Clean that Microfiber!

Posted in Home Life by Selections By Sisters

I’m embarrassed to admit that I had no idea how disgusting it was underneath the arms of my couch. One afternoon, Reagan had to turn her body to get between a chair and the couch, because I had yet to move the couch back to its original spot after vacccuming, and she came through with a dirty shoulder. YUCK! And the culprit…yup, Colby. Colby must rub his head against the underneath of the couch arm when he goes to look out the family room window. After 4 years of rubbing his sweet little hairy head, a very dirty underarm has developed.

Pinterest came to the rescue once again, with this super easy microfiber cleaning trick.

Materials
Spray bottle containing Rubbing Alcohol (as much rubbing alcohol as you think you will need. I used an empty window cleaner bottle that I rinsed out with hot water and filled with 1/2 cup of alcohol.)
White bristle brush
White sponge or a sponge similar in color to the microfiber color

USE WHITE OR A SIMILAR COLOR TO THE MICROFIBER FOR BOTH THE SPONGE AND BRISTLE BRUSH–IF USING A DIFFERENT COLOR THE COLOR MAY TRANSFER ONTO THE COUCH, WHICH WOULD DEFEAT THE ENTIRE PURPOSE OF CLEANING IT!

These are picutes of the underneath of the couch arms…I know, right.

Saturate spot with alcohol. Do not drench, just spray so that the entire area is wet and covered. Open a window or two so that the alcohol smell is not bothersome to you.

Using your sponge, rub the spot until the dirt is removed. Use some elbow grease and really rub hard. I used two sponges, one for each arm. Here is a picture of a dirty sponge, next to a clean sponge. Water stains microfiber, so I’m not sure that it would be super brilliant to rinse sponge and then use right away.

Allow the spot to dry. After about 20 minutes both of the areas that I sprayed were dry.

With the bristle brush, in a circular motion, rebuff the area that was just cleaned.

I am super pleased and can’t wait to clean other areas of the couch where Reagan’s sippy cups and snack filled hands have been.

5Feb2013

Spot Clean Polyester

Posted in Home Life by Selections By Sisters

I recently purchased a top from forever 21 for the bargain price of $24.99! I wore it once and got god knows what on the front of it…shocker- spilling something down the front of your clothes, especially when in public, runs in the family. So in an attempt to save the top for a few more wears, I don’t expect much in the quality category from forever 21, I’m straying from the wash by hand directions and spot cleaning and throwing in the washer.

The shirt is 100% polyester, again…I didn’t expect much in the quality category. When I think polyester, I think itchy school uniforms that I wore for 10 years of my life, skin crawling thought.

The tag directs the owner to hand wash cold, not to bleach, to line dry, to iron low and to not dry clean. I’m going to wing it and spot treat with Shout Advanced, and then wash individually using ALL Allergen Free detergent, with cold water on the permanent press cycle.

Random Stains on the front of the shirt.

Shouting out the stain- I didn’t rub the stains, as suggested on the back of the bottle. I dabbed the stains because the fabric is super thin. I allowed the Shout to sit on the stains for five minutes before washing.

After a quick wash in cold water, with ALL Allergen Free detergent on the permanent press cycle…the stains were gone! I line dried the shirt and it’s as good as new!

1Feb2013

Carpet Disaster

Posted in Home Life by Selections By Sisters

Seriously…I can do dog throw up, dog poop, but dog pee is a whole different ball game. This is not what I wanted to come downstairs to after sleeping for only 5 hours on Reagan’s floor, my right arm through a crib slat with her foot on top of my hand- if I moved my hand, she woke up…ugh. Dog pee smell sticks, in my opinion it NEVER goes away. It’s one of those things that you can always smell, especially when the weather gets warmer. It stinks, it’s repulsive and it’s a rug ruiner.

The Bissell Little Green Machine has been a huge help with many rug clean ups over the years, it removes the stains, but unfortunately- in my opinion, the urine smell hangs around…YUCK!

This is the third machine that we have had in ten years. There are two issues that I have with this machine. #1- My husband believes that I am burning out the motor by continuing to attempt to spray the cleaning mixture when there is none left in the tank- hey, I’m watching the rug, not the darn tank.

#2- It is IMPOSSIBLE to clean the head of the vacuum. Dog hair gets stuck along the sides of the head and since the head cannot be removed there is no way to clean it…gross, I know.

After attacking the spot with the Bissell, I put a towel under the rug and one over it -so Colby (the dog) wouldn’t pee there again. Here’s what I came back to after leaving the house for a little over an hour for a preschool tour.

The spot is still visible, still damp and still stinky, ugh! I put a new towel under the rug and a new one over (As I sit on the couch, five feet away from the ‘spot’, I can smell urine and I want to cry). I walked on the towel a bit and left it for another few hours.

Day 2: Maybe it’s just me, but the spot where the pee stain looks cleaner than the rest of the rug. We just had the rugsprofessionally cleaned less than 5 months ago and this is not a high traffic area, huh? Anyway, there is still a faint smell of urine…SHOCKER! I’m going to leave the towels off the area for now to let the spot completely dry and then see what happens.

This is what I’m left with. I currently cannot smell the urine unless I put my nose super close to the rug. Since the rug is wool, it’s probably still somewhat damp within the carpet somewhere. So until I can smell the urine when sitting next to it, walking by it, or until my brutally honest family mentions it…I will leave it alone. The rug’s over 15 years old, maybe its time for a new one…hint, hint, to my loving husband of mine.

Oh, just in case you were wondering…here’s a picture of the totally guilty dog. How could anyone be angry at a face like that?

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