Natural Cleaning Products

Earth and Family-Safe Natural Cleaning Product Information

How To Quickly Find the Best Carpet Cleaning Companies

Filed under: Uncategorized — Administrator at 8:22 pm on Thursday, September 17, 2009

 

The idea of cleaning your own carpet can be fun but a lot of tedious work needs to be done. That’s why, it’s highly recommended that you should have your own carpet cleaning machine, that is, if you have the money to buy one. Well, another option is to rent one but it can also be expensive. Now what is the ultimate solution to this mess? Well, for one thing, you can call up a carpet cleaning company.

On the other hand, there are lots of individuals who will try to really give their carpets a good cleaning job. So, what do they do? To save time and to avoid getting all too wet and tedious, they would go for dry cleaning their carpets and even some carpet cleaning companies will recommend this especially if a home owner would try to do this on his own. Dry cleaning is more of a chemical cleaning than anything, and it is not really dry, some water is used to inject the chemicals into your carpet. The amount of water used is in reality very tiny and it is very fast in drying. But there are other dry cleaning methods other than using chemicals that are in liquid form. There are some who used powder chemicals. Once the moist chemical is placed into your carpet it is then brushed into the fibers and nap of the carpet, it mixes with the dirt and other debris in the fibers and nap and then it is allowed to stay for a few minutes. Next, the chemicals fall into place and trap all the dust and debris in small grains and that’s the time the carpet is then cleaned by utilizing a vacuum cleaner and the dust is then removed in this manner. However, should you really want the services of a carpet cleaner company, you can try to go online and find a directory listing of carpet cleaners and for sure, you will find one near or within your area…or within your budget, that is.

Natural Home Cleaning Recipes – Natural Cleaning Tips Around The Home

Filed under: Uncategorized — Administrator at 2:25 pm on Sunday, September 13, 2009

House Cleaning Tips & Advice : Refrigerator Cleaning Tips

Cleaning house is something that needs to be done and needs to be done often. I mean who wants to leave in a messy house? Well, I know some that you might guess love living in a pig sty but really it all comes down to laziness.

Label your homemade cleansers and fresheners properly, the way you would your regular chemicals. Store them beyond the reach of children and pets. Even non-toxic substances can cause sickness when ingested in large quantities.

Make your own air freshener by putting drops of your favorite scent in a pot full of water. Let the mixture boil on the stove for several hours without putting the lid on. The scent of citrus rind will invigorate the members of your household as it wafts across the rooms in your house. Try other essential oils beside citrus.

Freshen up your bathroom by placing a few drops of essential oil on the cardboard that holds the toilet paper in bathroom. Smell the oil’s fragrance as it is released with each pull on the paper.

Use your old chemical cleansers without leaving a harsh smell by making a rinse. Mix your favorite essential oil with plain water. Pine, lemon, wintergreen, eucalyptus, lavender and other scents make good fresheners. Use a ratio of four drops of oil to a pint of water. For your final rinse, squirt your mixture from a spray bottle. Keep it in a dark place if your bottle is clear.

The first thing you should do when you decide it’s time to clean house is to throw away all the trash. Pick a room to start in (I usually start in the dirtiest room) , grab a trash bag and start throwing away all the trash including things you are not going to use anymore. I know it’s hard to part with some things, but the general rule of thumb is, if you haven’t used it for a year, you need to get rid of it!.

Procedure: Mix these ingredients in a bowl, breaking apart clumps as you stir thoroughly. Sprinkle your freshener from a shaker bottle on carpets approximately 15 minutes before vacuuming. You can create your own set of oils to mix in place of the ones listed above.

Use the following mixture for cleaning floors:

  • 15 drops orange essential oil
  • 8 drops lemon essential oil
  • 1 gallon hot water
  • 2 tbsp liquid soap

This concoction is effective on tough cleaning jobs and is fresh-smelling besides.

A towel with a smidgen of essential oil is as good as the dryer sheet you purchase from the supermarket. Use this towel as you normally would a regular dryer sheet, adding it in the dryer together with newly washed clothes.

Resource Author Francisco Rodriguez H.
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Organic Pest Control Is All Natural

Filed under: Uncategorized — Administrator at 8:39 am on Saturday, September 5, 2009

Chemical pest control, once thought to be the most effective means of controlling crop pests, has fallen from grace in both the eyes of consumers and the eyes of many farmers. Organic pest control is proving to be a highly effective way of preserving crops without damaging the environment or the consumers’ health. New scientific advances in organic pest control have made it a very attractive alternative to pesticides which can kill not only pests, but wildlife, and can contaminate water supplies making them unsafe.

Implementing Organic Pest Control

Since organic pest control is instituted at the time crops are planted, there is less risk of plants becoming infested while they are growing. The absence of artificial chemicals makes the produce safer and improves flavor. Companion planting, the planting of two different types of plants together, is one method of utilizing organic pest control. The companion plant can either act as a repellant for insect pests, or may be more attractive to the pests so they leave the crop plant alone.

Other benefits to using organic pest control methods are that the produce will turn out stronger and will be more resistant to pests as well as diseases. Though chemicals can effectively also destroy pests; doing so, they expose the produce and consumers to many dangers. On the other hand, organic pest control ensures using eco-friendly means as well as safeguarding the welfare of the general consumer.

Eliminating areas where pests breed is an effective method of organic pest control. Removal of animal waste and stagnant water stops pests from breeding. Proper disposal of organic and non organic waste is also important. A bottle or can containing stagnant water can provide a breeding area for pests. Organic waste provides both a food source and a breeding ground.

There are also a number of simple though effective organic pest control methods that anyone can adopt in order to combat the menace from pests. For example, using ladybugs to eat up aphids will ensure that your garden is not destroyed by pests and breeding praying mantises will ensure that pests will be eaten up. Of course, you should grow plants that attract these insects in order to ensure that pests are kept at bay.

Before the advent of chemical based pesticides, most farmers and gardeners were in any case using organic pest control to keep their plants and produce free from the dangers of pest infestation. Even today, and despite what modern technology is throwing at us, it is still possible to continue doing organic garden pest control without resorting to use of chemical based products which is important for house pest control as well.

As mentioned, ladybugs will eat aphids while the praying mantis will kill of other insects. Using such natural, organic and non-toxic methods can prove to be more beneficial than when using chemical based pesticides.

 

Homemade Lye

Filed under: Uncategorized — Administrator at 8:48 am on Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Lye, fat and water are the three basic ingredients that combine to make soap. Lye dissolves protein and oily deposits, lending itself to cleaning applications in the home as well as being one of the main ingredients in making soap. Many commercial oven cleaning applications use lye. It can be used as a paint stripper, but on wood it will raise the grain. Lye dissolves protein and oil — meaning it can degrade soap and hair — making it useful as a drain cleaner.

Wood ash lye has a different chemical makeup than commercially produced lye. The chemical name for lye made with wood ash is called potassium hydroxide. The commercially available lye crystals are sodium hydroxide. These two different chemicals cannot be substituted in equal measure. Read recipes carefully to see which type of lye is used or you could be disappointed with your results.

Homemade lye is best made using ash from hardwoods like maple and oak or by using fruit trees such as apple. Evergreens and pine trees are not suitable woods for ash for this purpose. The wood must be burned at high temperatures with lots of oxygen so that the wood is completely consumed leaving white, paper thin ash, not chunks of charcoal.

You will need enough ashes to fill a lye-safe, waterproof container (non-metal) to within three to four inches of the top rim. Ash containers may be large (wooden barrels) or small (5 gallon buckets).

Get 2 containers that are not metal. The first vessel will contain the ash while the second will catch the lye water. Near the bottom of your ash bucket, fashion a small hole. To stop the hole Use a non metal object such as a cork, wooden tooth pick, or a small dowel.

In the bottom of the ash container, place a layer of clean river gravel. Grass, hay or straw should then be added and packed 4 inches thick. Pressing down firmly, fill the rest of the bucket with your wood ashes. Be sure to stop 3 or four inches below the top.

At least five gallons of soft water will be needed, possibly more. Having only trace amounts of minerals classifies water as soft. This water can be acquired by use of a specialized filter, or from peat or, sandstone or lava rock sources like granite. You could also use distilled water. Rainwater is a natural source of soft water.

Be cognizant that the location of your container should be well away from animals or children that could upend it. The drainage can be caught in a glass jar, wooden bucket, or an enamel coated pan. Don’t use metal or the lye could burn a hole in it. Find a position for this catch container that is close enough to the ash bucket to prevent unnecessary splashing during drainage.

Lye may cause blindness. Ingestion of lye can be deadly. Potassium hydroxide (lye) is caustic and can burn anything that it touches, reacting especially to fats and oil on skin. The chemical action of lye with fats and oils creates salts which can result in severe burns, permanent injury and scars. Note that lye burns may not hurt right away because the burn may be so severe as to have damaged the nerves (pain receptors) in the skin.

Safety precautions should be undertaken before beginning. Check to be sure the space where you are working is well ventilated. The telephone numbers for poison control and emergency medical services should be at your fingertips. Wear protective clothing. Rubber cleaning gloves and protective eyewear are a must along with covering for your arms and legs. Keep vinegar nearby in order to neutralize any skin burns. Do NOT wash with water following contact with this substance as this will merely exacerbate the corrosive affect.

Use a broom handle or dowel to create an indentation in the packed ashes. Boil one of the gallons of your soft water. Carefully use the full gallon of boiling water to wet the ash. The ash and water will spit, spew and bubble. Wait until this simmers down before adding another gallon of soft water. The ashes may settle to a lower level. Add more ash to the container to keep it filled. Repeat this process until the ashes in the container are covered with water. Close the lid on the container.

Clear the opening at the base of the container so that the liquid can drain into your second vessel. Draining the ash bucket could take as much as 24 hours.

Take the runoff from your ash bucket and pour it through again on day two and day three. Recycling the water through the ashes increases the strength of your lye.

A variation of this method is to leave the bucket sitting without draining it. Cover the container and allow the water to sit for about 3 days. Make sure it is in an area where it can’t get spilled. After this time you should drain the bucket.

The drained liquid is lye water also known as potassium hydroxide. A fresh intact egg placed into your lye can test its strength. If your lye solution is the right potency, the egg will float exposing a nickel or quarter sized portion of its shell above the surface. This equals an area of 2 to 2 1/2 centimeters in diameter. An egg that sinks means that the lye solution is too weak and won’t work in soap recipes. Dilute your lye solution with more rainwater should the egg bob on top of the surfaceindicating that your solution is too strong. Be sure to dispose of the egg after use.

Heating weak lye water will strengthen your solution by reducing the water content. Enamel finished pans are safe for this as long as they are never again utilized in cooking foods. Be careful when heating lye as it can be scorched. The solution is strong enough when a chicken feather touched to the heating lye starts to dissolve. Set the pan of lye water aside to cool.

Store lye water in jars with plenty of head room to allow for safety in pouring. Close jars firmly and store them in an unlit, cool area where curious children haven’t any access.

Dispose of the old leached ashes in a hole dug away from high traffic areas. The ashes should be completely cooled before you cover the hole.

To make potash crystals, place the lye water in a safe container. You’ll find that glass is a good choice for this project. Left in the sun, uncovered, the water will evaporate and crystals will form. Follow the same storage precautions with potash crystals as you would the lye water.

This and other skills are discussed in the new book, The Vision by Debi Pearl, the compelling new novel from international best-selling author who also co-wrote To Train Up A Child and the Good and Evil comic.