Don't worry, the picture isn't of real poo...
You Will Need
- A roll of toilet paper.
- A basin of warm water with biological washing powder
- Paper towel
- Flour or skin powder
- An old sponge.
Method:
First of all remove solids with toilet paper and flush them down the toilet. Blot up all liquid residue and flush that down as well. Now get your basin (used especially for this kind of task) of warm water with the solution of biological washing powder, and a sponge you will discard. Wash down the spot thoroughly with this solution, then completely soak up liquid with a thick wad of paper towel.
Absorb the rest with plain cooking flour or odorless skin powder. Don't use bicarbonate of soda, as this will react badly with the smell. Vacuum, and when it is totally dry, if the area still smells, (it shouldn't) spray something like "Febreze" over the area to neutralize it.
6. Cleaning Emulsion Paint Off Garments
It is very important to act straight away with emulsion paint spills, as this is the key to getting it all off. Absorb as much of it as you can with paper towels then clean with cold, not hot water and washing powder. This is a very simple solution but by far the best way of dealing with emulsion paint. I suppose the same treatment can be used for carpet, but a lot of washing would have to be done to get rid of the spill completely.
Hand wash garment to make sure that all the paint is dissolved, then put it in the washing machine (if it's machine washable), to make sure that all the residue is completely gone.
If the spill is left to dry, this could be very difficult to get out, as paint sets once it's dry. If the garment could be soaked safely, this could be tried for old stains, but it will take several attempts of soaking and washing before the paint finally comes off altogether.
7. Getting Rid of Stale Cooking Odors in the Kitchen
It's annoying having stale smells in your kitchen, even after cleaning down every surface. Some smells, especially those of fish and frying onions, love to hang around to roost for a very long time. In order to get rid of these unpleasant smells, boil a liter of water with 200 ml of white vinegar for 10 minutes.
The particles, as it boils, will neutralize the odors by landing on the very surfaces which the bad smells landed on in the first place. The tell tale smell of grease, smoke and droplets of stale food, will be neutralized, and a good brisk cleaning will bring everything back as good as new.
8. Getting Rid of Cigarette Smoke
Sometimes it can be difficult to get cigarette smells off a particular garment. This is true especially for coats, woolen jackets and cardigans. Because not everyone can afford to dry clean, there is a cheaper yet effective way to go about this.
The Dry Way:
Sprinkle some bicarbonate of soda on the inside of a pillow case. Place affected garment into the case and leave overnight (if you're inclined, but if in a hurry you could always give it a gentle dry-spin in the washing machine). Shake well and hang out to air. A repeat treatment may be needed for garments severely affected.
The Wet Way:
The thing to do is to make sure that the garment is washed on it's own so that it does not contaminate the whole wash.
Check that the garment is washable, then soak it for about 5 minutes in a bucket of water with 100ml of bicarbonate of soda. After 5 minutes, rub it together gently, squeeze lightly and put in the washing machine, wash (separately) according to care tag, then air-dry naturally.
9. Cleaning Old Stickers Off Surfaces
Stickers can be very mucky and annoying to clean. Many times the price tag is so securely placed on new items, that after you buy them and bring them home, you can't get rid of that unsightly residue of sticker paste which is left after you've removed the price tag.
Pour a solution of half water and half white vinegar in a bowl and rub gently with a sponge until sticker disappears. Other useful things to get rid of stickers are WD40 and nail polish remover. As with all cleaners, check on an inconspicuous spot of the surface/furniture before you apply any mixture which is likely to affect their appearance.
10. Cleaning Up Pet and Human Urine
Those of us who have little children or pets (or both) know how easy it is to get urine on the carpet and other surfaces in the home, especially when potty training time comes around.
Some people have said to use vinegar to clean urine, but if this problem was caused by a pet, he/she will return to this very spot to pee again because the vinegar would not entirely get rid of the smell.
The cleaning process takes a very long time, so first thing to do is to arm yourself with the tools for the job.
You Will Need:
- Several towels (or clean disposable nappies if you have access to them).
- 3% strength hydrogen peroxide
- Biological washing powder
- Bicarbonate of soda.
Method:
Use towels (or nappies) to blot every bit of the urine out of the carpet. Blot until the towels come up completely dry. Now you've gotten rid of the actual urine, put towels in the washing machine.
Now to Work on the Stain
hydrogen peroxide is the best cleaner to get rid of the stain, but you strictly must never use it ever, if you think in the slightest that it will take the color out of your carpet. Hydrogen peroxide comes with a warning because of its bleaching properties.
Now, if you've tested an inconspicuous part of the carpet and are satisfied that it wouldn't be bleached, saturate the area with 3% strength peroxide and leave for 5 minutes. After this period, blot completely until dry. Before we get to the final section, let me say that if you think it's safer, just use a biological washing powder with warm water instead of the peroxide, this will work fine as long as you completely wash and blot up all of the pee. (You can use a vacuum instead of blotting if you wish, but you have to make sure that the surface is completely dry).
The last stage is to get rid of the smell completely. Simply sprinkle bicarbonate of soda on the spot that is now completely dry, and leave on for 3 hours. Vacuum and viola, pee, stain, and smell are completely gone. Don't forget to wash all those towels separately.
