Fun, Homemade Silly Putty and its' Uses for Cleaning

Many of us played with things that were gooy and grossed parents or other kids out. My personal favorite was sticky hands. Many of your kids still play with these things. However, did you know that onepopular goop was an accidental invention/discovery during World War 2? That's right: silly putty. The original is a silicone and boric acid (borax) base rubber. Although this recipe does use borax, we will not be using silicone. First, I will give the recipe as usual. Then I will list some uses for cleaning with silly putty around the home.

Materials

1. One small bowl
2. One small cup (tumbler cup works best)
3. One spoon for mixing
4. One teaspoon (do not use for mixing in the bowl)

Ingredients

1. Two Teaspoons of Borax
2. One 4 oz bottle of Elmer's School Glue
3. Water (at least 4 -6 oz)
4. Glitter and or food coloring (optional)

Directions

1. Squeeze the enitre bottle of glue into the bowl (if you are adding food coloring or glitter, pour them into the bowl now)
2. Fill the empty glue bottle with warm water.
3. Pour the water into the bowl and use the mixing spoon to stir it into the glue until the mixture is smooth and consistent.
4. Put 1/4 cup of water into the small cup
5. Using the teaspoon, mix the borax in the cup until disolved.
6. Pour one teaspoon of the borax mix into the glue mix and stir.
7. Repeat step six making sure to stir each teaspoon into the glue before adding more. Do that until the silly putty starts to form together into a rubbery texture. 
8. Knead the silly putty until it stops sticking to your hands (If you want it thicker, add more borax)

Now that you have made your silly putty, here are some things you (and maybe your kids) can clean with it. 

• Your Car (specifically the radio and door buttons)
• Keyboards
• AC vents
• METAL Speaker screens (do not clean fabric on the speaker)
• Smart phone screens
• TV or various other remotes
• Buttons on electronic devices such as tvs, DVD players, stereos etc
• Dusting art pieces with lots of small crevices
• Anything with tiny crevices that are hard to clean loose dirt out of.

Clean the Toilet Syphons Easily and Naturally

We all clean the toilets. It is just a fact of life. If we don't then life becomes dangerously disgusting. However, we almost never clean the tank and syphons. Some of you may be asking, "what are the syphons?" They are the holes that the water from the tank that empty into the bowl. The only part we ever scrub on them regularly is what we see in the bowl.

Then if that was not enough, when was the last time the tank got a good cleaning? Most of us just put a blue drop cleaner and that is it. No real scrubbing.

The recipe I have today is similar to the toilet bowl cleaner I posted last week.

Please note that this will be an EIGHT HOUR soak, so please do this when it is most convenient for you. I do this before going to work when no one is home.

Materials

• Duct tape
• Hand Towel

Ingredients

• Four cups Baking Soda
• 2 gallons Vinegar 

Directions

1. Clean the toilet bowl thoroughly
2. Look for the knob behind the toilet (usually close to the floor) and turn it to the right to shut the water off to the toilet. 
3. Flush the toilet to empty the bowl. (Do not turn the water back on yet)
4. Take off the tank lid and pour four cups of baking soda all over the tank. Make sure to get the sides.
5. Use the toilet brush to scrub the tank
6. Dry the syphon holes with the towels
7. Cover the syphon holes with small strips of duct tape so liquid cannot go through.
8. Pour two gallons of vinegar into the tank.
9. Use the brush to wet any baking soda 
10. Allow the mixture to soak for eight hours
11. After eight hours remove the tape to allow the baking soda and vinegar to drain out of the tank.
12. Turn the water back on and flush.