Following are some things you can try on your own, that are safe for family and pets.

Below are some tips, tricks and techniques for avoiding or removing odors and allergens. If you know of something we've missed please drop us a line and let us know, and we'll include it here.

• Vinegar as an odor remover
• Basic carpet care and cleaning

Vinegar as an Odor Remover

Strange that a strong smell like vinegar would eliminate odors altogether, but it will. The vinegar smell disappears after awhile and leaves nothing behind.

1. Air freshener, used with baking soda - use 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 tablespoon vinegar and 2 cups of water. After it stops foaming, mix well, and use in a (recycled) spray bottle into the air.
2. I liked the 'spray mister' approach to air freshening, but as a sometimes poor bachelor cook, I have blackened fish when it isn't on the menu. Vinegar in a towel, twirled about the head will quickly stop the smoke detectors from screaming. It also freshens the air, and captures the smoke smell before the whole house is caught.
3. Put vinegar on white bread around a house to get rid of smoke smell fom a fire.
4. Set a container (shallow bowl) of vinegar throughout the house to absorb unpleasant odors. Works great on burned food odors. Do not use styrofoam. It will soak through it.
5. Use diluted 1:1 in water to take pet odors out of carpets. Find the spot, and saturate it with about 1 1/2 times the original volume. Let set for awhile then blot up. Repeat if your cloth is very dirty after blotting. I make sure to turn on a fan and open a window, especially for large spots!
6. Warm a little vinegar on the stove when you cook fish or other strong smelling food. It will help get rid of the odor.
7. Vinegar is great for eliminating tobacco smoke odors. Use small disposable containers and fill about half way with cider vinegar.Sit around in rooms where they can't be seen or found by children. This gets rid of the smoke odors. You will want to discard each container and replace with new container and fresh vinegar. Do this every 2 or 3 days.
8. One time I had a gallon of milk spill on the carpet of my car. It was warm out and it created quite a mess. I tried everything but could not get the smell out. A few days later a friend suggested white vinegar. The odor disappeared.
9. When I fried fish, I boiled a tablespoon of vinegar in the pan that I used to fry fish in, and the smell was gone from my pan.
10. The last flush of the toilet as you're leaving your boat or RV should be done with a cup of vinegar. This stops that smell in the pipes.

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Basic Carpet Care

To keep your carpet clean, it is important to clean up spills as they happen.

Blot up the spill immediately using clean, white paper towels or a regular towel. Do not rub as this will force the spill deeper into the carpet.

There are several ways to clean spills that have turned into stains.

1. for fresh stains, use plain club soda. Pour a bit on the spot(don't soak it), let it foam and sizzle and let set for a few seconds. Sponge up thoroughly.
   
2. for older stains, combine 2 tablespoons detergent, 3 tablespoons vinegar, and one quart warm water. Work into stain and blot dry.
   
3. Using shaving cream, let it foam on the carpet and then rinse with a damp cloth. Blot dry.

After any one of these methods, cover the spot with a clean towel or paper towels and place a heavy item such as a book on top of it. When the towel becomes damp, replace it with a dry one.

To keep your carpet in good condition, deep clean / shampoo about once a year. If you have pets and/or children, you may want to shampoo more often. There are several ways to deep clean your carpet: with an aerosol spray foam cleaner from the supermarket, a home carpet shampooer, a hot water cleaning machine you rent at the supermarkets, and professional carpet cleaners.

Before any of these processes, blot up fresh and older stains with methods previously mentioned. It is important to vacuum thoroughly. By thoroughly, you should go over the same spot at least 2-3 times with the vacuum. It is best to take all of the furniture out of the room, if possible. If not, you could move furniture to one side, shampoo that section and let dry 24 hours. Then move the furniture to the other side and repeat the process.

If your carpet is not overly soiled, you could try an aerosol spray foam. Before using, you may want to check for colorfastness. You do this by spraying a small piece of carpet with the cleaner. Leave for awhile, then rub with a white towel. The longer you leave it, the better the test. If there is no color bleed through on the towel, go ahead and shampoo the whole carpet. Follow directions on the can. Usually the process involves spraying the foam evenly over the carpet, allow it to dry to a powder, then vacuum.

Home shampooers and the hot water machines you can rent at the supermarket are also appropriate for carpets that are not heavily soiled. With most home shampooers, you fill a reservoir with water and carpet shampoo. You can also do the colorfast test with this shampoo. You move the shampooer across the carpet as you do with a vacuum, but you also use a sprayer button to spray the cleaning solution onto the carpet. Next, go over the shampooed area without spraying to rinse. Some machines may have suction to absorb the water from the carpet and some do not. When home shampooing, be sure not to overwet the carpet or it could soak through to the backing and possibly even the floor below.

The most effective method for heavily soiled carpets is to have them professionally cleaned. It is always best to get 2-3 estimates. Be sure to ask if the estimate includes the removal of furniture. Some companies offer discounts if you have more than two carpets to clean.

Cleaning your carpet is an important process. A clean carpet makes the whole room appear cleaner. It is also important if you want to sell your home.

A clean carpet smells fresh and feels softer. What better reason could there be?

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Email: info@odoronix.com