Cleaning Floors & Carpets

A household policy that bans street shoes indoors helps to keep floors and carpets clean. Using essential oils while vacuuming carpets or mopping wood floors gives the entire house a fresh, clean scent. You'll find remedies for carpet stains in this section, and a tip for cleaning garage floors, too.

Floors
Mix together: ½ c. white vinegar
1 gal warm water
Polishing with skim milk(!) after floor is dry will make the floor glow!

Refreshing wood floor cleaner
A combination of vinegar, water. and soap with lavender and orange essential oils cleans floors and leaves a sweet, refreshing scent
125ml (4fl oz) distilled white vinegar
2 tablespoons natural liquid dishwashing soap
10 litres (2 gallons) warm water
10 drops lavender essential oil
5 drops orange essential oil
Mix all the ingredients together in a large bucket and stir well.
Wash your wooden floors with either a mop or rag as desired.
Afterward, rinse each floor with clean water.

No-rinse wood floor cleaner
If your floor is not really dirty but just needs damp mopping, a bit of vinegar and lavender essential oil in a bucket of water does the trick.
10 litres (2 gallons) warm water
60ml (2fl oz) distilled white vinegar
15 drops lavender essential oil
Mix the ingredients in a large bucket and mop the floor.

Rug and Upholstery Cleaner
Sprinkle corn meal, baking soda or cornstarch on dry rugs and vacuum.
Use club soda or soap-based rug shampoo.

Carpet Cleaning Foam
Mix together:
¼ c. vegetable oil-based liquid soap
3 tbsp. (or more) water
Whip ingredients in bowl with egg beater.
Rub foam into problem areas of the rug.
Rinse well with water.

Foam carpet cleaner
Use this gentle foam cleaner to spot clean carpets.
Lavender essential oil adds a fresh, pleasant scent
60ml (2fl oz) natural liquid dishwashing soap
125ml (4fl oz) warm water
6 drops lavender essential oil
Mix the ingredients together in a large bowl and beat into a stiff foam with an electric mixer.
Apply the cleaner with a damp sponge to the soiled areas, and remove with a damp cloth.
Repeat if necessary. Let the carpet dry and then vacuum.

Natural carpet freshener
Baking soda helps to absorb odours and lavender essential oil adds a pleasant, fresh scent.
20 drops lavender essential oil
250g (8oz) baking soda
Mix the oil thoroughly into the baking soda with a wire whisk. Sprinkle a fine layer of the mixture on to your carpet and leave for at least a couple of hours. Vacuum thoroughly.

Remove stains from carpeting
Stains are easiest to remove from carpeting if you act immediately. Blot the stain, do not rub, with paper towels or a soft, clean cloth to soak up as much as possible of the substance.
Then. depending what has caused the stain, apply a cleaner.
Avoid saturating the carpet with liquid; instead, apply a small amount, blot the stain, and repeat if necessary.
Then blot the area with a clean damp sponge or cloth.
Make sure you repeat this several times to remove all traces of the stain cleaner.
Dry the area thoroughly by covering it with a clean, dry towel and applying pressure with a heavy object.
Replace the towel with a dry one as soon as it becomes saturated.

All-purpose carpet stain remover
A combination of liquid dishwashing detergent and vinegar removes many types of stain.
1 teaspoon natural liquid dishwashing soap
60ml (2fl oz) distilled white vinegar
250ml (8fl oz) warm water
Thoroughly mix the ingredients together in a spray bottle. Shake well and spray on to the stain. Blot the carpet with a clean, damp sponge.

Alcohol stains
Blot the carpet with a damp sponge soaked in club soda until as much as possible of the stain is removed. If you need, follow with All-purpose carpet stain remover .

Chocolate stains
Gently rub a mixture of equal parts of vegetable glycerin and warm
water into the carpet stain. Rinse with lukewarm water Repeat if necessary.

Coffee and tea stains
Sponge with cold club soda until the carpet is clean. If necessary, sponge it with a solution of one teaspoon borax diluted in 250ml (8fl oz) of water Rinse with clean water

Grease stains
Sprinkle baking soda on to the stain and gently rub it in. Leave overnight, and vacuum. Follow with All-purpose carpet stain remover.

Pet stains
Treat pet stains quickly to prevent damage to the carpet.
125ml (4fl oz) distilled white vinegar
125ml (4fl oz) water
1 teaspoon natural liquid dishwashing soap
Mix the ingredients in a spray bottle and shake well. First mop the stain with paper towels and then spray the formula on to the stain. Blot with a damp sponge. and rinse with water,

Cleaning mud
Let the mud dry thoroughly and then vacuum the carpet. Follow with All-purpose carpet stain remover .
Removing chewing gum
Rub the gum with an ice cube until it hardens, and then scrape it from the fibres of the carpet with a dull knife.

Removing wax
With a dull knife, carefully scrape off as much excess wax as possible from the carpet. Place a brown paper bag over the remaining wax, and press with a warm iron.The wax will melt and transfer on to the paper bag. Place a fresh section of the paper bag over the spot, and continue pressing until all the wax has been removed.

Garage floor clean-up
Sprinkle a thick layer of clean cat litter over an oil leak or antifreeze spill. Let it sit for several hours. Sweep up the litter and throw it away. Follow by cleaning with a citrus­based natural cleaning product to remove any remaining oil or grease.

Filter bag freshener
To neutralize the musty smell of a vacuum cleaner, place a couple of drops of a fragrant essential oil of
your choice on the filter bag just before vacuuming.