Stains and Household Cleaners.

Oh how I have spent countless hours trying to get rid of stains on laundry and around the house in general. Since today I spent my day tackling many stain problems, I decided to write a little about them. This will probably work for future reference for myself, since my kids are always coming up with new things to get dirty!

Anthony decided to take his diaper off last night (again!) and unfortunately didn't make it to the potty in time! A new mattress and a confident mom equals no mattress liner!! What was I thinking?? So I found a solution that worked wonders and got rid of the stain and the smell. Here is the recipe:


Urine Stain/Smell Remover
8 oz. hydrogen peroxide
2 tbsp. baking soda
Drop of hand/dish soap

**Put all ingredients in a spray bottle and shake. Spray onto area, press with towel, and let dry (or you can use a hair dryer to speed it up). You have to use solution within 20 minutes or it will get all yucky and stuck in the bottle.

Christian is such a happy baby...but he did not make me a happy mom when he stained 2 outfits in one day with baby poop! Those stains are difficult to remove and I have lost many cute little outfits due to these types of scenarios. I've tried Oxy, Clorox for colors, Spray n Wash, and many others. After almost calling it quits on a new, WHITE baby outfit I got an idea. My carpet stain remover works well...why not try it on clothes? So I sprayed on some Spot Shot and rubbed it with my laundry brush under cold water. Guess what? The stain was gone! The only thing left was a strong odor of cleaner, but after throwing the outfit in the wash it was as good as new and smelling great!

How about those walls? I have fingerprints everywhere! I spend so much time cleaning doors and walls that I think I should get some kind of degree in it! My choice for all the crayon marks, fingerprints, and smudges? Mr. Clean Magic Eraser!

Is your carpet dirty? Try coming over to my house! My light, beige color carpet isn't cutting it anymore, but new carpeting isn't in my near future. I suffered the first year as a homeowner with small kids. How does anyone keep their carpet nice and fresh? You buy a carpet steamer! This is definitely worth every penny! I have the Bissell ProHeat steam cleaner. It works great, but it is heavy. What's in my future? A Bissell Little Green Machine.

Lastly, I want to recommend the Ionic Breeze by Sharper Image. At $400 (there are other models) they don't come cheap. But they work wonderfully!! My only advice? Keep away from curious toddlers and little kids. This is the mathematical equation of what happened at my home.

Liz's Ionic Breeze + Curious Isabella + Curious Anthony= Broken Ionic Breeze

If you do decide to get one, I recommend the one with germicidal protection. And if you are willing to come over and fix mine, I'll pay you for your trouble!

That's it for my cleaning recommendations! I have to get back to washing another load of stained laundry, followed by cleaning up a dirty wall, then steaming a stain off the carpet....it never ends!