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.

Free Swiffer Wet Jet Coupons

I was doing some product research for an upcoming set of posts that compares the Swiffer Wet Jet and the Clorox Ready Mop.  I came across some pretty good coupons for the Swiffer Wet Jet and its refills.  You can save up to $15 if you would use them all.  Sadly these are not printable, so you will have to wait for them in the mail.  I wanted to pass the info along because I know a lot of you are saving where you can and probably can use the Swiffer Wet Jet Coupons.  Stay tuned for more details in the Mop Off and enjoy the Super Bowl!

How to Safely Replace Garage Door Springs

We are all looking for ways to save money. Do-it-yourself projects are a great example of this. If you have an electronic garage door opener, you will have to replace the garage door springs at some point. You will know when you have to replace them when your door starts to take longer to open. You may also notice the opener making more noise as it operates. The garage door springs help the motor by reducing the amount of force that it has to exert to open the door. As the springs wear out, the motor has to work harder, reducing its life expectancy and increasing the amount of power that it consumes.

Replacing Garage Door Springs will save you Money in the Long Run!

Electronic garage door openers have long tension springs running along the door tracks, manual garage doors have torsion springs housed over the door usually in a metal box. Do not attempt to replace torsion springs! Torsion springs have a tremendous amount of energy stored in them that can be released with catastrophic results. Major injuring or death can result from improperly changing torsion springs! Leave changing torsion springs to professionals!

To replace your garage door springs, open the garage door all of the way until it locks into place. Using two lockable vice grips, lock the door in place by attaching the vice grips in front of the foremost wheels on the track to keep the door from moving. If you do not have two lockable vice grips, adjustable C-clamps can also be used. Once the door is locked into place, release the electronic garage door opener by pulling on the release handle. Now the springs are in their most relaxed position and you can remove them by disconnecting each end. They may be connected by a threaded bolt or with an S-clamp. Once removed, replace with your new springs. Always replace both springs at the same time or else you can damage your garage door opener. Once finished replacing the springs, reconnect your garage door opener and remove the vice grips or C-clamps. Your electric garage door will now function more efficiently and save you money and time!

Save Energy With Tips From Popular Mechanics

Popular Mechanics has a good article with tips on how to save on your energy bill. We have used several of the tips with great results.

Several years ago we installed a programmable thermostat. It has lowered our heating bill almost 30% over the last few years. We have seen a 20% reduction in cooling costs. This really adds up. The best part is that we don't even notice any difference in our house, the temperature only changes when we are not home or asleep.

This winter I installed insulation on the hot water pipes in our basement. I haven't tracked how much we are saving, but it cut the time to get hot water by a third. This makes a big difference in how much water we were wasting waiting for the hot water. The water is also hotter at the faucet. This was well worth the $10 and 1 hour investment.

Think of all the things you might keep plugged in that you might not really need. Have an extra fridge? That might be costing you as much as $30 a month! Take a quick look around you house and you might be able to find those little money vampires.

NiMH Self Discharge Solved

Several Readers have asked about the batteries I wrote about in my post, Save Hundreds Each Year With Rechargeable NiMH Batteries. The new non discharging ones are the Sanyo Eneloop rechargeable NiMH batteries. I bought some from Amazon and have been testing them for a few weeks.

Eneloop batteries do not self discharge like standard NiMH batteries. After storing two for a week, they lost only 1% of their charge compared to 10-15% for standard NiMH. The Eneloop batteries only store about 2000 mAh, 20% less than the 2500 mAh Energizers batteries. In my digital camera this was about an hour less run time. I have put several AA and AAA into use in my universal remote control and wireless mouse to see how long they last. Standard NiMHs last around 2 months before I have to recharge them in these devices. I am expecting the Eneloop will last 6-12 months.

There isn't much of a price premium for the Eneloop batteries so I am probably going to start buying these cells exclusively. They store plenty of power and will cut down the amount of time I need spend charging batteries. I still have to test how they hold up with higher charge rates.

For my existing standard NiMH cells I am going to continue to store them in the freezer to lessen their self discharge rate. The batteries only loose about 5% of their charge per week, but have to be brought to room temperature before use to ensure they have a long life. Here is a chart that shows how temperature affects the self discharge rate of standard NiMH batteries.

Save Hundreds Each Year With Rechargeable NiMH Batteries

Today's toys and electronics can be very expensive to run. The average retail cost of a battery is around $.50 and devices can drain a batteries within hours. For example, a digital camera can drain two alkaline batteries after taking less than 30 pictures. That is about 3.3 cents per picture. Over the course of a year a Americans purchase nearly 3 billion batteries, leading to a lot of expensive toxic waste. You can cut down on the waste and save money by investing in NiMH batteries.

NiMH batteries come in standard AAA, AA, C, D, and 9V sizes. They hold much more power than a standard alkaline battery, can be recharged up to 500 times, and cost under $2 for AAA and AA. NiMH batteries self-discharge at a rate of 5-10% per month. To keep a full charge NiMHs should be recharged often and unlike NiCd batteries do not have a memory effect. They can be fully charged in as little as 15 minutes. A high quality charger will get the best performance from the batteries.

I use the La Crosse Technology BC-900 AlphaPower Battery Charger. This is a high quality 4 channel charger for AAA and AA batteries. It has several benefits over other chargers.

• Variable Charge Rate - it can charge the batteries at 200-1800 mAh and has a heat monitor.
  
• LCD Screen - The information given lets you quickly know the state of each battery.
• Multiple Modes - Charge, Discharge, Test, and Refresh modes. The refresh mode has saved several of my batteries.

The kit I bought also came with battery adapters. Once I found out about these, my use of batteries changed forever. The battery adapters let you convert AA batteries into C and D batteries. This is wonderful because now I only have to have AAA and AA batteries around the house. If I have a device that takes C or D I just use the adapter. When the batteries need recharged I just replace the ones in the adapter. And NiMH batteries hold more power than Alkaline batteries so my devices last longer with the adapters. Give NiMH batteries a try. They are good for the environment and your wallet.

Stop Annoying Winter Problems With a Humidifier

It has finally turned to winter and I'm being reminded of the many problems I have around the house every winter. I have dry itchy skin, I often get nose bleeds while I sleep, everyone keeps shocking me, and my house feels cold. The funny thing about all of these problems is that they have a simple solution, a humidifier. I always seem to forget this each year.

If you are afflicted with any of these problems, the first thing you should do is get a hygrometer. Hygrometers are available in both digital and analog versions. You will need one to check the relative humidity in your house. The ideal relative humidity is between 30% and 50%. If you are suffering from these issues and your humidity isn't below 30% you may want to go see a doctor.

Now that you have verified that you have low humidity, you will want to choose a humidifier to raise the relative humidity in your house. Humidifiers come in several varieties, each with their own advantages and disadvantages.

• Evaporative (cool mist) - These humidifiers have a reservoir of water and use a wick to draw the water near a fan where the water evaporates. These are good because they are self-regulating but they can spread bacteria if the water is contaminated and the fan can be loud. Look for a unit with Microban technology to reduce the risk of mold and bacteria growth.
• Steam (warm mist) - These have a reservoir and a heating element that boils the water. They are very cheap and can be used with a medicated inhalant but they have a high energy cost, can cause steam burns, and hard water deposits will dramatically reduce their life. Use distilled water if you live in a hard water area.
• Other types humidifiers include impeller humidifiers, ultrasonic humidifiers, and forced air humidifiers.
  

Low humidity in your house can also cause warped wood furniture and floors, paint peeling and cracks, sinus problems, chapped lips and skin, and some bacteria and viruses spread better in dry air. The usual cause of low humidity in the winter is the heating of your house. You will notice the change once you start using a humidifier. The best thing about having the correct humidity is that your house will feel warmer even at a lower temperature, so this can save you money on your heating bill too.

Save Money And The Environment By Insulating Your Water Heater!

Your water heater is designed to hold a set amount of water at a set temperature. Being a large metal tank does not help this. The heat constantly is released through the metal tank and therefore the burners or electric coils must turn on again to increase the temperature. A simple way to save the heat longer is to wrap your water heater tank with insulation. There are a number of relatively inexpensive kits for insulating your water heater. They are available from most home improvement stores and only take a few minutes to install. The benefits of this may not be readily apparent, but this will save you a lot of money over the life of the water heater. The unit will run less, using up less energy and saving you money.

Also, insulate any exposed hot water lines in your home. The copper that is used for these lines wicks the heat right out of the water. This will help save you money because the water will retain its heat longer and you will not have to wait as long to get hot water out of your facet or shower, also saving you water.

If you want to save even more money and energy, try this little water heater trick. If your water can get scalding if allowed to fully warm up, you can definitely reduce the temperature on your water heater. Simply turn down the dial on the front of the unit until the output water is hot enough for dish washing and showering, but not hot enough to scald. This will again cause the unit to run less and waste less energy. Remember, the less energy that we all use reduces the demand on the energy companies and, thus, reduces the cost of energy for everyone!

It's Getting Colder...Time To Winterize Your Home!

The temperature is starting to drop and winter is just a few months away. Now it is time to tackle sealing up your home from the elements. Walk around your home and inspect every window and door. If you can see light through any of the edges, you need to get some weather strip or caulk. Adhesive weather stripping is cheap and works great. Nine or ten dollars now can easily save you hundreds of dollars over a winter. If you have old single-pane windows, a few windows sealing kits might not be a bad idea. Remember, each time you add a sealed space between a cold window and your interior, the temperature of the surface that affects your living area becomes half way between the outside and inside temperature. For example, if it is 0 degrees outside, your single-pane window's glass is 0 degrees even on the inside of your home. If you add a plastic sheet on the inside of your window and it is 70 degrees inside your home, the area between the glass and plastic will be 35 degrees. This reduces the amount of heat loss caused from each window, and will save you a lot of money!

A Better Glass Cleaning Cloth

There are almost as many glass cleaning clothes on the market as there are glass cleaning solutions. We all know that using most normal cleaning rags, paper towels or any random disposable paper product will leave numerous little bits of lint all over the surface. This goes double for mirrors because.... well... it's a mirror. Once, in desperation (due to impending company), I used toilet paper. Bad plan!

Well, if you're looking to save money or have run out of whatever microfiber clothes you prefer, here is a fabulous solution. Coffee filters. I am completely serious. They're cheap. They're in almost every household. And.... they work! Coffee filters, when used in tandem with any glass cleaner, will leave no lint and no streaks. They can also be used to clean TV and computer monitors. With electronics, be sure to spray your cleaning solution directly onto the cloth and not the screen.

I prefer to save money and stick to the filters. But, if you're fond of you're current product, stick with it. Just keep in mind that if you run out, go pillage the kitchen cabinet.

Check out our homemade glass cleaner to save even more money keeping your reflective surfaces reflecting.