Homemade Hand Sanitizer

        

Source: education.com via Katherine on Pinterest

I saw the above pin on Pinterest.  It only takes 3 ingredients, 2 if you skip the essential oil, which I did.  Basically its a mix of one part aloe vera gel and two parts rubbing alcohol.  I threw it together in an empty pump bottle that originally had hand sanitizer in it.

At first I thought that it was too much rubbing alcohol, but I think the consistency is about right.  So how does it compare to the store bought stuff?  Well, the aloe vera has a bit of a residue when you rub it in.  It doesn't dry as quickly as the store bought sanitizer.  But it's aloe vera so it can't be bad for your skin!

Considering that the aloe vera was something I had around the house (I had to buy enough rubbing alcohol to match what I had) it was cheap.  I like cheap.  Will I use it?  Yes, definitely.  Will I do it again?  Eh.

This post is linked at Project Pinterest:

Removing Red Dye from Carpet: Testing the Internet

I have found some great cleaning tips on Pinterest.  So, it got me thinking.  I wonder if the Internet has any great ideas for getting out red dye (i.e. Koo-laid, Crystal Light, etc.) from carpet.  You see I have a very nice area rug.  I also have two toddlers.  Some of the mishaps are years old.  Some are more recent (as in, last week).  You'd think I would learn.

I'll show you the before and after pics and then let you know what I did.  Here is the before picture of the first area I cleaned.  Hopefully you can see the pinkish marks In between he flowers.

BEFORE (AREA 1)

 Here is the after picture.  The pink marks are lighter, but not entirely gone.

AFTER (AREA 1)

Here is the second area I cleaned.  Lots of pink spots.  These were the ones that were really old.

BEFORE (AREA 2)

Here is the area after.  The pink spots are lighter, but I also managed to discolor the tip of a leaf.  And the carpet is lighter where I scrubbed a bit.

AFTER (AREA 2)

Over all this is a good cleaning idea, but proceed with caution.  I was pretty impressed with the amount of old stains that I was able to get up.  But I think I pulled up some of the red ink in my carpet too.

In any event, here is the process.  Use a mixture of 1/2 ammonia and 1/2 water.  Spray or dab over the stain (I scrubbed a bit too and perhaps this was my downfall).  Place a clean rag over the stain and apply a hot iron.  The heat should pull the stain onto the rag.

And it did.  It was pretty impressive.  I found that applying a little extra force with the iron helped.  

 I'd be interested in knowing if this works for anyone else.