is especially useful if you have a septic, greywater or blackwater treatment system as it won't harm the bacteria in the treatment areas - the hydrogen peroxide would have diluted to a point that renders it harmless by that stage through the interaction with flush water.

- Mix a 3% hydrogen peroxide solution with two parts water in a spray bottle and use on areas affected by mold. You can try a neat 3% solution for areas like bathroom tiling, but be careful on the strength in relation to painted items as it may bleach them.

- Make a whitening toothpaste by mixing baking soda and enough 3% Hydrogen Peroxide to form a paste

- Use 3% hydrogen peroxide to sterilize cuts and abrasions - the fizzing you'll see occur is normal.

- Add a cup of 3% hydrogen peroxide to your whites wash in place of bleaches

- Remove bloodstains from clothing by blotting stain with 3% hydrogen peroxide, then rinse promptly with cold water to avoid bleaching of the fabric.

- To remove yellowing from lace curtains or tablecloths, fill a sink with cold water and a 2 cups of 3% hydrogen peroxide. Soak for at least an hour, rinse in cold water and air dry

- Acne: After cleansing, use a cotton ball to apply 3% hydrogen peroxide to the skin. Apply to the entire face to help heal existing acne, and to freshen and kill the germs that can cause new acne breakouts.

- Windows & Mirrors: Hydrogen peroxide leaves a streak-free shine on glass surfaces in your home. Simply use a spray bottle to wet the surface with 3% hydrogen peroxide, and wipe with a clean, lint-free cloth. This can also help disinfect, which is important in homes with little ones who like to put their mouths on the glass.

Tuesday Tip: Sun Bleaching

Another great stain removal tip.

I cloth diaper my one year-old and as you can imagine her diapers can stain fairly easily. I had heard many a cloth diapering Mamas rave about sun bleaching but it took me forever to try it. Now that I have, I am (or would be if the sun and warmth were present) an avid follower.

It’s simple and you can do it with just about anything with a stain. Wash your garment as you normally would but instead of putting it in the dryer, place it outside in the direct sun light to dry. Inside, in direct light doesn't work very well. I like to leave it out most of the day, I’m not sure how long is actually required. The garments will be stiff but nothing a little air fluff in the dryer won’t soften up.

This also worked on food and other "natural" stains on my daughter’s clothes.

I've had one Mama tell me if it gets rained on then sun dried it works even better but I have yet to try it.