Bed Bugs

Amy asked me about our Laundry Balls and Bed Bugs this morning, and this made me curious enough to investigate these nasty little critters~

Although we can ensure safe laundry cleaning methods, professional extermination of surrounding areas is almost always necessary. THEY DO TRAVEL!!!

Rest assured that Dry Heat will ensure their demise on laundry items at least:

Placing clothing, footwear, rugs, toys, stuffed animals, backpacks and other non-launderable items in the dryer for a certain length of time can conveniently remove bed bugs. When an average clothes dryer is run for five minutes at low, medium or high heat, they generate temperatures of about 140, 150 and 180 degrees (respectively). It is believed that when drying a bundle of infected clothes, high temperatures are able to kill bed bugs. It is suggested to run the dryer for more than 20 minutes.

Natural Bleaching~

Use the sun today~ hang your greying, stained fabrics on the line. The sun will bleach them for you. It doesn’t even have to be warm!

Brightening your dingy whites

I know your probably a little skeptical, but spring is here…. I can’t wait for the sun to shine as I look at what a wet, muddy winter has done to my socks. Because I don’t see sun in my future anytime soon, I may have to brighten them indoors. (The sun can do amazing things to brighten your whites when they’re hung our on the line!)

Bring a cup of white vinegar to a boil in a large pot of boiling water. Put in your small whites- socks, t-shirts, etc. and let them sit overnight. Drain, and then wash as usual with your Diva Laundry Balls, or eco-friendly detergent. They may smell a slight vinegar smell, but I assure you that they won’t once they’re dry.

Your Diva Laundry Balls and the Sun

The sun is shining, the sun is shining!!!

Take today to refresh your Diva Laundry Balls (and Trekker Ball) in the direct sunlight~

Lipstick!

Red lipstick! Patience, lots of patience…….

Use a piece of tissue to “dab” up the oil and colour of your mark. Never rub! Continue until you can’t lift up any more. Then apply several tablespoons of baking soda, taking a soft toothbrush and brushing with very small sweeping motions. You will be amazed at how much colour will transfer to your now-pink soda. Shake it off into compost. Now you may see the remainder of the stain, but pile up some more baking soda, and this time add an additional few droplets of white vinegar and wait for bubbling. Add a small squirt of clear, natural dishsoap. Give it a good scrub. Rinse with cold water and repeat if necessary. Wash as usual in cold water with your Diva Laundry Balls.

Happy Washing!

Red Jello Stains

Red Jello stains….. Red Jello stains…….. heard of them? We went to birthday party on Saturday, and Red Jello stains were a sad highlight. Our hostess was beside herself with red jello on her off-white carpet. Now, I just happened to have our Diva Stain Stick in my purse and quickly went to work on it. First I blotted it with towel, and then worked in the Diva Stain Stick with my finger nails to get it right into the fibres. I left it to sit for 10 minutes before cleaning it up with a warm cloth. It picked up at least 90% of the stain, and I recommended she remove the remaining colour with following solution~

1 oz. of Stain Solver Oxygen Bleach dissolved into 1 Quart Warm Water

Saturate stained area of carpet with the solution. Let sit for 10-15 minutes, then dab the stain with towels. Repeat if necessary. Allow carpet to dry, and vacuum up any white powder that may remain as the solution dries.

This procedure will also work for Red Jello stains in clothing as well. After this process, wash in lukewarm water with your Diva Laundry Balls or Eco Laundry Detergent.

Good Luck!

Blackberry Syrup stain on the carpet

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I accidently spilled Blackberry Syrup on my carpet today, and thought I’d try our Diva Stain Stick to get it out~ and voila! It worked! I even took pictures, however, my computer is testing me and not so interested in uploading them. I will post them as soon as it will allow me.
First, I blotted the stain with a paper towel and got up as much of the syrup as possible. Then I rubbed on the Diva Stain Stick, and worked it in with my fingernail. After letting it sit for a couple of minutes, I rinsed it with a cold, wet cloth. Voila! Blackberry Syrup stain had vanished!
You can check out our Diva Stain Sticks at www.laundrydivas.com

Removing Black Mould

Spray mould stain with a mixture of vinegar and water (2 parts vinegar: 1 part water), and work it in with a scrubber. Let sit for 20 minutes or so. Then put your item into the washing machine with 3 cups of vinegar; turn your machine on with a cold water setting; allow it to fill, but turn the machine off to soak your stain for a couple of hours. Then, put in your Diva Laundry Balls and wash as usual! This should remove the stubborn stain and the smell that accompanies it.

Chilliwack Progress – Holly Johnston: Laundry Diva

Chilliwack Progress – Holly Johnston: Laundry Diva.

Permanent Marker stains

So they say it’s called Permanent Marker for a reason! In some bizarre coincidance, all of my 5 children recieved permanent markers in at least one of their Christmas gifts. And they have since managed to get it on the carpet, as well as their clothes. What to do? My research has proven that there is only one acceptable solution- Isopropyl Alcohol. Be sure to put a clean, dry cloth under the garment, and with another clean cloth blot repeatedly with the alcohol until the stain is removed as much as possible (Make sure to to test in an inconspicuous part of the garment first for colour fastness). Then wash in lukewarm water. You need to be prepared that some of this stain may still remain, this is not uncommon. Good luck!