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Safe Cleaning Tips for Your Home | Environmental Working Group
Published November 9, 2009 CleaningTips Leave a Comment
Baking Soda ~ Natural Cleanser
Safe Cleaning Tips for Your Home | Environmental Working Group
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Our homes aren’t safe and clean if the air inside is polluted with chemicals from household cleaners. Follow these simple tips to protect your family’s health while you clean your home.
- Less is More
Dilute your cleaning supplies according to instructions and use only what’s needed to get the job done. - Open the Window
Clean with windows and doors open so you don’t trap air pollution inside your home. - Use Gloves and Other Precautions
Cleaning chemicals may harm or penetrate skin and eyes – check warning labels. - Keep Kids Away
Children are more vulnerable to toxic chemicals. If they like to help, let them clean with soap and water, not toxic cleaners. - Avoid “Antibacterial”
If your family is generally healthy, there’s no need to use potentially toxic “antibacterial” products, according to the American Medical Association. Wash your hands with plain soap and water. - Never Mix Bleach with Ammonia, Vinegar, or Other Acids
These combinations can produce deadly gases.
Read the rest of this article at: http://www.ewg.org/schoolcleaningsupplies/safecleaningtips

Customize the scent of your closets, drawers, and even your car. Quite the inventive alternative to those little green trees hanging from rear-view mirrors.

#1 Black lights can be used to find urine spots. Room must be as dark as possible or at night with all lights off. Some colors, such as brown, will not show the spots as well. Also, different brands of black lights may need to be tested.
#2 Ingredients: Vinegar, Baking Soda and Hydrogen Peroxide, Water
#3 Mix an even amount of those ingredients into a bowl.
#4 Stir all of the ingredients and pour the solution onto the area or put the solution into a spray bottle. (Always test on an inconspicuous area of carpet or flooring)
Urine can soak into carpet pads. Some articles suggest injecting with a syringe to reach beneath carpeting. Carpet or flooring may need to be replaced if mold has begun to grow or you cannot eliminate odors.
Pet stores also sell pre-made neutralizers.
Articles about pet stains:
Sell it. Give it away. Let it go.
Published August 14, 2009 Cleaning Psychology , CleaningTips Leave a Comment
Solution to Chaos
Everything is everywhere? Can’t find it (it’s here somewhere) so you buy a new one? This is more common than you’d think. Save time, money and frustration by being organized. Psychologically, it may be a daunting task to tackle a chaotic closet or room. Do as motivational speaker, Tony Robbins, suggests: make it fun or make it easy.
Basically, you will need boxes and labels. Avoid writing directly on a box as you may wish to use a particular box for different items in the future. Labels are best.
Put on some great music and start sorting. Be honest with yourself if you have actually used something in the last year or two. If not, give it away or sell it. Someone else has a use for it.
If you do not have enough time to complete the room or closet, shut the door, put a lid on each box and come back another time. You will have no piles ~ just boxes ~ so there is no chaos to get in your way until then.

Das Suppenschwein/Pig In Soup by Michael Sowa ~ Germany
Treat a chocolate stain with a pre-wash spray. Rub with a heavy-duty liquid detergent and then wash as usual. If the stain is stubborn and remains, re-launder with bleach that is safe for the fabric you are treating. Do not place fabric in a dryer until the stain is removed as heat can permanently set it in.

Click this link for a short video at eHow:
Shut down the computer immediately.
Wipe up any liquid. Tilt the computer to the side to drain any liquids.
Remove any removable parts from the laptop, including the power cord, printer and mouse cables, the floppy drive, CD drive, modem cards and battery. Do not disassemble the laptop body to remove internal parts.
Once the parts are removed, gently lift the computer and turn it to the side and upside down to drain any liquid. Tilt the computer in a variety of directions to verify that there are no pools of liquid lurking, but be careful not to shake it or handle it roughly.
Repeat with the floppy drive and other removable parts.
Use a hair dryer on a cool setting to dry the laptop and its parts if you can.
Allow the computer and its removable parts to dry for 24 hours before you reassemble it and turn it back on. (If you are under a tight deadline, let the laptop dry for at least an hour before you reassemble it.)
If the computer does not work properly or does not turn on, bring it to a computer repair professional, although the damage might be irreparable. Spills are one of the leading causes of laptop deaths.
Special Weapons And Tactics (SWAT) Team Bathroom Tips
Published May 25, 2008 CleaningTips Leave a Comment
If you feel this way about cleaning your bathroom it is time to call in a professional OR buy a good quality pair of rubber gloves. Psychologically, most anything can be tackled with protection (gloves) – and a disinfectant.
Bathroom cleaning tips:
- Start with the shower. Take all shampoos, soaps etc. and put them on the sink. If you have a shower head as described in my post #1 Cleaning Tool: Shower Head + Hose, it is easier but if not, fill a bucket with water and grab a large plastic glass or yogurt container to wet the walls. Spray on your disinfectant, scrub with a scratchy pad/sponge. 3M has a line of Scotch Brite pads and sponges I use for different surfaces, water hardness or build-up of soap scum. One of my favorites is to combine a car cleaning sponge with a 3M Commercial Cleansing Pad #98 by placing the sponge on top of the pad.

- Wiping the toilet top to bottom can sometimes require several rags. If one becomes full of dust or pet hair, DO NOT waste time or water attempting to rinse it out. Toss it into a plastic bag of soiled rags, grab a clean one and continue finishing the toilet. You may need to repeat with additional rags if this is an “in-depth” job. Wet and use each towel only once for very dirty tasks. Don’t bother rinsing them to use on this job again. When you are finished, throw the soiled towels into your washer with detergent and bleach. (They’ll need to be washed in a separate load from clothing or bath towels.) Let the machine do those rinsing and ringing steps for you.











