If you live with one or more indoor cats, household litter boxes are a fact of life in your home. There are several different types of cat litter products available, and the type you choose can have a major impact on how your home smells. It’s important to choose an effective cat litter that your cat doesn’t mind using and  that keeps the smell out of your home.

Clumping Cat Litter
Many people prefer to use clumping cat litter rather than traditional cat litter. Those who prefer this option find keeping their cat’s litter boxes clean to be much easier than with traditional litter boxes. While traditional litter boxes have to be dumped and refilled regularly, this isn’t necessary when you use clumping cat litter.

Instead, the areas that need to be removed actually form clumps that you can easily see and remove, without having to deal with picking up the entire box and emptying it. Of course, the litter has to be completely changed once in a while, but the frequency is much less than with traditional litter.

On the downside, the clumps do need to be removed quite frequently. If you allow them to build up in the litter box, it’s likely that your cat will avoid using the box to do his or her business.

Odor Alert Clumping Cat Litter
If you like the idea of the easy ongoing maintenance of clumping cat litter but don’t trust yourself to remember to take care of the necessary complete litter changes before the smell gets out of hand, you might want to try Odor Alert. This type of cat litter provides cat owners with a visual cue when it’s time to swap out their clumping cat litter.

Instead of realizing too late that a litter box odor has permeated your home, with Odor Alert, it will be very obvious when it’s time to make a switch. The pre-odor indicators in this product turn blue when the dampness that leads to unpleasant odors starts to build up. Long before your nose tells you it’s time to switch your kitty litter, your eyes will notice that it has turned blue. Odor Alert takes the guess work out of knowing when it’s time to make a total litter switch.

Important Consideration for Choosing Cat Litter
Keep in mind that cats tend to be very finicky about their litter boxes. If you’re thinking about switching to a different type of kitty litter, purchase only a small container the first time. This will save you from wasting money and having to deal with kitty potty accidents in your home if your cat refuses to use the new litter.

Stoves with glass ceramic stove tops are attractive additions to any kitchen. They are easy to use, and even easier to keep clean if you follow simple tips for how to properly maintain your ceramic cook top.

Cleaning Products
You can find cleaning cloths and products made especially for use with ceramic stove tops. While these products work just fine, it isn’t necessary (in most cases) to purchase such items. You can use any soft cloth or sponge and kitchen multipurpose cleanser or liquid dish soap to keep your glass ceramic stove top in sparkling clean condition. It is important to avoid wiping your stove the abrasive side of a sponge or anything else likely to scratch the surface.

Daily Maintenance
Every time you use your stove, you should keep an eye out for spills. It’s much easier to wipe a spill off your ceramic stove top as soon as it occurs than it is to remove it after it has had time to dry and harden. Every time you cook on your stove, follow up by wiping the ceramic stove top down with a soft cloth.

Periodic Deep Cleaning
No matter how careful you are with keeping your stove wiped clean on a daily basis, it’s always likely that grime and spills will accumulate on the surface. When you notice a build up of grime on your cook top, it’s time to give it a good, deep cleaning.  Simply wet the surface and apply the cleaning product of your choice. Products such as soft scrub, Fantastic, and Formula 409 are good for this purpose.

Allow the cleaner and water to sit on the stove for a while, so the cleaning chemicals have a chance to loosen up the caked up spills or grease from the surface of the appliance. After thirty minutes or so, simply go back with your sponge or soft cloth and wipe the surface clean. If some spots are too stubborn to wipe away after a brief soak, apply more cleanser and let it sit a little longer. You may have to scrub pretty hard in some spots. Do not give in to the temptation to use an abrasive cleaning pad, or you’ll end up with a scratched cook top.

Do you get tired of constantly stooping down or bending over to clean up the pinecones from your yard? Add a CONEIVORE to your supply of yard clean-up tools, and you can take the pain out of keeping your lawn free of pine cones, hazelnuts, pears, walnuts, chestnuts, sweet gum balls, and other fruits and nuts that fall from trees and keep your yard looking messy.

This unique tool provides homeowners with a fast and easy tool for removing debris from the ground. Instead of having to constantly bend down and pick up items that are cluttering the yard, the CONEIVORE allows you to remove these items without having to stoop.

The CONEIVORE is designed to gobble up the cones with very
little effort. The three-foot handled tool weighs less than three pounds. It is made with a plunging tube that fits over the top of a pinecone or other item that you want to pick up, and pulls it from the ground into the tube.

The unit comes with caps of two different sizes designed to accommodate pinecones of different sizes. The CONEIVORE can pick up any item from two to seven inches to slip into the tube when pushed over it. It holds 15 to 18 pinecones at a time. When it’s full, simply dump it out and start over until your yard is clear.

This handy piece of yard equipment enables the user to pick up pinecones without having to bend over or rake them into piles. They don’t have to risk finger pricks and cuts, which means the chances of injury and infection are greatly diminished.

For more information, see Coneivore.com or call 888-CONEWIZ.

Are your hardwood floors starting to look their age? Real hardwood floors are an elegant design element for any home. However, over time they can begin to lose their luster. Scuffs and scratches sometimes seem to appear on hardwood flooring out of nowhere. While some wear and tear adds a look and feel of character to wood floors, too much evidence of use can detract from the beauty of these floors.

Fortunately, there’s a new product that helps keep hardwood floors looking their best regardless of how frequently they are used. Minwax Hardwood Floor Reviver is a easy to use product that allows homeowners to restore the beauty and luster of their hardwood floors with a minimal amount of effort.

Minwax Hardwood Floor Reviver is a topcoat that brings back shine to dull floors and adds a protective layer to help prevent future damage. With this product, it’s easy to revive scuffed and scratched hardwood floors that have begun to dull as a result of daily use. You don’t have to sand the floors at all, and only a minimal amount of preparation is required.

To bring your floors back to life, simply sweep or vacuum the floor to remove loose dirt and wash the floor with a cleaning product designed especially for hardwood floors. Follow up cleaning by applying a thin layer of Minwax Hardwood Floor Reviver using a synthetic applicator pad and let dry for two hours. The water-based formula means the product dries quickly and doesn’t have a strong odor.  

According to Jacquelyn, Ferrara, the Director of Marketing for Minwax, “Reviver is an easy way to revitalize worn hardwood floors without undertaking a complete refinishing, making it a perfect and simple do-it-yourself project.” You can give your hardwood floors new life and keep them looking beautiful by reapplying every three to six months. 

Enjoy clean dishes without elbow grease with a Whirlpool Gold dishwasher featuring PowerScour technology. This advanced dish washing solution features 36 targeted jets that blast away even the toughest baked on foods without requiring soaking, pre-rinsing, or scrubbing by hand. This powerful technology meets the needs of busy consumers who are frustrated by having to soak and scrub dishes before running them through their dishwashers.

Whirlpool’s Gold dishwasher with PowerScour technology can handle just about anything. The appliance is strong enough to wash away baked-on food, but can also safely clean delicate glassware in the same load. Whirlpool’s PowerScour technology takes aim at the worst messes, yet the smart technology makes sure that items that don’t need to feel the force of the powerful jets are protected.

This is accomplished via an “Adaptive Wash” cycle, which calculates the size of the load and dirtiness of the dishes. It automatically adjusts among light, normal and heavy cleaning cycles.  Not only does this feature provide optimal cleaning results, it also conserves water and saves energy.

“Today’s consumers want their appliances to take the dirty work out of housework,” said Tony Chang, Whirlpool brand marketing director. “PowerScour technology can handle the stickiest pie pan or oatmeal bowl at the push of a button. It eliminates the need to do things by hand because the dishwasher is powerful enough to do it all on its own.”

Keeping clothes clean and free from stains and germs can be a real challenge in today’s households. Fortunately, washing machine technology is keeping up with the needs and concerns of modern families. Kenmore Elite’s high-efficiency and high-style HE Steam Washers deliver enhanced cleaning power paired with maximum energy efficiency.

Kenmore Elite HE Steam Washers utilize the incredible cleaning power of steam to enhance the process or washing clothing and other household items. They deliver superior stain removal properties, along with a number of other product features and benefits.

Steam Treat Option: With a Kenmore Elite HE Steam Washer, you can employ steam to easily clean different types of stains in a single load. This is accomplished by slowly increasing the temperature of the wash cycle. This feature can save a significant amount of time, as it does away with the need for stain-sorting before washing clothes.

Timed Oxi™ Option: This option results in improved performance of oxygen-based stain removers during the cleaning cycle, simply by releasing them into the washer at the appropriate time during the wash.

Steam Sanitize Wash Temperature: This feature can have a positive impact on your family’s health, as it uses steam to help sanitize clothing and destroy certain types of bacteria.

Large Capacity: With the ability to wash up to 23 bath towels in just one load, the large capacity of this unit can result in a decrease in the number of laundry loads necessary.

Efficiency Highlights: The Kenmore Elite HE Steam Washers exceed the 2007 ENERGY STAR® standards by 50 percent. These washers use significantly less water and less energy than many other models of washing machines, resulting in maximum efficiency and an overall savings on energy and water bills.

Do you find that keeping your refrigerator smelling fresh and clean is an ongoing challenge? If your wondering how to keep your refrigerator fresh, the new Arm & Hammer Fridge Fresh Refrigerator Air Filter might be exactly what you need. This innovative product is designed to eliminate odor throughout the refrigerator, keeping stored food fresher longer.

The unit has a suction cup on the back that can adhere to any flat, clean surface. You can place it any where in the refrigerator that you like, and you don’t have to give up valuable shelf space. The vented design of the Arm & Hammer Fridge Fresh Refrigerator Air Filter means that the baking soda actually gets into the air flow within the refrigerator.

The unit exposes the inside of your refrigerator to twice as much baking soda as simply storing an open box of baking soda in the unit. This results in the greatest possible amount of odor elimination. The bottom line is that the food you store in your refrigerator will taste fresher for a longer period of time.

Fridge Fresh unites last approximately six months in the freezer and three months in the refrigerator. Each unit has a replacement indicator on the front, so you won’t have to wonder about when you need to change it for maximum freshness. Thanks to the suction cup design, it’s easy to remove and doesn’t leave behind any residue or mess to clean up.

If you’ve struggled with trying to keep food fresher longer, and with how to prevent odor in your refrigerator, this product may be the solution to your problems. It’s an innovative new way to increase the benefits of baking soda for maximum freshness benefits.
 

Your toothbrush works hard keeping your teeth clean. You use it two or three times every day to remove the bacteria, germs, and other substances that can build up on your teeth and lead to bad breath and tooth decay.

Most people understand why keeping their teeth clean is important for proper dental healthy, but don’t give a second thought to keeping their toothbrushes clean.

Toothbrushes, however, are really germ magnets. You use your toothbrush to remove bacteria from your teeth, place it in its holder, and then use it again a few hours later. You’ve probably never even given a second thought to the fact that it’s full of germs when you put it back in your mouth.

No matter what type of toothbrush you use, it’s important to replace it approximately every three months. Even in three months, a lot of germs and bacteria can accumulate on a toothbrush head.

Fortunately, for those who use the powerful, dentist-recommended Sonicare rechargeable toothbrush or Oral-B electric toothbrush, there is an innovative way to keep toothbrush heads clean and sanitary at all times. Sonicare recently introduced an ultraviolet toothbrush sanitizer that quickly kills virtually all of the bacteria on your toothbrush head with just the push of a button.

The Sonicare UV Sanitizer uses a germicidal UV-C light bulb, which can be expected to last for approximately five years, that helps to kill bacteria and sanitize the brush head. This technique has been clinically proven to help destroy bacteria and viruses. This powerful toothbrush cleaning tools is available at a variety of retailers, included Target, Walgreens, and Costco. The suggested retail price is $49.99.

Greased Lightning is one of the most versatile and powerful cleaning products on the market. It can take care of all types of household cleaning problems, and even works well on automotive grime.

10 Top Cleaning Problems Greased Lighting Solves:

1. Baseboards: Keeping baseboards clean is a tough household cleaning problem. Spray greased lighting on your vinyl baseboards to get rid of tough scuff marks and other buildup.

2. Ceiling Fans: Greased Lighting is a powerful tool for getting rid of the dust that builds up on ceiling fan blades. Simply spray affected blades with GL and wipe clean.

3. Diaper Pails: Greased Lightning is strong enough to clean and deodorize diaper pails. Spray dirty pails with GL for powerful cleaning power, and be sure to rinse thoroughly with water after cleaning.

4. Garbage Cans: Use Greased Lightning to clean and deodorize interior and exterior garbage cans.

5. Ink: Greased Lighting can remove ink from many fabrics. Spray ink stain with Greased Lightning and scrub with a brush before washing the affected item.

6. Laundry: Greased Lighting is a terrific pre-treatment for even the toughest laundry stains. Simply spray Greased Lightning directly on stains before washing.

7. Refrigerators: Greased Lighting can keep your refrigerator sparkling clean inside and out. Spray interior and exterior of your refrigerator with Greased Lighting and wipe away streaks, buildup, and odor.

8. Shower Doors: This powerful cleaner can cut through tough soap scup build up quickly, making it easy for you to spray and wipe your way to clean shower doors.

9. Sinks and Tubs: Instead of using elbow grease to scrub away tough grime that builds up on sinks and tubs, spray the with Greased Lighting and wipe clean.

10. Stove Tops & Hoods: Greased Lightning’s powerful cleaning power will cut through the heavy grease build up that forms on stove hoods and cooking surface.

Greased Lighting is one of the most powerful cleaning products you can use. These are only a few of the many great benefits of this strong household cleaner.

Dealing with red wine stains is one of the toughest cleaning problems. 1001CleaningTips.com spoke with Natalie MacLean, accredited sommelier, wine judge, and author of Red, White, and Drunk All Over.

Who is beter qualified than a leading wine expert to shed light on how to get rid of wine stains?

Natalies Top 5 Tips for Cleaning Red Wine Stains:

1. Wine Away: This commercial brand cleaner is widely available in most wine accessory shops and liquor stores, as well as other retail outlets. It is one of the most powerful products for removing red wine stains from clothing, furniture, and carpet.

2. Soda and Water: Baking soda and water can be effective at removing red wine stains from soiled fabrics.

3. Salt: Sprinkling salt on a red wine stain and letting it sit for a few minutes before rinsing with cold water can be an effective stain removal solution.

4. Soak in Washer: Some red wine stains can be removed by soaking affected garments in your own washing machine after first spraying them with a strong stain remover!

5. Dry Clean with a Specialist: Some stubborn red-wine stains require professional treatment. Make sure to let the cleaning professional you select know how long the stain has been there and what techniques you use to try to eliminate it yourself.

Pet lovers enjoy the company of their feline and canine companions, but traditionally struggle greatly when it comes to figuring out how to remove dog hair from floors and furniture. The Shark Infinity Series with Pet Care System is designed just for the cleaning needs of cat and dog-friendly homes.Cleaning up pet hair can be a breeze with this powerful vacuum. It is equipped with the most powerful suction and advanced form of cyclonic technology available. The Shark Infinity Series with Pet Care System offers more cyclones than any other vacuum. This puts you in the drivers’ seat when it comes to keeping your home in order, whether you’re dealing with pet shedding, dirt, dust, or any other household mess.

The Shark Infinity Series with Pet Care System is the only vacuum system that includes a patent pending Microcyclonic Array Technology with cyclones that never clog.  Additionally, a newer, smarter dirt-separation system in each cyclone means suction that lasts and more cleaning power. 

Combined with the Lifetime washable True HEPA filtration system that produces cleaner air than the air we normally breathe, the Shark Infinity Series provides the ultimate deep cleaning performance for everyday household use.

The Shark Infinity with Pet Care System retails for USD $249.99 and is available at retailers everywhere, including Best Buy, Bed Bath & Beyond, Linens ‘n Things, and BJ’s.