Tip Jar Tuesday

Tip #8 Homemade carpet cleaner.

This is the best carpet cleaner I have ever used. My hunk was surprised how well it works...and that's saying something because he worked as a carpet cleaner for a couple years.

Warning: I must note that this carpet cleaner uses ammonia so keep it out of the reach of your children and pets.

Here's the recipe:

1 tsp. vinegar
1/2 tsp. ammonia
3 TBL dish soap
3/4 c. water.

Mix together and put into a foaming container (I use an old hand soap one). Vacuum surface to be cleaned. Spray foam onto rug, carpet, or upholstery and rub with a soft bristle brush (an old tooth brush works well--The Hunk said I should mention that you shouldn't brush your teeth with this toothbrush after you are done---*rolls eyes*). Don't let the foam sit for very long or it doesn't work as well, I've found it works best if you squirt it on and then start rubbing immediately--so work a small area at a time.

Now for some fun I decided to ruin--er experiment on my own rug so that I could document with photos how this stuff works. So, I took my rug put it on the kitchen floor and opened the fridge. With my Hunk wondering why his wife was going wacky and the Blue-Eyed Boy asking every 30 seconds--"Momma what you dooooing?" I poured juice (not exactly sure what kind it is....grape and something else--apple I think), hot cocoa, and grape jelly on my rug. I also poured soy milk, but it didn't really show up in the pictures---but I can report that it came out. I only had a moments pause before embarking on this mission just for you my dear readers. The one I was really nervous about was the grape jelly. For this rug is the one by the door, the one everyone sees when they come into our house. I even let everything sit for 10 minutes so that it set in really good before I cleaned it off. I really trust this stuff!


Here are my before and after pictures (click to enlarge):



My rug isn't ruined, and it's cleaner in some places--ha! I now need to clean the whole thing.

Now it's your turn--try it out! And let me know how it worked for you!

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