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Category: Home Interior Tips

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Freezer Defrosting

The best method to defrost a freezer involves removing all the food to a second freezer or more commonly into empty camping cooler(s) along with ice packs or milk jugs filled with frozen water.  In a pinch, insulated shopping bags might suffice with adequate milk jug ‘freezer blocks’.  A good tip might be to do a defrost before a vacation when the freezer isn’t as filled with food.

  • Turn off the freezer, or better yet unplug it.
  • Place several old terry towels in the bottom of a chest freezer, or for stand up freezers place towels at the bottom of the freezer and one outside the door on the floor to catch any water.
  • For a freezers above a fridge be aware that turning off the freezer will ALSO turn off the fridge!  The melted ice will likely leak down inside of the fridge compartment.
  • Allow the unit to sit overnight to fully defrost.
  • A hair dryer will help defrost built up ice in 10 to 15 minutes. Use caution whenever using an electrical appliance near water.
  • Dry the freezer thoroughly (to prevent immediate frost), then wash and dry the terry towels for the next defrost!
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Highchairs

Keep high chairs clean by wiping them with a mild detergent and soft cloth or sponge after every use.
Occasionally, give the chair a more thorough cleaning and a good wipe down with a mild bleach solution to kill germs.  Mix a 1:20 parts water; let sit for a few minutes and rinse with clean water and a clean cloth.

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Kitchen Cabinets

A majority of kitchen cabinets are finished with a washable surface. Wood cabinets will have a protective seal to protect the surface. Painted or laminated cabinets have very easy to care for surfaces.

Technique:
Wipe up spills as soon as they occur. Use a mild detergent solution for regular cleaning. Avoid abrasive cleaners and tools. Dry afterwards.

Specialized Tools & Chemicals:
Some manufacturers recommend waxing wood cabinets. Paste or liquid furniture polish when applied on a regular basis (every 6-12 months, depending on use and sunlight exposure) will help repel spills and stains and keep the wood protected.

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Marks Off Porcelain Dishware

This question was submitted from Robert B.

“How do I remove marks made by stainless steel teaspoons inside porcelain cups? I also have similar marks inside soup and pudding plates made by the same cutlery (18/8/stainless steel).”

The tip which I have heard of, although I have never tried it, is to use some non-gel toothpaste and rub it on the stains and rinse.

Remember to always test a small area first when using chemicals or techniques you have not used before on the surface you are cleaning.

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Ants From the Dishwasher

How do I get rid of Carpenter Ants in the dishwasher?

Turn the dishwasher on. The sani heating elements will cook them.

They are likely not only inside, but coming from the floor, crawl space, basement, or foundation. Check outside your house. Don’t pile wood or debris around the foundation, as this will encourage them.

Get this under control quickly, as if the infestation spreads throughout your house, it can become a serious and expensive problem. Pull out the dishwasher, and find the source. Use traps, spray, or liquid drops. Most poisons are made to be carried back to the colony, where it will kill all the ants.

If you can’t bring this under control, contact a pest control company. It is not expensive, and they have the knowledge and the chemicals to eliminate the problem quickly.

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Clouding on Crystal Glassware

How do I remove a film from crystal glasses? I have tried soaking them in vinegar, glass plus, soap and water just to name a few. The glasses appear smoky.

Jean

You have tried the correct remedies, but you need to advance to the next stronger method of removing hard water stains. Use a product like CLR, Lime Away or any hard water stain remover.

If the glass feels rough to the touch, then it is possible the glass itself has been damaged. Some experts claim this can occur from repeated cycles in the dishwasher. Or it may just be a function of time if the pieces are antiques.

Another, albeit more aggressive method is to use regular dish soap, and scrub the crystal with #000 very fine steel wool. If this does not remove the clouding, likely the glass is damaged beyond restoration.

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Spilled Gas on Carpet

I spilled gas in the back of my SUV. The smell will not go away. What can I do to remove it?
Ryan

The solution is to rinse the nonvolatile solvent(gasoline) out of the carpet using a volatile solvent (dry cleaning solvent). Volatility refers to the ability of the solvent to dissipate at room temperature.

What you have tried to do was to wash, in essence, oil with water. They do not mix in fact when you attempted to wet clean the area the gas would have chased from the water.

If the spill is large (bigger than a dollar bill) I recommend calling an IICRC (Institute of Inspection Cleaning & Restoration) certified carpet cleaning company and let them handle the problem.

If it is a small area, purchase some dry cleaning solvent (available at grocery stores, janitorial suppliers or carpet cleaning supply houses) along with some white terry towels.

Follow all safety instructions on the dry cleaning solvent bottle.

  • Test the affect of the dry cleaning solvent on the carpet before attempting to clean it by placing a small amount of dry cleaning solvent on the terry towel and apply it to an inconspicuous part of the carpet (i.e. under the seat) to see if there is any colour transfer or puckering.
  • If there does not seem to be a problem with the test, proceed to clean the stained area by placing dry cleaning solvent on the terry towel (DO NOT POUR IT DIRECTLY ONTO THE CARPET) and lightly tamp the stained area.
  • Repeat this process 3 or 4 times if required and do nothing else.

Dry cleaning solvent will dissipate when exposed to the air and does not leave cleaning residue.

Cheers
Jay Miles, Forum Member
CRS Carpet Cleaning
Vancouver, Cananda

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Stubborn Urine stains

How do you remove set pet urine from carpet?

Urine contains salts that have the ability to act as a desiccant. That is to say, it can attract and hold moisture better than carpet. If you pass a moisture meter over a urine infected area, even if it has been left to dry for months, you will find that the area where there is urine will have a higher moisture content in relationship to the surrounding carpet. This is the reason urine odour is stronger when the humidity in the air is elevated. This ability to attract and retain high moisture in carpet creates ideal conditions for bacterial, viral and mould growths. Removing urine salts from your living area is critical from health and indoor air quality perspectives.

Locating Urine

If you have a blacklight this will enable you to find dry fluorescent reflective material but it does not necessarily mean that urine is present in the carpet. It must be substantiated by odour identification (smelling the carpet) coming from the illuminated area or verifying it with a non-puncture moisture meter (preferred).

Once you have located the urine, take a very close look at the carpet under the blacklight to determine if the urine is on the tips of the fibres or if it has gone through the carpet. If it looks like it has gone through the carpet you will have to lift the carpet and repeat this process to determine if the underlay and sub-floor are affected.

What has to be done

If the underlay and sub-floor is affected you will be:

1 – replacing all affected underlay

2 – replacing all affected wood tackless strip

3 – treating all the affected back of the carpet with a urine removal product and steam cleaning the carpet back

4 – steam cleaning and possibly painting all the affected sub-floor to seal in the urine salts

5 – treating all the affected face of the carpet with a urine removal product and steam cleaning the carpet face.

Urine & feces have the ability to bleach the colour from nylon carpet. In many cases the yellowish brownish stain appearance is the colour of the exposed nylon fibres after the colour has been removed. At this point you are not looking at a cleaning solution.

I recommend that you contact an IICRC certified firm in your area to come do the work. Restorations of this type can be complicated, time consuming and problematic if you do not have the right commercial equipment or materials to properly do the job.

As far as recommending a cleaning method in the future, you should be immediately and thoroughly rinsing the carpet using a carpet cleaning machine and standard carpet cleaning compounds. It is important that the area be cleaned immediately and not left to dry. The longer you leave it the greater chance the carpet has to have the colour bleached out.

Jay
Forum Member

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Indentations/marks in Carpets

The following question was submitted by Mike…

I am moving into a home that has wall to wall carpeting. There are a lot of marks (indentations) in the carpet from the furniture that was there. How can I remove them and how long will it take.
Thank you

In many cases the mark will just disappear with time, however if the carpeting or the under pad is a lower quality, then it may not come up completely. There are a couple of thing to do, first rake the pile up with a fork or hair pick, then use a spray bottle filled with only water and spray the marks. The moisture will help loosen the fibers, and they should dry with a less pronounced indent.

This process may need to be repeated half a dozen times over several weeks to remove the marks completely. Some pro’s advocate using a steam cleaner, or an iron to blast the area with steam. You can try this if plain old water is proving unsuccessful, however use caution and NEVER actually set the sole of the iron on the carpet.  All you want is a blast of steam, which most newer irons can produce at the touch of a button.

Depending on the furniture and how it was used, the carpet may also be damaged. For example an office chair with wheels rolling on carpet in the same spot, will destroy the fibers themselves. Nothing short of replacement can remedy this problem.

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