Wednesday, April 26, 2017

Ten Uses for Baking Soda

  1. Dental Hygene
Baking soda is great for keeping your mouth clean. It can replace your toothpaste and your mouthwash. For toothpaste, simply dip your toothbrush in the baking soda and brush your teeth as normal. For mouthwash, mix 1 teaspoon in a 8oz. glass of water. Then swish in your mouth for about 30 seconds, spit, and rinse with plain water.

      2.   Deodorant

Baking soda is often the main ingredient in homemade deodorant. It can also be used straight up by itself.

      3.   Exfoliate

Mix three parts baking soda with one part water and you have a all narural exfoliant at home.

      4.    Air freshener

You use it to freshen up the air in your fridge. Why not for the rest of the house? Simply add a few drops of essential oils to your box of baking soda and viola. Replace once a month or as needed.

      5.   Polish the silver

Baking soda is very hardy and tough on those tough cleaning messes. On the other hand it is very gentle. Use a 3 part baking soda and 1 part water paste with a clean cloth or sponge,  rub it on, and rinse and dry. No chemicals needed.

     6.   Clean those lovely childrens' crayon drawings off the wall.

All you need for this is to dip a damp cloth in the baking soda and rub it on. Once cleaned, rub a clean dry cloth over the wall for a final clean polish.

      7.   Keep storage closets fresh odor free

Just like your refridgerator, all you need is one open box and replace it monthly.

     8.   No Kitty poo

When you sprinkle some baking soda in the litter box, it will neutralize any ordors coming from kitty's business.

     9.   Clean the fixtures

If you have hard water buildup on your water fixtures, you can use baking soda to get rid of that. Just scrub it on and rinse it off with a spritz of vinegar.

     10. Clean your washer

Yes appliances that clean need to be cleaned too. I like to add 3 cups of baking soda to a full large load of nothing but water. Then during the rinse cycle I add 3 cups of vinegar. This will scrub the tub, agitator, drain hoses and every nook and cranny with little to no work on my part.

Tuesday, April 25, 2017

Ten things you can clean in the dishwasher besides the dishes

We all know that you can wash dishes in the dishwasher. Thus the name dishwasher. However, there are many other things you can clean in there besides pots, pans and plates. The fact is you can use this machine to clean and sanitize just about anything that can take on water. Here is a list of ten things you can wash in the dishwasher.

1. Eye Contact Case and Eye glasses.

I started with this one because many readers don't think twice about this.
For eye contacts, many think that the contact solution is enough to keep the case clean. However, that solution does not clean or sanitize most of the case at all. So it is still carrying bacteria that may also end up in your eyes. Throw it in the dishwasher silverware compartment. As for glasses, think about this. How often do you set those on tables, counters, in purses etc? What did you touch today then later touch your glasses? Yeah, any bacteria that was there is now on the glasses on your face. You can set these in the top rack opened like you are wearing them.

2. Plastic sandwich bags

That's right. With a good wash these can be used again. If you set them on four prongs (two on each end) it will keep the bag open for the soap and water to get in there and wash them. They also dry quicker this way.

3. Trash cans

I personally hate scrubbing these things in my tub. If the trash can is short enough, you can wash it in the bottom rack. Just make sure you pulled all the trash that was stuck on the bottom out first.

4. Bathroom containers and soap dishes.
You can put any metal or plastic bathroom containers such as tooth brush holders or soap dishes in the dishwasher. Just be careful with ceramic ones. For those do not use the hottest setting, rather use the coolest.

5. Car Hubcaps

You read that right, car hubcaps. Simply put a small cereal bowl full of vinegar in the top rack, put the hubcaps in the bottom and viola. You have clean scrub free hubcaps while you wash the rest of the car.

6. Pet toys

Do your pet's toys get gross? You can wash them off in the dishwasher. Put plastics in bottom, and stuffed on top.

7. Metal fixtures

You can put clogged shower heads, gunky sink faucets, cabinet and drawer handles all into the dishwasher. I recommend rubbing baking soda and using a bowl of vinegar in the top rack to really combat mineral buildup.

8. Vacuum filters

I put mine in the silverware rack because it is small and even flies off of the top rack. You may also want to rinse off large debris first like hair.

9. Sneakers, sandals and croc shoes

You can put many shoes in the washer such as flip flops and sneakers. The only ones that cannot go in are leather, suede and wood.

10. AC vent covers

This is one thing that rarely is thoroughly cleaned in any home. Just unscrew them, put them in the bottom rack and wash in a pots and pans cycle (hottest and longest).