Need some frugal cleaning ideas :-)

[devlina2u]

I need some tips/ideas or help for the following -

Oven - How do you clean your oven? I have heard of self cleaning oven. What is that? How do I know if my oven is self clean oven?

Stains on the carpet of the car - Yikes...rainy season is hard for the carpet of the car. Any ideas how to get rid of stains.

Stains on the carpet at home - I don't have any major stains but a few and I would like to know if there is something that I can use or do that can make these stains go away.

Stains on the countertop - I dropped turmeric powder once by mistake and now it's all yellow! Any ideas how I can get rid of the yellow?

TIA

[cata5]

devlina2u-
If your oven is self cleaning, it would have a lock/latch across the front along the top of the door and there would be a dial to which you could set to the "clean" mode.
You may have a continuous clean oven which means the sides are made in such a way that any gunk burns off when you heat it. You should not use oven cleaner on it.

Carpet stains: the quicker you get the stain out the better. I have a bottle of club soda on hand for spills and such. It works like a charm. Try it on old stains, too. If it is a real problem stain, you might want to try SPOT SHOT. It is at Target for about $4, I think. You have to test your carpet first to make sure it won't take the color out. Always use a WHITE towel/rag for removing stains to avoid making a bigger mess from the dye in a colored towel.

I have used SOFT SCRUB on my counters for tough to get out stains. It has bleach in it.

[doglover22]

UGH!! I HATE cleaning the oven! Ours is not self cleaning so you know what I used...a scrapper that my dh uses at the auto shop to remove gaskets off cars parts. I was worried that it was going to scratch the surface, but it didn't and got the oven looking like new!! I didn't use a cleaner or anything (I have yet to find one that actually works anyway). That is definatly how I will clean the oven from now on!

For the spots on the carpet and car, I use this stuff in a can called Tuff Stuff. I've seen it at Wal Mart and several grocery stores, usually in t he auto department. This stuff has got grease stains out of our carpet and car with little effort.

Other than bleach, I'm not sure what to use for the counter top.

[buckeyemomma]

No new tips for carpet than listed above, but for my counters I use the cleaner I use for my smooth top electric range. Works for me. I have used soft scrub also, works good, but make sure you don't get it on your clothes...because of the bleach. I learned that the hard way.LOL

My oven is self cleaning, but you still have to wipe up spills and wipe it out after it cools. But it sure is a lot easier than cleaning it by hand. Try the kind you heat the oven after you spray it, then you let it cool and wipe it out. I forget the name of it.

[devlina2u]

Thank you guys Will try these out and let you know !!

Thanks again

[kat]

Dev,

Try OxyClean. It will work on any carpet - it even got the old coffee stains out of the upholstry in DH's car (the so called professional detailers couldn't get them out, but I used my steamer & OxyClean once and they are gone). I use 2 scoops in the water instead of soap with the steam machine - no residue in the carpets & no more stains left behind. If you don't have a steamer, they have instructions on the bottle for using with a squeeze bottle.

It will also clean off the counter. Just make a paste & let it set, then wipe clean. Since there are no harmful chemicals in OxyClean, you don't have to worry about using it where food is (unlike bleach -which cleans well, but can make you sick if you don't get up all of it!)

I also use it in my laundry - it gets rid of stains on the colors & keeps all of the whites really white (no more bleach - yipee!).

[devlina2u]

Thanks Kat.

All great ideas. I will try these all soon.

Thanks so much :-)

[buckeyemomma]

kat, I have never heard of it, but will look when I go to store. Thanks

[hrdlife1]

oh man kat i am so addicted to that stuff...it works on EVERYTHING...the best is in the carpet steamer, my carpets here in housing are so old and icky...well the oxiclean got stains outta my carpet that were here when we moved in!!!! i LIVE by that stuff...oh and on clothes WOW it works wonders!!! it certainly takes the elbow grease factor out!!

dev, when i'm not using oxiclean (LOL) i take regular clorox bleach and water in a spray bottle and use that as my kitchen cleaner...it's cheap cheap and gets out everything on my countertops....gotta be careful with your clothes though

i am psycho when it comes to cleaning my house so i try and cut expenses whereever i can, living in military housing they can come and inspect our home to make sure it's clean etc anytime they want to so i'm constantly cleaning...one day we'll have a house and i can let the cobwebs sit and not mop my floor daily......ahhhhhhhhh to dream LOL

[devlina2u]

I went to get Oxiclean yesterday but didn't get it in grocery store. Going to try Costco today.

[devlina2u]

I found Oxiclean in Costco and KMart but I found powder. Do I need to buy powder or can I get spray somewhere? I remember seeing the ad and I think I had seen that person spraying Oxiclean on the carpet....

What do I buy?

Thanks

[doglover22]

devlina2u, as far as I know, Oxiclean only comes in powder!! Just get a spray bottle and make your own mixture. There should be direction on the side of the conatiner.

[cata5]

Dev, You DO mix the powder with water and it tells you on the container what the mixture should be depending on what you are cleaning. There is an oxiclean laundry product in a spray bottle that I bought from HSN once, but you can also make that with the powder.

[kat]

Dev -

It only comes in a powder - you just make up what you need in a spray bottle or just apply it like a paste to whatever you're cleaning. One word of advice - only make the solution as you need it because it tends to lose it's power if it's sitting around.

[alrightmommy]

BEST stuff I've ever used, and doubt I'll ever switch to anything for stains as long as I live, (unless a cheaper version comes out doing the EXACT same thing of course...

My son got kicked in the nose by accident from his sister while she was hanging by her door jam, lol... he was in one of his mere TWO church shirts, bloody nose all over it, didn't come to get me for awhile, nope, waited til it was 100% Drenched, in blood...
Soaked it in the sink with one scoop of oxyclean for a half hour, and it rinsed completely out, and even turned that water it soaked in CLEAR , just like in the commercial... I'm truly amazed by this stuff, wish I knew what's in it so I could copy it somehow for cheaper lol....

Kim