I love to make up my own cleaning solutions as they are better for the environment and will save you money. I have popped my 5 favourite homemade cleaners below, all of these once made will last in your cleaning cupboard for up to 3 months.
You can also add the powder into ice cube tray to make toilet bombs and then add to a pretty jar in your bathroom.
Powerful Disinfectant
• Half fill your bottle with rubbing alcohol • Add 25 ml of white vinegar • 25 drops of essential oils (choose one with antibacterial properties such as, citrus, tea tree or eucalyptus
Do not use this one on granite or marble surfaces.
Depending on how we use the sofa it can take a lot of wear and tear.. From eating TV dinner to watching a movie with your pet snuggled up against you. The couch can capture body oils, cooking odours, dust mites and allergies and they will be lurking in your sofa causing allergies and irritation to airways.Eating on your sofa really isn’t ideal, food particles, sticky finger marks and spilt drinks can all occur from enjoying a snack on the sofa. Keep eating at the table. If you do like to indulge on your sofa you need to keep it clean or at least cover with a washable throw.
Hoover it daily and invest in a good upholstery cleaner or leather cleaner . Take off cushion covers and wash these as often as you can. As well puff your cushions and lightly steam.
My Sofa Cleaning Tips
Bicarbonate of Soda is great for a lot of things, including the removal of grime and embedded dirt in your sofa. Test the fabric first in an inconspicuous area, but Bicarbonate of Soda is safe for most types of upholstery. You will need a couple of cleaning cloths, a a stiff brush, Bicarbonate of Soda and your vacuum cleaner with the smaller brush attachment.
Use the stiff brush to brush away crumbs, dust, and other debris.
Sprinkle the couch with bicarbonate of soda which you can also mix with an essential oil if you wish and let it sit for 20 to 30 minutes.
Use the brush attachment on your vacuum to thoroughly remove the baking soda or mixture.
If you have a steamer very lightly steam just to ensure your killing germs. Always hold approx 30cm away from the fabric
Finish of with a Dettol antibacterial spray of a fabric refresher.
For any tough stains that are still present mix together 3/4 cup warm water, 1/4 cup white wine vinegar and one tablespoon of washing up liquid and scrub the mixture in with a hard brush and then blot dry.
Other methods to try for stains which I have tried and tested are:
Recently I surveyed local people in my community on how often they changes they bedding. 80% of the people I surveyed said they only change their bedding once a month. Someone admitted that they hadn’t changed there sheets in the past 6 months and others where on average once a week or once every two weeks.
I than run a similar survey with the people that follow me on my social media platforms and was very pleased to see that many people are like me and change their bedding on a regular basis from twice a week to once a week. When people are suffering with a cold or a bug they then change the sheets and this is exactly what I do. You don’t need any further germs to take up nesting in your bed. I also discovered that many people like to air their bed before making it. You can’t beat a cold icey aired bed.
Personally I change my bedding once a week, there was a point where I was doing this every other day. But time was against me and I was forever washing sheets and ironing them. In my opinion no point in washing them if you aren’t going to iron them. Having the freshly ironed lines on the bed is just a must for me its like seeing the lines on a freshly mowed lawn.
Now I just stick to #cleansheetssunday
My method
I hoover the mattress and I always do this with a clear cylinder so I can see what comes out, I then very lightly steam and finally spray with a Dettol spray. I will then leave the mattress to dry off and air before I put on the freshly ironed sheets. Monthly I also use my Vorwerk mattress cleaning system.
Its good to use a good pillow protector, and a good mattress protector as these will prolong the life of your pillows and mattress and give you some extra comfort.
For those that don’t do this you are creating a nest of germs.
We are not alone in our beds
Dirt and dust can quickly build up in our beds and unfortunately we’re not alone in our beds, our beds are full of dust mites.
But dust mites aren’t the only hidden surprises lurking in our sheets, and we only ourselves to blame for their presence. Every night we shed a million skin cells, accompanied by oil and sweat. If you don’t wash your bedding regularly, this adds to your bed’s attraction for mites and their breading.
Bedbugs are small blood-sucking insects that live in cracks and crevices in and around our beds. They crawl out at night and bite exposed skin to feed on blood. Disgusting!
Though Bed bugs and mites aren’t known to transmit disease or pose any serious medical risk, the stubborn parasites can leave itchy and unsightly bites. However, bedbugs don’t always leave marks. The best way to tell if you have a bedbug infestation is to see the live, apple-seed-size critters for yourself. Unfortunately, once bedbugs take up residence in your bed they can be difficult to exterminate without professional help.
Bed bugs are flat, round and reddish brown and about the size of an apple seed. They don’t have wings and can’t fly or jump.
Keep bed bugs and mites away and make changing your sheets a regular part of your cleaning routine.
