Just because a pan is “nonstick” doesn’t mean you won’t have to clean it. Find out how to clean a nonstick pan with help from a cleaning coach in this free video clip.

I am loving my new “friends” for my dryer. I’m not a big fan of fabric softener but I hate static cling.  I was lucky enough to discover this new product and I think you are going to love it too.

Woolzies are pure handmade New Zealand wool dryer balls that naturally soften your laundry. Tumbling six of these hand-spun all-natural dryer balls in your laundry reduces drying time by 25%.  They also reduce wrinkles and static. And because they are made from only hand-spun wool, so you won’t have to use fabric softeners. The wool is so much safter that the  plastics used in other dryer balls.

Unlike dryer sheets and liquid fabric softeners, Woolzies last for hundreds and hundreds of loads and they’re friendly to the environment!  They are handmade of the highest quality New Zealand wool by women in Katmandu, Nepal. Woolzies are washed with natural soap and water five times before they’re felted and made into balls.

I have gotten to know the creater of Woolzies. Eli is so wonderful and he has decided to offer two sets of dryer balls as a give away to my followers.  You can enter by doing each of the following:

1.  Join us on our facebook fan page: www.facebook.com/greencleaningcoach.com  When you get there just mention you are looking forward to trying Woolzies Dryer Balls.

2. Become a fan of Woolzies fan page at: www.facebook.com/woolzies

3. Become a follower and mention @greenyourclean  on twitter. You can get an extra entry if you include a link back to this page.

4. Follow @woolzies on twitter. Mention the giveaway with a link back to this page and you get a extra entry.

5.  Please leave us a comment and let us know why you are interested in trying Woolzies!

You have up to seven opportunities to enter our give away.  We will be choosing the winners on February 15th and will post the winners here. Make sure you follow this post! If you can’t wait to try them out go here and you can purchase a set for yourself. Buy two sets and receive free shipping!

Happy Cleaning!

Image: maple / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I don’t know about you, but I deal with some pretty scary stains after halloween. My kids come home and dump their candy all over my family room carpet. And every year “someone” gets chocolate on the carpet. Here is a sure fire plan that will help you should your little “goblins” get chocolate on your family room carpet!

1 Rub an ice cube over the stain so that the chocolate becomes hard and won’t smear into the surrounding fabric. Once it is hard scrape as much chocolate off as you can. Use a vacuum to lift the flaked chocolate off the carpet.

2. Wait until the chocolate warms back up to room temperature, and blot it with warm/hot water and a wet cloth. Continue to blot the stain until nothing comes off on the cloth.

3. Mix up 1 tablespoon borax, 1 tablespoon baking soda and add some club soda together until you have a thin paste and rub it from the outside of the stain to the center. Don’t smear the stain around or work in a circle – just blot and wipe towards the center of the stain.

4. Using a damp white cloth, blot the stain and continue the above process until nothing more comes off onto the white cloth.

5. If the stain is still visible you can use some old fashioned laundry soap and work it into the area.

6. You can also dilute some of the laundry soap in hot water and add a few teaspoons of rubbing alcohol and place over the stain.

7. Continue to blot the stain until it is removed.

8. An enzyme based spot remover such as Unique, which will “eat” the chocolate as long as it remains wet. Place the stain remover directly on the stain and place a wet paper towel over the area. The longer you keep it wet, the longer it will continue to work on the stain.

Watch today’s video tip for the answer…

“I enjoyed your presentation very much. I bought your package with the book and there are some great tips that I will be sure to use.
I have one problem that I could not find and I am wondering if you have a solution to getting mildew spots out of a cotton shower curtain. Unfortunately, it has blue, green and white stripes so I cannot just try bleach. Any helpful tip you have I would really appreciate.”
Thanks for the question. I think you should try working some old fashioned soap into the stain with a small brush. You could use Ivory if you have some and a small gentle brush. I’ve made some “stain lifters” that will soon be available on my site and you can see a picture of the brush I’m referring to. After brushing with the soap in a circular motion, use the brush and dip it into (or pour) some hydrogen peroxide onto the area. Keep brushing in a circle. Rinse and see how the stain is coming. Keep repeating until the stain is lifted. You can also let the mixture sit over night. Wash the curtain in the washing machine but don’t put it into the dryer until you KNOW the stain is gone. The heat from the dryer will set the stain.

-Prior to mopping vacuum your floors and get up all the big dirt and hair. I prefer a canister vacuum to do this job. Make sure you have a nice floor brush as well.
-Use a technique I call “bucketless mopping”. You replace the bucket with a spray bottle of your favorite cleaner diluted as if it were in your bucket. We’ve all been taught to use a bucket but this will make mopping quick and easy.
-Instead of a sponge mop that holds the dirt, use a microfiber mop with different covers for different jobs, These are the same type of mops hospitals are using to prevent cross contamination.

How to use a microfiber mop correctly:
-Wet the clean cover in the sink and wring it out really well.
-Place it back on the mop.
-Spray your diluted cleaner directly on the floor.
-Wipe the wet mop head over the entire floor.
-If you like you can use a second wet mop head to rinse it. If we were in Germany – we would go over it a third time to dry it!
-Place the dirty mop covers in the washer so they will be nice and clean for the next time.

You can use the same system for cleaning your hardwood floors only don’t wet the mop head – use it dry and lightly spray the cleaner so that it will leave the floors sparkling clean.

Here is a homemade recipe for a hardwood floor cleaner from The Joy of Green Cleaning:

1 teaspoon dish soap
1 cup white vinegar
16 ounce hot water

Place these ingredients in a spray bottle and lightly spray the floors. Wipe with a dry microfiber mop. This mixture will leave the floor clean without a waxy build-up.

Watch this at My Fox Boston ]]> http://www.greencleaningcoach.com/tips/cleaning-coach-leslie-reichert-joined-fox-25-morning-news-to-talk-about-how-switching-to-%e2%80%9cgreen-cleaning%e2%80%9d-can-not-only-help-the-environment-but-also-keep-families-and-pets-safe-from-h/feed 0 http://www.greencleaningcoach.com/tips/an-interview-at-whole-foods http://www.greencleaningcoach.com/tips/an-interview-at-whole-foods#comments Mon, 14 Feb 2011 23:30:08 +0000 admin http://www.greencleaningcoach.com/?p=381

The Joy of Green Cleaning

Monday With Whole Body
Our Whole Body Team Leader, Lindsay, is really excited about one of our new books – The Joy of Green Cleaning by Leslie Riechert. She spoke to the author and asked this question…

What is the big deal about greening your cleaning?
Here is what she had to say:
Did you know that on a typical cleaning day the levels of chemicals in your home can be hundreds and maybe even thousands of times higher that the most polluted air in a large city? The air quality in your home could be bad enough to warrant an inspection by the health authorities if you were a commercial location!

Many scientists seem to think that prolonged exposure to even small amounts of chemicals can be just as bad as a short, high dose. This would mean that the chemicals we use to clean can do damage to our heath. Combine this with the fact that our homes are so energy efficient- these chemicals can stay in the air for weeks. One chemist also points out that we never consider that these chemicals are combining with others that are “off gases” in our homes. We are creating what some call a chemical cocktail. Most scientists test the effects of one single chemical, but they are now realizing they have no idea of the potential harm a combination of these chemicals and gases can have.

The reality is that most of our regular cleaning can be done with out any toxic chemicals. Simple things that we find in our pantry can do a great job. Ingredients such as baking soda, vinegar, salt, lemon juice, and hydrogen peroxide can be used in place of the traditional cleaners. Or, if you don’t want to mix up your own recipe, there are green companies creating cleaning products that are made with simple, non-toxic ingredients. [like we sell at Whole Foods Market!]

One of the biggest questions I receive every day is “how do I disinfect my home?” It is actually doubtful whether we even need to disinfect at all. Recently, what we have done is attempt to kill all the bacteria in our homes. What we don’t realize is that there are good bacteria as well as bad and the antibacterial products we use always leave some of bad bacteria behind. These surviving bacteria create stronger forms of bacteria that become resistant to the antibacterial agents you using to try to kill them. Besides, you may be doing more damage to your body by using the anti-bacterial chemicals than the “bad” bacteria could have done to you.

Teach how to green clean @ Whole Foods

Instead, I’m going to give you three recipes from my book: The Joy of Green Cleaning that you can mix up and try in your own home. All the ingredients are available at your local Whole Foods Market. If you’d like a “green cleaning” shopping list that you can use at Whole Foods, just email me at cleaningcoach@yahoo.com and put Whole Foods Shopping List in the subject line. I’m always trying to make cleaning fun, fast, green and totally clean! So make sure to follow me at www.facebook.com/lesliereichert or on twitter at www.twitter.com/greenyourclean

Recipes
Multipurpose Cleaner
1 tsp borax

½ tsp. baking soda

2 tbsp vinegar

½ tsp. liquid castile soap

2 c. very hot water

Non-toxic alternative- Mrs. Meyers all-purpose cleaner in different scents, Caldrea all-purpose cleaner, or micro-fiber cloths that are new technology that clean dirt, grease and dust without any chemicals.

Green Cleaning Scrub
1 cup borax

2 cups salt (sea salt for a more aggressive cleaner)

2 cups baking soda

8 drops essential oil for fragrance

Mix the ingredients thoroughly. After they are completely mixed together, add the essential oil for fragrance. Keep this mixture in a shaker container with a lid. Use if for cleaning your sinks and even your toilet bowl!

Fabric Softener Alternative
(test your dryer filter for invisible buildup by running it under water. If it holds water, place it in the dishwasher to remove build up and cut down on fabric softeners.)

Add ½ c. of white vinegar, baking soda or borax to the rinse cycle to soften water and reduce static cling.

What awesome advice! This book is for sale right now at Whole Foods Market Wayland in our Whole Body department.