Carpet Cleaning Tips

Here at Chester’s Clean House we have focused on many different carpet cleaning tips over the years. Here are a handful of some of the best tips from the last few years.

Chester's Best Carpet Cleaning Tips:

• How to Remove Red Drink Stains from my Carpet  - How to remove a stain from your carpet using Dawn, a terry cloth, and an iron. Remove as much liquid as possible with a shop vac. Make a mixture of Dawn and warm water and dampen a clean terry cloth with the mixture. Place the cloth over the stain and place an iron on top set to the lowest temperature setting. Over the next 15-30 minutes the stain will be pulled into the cloth and out of your carpet! 
• Homemade Carpet Shampoo - Using 1/2 cup of laundry detergent, 1 teaspoon of ammonia, 1 tablespoon of white vinegar and about 4 cups of hot water you can create a great homemade carpet shampoo. Once you whisk the mixture together, use a sponge to lightly rub the lather over the carpet. Vacuum thoroughly once the lather has dried. 
• Removing Blood from Carpet and Microfiber - Spray the stained area with shaving cream and finished with a clean cloth and water. If the stain has set, use hydrogen peroxide and water to removed the dried blood. On microfiber, use meat tenderizer and water. After it dries, vacuumed thoroughly. 
• A Great Homemade Carpet Deodorizer - By combining equal parts of corn starch and baking soda in a medium sized bowl, you can create a great carpet deodorizer. To give it a wonderful scent, add about a dozen drops of lavender oil. You can add other essential oils as well to customize the scent. 
• Remove Grease Stains from Carpet - To remove a grease stain from carpet, rub baking soda into the stain. Let it stand for a few hours and then vacuum it up once it has dried. 
• Removing Wax from Carpet - The best way to remove wax from carpet is to gently remove as much wax as possible using a dull knife or similar object. Once you have removed as much as possible, cover the spot with a piece of brown paper bag. Run a warm iron over the bag. The wax will adhere to the paper bag. Remove the bag and repeat as necessary. Be careful of the iron's temperature. If you let it get too hot you can burn the carpet.

Making Your Own Candles

I have told you before that my wife and I are big fans of candles. When it gets cold outside, we tend to light a handful of candles to add a feeling of warmth and they fill our home with wonderful smells. There is only one problem with candles, they get expensive quick. Especially the really good ones that don't just smell like soap. We decided to try to make our own to control the cost. I have to tell you, it is really easy and very inexpensive. There are just a couple of tricks that will save you a ton of time and trouble. First, soy-based candles are the easiest to make, the basic ingredient is cheap, and they are safer than the gel-based candles to burn. We get our soy candle base from a local candle-making shop, but it is available at most craft stores. Second, always buy pre-made wicks. They are cheap and will save you a ton of time trying to get them right. Thirdly, only buy scents that are especially made for candle-making, you are going to burn what you make, don't risk adding something flammable to your candles.

To make the candles is simple. Using a hot glue gun, attach the wick to the bottom of the candle container. Failure to do this will cause it to float when you pour in the candle wax. Then, in a Pyrex measuring bowel, melt the soy wax pellets in your microwave. Add more soy as the pellets melt to arrive at the desired amount of liquid for your container that will hold the candle. Once the pellets have completely melted, stir in your favorite scents and pout into the container. Support the end of the wick until the wax begins to set. I found that the dozen or so sets of chopsticks that have filled one of my kitchen cabinets worked great to stir the wax and also provided the right size support for my wicks by simply laying them across the top of the candle container. Also, the chopsticks were free from my local favorite Chinese restaurant and they are disposable. Make sure that you clean the Pyrex bowel the second that you have finished pouring the candle, once the wax sets fully it because a huge chore to clean. Once the candle has completely cooled, light and enjoy!