There's Sunshine Today!

I don't know about the rest of the country, but I am sick and tired of snow and rain and cold! I know my brother who lives in New York is. He called and complained that they got 5 inches of the white stuff yesterday and how done he is with the mess! We had snow last week with ice and then had a monsoon this weekend with rain for almost 2 days. Needless to say, my yard was a mud hole. And Hubby and Bubby were out in it on the 4 wheelers. Which is nothing new in my house, actually, it's expected. So, when I saw that the forecast for the rest of the week was sunny and WARM, I decided to shampoo my living room carpet that had gone from pink to brown. Yes, I have pink carpeting in my living room. We are going to change it as soon as we get brave enough to tackle that kind of DIY project. Well, I didn't have enough carpet shampoo on hand and when I went to Ollie's yesterday, they didn't have any in stock. So, I went online to see if there were any safe for machine recipes. Of course there were! But, I did find a lot of conflicting information, which I will share. The recipe that I used for my Bissell Proheat Clear View, which worked wonders and cleaned better than the regular shampoo I used was-

• 1 Tablespoon Blue Dawn
• 4 Tablespoons Hydrogen Peroxide (3% like you would find in the first aid section)
• Hot water

On mine, there is a separate container for the shampoo. I just put the Dawn and Peroxide in first and mixed then filled with hot water to the fill line. Then shampooed as normal. I have read where you should spot test this first if you have dark carpets because I have read it can bleach a little. I did not have that experience. You should always spot test any new cleaner anyways. Now, the conflicting information that I was reading is that some people were adding white vinegar to this mix. But, I have read that mixing vinegar and peroxide can produce a harmful gas. I didn't want to take any chances since I had a bad experience when I was newly married with bleach and ammonia. Don't ask. I was a young bride who didn't know these things. I learned a lot over the years but A LOT of errors. Some people swear by the vinegar in this mix, but I didn't do that. Use caution, is all I can say. But this mix that I used got all the mud out of my carpet and didn't hurt my machine at all. Sooo much cheaper than the 10$ bottle I normally buy!