Tag Archives: Bleach

Surprising Ways to Use Bleach in Your Home

Nothing smells fresher than a home freshly cleaned with Clorox or Ajax bleach. However did you know there are other uses for bleach that you may not have thought of that are simple and help you get your money’s worth of the money you spend on bleaching products.

 

Are you planning to go camping but your cooler smells of mold. Simply use a half of cup of bleach in gallon of warm water to clean and rinse it out. You can use a teaspoon of bleach with warm water to clean a thermos in the same. Just be sure to rinse the thermos with water well afterwards.

 

Bleach can also be used to remove coffee stains or tea stains from China. However be careful and check with the maker of your China to make sure that this will not bleach out the pattern on your good China.

 

Bleach is also an excellent sanitizer of cutting boards, especially that wooden board you are always cutting meat on. Be careful using bleach on plastic as it has been known to yellow plastic cutting boards.

 

Some people also use bleach instead of jet dry in the dishwasher to disinfect their dishes as well as make them shine. Be sure to use liquid bleach and not the powered type or it can leave a film that is very hard to get off on all of your dishes.

 

Did you know bleach can used to extend the lasting power of cut flower blossoms? All you have to do is add one quarter teaspoon of bleach for every quart of water that is used in your vase. The flowers might last as much as ten days longer.

 

There are also clever ways to recycle and reuse the bleach bottle. If you cut a bleach bottle diagonally across the bottom you automatically create a handy shovel that can be used to scoop up cat litter or be used as scoops for foods. Big jugs can be used as scoops for fertilizer and outdoor gardenting chores.

 

Yet another surprising use for a bleach bottle is as a protective guard for young plants against frost, hail and cold weather. Simply cut off the bottom of a bleach jug and then cover your seedlings with it at night.

 

Another nifty use of an old Clorox jug is to cut a hole in the side of an empty bleach jug and then put your clothes pins in it. You can then hang the holder on your clothesline by stringing the line through the handle.

How to Clean Up Blood Spills on Carpets

One of most daunting cleaning challenges of all is blood spills on carpeted floors. One key issue is sanitizing the carpet as quickly as possible.  A blood stain that is allowed to set may never be removed. Blood can harden on carpeting and become crusty which makes it very difficult to clean.  Whenever possible respond as fast as you can to clean up blood on a product.

 

It is also important tot use the right commercial solution to clean a carpet. Bleach can damage or destroy a carpet. It is best to clean these areas using cleaners approved by the carpet manufacture. Be sure to choose a product that has antimicrobial properties to help clean it as thoroughly as possible. It is also recommended that you wash the carpet thoroughly three to four times to a day.

 

Using the right products can make all of the difference when it comes to removing blood. Make sure that you are using a cleaner that is intended for use on carpet. If you use a cleaner meant for floors or fabrics instead of carpet then you may not get the results that you want.

 

Yet another way to get the stain out is to rent a steam cleaners. These machines, which can be rented at most grocery and carpet stores can sanitize the carpet fibres and remove any remaining blood.  This is especially recommend if you suspect that the blood that was spilled was infected with pathogens in any way.

 

Make sure that you put on disposable gloves and create a barrier around the spill so that it cannot be tracked around the home. Once the area is isolated spray it with a manufacturer approved cleaner and then let it sit for about fifteen minutes. This gives the disinfectant the time it needs to sanitize the carpet.  This is important because if the proteins are left in the carpet then they can carry disease as well as be a fertile ground for mold.

 

You should then take paper towels or an absorbent powder like resolve and blot up as much as fluid as possible. You should then use a wet-dry vacuum to help extract any reaming water, cleaning fluid and blood.

 

After you have done all this you need to repeat it all again at least three times. Let the disinfectant sit on the stain and do it’s job for it at least twenty minutes.  After you are done repeatedly cleaning the blood stain at least three times then place portable fans near the stain to help the moisture dry.

 

Finally be sure to dispose all gloves and rags and thoroughly sanitize any equipment used to clean the blood of your carpet.