Keeping Vinegar In Business

So as you should know by now, I use Pinterest a lot.

I found a nice cleaning schedule on there that I use for the most part.  Lately, I've been so busy that it's been a "clean when you have one free moment, or don't" schedule, but when I buckle down and get back on track, it's a really great schedule.

There are lots of cleaning tricks I have tried on there and I thought I would share a few that I tried that work.

I am usually skeptical of any cleaning trick that seems to easy, but sometimes it is the simplest things that work.

I had read that if you rub a dryer sheet on your baseboards, it prevents dust and dirt from settling on them.  I decided to try this in my laundry room (It's a very small room, about as wide as the washer/dryer with enough room to open a door, but it's upstairs which I LOOOOVE) since that room seems to get dusty and linty (is that a word?) the fastest.

It did work, it's not a forever solution, but I did notice that they stayed cleaner longer.  I just don't know where all the lint and dust settled, I am sure a giant dust bunny will attack me one day as I am washing the delicates.

The other day I noticed the kids' bathroom sink was clogged.  I will spare you the toothpaste madness that was stuck to the drain plug, but even after cleaning that, the drain was still clogged. 

I jumped on Pinterest, knowing I had seen something about using vinegar and baking soda.  This of course interested me because I would basically get to make a school science project volcano in the sink!  Sure enough, I found it.  I poured about a quarter box of baking soda down the drain, then followed it with about the same amount of vinegar.  Then I had to immediately stuff a rag into the drain since you want the "volcano" reaction to happen in the drain and not in the sink (bummer).

I let it sit for a half hour and then boiled a kettle full of water, slowly poured the water down the drain and voila!  It is amazing how excited I get when something works.  I also loved that I didn't have to purchase drain cleaner.  I am scarred by an old CBS movie called "Aftermath: A Test of Love" where robbers break in to a hi-fi store and force characters to drink Drano.  Apparently,  this was based on a true story.  I just do not like having that stuff in the house.

The last trick is my absolute favorite.  I LOATHE cleaning the tub and shower.  Loathe it, loathe it, loathe it.  I have tried every cleaning product there is and nothing seems to get it super clean without a ton of scrubbing that leaves me so exhausted and bitter.  This usually means that I just sort of spray and clean for a month and sure enough it needs to be super scrubbed again. 

So, I saw a tip that involved mixing vinegar and Dawn detergent (the blue one) in a spray bottle, spraying it on the tub, leaving it for a half hour and wiping it away.  It was way too good to be true, it had to be.  I researched the heck out of this.  After checking into a few blogs and reviews, it seemed like heating the vinegar would be even more beneficial. 

So off I went to Wal-Mart.  Did you know they sell vinegar for cleaning?  They do!  Because it's not food grade, it's super cheap.  I grabbed me a big ol' jug, since I have discovered so many uses for it, and was on my way.  I also picked up blue Dawn and a spray bottle.  All in all I think I spent about $5.00.

Since I was heating up the vinegar, and didn't know if it worked as well at room temperature, I decided to use just a cup of vinegar and a cup of Dawn.  This way I could spray the kids' tub and my shower stall.  My biggest complaint was the spray bottle.  In the future, it's probably worth spending more than $.98 on one.  I sprayed away and crossed my fingers.

A half hour later, I was amazed!  I took a cloth and began wiping away, it was a thing of beauty.  It took the smallest of efforts for me to wipe away the mixture and the dirt it was carrying away with it.  There were a few spots that didn't get clean, but I think that was due to my spraying.  I actually had some solution left so I resprayed and decided to leave that overnight.

I had the same results in my shower stall, it was great!  Again, I had a few spots, but the difference between the spots and the new clean surface was so great to see.  Again, I sprayed and left it overnight. 

This morning when I got up, I wiped the spots clean and it was beautiful! 

If you hate scrubbing, I seriously suggest you try this, I think vinegar sales are going to skyrocket.