Help with cleaning apartment.

[lilysmama1124]

I am new to this forum and just making the switch to natural cleaning products, I am interested in making my own and have started using Ecover and 7th gen.
I live in an older apartment and it has a stale smell to it. I don't notice it anymore when I walk into it but I notice when I am doing my laundry that my clothes have a distinct icky smell to them. I know the apartment was smoked in before we moved in so I am sure that is contributing to the smell. Firstly does this mean there is possibly something dangerous in the apartment(mold? fungus?) I am pg and worry about this often. The carpet is old and I am going to sprinkle some BS to hopefully help the smell but will this take care of any mold problems that can occur with old carpet. I am also considering getting a HEPA air filter.

Also the bathroom doesn't get moldy or mildewy but the toilet, toilet brush, and tub tile get this orange looking stuff on them. Is that a kind of fungus/mold or is it a build up of something in our water? I just bought a shower head with a filter to see if that helps.

Any feedback woudl be greatly appreciated.

[MaryLang]

Pour lots of bS on the carpet, let it set over night and then vacuum in the morning. Also dishes of baking soda placed throughout will help absorb smell you can add EO to the dishes too, if you want a scent. The pink mold/algae stuff, I get that too. I haven't found anything to completely rid it, but just cleaning the bathroom with straight vinegar seems to be helping a lot. Laundry, what are you using? I make my own (recipe on sticky at top of forum) and I also add some squirts of Simple Green, its the only thing that has helped with that old laundry smell.

[Spastica]

The orange mold and stains are from having hard water (it's mixed with rust). Using baking soda and vinegar (with tea tree oil) helps. Hard water doesn't clean your clothes well (which contributes to mold and mustiness), so you have to soften the water with baking soda. Stagnant water also makes for nasty odors, especially in side-loading washers.

Run one load of laundry without clothes and put a cup or two of vinegar in the wash water. This will get rid of any mineral buildups in your washing machine, which prohibits the washer and the hoses from working properly.

Use a 1/2 cup of baking soda when doing laundry if you use detergent, use a cup or more if you don't use laundry detergent.

Keep your window blinds open as much as possible and keep room doors open. When it's nice outside, air out your house and keep fans running. It also helps to keep your air conditioner fan running on ON, and not AUTO. This regulates the temperature, circulates the air, and reduces costs because the thermostat isn't trying to cool up a warm house - if the temperature is constant, you don't waste money with the thermostat trying to 'catch up' to the temperature. It also reduces any mold/mildew in the house.

Replace your filter when it gets gross. Apartment complexes don't ever change them but once a year or two or like, bad apartment complexes don't change them unless somebody moves. You can ask to get them replaced more often (at least 6 months) and if they make a ruckus, just buy one and replace it, they're not that expensive.

[lilysmama1124]

Thanks for the info. Unfortunately I don't have access to my furnace/AC filters, I talked to them today and they reccommended buying a filter to place on the outside of my vents. They did agree to send someone out to change the filter and I think if I keep on them they will do it at least every three months.

I usually do my laundry at the laundrymat and it comes out smelling fine. I notice the apartment smell on my clothes when I am loading the clothes in the washer so it seems that being in my apartment is making them smell. I don't use dryer sheets but they still come out smelling "neutral". I will try the cleaning tips ASAP. Thanks!