A Pledge Involving Homemade Cleaners

Pledge, the best definition that will fit what I am about to commit to do,(according to Webster): a binding promise or agreement to do...

I am committing to not cleaning with ammonia again!

The main reason for this is, I have a male cat, and I had to deal with him spraying (near an area I cleaned with ammonia, and water), and I would rather give up cleaning with ammonia in the hopes of deterring the cat from spraying.

Ammonia is safe to clean with, but when breathing it in it can cause one to coughm nose to get sore, and lungs to feel sore. This is another reason for giving up ammonia based cleaner. I at first diluted my ammonia based products, but now feel the need to give them up (yes they still clean as well diluted=saving money).

Ammonia is good for sanitizing, and giving one notion that something is clean through the smell of ammonia in the air.

So now that I pledge to give ammonia up, what is to replace it?

Well....Vinegar!

Vinegar sanitizes just as well as ammonia, and cleans just as well too! The smell also is not harsh on the lungs, and once the vinegar dries, one's house does not smell like "pickles" anymore.

So that is my Go Green task of the month!

Homemade Capret Cleaner

I came across a website on how to remove pet stains from your carpet....well they were doing it all by hand, and that I did not want to do, because I did not know where the exactness of the stain/smell was, and did not want to buy a black light like they recommended to find it. So what I did was cleaned with the shampooer, and modified the recipe.

If one is having issues with pet accidents/odors...NEVER CLEAN WITH AMMONIA, especially if you have a cat. The smell of the ammonia=the smell of animal's urine. With that being stated....one should use a 50/50 solution of white vinegar and water. The vinegar neutralizes the scent, to prevent future accidents (and I am hoping so if we decide to keep the cause of the odor that once was). I personally stuck this in the shampooer, and neutralized my whole front room....phew it smelled like pickles (but when vinegar drys, it does not smell). Then I dried with with the heating feature on the shampooer. Next I shampooed the carpet with the homemade cleaner that anyone can use.

I mixed Tide Stain Release (you can buy it in a plastic container with just the powder...I mixed with hot water till disolved), Baking Soda, and one of my essential oils. Now the house smells better, and I am relaxed from the essential oil.

Some variations to the carpet cleaner could be:

-Use liquid detergent
-Use powder detergent mixed with hot water
-A little dishwashing soap
-Shampoo (like Sauve)
-Oxy itself, or another brand

Essential Oils are limitless, just find one you like. I personally used lavender.

And if one does not have a shampooer, find someone to borrow from....The one I use is Brian's sisters....Thank you Liz it has been a life saver!