Animals | Insects

Leave an open box of Baking Soda on the side and it will absorb your animal’s smells leaving your house smelling natural once again

Warning - trying to remove wet bird poop from your clothing will most likely result in a bigger mess, as fresh bird poop tends to smudge on fabric.

1.  Let the poop dry completely.

2.  Use a paper towel to pry the largest pieces off of your clothing.

3.  If there are smaller pieces of dried poop left behind on the fabric, scrape the area with the edge of a blunt knife until the remaining poop flakes off.

4.  Wipe over the area.

5.  If you see a light coloured spot where the droppings fell, then this is the remnants of the dried poop. To remove this spot from clothing, dab and wipe the area with a damp cloth.

To keep your cat litter nice and fresh smelling, mix baby powder in with the litter.

To remove animal hair from upholstery run a rubber glove over the area, the hair will stick to the glove and come off.

Collect animal hair by rubbing the area with dryer sheets; they will magically attract all the loose hairs.

Warning: according to Anitra Frazier in The New Natural Cat, the chemicals in the fabric softener will adhere to your cat’s fur (if you use it on something he lies on, such as a towel) and be licked off later

1. Soak up urine with paper towels. Blot, don’t rub. Rubbing can damage carpet fibres. Clean starting with an area sufficiently outside of the stain ring, moving inward..

2. Urine travels downward and outward so be sure to clean the area surrounding the visible stain and if you can, clean under your carpet.

3. Rinse the area with water to dilute the urine.

4. Blot again using clean paper towels.

5. Rinse the area with soda water and then blot again using clean paper towels.

6. Absorb the remaining liquid with more paper towels – place something heavy on the paper towels. Be patient; it may take 6 hours to dry. If you would like to speed up the process you can use a wet/dry vacuum so dry the area out. If you let the carpet or upholstery stay damp, trapped moisture can lead to mildew and eventual crumbling.

7. To deodorise the area, cover your pet’s accident with baking soda, let it stand for at least two hours, then vacuum. Proceed with other steps above as needed.

Helpful Hints

If spot cleaning results in the surrounding area looking dingy, use a steam vacuum to clean the carpet.If a stain reappears on the surface of the carpet a few days later, dilute the stain with water and clean again. Steam-cleaning can be a last resort.

1. The acid in animal vomit can stain fast, so immediately scoop up the solid particles.

2. Add some water to help loosen the stuck particles.

3.Then cover the area with baking soda or salt.

4. Let it dry, then vacuum.

5. Repeat the baking soda/salt and vacuum step.

6. Next, pour soda water on the area, and blot with paper towels.

For unwanted insects,

Sprinkle some baking soda around your cabinets, cupboards and other places insects might run.