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Tag: natural

Treat Hay Fever Symptoms Naturally

spring-flowers-40321988855_xlargeSpring has sprung early here and plants are budding, which means pollen is in the air and wreaking havoc in people’s sinus passages. Migraines, runny nose, sneezing, itchy eyes, itchy mouth, foggy brain, fatigue… all of these symptoms and more can be triggered by airborne pollens in sensitive people. It can be hard to even think clearly with all the inflammation.

Pharmaceutical drugs may help to hold the symptoms at bay, but they also come with unwanted side effects. If you’ve been looking for a natural solution to control your hay fever or seasonal allergy symptoms, you should try my famous homeopathic hay fever remedy!

As a homeopathic remedy, it is safe for kids, babies, pregnant and nursing mothers, and everyone else, too, and easy to take. It comes pre-mixed in a dropper bottle. Just succuss 3-5 times – “suc-cuss” means to agitate the contents by slamming the base of the bottle into your open palm as if you were punching your other hand – and place a few drops underneath your tongue. Be sure at least 15 minutes have elapsed since you last ate or drank, and before you next eat or drink, so that you have a clean mouth. Of course, keep the dropper clean by not touching it to your mouth.

Take as often as needed to address symptoms.

If you don’t feel any amount of relief within 15 minutes of taking the remedy, take another dose. If you still don’t feel any change in the intensity of your symptoms after several more doses, it is likely not the right remedy for you. No harm done, though: the wrong remedy will simply do nothing.

FLASH SALE through March 27, 2015: Use coupon code SPRINGFEVER to receive 50% off and try out this homeopathic hay fever remedy for only $6!!

Get your remedy here!

Homemade Natural Carpet Shampoo/Cleaner for Carpet Cleaning Machines

This is the Rug Doctor carpet cleaning machine we rented to clean our carpet and we got great results using our homemade non-toxic carpet cleaning solution.

We had to clean the carpet in our finished basement this week, but I couldn’t stand the thought of living with all the chemical fumes and residue from commercial carpet cleaning solutions. So I made my own natural carpet cleaning solution and we rented a carpet cleaning machine from the grocery store.

It worked beautifully! Our light beige carpet looks and smells fresh and clean. Cleaner than it has been since we moved in eight years ago, I’d have to say.

On the tails of the freezer thaw we experienced a week of so ago, our basement flooded during what is being called a 500-year event. Our house isn’t near a river, or even on low ground, but the window well filled up with water from the rain and poured through the sill to flood the basement.

We were luckier than many out here who found their houses swimming in raw sewage during the flood, but we still faced a clean-up  job to avoid mold and before the basement could be used again.

After we sucked all the water out and dried out the carpet and pad, we rolled the carpeting back and could see visible water stains left from the dirty flood water. I knew we had to clean it but we needed to a) do it ourselves (no flood insurance!) and b) avoid the toxic fumes and residue left by commercial carpet cleaning solutions and their undesirable toxins. The basement houses our family room, so the kids especially spend a lot of time down there and I didn’t want them exposed to those nasty chemicals.

I searched online and found a great recipe for natural carpet shampoo from Rachel at Surviving the Stores blog. Not only does it work, but it dried cleanly without any residue and left a clean, mild scent of orange from the pure essential oil I added to the mix. I increased her original recipe to work with the large carpet cleaning machine we rented.

[print-me target=”.recipe”]

Homemade Natural Carpet Shampoo/Cleaner for Carpet Cleaning Machines

Ingredients

  • 3 quarts of hot but not boiling water
  • 1/2 cup 3% Hydrogen Peroxide (the one you can get at any drug store)
  • 4 Tablespoons White vinegar
  • 3 Tablespoons Dish soap (I used Seventh Generation, like Rachel did)
  • 1/4 teaspoon essential oil of your choice (I used Sweet Orange)

Instructions

Heat the water in a large saucepan until hot, then remove from heat. Add the hydrogen peroxide, white vinegar, dish soap, and essential oil and stir gently. Do not agitate enough to cause the dish soap to froth.

Pour mixture into carpet cleaning machine and follow the directions on the unit to clean your carpet.

While some commenters below advise against using vinegar with hydrogen peroxide, I’ve used this recipe a number of times without any problems for either the carpet or the machine.