Eco friendly ways to removing kitchen odors

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Removing kitchen odors in your green home can be tough.

Odors can generate from any part of your home. It can come from your wardrobe, the trunk of the car or even from a poorly ventilated room. As the space in the kitchen is confined, it is more susceptible to retaining odors than other rooms in your home.

Before starting the process of de-odorising, the area should be cleaned with water along with soap or a detergent. Once this process has been completed, we can try out these eco friendly ways to remove kitchen odors :

  • green home - eco friendly cleanScrew pine leaf: This is used as an ingredient in many Southeast Asian dishes. It also has a pleasant aroma.The leaves are tied into knots and kept at different places in the kitchen. Once the leaves wither, fresh ones are used in its place.
  • Charcoal: This is an ideal odor absorbing agent. You can keep a chunk at specific places in your kitchen. You could also keep one inside your refrigerator to get rid of the smells.
  • Vanilla essence: Soak cotton balls with the essence and drop them around your kitchen. It would give out a wonderful smell.
  • Baking soda: These are a good absorbent of odor.Keep some in an uncovered dish for a few days and keep changing the soda till the entire odor has been removed.
  • Lime peels: Put some lime peels in an open dish and leave it around your kitchen. The smell of citrus will eliminate the bad smells in time.
  • Old newspapers and bread slices: They are efficient in absorbing odors.You could crumple up some newspapers along with some bread slices and put them inside your refrigerator to get rid of bad odors.
  • Tea bags: Place a few tea bags inside any closed space.The tea leaves will, apart from absorbing the bad odors,also release the tang of tea.
  • Orange and cloves: Poke holes in an orange peel and stick cloves in them. Leave these around the kitchen or in any confined space for a few days.
  • Mint extract: Put a few drops of mint in cotton balls and toss them in any confined space. Leave them there for a few days to get rid of odor.
  • These are safe, efficient and chemical free ways of getting rid of bad odors not only in the kitchen but in any place of our home.

I hope these eco friendly ways to removing kitchen odors have helped you keep a green home!

Five steps for a budget minded kitchen remodel

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When you remodel a kitchen you are essentially designing it to suit your specific needs and desires. While kitchen remodels can range from $15,000 up depending upon what is done it can also be done a lot cheaper, Sweat equity, discount purchasing, and salvaging current cabinets, appliances, sinks, etc. will keep the cost down for those on a strict budget.

Here are five steps to remodel your kitchen on a budget:

One – Plan what you want the finished product to look and act like. Note those things that cannot be easily changed such as gas or electric supplies for the stove, plumbing for the sink(s), etc. Plan around those constraints.

Two – Budget what you are comfortable spending. Do this well in advance of pricing any new items such as appliances, cabinets or flooring. Over spending early causes skimping at the end of the project.

Three – Salvage everything in the kitchen that you can and “up grade” them with paint or cleaning. For instance, kitchen cabinet are often still strong and useable but could use a good coat of paint or perhaps some new doors or drawer fronts. Make sure to upgrade or replace worn items such as the garbage disposal and ceiling light fixtures.

Four – Purchase new cabinets, flooring etc. from discount or salvage outlets such as Habitat for Humanity. Consider spending the money needed for new counter tops as this is the single most obvious kitchen improvement. New faucets, electrical outlets and switches and cover plates complete the new remodel look.

Five – Take everything out of the kitchen except the cabinets you plan on keeping. Patch holes in the wall then prime and paint the surfaces. Paint cabinet as required. Put down the new flooring. Return the appliances to their locations.

Now enjoy your newly remodeled kitchen. Who knew that an article on how to remodel the kitchen on a budget could be so useful!

How to clean pet stains from carpet

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clean pet stains on the carpet
Anyone who owns or has owned a pet knows how unpleasant it can be to clean up after them. When a pet decides to relieve themselves on the carpet, don’t let it sit – you’re better off cleaning it up as soon as you see it to lessen the chances of permanent stains. The quicker you get the job done, the less amount of work you’ll have to put into cleaning pet stains from carpet.

For new pet stains on the carpet, make sure you remove as much of the liquid or solid as possible before treating the area itself. The more you can soak up before it dries, the easier it will be to get rid of the odor afterward. Press a thick layer of paper towel over the wet spot and cover that with some newspaper. If you can, slip some newspaper under the spot as well. Stand on it for a minute or two to soak up as much as you can. Keep doing this until the area is only a little damp.

It would be a good idea to place the urine-soaked towels in the place your pet is supposed to go to the bathroom, whether it be the litter box or outdoors. This will help encourage your pet to go where they’re supposed to and let them know what they did is not necessarily a bad behavior – as long as it’s done in the correct spot and not on the carpet. Next, you will want to rinse the area with cool water and sop it up. Or, if you have one, use a wet vac.

If the carpet pet stain has already had a chance to set, you might have to experiment a little to see what works. If the pet stain contains any solids, wipe up as much of it as you can with paper towels. You can use a pet odor neutralizer once the area is reasonably clean. Remember to follow the directions on the container, including testing it on a small area of the carpet first. If the area still looks stained, you can find a good carpet pet stain remover at the department store to get the rest of it up.

You don’t want to use any kind of cleaning chemical or steam cleaner when lifting a stain from the carpet. A lot of chemicals have ammonia. It carries the same scent as urine and doesn’t bother your pet. In fact, it may entice them to use that spot again. The heat from the cleaners will permanently set the stain – and the smell – by binding it directly to the fibers.

Make sure the area is completely free of any old cleaners you may have used there before, or neutralizing cleaners won’t work. Even if they weren’t used recently, any traces left behind will reduce the effectiveness of the new cleaner. And if the stain has been left alone long enough that it has had the chance to soak through to the padding underneath, chances are you will have to remove and replace that portion of the carpet.

Of course, if your carpet is of the expensive kind, you are probably better off hiring a professional to handle cleaning the pet stain from your carpet instead of doing it yourself.

Home improvement resources

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Have you ever got the urge to finally fix that leaky faucet, repair a leaking roof, or weather proof the front door and then remember the reason why you hadn’t before was because you did not know how to do it? Well, that’s where we can help. Home improvement resources can help you get the basic information you need to tackle the job yourself or at least let you get started. We can also supply you with the information you need when looking for a home improvement contractor in case you can’t find your tool box (in which case you should not be doing any improvements anyways).

Handyman services in your area can be a great resource. Why tackle the job alone when their is a dozen or more contractors waiting to bid as low as they can on your home improvement project. From plumbers that can come in to fix your backed up kitchen sink to foundation repair experts that can come in and build you a basement for your single level home. Be aware when choosing the right home contractor and make sure to get their list of home improvement references to check them out. Although we do not directly check into all of our contractors listed, every once in a while we will feature one here on our blog and let you know we can trust them. Keep an eye out on our blog for ways to check your local handyman out before hiring them. We will let you know sign to watch for and ways to check their background.

home improvement resources

Home improvement resources is a great way to learn some tricks of the trade straight from the professionals. We will feature free online home improvement videos from professionals in the industry they we occasionally come across on you tube. These videos are produced by industry leaders and provide simple to learn home improvement tips and tricks.

Then our blog will provide you with some useful home improvement tips and tricks with step by step home improvement instructions. Complete with diagrams and caution tips to help you avoid some in home accidents. Be warned though, these tips are for demonstration purposes only and we do not recommend you attempt any job without first consulting your local building code and without the proper skills. We assume no liability for your work. So if you happen to burn your house down trying to learn how to solder joints, don’t come knocking on our door. We are just the messenger.