Carpet Magic!

This weekend I came home and the whole house smelled like dog.

Jasmine had an accident, but more than that. The whole bedroom just smelled like dog, the living room smelled like dog, the couch smelled like dog... And I was just not happy about it.  Especially since, now that we're treating Tolpel's allergies, he actually smells like a nice regular dog instead of a stinky dog.

And it had been a long weekend, so there was much crying and sighing as I looked around unhappily.

I've been reading a lot of blogs and articles lately about natural cleaners (including Heather's Natural But Normal blog), so I thought "Hey, let's see what some baking soda and vinegar can do."  Amazing things. That's what it can do.


Amazing thing number 1: Stink remover!
I sprinkled baking soda on my rugs, on my carpets, and on my couch. Then I sprayed the couch down with a half vinegar, half water solution and rubbed gently with a cloth.  For the floors, we had borrowed my mother in law's wet vac (and still haven't returned it, oops!), and so I put vinegar in the "soap" part and wet vaccuumed the floors. My house smelled like vinegar for about an hour, but afterward, everything was neutralized and my house looked great!

Amazing thing number 2: Spot remover!
I had 3 main spots areas I was concerned about.
 - A food spillage spot on the couch that had been there since we got married (so 2 years ish)
 - A previously sticky spot that was on the rug when we moved in (and had resisted a whole slew of cleaning chemicals)
 - A dark spot on the carpet where mud got ground into the rug and carpet cleaners didn't help.

All I did was rub some baking soda into the spot, spray thoroughly with vinegar/water solution, and watch it bubble. Then I scrubbed a little with an old toothbrush and MAGIC, all gone!  No discoloration of the fabric, but perfect spot remover.  I was honestly stunned.

Anyway, I share these things because I am NOT Martha Stewart. I haven't bothered to clean my carpets since we moved in, and I only vacuum when I have to. I hate cleaning, I hate knowing what cleaning supplies I even need... Having a spotless house is a large and impossible waste of time.  So when I figure out something quick, easy, cheap, that works on stains that I haven't bothered to get out in 2 years... well, that's something worth sharing with the larger community. :)

A Confession

Domestic Diva has a confession to make. I....... hate cleaning! I know I know, I'm a domestic diva! This should probably include some loudly pumping anthem, high heels, and a vacuum... but the truth comes out. I hate it all. I'll make you fresh bread from scratch, served with some tomatoes from my garden, but please oh please don't make me do the dishes afterwards! In fact, usually, our laundry only gets done with my poor husband has some important event and he's out of clean socks, so he does it himself! (and thank goodness for him!)

But I love my vacuum. Do not be confused. I still hate *to* vacuum. But if you're going to make me do it, I want my wonderful Shark. [In the interest of full disclosure, Shark company has never paid me or contacted me inquiring about a raving review of their product for any compensation. I would gladly accept payment though!]



When Jake and I were looking for a vacuum, we found 2 types as reviewed by Consumer Reports, CNET, and all our random google-ing.
1 - vacuums that worked great, "but I have a dog and it just leaves that pet hair behind"
OR
2 - vacuums that were great for pet hair, but would leave the peice of paper next to it behind.

The Shark Navigator was the only one that claimed to do both well according to the reviews. So we bought it. We've had it for close to 2 years now. It picks up dog hair amazingly, it has great suction, it can vacuum rugs, carpets, my hard floors too with the flip of a button. It has a great long cord, so a thoughtfully placed plugin means I can get from my front door, to the back of my kitchen, down the hall and into both downstairs bedrooms without ever unplugging! It's light enough to move, but sturdy enough to really have some power. And it's very easy to clean out. (it's bagless, which was new to me, but I really like how quick and easy it is to dump out.)


And now I better finish cleaning the house before my husband gets home! (Just don't get distracted and look at facebook... don't do it............... *click*)