Vinegar is the cleanser of choice here at snips. We go through gallons of it. It's great for everything from cleaning windows and mirrors, to getting rid of odors in the carpet (whose idea was it to have carpet, anyhow?), to cleaning countertops. We use it full strength in a spray bottle.

  Another life (and nose-) saver we use around here is something we call "Stinky Spray." This is the very best odor destroyer ever! Here's the secret formula:

1 quart hydrogen peroxide
1/4 cup baking soda
1 teaspoon liquid soap

  Mix together in a spray bottle. This mixture does not keep (in fact, they say it can actually explode), so discard whatever you don't use immediately. We haven't seen it bleach out any colors, but by all means test it on the fabric before you have a disaster!

Other great animal safe cleaners are:
Baking Soda ~ Use on a damp sponge to clean and disinfect all kitchen and bathroom surfaces. Absorbs odors inside the fridge, and in the carpet. Good for cleaning silver.

Vanilla Extract ~Put a few drops in a dish to get rid of odors.

Cloves and Cinnamon Sticks ~ Simmer in water to get rid of odors.

Walnut ~To hide scratches in wood. Rub with meat of nut.

Isopropyl Alcohol ~ Sponge on and allow to dry. Make sure that the area is well ventilated. Note: in order to be an effective it has to be allowed to dry and not wiped off.

Recipes
  While these recipes are safer than commercially produced products, you will still need to keep these in areas where companion animals do not have access.

Roach Killer Dough Balls
1/4 cup boric acid
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour

Add enough water to form 1" balls. Put in bottle caps near windows, doorways, or other openings to the outdoors.

Ant Killer
10 ounces of light Karo syrup
1/2 cup of water

Heat slightly in order to blend. Add 2 teaspoons of boric acid powder and mix.

Pour some into a bottle cap and place where ants are and animals cannot get to it. This recipe makes quite a lot, so store the remainder in a tightly closed bottle. Once the ants find this, they gather around and drink until they can't walk anymore. I usually have to refill the bottle cap after several hours. The ants should be history after a couple of days. I have had great success using this recipe on the several types of ants that invade my house.

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