Cleaning Tips | Mom Blog | From Dates to Diapers™

We recently had the privilege of publishing a guest post from Ray La Point, owner of Delight Cleaning. Ray’s company provides professional carpet cleaning, natural stone care and house cleaning.

Just after I posted some of his tips and tricks, Ray came out and cleaned all of the carpets on the first level of our house. Boy, what a difference his hard work made! Our carpets had not been that clean since the day we moved in, I’m certain! In fact, we were so happy with the results that we have them coming out again this week to do the upstairs. (I’ll try to post pictures this time.)

Delight Cleaning is based here in the Sacramento area, BUT you don’t have to live in the Sacramento area to benefit from Delight Cleaning and all they have to offer. At the Delight Cleaning blog you can find ways to prevent and clean up spills and protect your carpets, as well as some fabulous cleaning tips.

In an effort to assist you in your cleaning needs, Delight Cleaning has put together a bunch of great stuff for you to win here at From Dates to Diapers. You can enter to win a cleaning caddy stuffed with everything you need to keep your home healthy and clean. A $60 value, this prize package includes:

1 Carrying Caddy
1 Container of Weiman Stainless Steel Wipes
4-pack White Terry Cloth Towels (for absorbing those carpet spills!)
4-pack Microfiber Cleaning Cloths
2 packs of Scotch-Brite(R) Kitchen Sponges
Pledge(R) Multi Surface Duster
Method(R) non-toxic products for every surface in the house, including: Best in Glass (streak-free glass cleaner), Multi-Surface (natural all purpose cleaner), Le Scrub (gentle abrasive cleaner), Daily Granite (granite + stone cleaner), Wood for Good (wood surface cleaner)

Here’s what you must do to enter:

Answer the following question in the comments below, before 9pm (pst) on January 30th: What area of your home is the hardest for you to keep clean?

For additional entries, you may:

Become a fan of Delight Cleaning on Facebook and leave me a comment here saying you did so.

Link to this giveaway on your blog and/or Facebook wall. Be sure you leave me a separate comment for each link.

Tweet about this giveaway. Be sure you include a link to this giveaway and the hashtag #D2Dgvwy, and you may tweet as many times as you’d like before January 30th at 9pm (pst), but leave me a separate comment for each tweet.

One winner will be selected at random, and will be emailed. Winner will then have 24 hours to respond before forfeiting their prize.

Benefited giveaway

Ray La Point is the owner of Delight Cleaning, a residential cleaning company serving the Greater Sacramento Area. He is coming tomorrow to scour my carpets in our high-traffic areas (boy, do they need it!) and has given me some tips for keeping them spotless once they’re clean.

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It often seems like having kids and a clean, beautiful home are at war with each other. We love our families, but not the spills and spots they leave behind on our carpets and sofas.

Call a cease fire with these kid-safe, environmentally-friendly and economical tips to keep your carpets and sofas clean. These cleaning tips utilize natural ingredients found around the house, so there is no need to buy yet another chemical. In fact, buying consumer spot removal chemicals is not only a waste of money, but if used improperly, may not remove the stain at all and can make it harder for a professional to get the job done.

Here are some of the most common types of spills and the best way to treat them:

Blood – At some point, we all will experience blood on the carpet or sofa. If you have light-colored carpet (tan or grey to white), take a Q-tip and dip it in a bottle of 3% hydrogen peroxide. Dab the Q-tip on the blood spot until the color changes or the spot is gone. Follow with a clean terry cloth or paper towel and blot dry.

If you have dark-colored carpet (blue, green, brown or dark grey), use a mixture of one teaspoon 3% hydrogen peroxide with four teaspoons warm water. Follow the same steps as above.

Coffee or Tea – Make a mixture of ¼ teaspoon laundry soap and one cup warm water. Soak your towel in the solution and dab at the carpet. Continue dabbing for about five minutes and then switch to a mixture of vinegar and water (¼ cup white vinegar and one cup warm water). Follow with a clean terry cloth or paper towel and blot dry.

Soda, Fruit Juice and Sports Drinks – These beverages can be tricky. They have two components that need to be removed: the color, if it’s a cola or fruit beverage and the sugar, if it’s not a diet brand. Blot up as much as the moisture with a dry terry cloth or paper towel. Next, if there is color in the beverage, use vinegar and water (¼ cup white vinegar and one cup warm water) to blot area. Soak your towel in the solution and then place the towel on the spill. Do not pour directly on the carpet or sofa, as you may over saturate the area. Follow with a clean terry cloth or paper towel and blot dry.

Urine or Vomit – Everyone gets sick. Although urine and vomit can be some of the hardest to remove, it’s still possible to get the spots and sometimes the stains. I recommend blotting up as much as the area with dry towels and as fast as you can.

If the area is small (less than 6 inches), try the above vinegar and water solution steps.
If the area is larger (more than 6 inches), dry as much of the area as you can and then sprinkle a small amount of baking power over the spot to absorb the odor. This is one spot that you need to call the professionals in – Delight Cleaning. If treated improperly, these stains have the ability to spread and may cause irreversible damage to both the carpet and the carpet pad.

Ray provides monthly cleaning tips and how-to advice, for the entire house, on his blog at DelightCleaning.com. Check it out… I’m sure you will find some great ideas for keeping your home spic and span!

Do you have any special time-saving tips you can share with me? I’d love to hear about them!

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