Nothing Cleans A House Better...

1. The Bissell Pro Heat steam cleaner is perfect if you've got kids or pets. It sucks up stains and smells from way deep in the carpet, whether they've been there for days or just minutes! This powerful machine forces a warm cleaning mixture deep into your carpet to blast out dirt and grime as built-in brushes help root out deeply embedded dirt. Most steam cleaners use cold water, but hot water breaks up stains better, and this one's just great!

My favorite liquid cleaner for the Bissell is: Zep Extractor Carpet Shampoo from Home Depot. It's what the professionals use.

2. The best spot and stain remover on the planet is TECH Stain Remover. We learned about this one from when our builder recommended it for paint that had been spilled on our new carpet. It REALLY works. In fact, I think it works MIRACLES! It gets out virtually ANY stain -- from KoolAid to pasta sauce... even pet stains. Besides carpets, it works on clothing and upholstery too. If you're tired of stain removers that don't work, it's time to try TECH!

I've only found it locally at Ace Hardware, but their site shows other hardware & flooring stores that carry TECH.

3. The absolute best air freshener around is one of those highly concentrated metered air deodorizers -- like you see in the restrooms of many hotels and restaurants. I can't remember the brand of ours is (a friend gave it to us), but it's similar to these: Air Delights, and Bravo, and Health Gards. We don't really use the "timed dispenser" though (it seemed a little too "industrial" for our home). Just a couple of sprays from the can directly, and the odors are eliminated in seconds!

Another air freshener that works great (that you can find in a grocery store!) is Febreze Air Effects -- not the kind you spray on clothes and furniture, but it's sister, made just for freshening the air.

4. I'll round out this discussion about household cleaning products by giving props to the best little vacuum cleaner in the world: The Oreck!At a mere 8 lbs. it's the lightest weight and most powerful vacuum cleaner around.

We've had ours for over 9 years, and it still works good as new. If the Oreck vacuum cleaner is good enough for Marriott Hotels, Dillard's Department Stores, Godiva Chocolatier, The Men's Wearhouse and Trump's Taj Mahal, I'd say that it's good enough for my house too! I especially like the way it picks up all the dog hair. And how it can go from hardwood floors (yep, it swept them too!) to thick carpet without any adjustments -- it's all automatic.