We love our furry family members and they love us! But it is hard to deny that they do not leave behind their unflattering stains and odors throughout their lives in our homes. Being able to quickly remove messes and stains from our surfaces is important to keep happy and healthy homes.

Here is how you remove any mess from different surfaces:

You don’t ever want to approach any mess on polyester type surfaces by scrubbing the surface because all you’re doing is rubbing the mess deeper into the fabric and creating a lasting odor. With a sponge, lightly stroke the surface starting at the center of the stain, if its large enough. Always be sure to use warm water and a scented detergent or carpet cleaner. Once you have spent some minutes lighting rubbing the surface, the stain should be lightening, at this point put some force into it. Occasionally blot the surface with a towel to start drying the area until the stain is gone.

Quickly remove solid materials because the longer you allow accidents to sit on a porous surface the more likely it is that the smells will stay. Use a wet cloth that has been dipped in warm soapy water wipe and dry the cloth repeatedly until the mess is gone.

Just like before, always remove the entire solid waste found when an accident occurs. Wipe and rinse with cool water and a wood approved cleaner. After cleaning, you can wax or polish the area to be sure the area looks and feels like before.

Clean up different types of pet messes:

Most pets like to cuddle with you on the furniture, and they will leave their odors behind. Sprinkle some baking soda on the area where your pet was getting cozy and let the soda bake into the area for about 15 minutes and then vacuum. Sometimes some simple odor sprays can eliminate the underlying smells.

Urine, other than the smell, can go quickly unnoticed and left to continue to soak into any surface. Use a cup of warm water with a teaspoon of dish soap, blot the area but do not scrub. Once the stain has been removed, rinse the soapy area with a new cloth dipped in one tablespoon of vinegar and a cup of water. For hard surfaces, you can use baking soda and water.

Pet hair creates a big mess! It accumulates in corners and creates incredible messes that seem to grow with every passing hour. The best thing to do in this situation is to vacuum the home daily!

This is by far one of the hardest stains to clean but if it is caught right away it isn’t so bad! Make a solution of one tablespoon of dish detergent and one tablespoon of white vinegar mixed with two cups of warm water. Follow these steps and then blot the area with a clean cloth that has been dipped into the mixture and continue dabbing/lightly scrubbing until the mess is completely cleaned.

Our instinct when we see large amounts of dirt or mud stains is to scrub as hard as we can as quickly as we can to remove any mess; however, don’t do that! You can vacuum the area with the dirt/mud and then clean the remaining stain with dish soap and warm water.

Our cuddly babies own our hearts, as they should, but in doing so they also leave behind messes that we need to be prepared to clean. Don’t feel obligated to move around all of your rugs and furniture to ensure that messes do not happen, simply, prepare yourself to clean and properly remove stains that do occur. If the above DIY tips and tricks simply aren’t enough for your pets new mess, consider calling a professional cleaning service! These professionals are trained in removing pet stains and odors, not just covering them up.

Are you starting fresh and clearing out all of your old cleaning tools and cleaners? Do you have a child leaving the nest, and you want to make sure they are set up to clean their new home? It’s easy to stock up on all the newest cleaners and tools, but the question becomes: How much of these things do I really need? We have you covered. We have compiled an essential list of items you’ll want in your home (or your kids’ new place) that will keep your space looking spotless. Let’s get right into it.

There is a cleaner for just about every corner of your home. One for the fridge, one for your windows, one for your countertops; we could go on. You can eliminate many of these by investing in some basic items that will save you money and can tackle multiple areas of your home.

WHITE VINEGAR – When making cleaners for your home, you need an acid-base which helps dissolve or break down sticky or dirty buildup. Vinegar, combined with other products like alcohol, will give you some serious cleaning power. 

BAKING SODA – Like vinegar, baking soda can dissolve dirt when combined with water. It’s different in that it is a powder and also acts as a mild abrasive. You can combine baking soda with a variety of other solvents to help clean the toughest areas of your home such as the kitchen and bathroom. 

ALCOHOL – The role of alcohol in cleaning is to ward off harmful bacteria, viruses, and fungus. As you might see on products like hand sanitizer, one of the main ingredients is alcohol. This is a great product to have on hand to sanitize various areas of your home. Just be sure it’s safe to use on the surfaces you need to clean. 

BORAX – Homeowners have been using borax for decades as a cleaning agent. Borax is a powdery substance that can help get rid of stains, molds, and mildew in your home. As a bonus, you can combine borax with things like baking soda and sugar to get rid of several insects like ants and cockroaches. 

HYDROGEN PEROXIDE – The power of hydrogen peroxide is useful on many surfaces that alcohol shouldn’t touch. It’s also a superior liquid to clean your cleaning tools with as well. You can make a two parts hydrogen peroxide and water bath and let your cleaning tools sit in it for about 10-15-minutes. This gets them clean and saves you from having to replace them more often. 

LEMON JUICE – The intense power of citric acid is what makes lemon juice so powerful when used as a cleaner. Not only does it have natural antibacterial properties, but it also has a natural bleaching agent to it. Knowing this also means you need to be careful about what surfaces you use it on. 

OLIVE OIL – While you might have olive oil in your home for cooking, you might be surprised to know that you can use it for cleaning purposes in your home. Olive oil can clean and protect many kinds of wood and leather furniture pieces. Even better, you can use it on things like sticky labels, stuck zippers, mosquito replant in your garden, polish stainless steel, or use it to slow tarnish on silver. 

SALT – You can use regular table salt or kosher sea salts to help break up grime in your home. Another bonus of using salt in combination with things like vinegar; it will help deodorize items that hold on to orders such as fabrics and laundry. 

These are our favorite tools that every home should be armed with. You can always add more items to this list, but most of these tools will clean every space within your home.

VACCUM – There is no replacement for a good vacuum cleaner when it comes to caring for your carpets and rugs. Invest in a good one right out of the gate and perform maintenance on it regularly to ensure you get its full lifespan. 

TOILET BRUSH – A toilet brush has one job, and it should likely stay that way. This brush tends to handle the most bacteria in your home so be sure to use some of the antibacterial products (mentioned above) on it once a month. 

DISH BRUSH & SPONGE – While you might have a dishwasher, you likely have certain kitchen items that cannot run through it. Arm your kitchen with a couple of types of dish brushes and sponges according to the type of items you use or cook with. 

BROOM & PAN – Your broom will be helpful in all kinds of ways beyond sweeping your floors. You can use it to clear cobwebs in hard to reach places, dust surfaces just out of reach, or even wet the bristles to clean things like your bathtub between deep cleanings. 

CLEANING CLOTHS – Keep a variety of cleaning cloths in your home that can be used on different surfaces. You can have certain cloths for your floors and others for your countertops. Further, you might opt for different textures (like microfiber) to protect more delicate surfaces.

WET FLOOR CLEANING TOOL – Your broom and dustpan can only handle so much, there will be times when you need to clean up spills. A mop or similar wet broom will help keep your floors tidy. 

COURSE BRISTLE BRUSH – When a cleaning cloth won’t get up the grime, a bristle brush certainly can. You will need this type of brush for things like tub basins, floors, and sinks. 

MAGIC ERASER – Finally, we are hard on our homes, and this is especially true for households with kids and pets. Your home is likely to see its share of ink pen, high heel scuffs, and mysterious marks along your walls. A magic eraser (or similar product) is a valuable tool to have in your home when cloths and cleaners can’t remove this type of wear and tear. 

We hope you got something valuable from our essential cleaning products and cleaning tool suggestions. With a little research and direction, you can make your own cleaners and use these tools to help your home sparkle.

When you gaze across your home, do you find yourself quickly bypassing over the areas that need attention? You know, the spaces filled with clutter, or have collected so much dust you can’t bring yourself to tackle it? We can relate. Did you know that the average person spends over 12,800 hours cleaning over their lifetime? Who wants to be cleaning when a new Netflix binge is waiting?

We live hard in our homes but there comes a moment when we have to put our foot down, or better yet, our broom. Today is that day. Here are seven hacks to clean your home, so it doesn’t feel like such a mammoth chore.

That questionable odor coming from your dishwasher isn’t going away without some attention. Food debris will eventually break down but it will take several cycles and that means food odors will permeate your appliance until then. Your dishwasher has a lifespan of 7-12 years, and if you don’t want to fork out money for a new one, you’ll want to clean it regularly. Scoop out any food with a paper towel and use an old toothbrush to clean the filter for hard to remove bits.

Your stemware, unfortunately, isn’t good at concealing water spots and dust. We love sparkling wine glasses, especially those we have displayed in plain sight. We don’t love the water spots and cloudy residue our dishwasher may have left on them, however. To remedy this, use a solution of white vinegar and water and soak for 5-minutes in the solution. After, remove your stemware and dry with a microfiber towel.

We don’t know many people who don’t rely heavily on their coffee makers. The magical brew is a part of how the world wakes up each day with roughly 65% of Americans consuming coffee daily. Trouble brews (we couldn’t resist) when your coffee maker gets scally and collects hard water debris. To get it back to “like new_ shape, fille the reservoir up with white vinegar and water. Hit the brew button and let it run half of its cycle. Let it sit for about 20-30 minutes and then let it finish its full brew cycle. Finally, brew a full pot of hot water to rinse it out.

If you find yourself doing everything you can to not touch your shower curtain while bathing, it might be time to revive it. The average American takes 6-showers a week. (did you know Brazilians average 14 showers a week?) This kind of shower action is going to take a toll on your shower curtain. Good news, you can actually throw your curtain in the washer with detergent and towels for agitation. From there just hand it back up to dry. Now, you can touch your shower curtain again.

All those living room dance parties may have left your floors scuffed or marked up over the past year. These don’t typically come up easily while cleaning your floors and we tend to leave them for “another time.” Here is a hack to remove those for good. You can use an old sock and often remove them with that. If that doesn’t work, many swear by using tennis balls to remove hard shoe marks.

We adore our creative kiddos, but we aren’t super happy when they decide to reveal their talents on our walls and other surfaces. We have a couple of options for this sort of conundrum. For walls, you can create a baking soda and water paste, apply with a small paintbrush, and let sit for up to 10-minutes. Wipe down after and it should remove permanent marker. For your wood floors, you’ll do the same but with toothpaste.

Do you do that face scrunching thing when you walk into your home and you smell your pets before you see them? If you’ve been disappointed by all the air fresheners, filter oils, and similar odor-masking products, we feel you. We suggest going back to basics and reaching for your baking soda. You’ll be amazing at what sprinkling this around your home can do to keep your house smelling fresh. Just apply it to the soft surfaces your pet loves the most, let sit and sink in, then vacuum up.

Hopefully, these cleaning hacks have inspired you to tackle a few cleaning projects this Spring. We suggest just cleaning a few spaces at a time, trying to clean your whole home at this level is too overwhelming. Create a cleaning calendar and commit to just a few things per week. After a month of attention, your home will look brand new.