Random Recommendations (take it or leave it)

I'm not really sure what to write about this week. There has been a lot going on, with more family visiting and soccer practice, games, and guitar lessons continuing. But, I feel like that story has been told. So, instead, I'm going to make a few random recommendations from my experience:

Clean your tub with baking soda - Martha Stewart said so. I tried it because we didn't have any Bon Ami, and I have to agree. Just approximate (because the measurements aren't that important) one cup of baking soda, one teaspoon of liquid dish soap, and enough water to form a paste. Martha Stewart includes a few drops of essential oil (for smell) but you don't need it. It works, and it means I don't have to buy a special product for my porcelain fixtures. 

Other benefits: It's safe for the kids, it doesn't bleach my towels, it's cheap, and it doesn't leave a weird film that shows up in my next bath. Someone complained in the comments that most essential oils are toxic to cats. I didn't put any in my mixture, even though I don't have cats. It didn't need any because it doesn't really have a smell on its own. It just smelled slightly like my dish soap, which is nice.

Foam floor tiles - My mom recommended this site to get foam floor tiles for the baby to lay on. My house is almost entirely hard wood or tile, so I was planning to get some floor tiles for the cub to crawl on, but I figured I'd end up with primary color tiles from Toys 'R' Us, and I'd have to buy several packs. The rubber flooring site has a lot of options with different thicknesses and color combinations. 

I ordered 24, 1/2" thick, 2' x 2', reversible, green and brown, interlocking tiles and covered my whole front room with them. I had to teach our 50lb and 100lb dogs to stay off of them because their claws will probably ruin them, but all of the kids love the tiles. In fact, when family visited, we all wound up hanging out on the floor in the family room with the kids most of the time.

At the time that I'm writing this, they're running a promotion. You can get a code to receive 28% off of your entire order if you like them on Facebook. (I did it. I know it works.) This is their official facebook page. I could just give you the code, but I think that would make me kind of a jerk. 

Diapers.com - I love this site and all of the sister sites (soap.com, wag.com, yoyo.com etc.). I ordered all of my cloth diapers from them. They have two-day delivery, free on orders of $35 or more. Their listed prices include tax, so I'm never surprised by the total. Their return policy is lenient and using it is easy. 

I recently ordered training pants there and had to return them because they were too big. You fill out a quick form to detail what you're returning and why, then they use that to populate a return label for you. You print it and tape it to the same box they sent the items in (or a different one if you choose) and drop it off at a UPS store or drop off location to send it back, free of charge. You have the option of having the funds returned to your bank or having it saved to your store account as credit on the site. 

The nice thing about credits on the site is they can be used at any of the sister sites, where you can buy books, household items, pet supplies, toys, makeup, detergent, and even tents and sports gear. I decided to buy a cheaper version of training pants and I'm still trying to figure out what to do with the rest of my store credit: Curtains for the front room? A backpack for hiking with my dog? A toy for the cub? The next Winnie The Pooh book? A new soccer ball for S?

Washing Cloth Diapers - Speaking of the cloth diapers, I've seen a lot of concern and confusion about how to wash them. The first time I used them was for M, when she was first starting to potty train. I just washed those the same as I washed everything else and they were fine. They didn't stain or give her a rash. But that's a toddler on grown-up food; a breastfed infant is a whole different animal.

Cub is a breastfed, cloth diaper baby. If you breastfeed, you're aware of the crazy, yellow, liquid poop... and how unfortunately well it stains. If you have an infant, you're probably aware of how easily they get rashes. So, let me share with you what works for me (your experience may be different).

I wash my diapers, disassembled, in hot water with my regular detergent. To be honest, I'm not that careful to make sure that it is dye or fragrance free. I use some arm and hammer stuff for sensitive skin. C used to be allergic to Tide, so I switched to A&H and it didn't give her a rash, so I stuck with it. 

Problem: cub kept getting rashes. Once, when he spent most of the day in his Moby wrap while we were out and about, he got a rash so bad it took days to get rid of. When we're out, we put him in a disposable for ease of changing him in public restrooms, so it wasn't the cloth diapers that caused it. But the cloth diapers certainly weren't fixing it either.

Solution: I added an extra rinse with nothing but cold water and vinegar. The rash cleared up pretty quickly and hasn't come back. I get to continue using the detergent that I know works for my daughters, and I don't have to buy a separate one for the diapers. I have gallons of vinegar around my house anyway. 

Baking Soda and Peroxide Laundry Booster

This one is dedicated to all of the moms out there who are baffled by that weird discoloration on their car seat covers.

If you're like me, you rarely ever take your car seats out of your car, and when you do, you're horrified by what you see. The twins are big enough and old enough to be sitting in booster seats with seat belt guides. They buckle themselves in, so I don't really look at their seats long enough or often enough to realize how dingy the're getting until I bring them inside for some reason.

I'm not exactly sure what goes into this weird color that covers the seat, so I wasn't sure what would take it out. All of the best guides I could find were based on what type of stain you're fighting. That doesn't help me. To the best of my knowledge, it's probably sweat, dirt, the occasional ground-in food from our road trips, spilled juices of various types, and, in the summer, possibly even lake water. What it has become is something entirely different: one, uniform-colored, disgusting spot that does NOT want to come out with normal laundering.

This is really embarrassing, but for the sake of the experiment, I'll add a picture of the mess so you can see what I mean.

This is after a thorough washing with detergent
and vinegar. I don't have a "before" picture, but let
me assure you it looked basically the same before
and after the first wash.

One particular problem with washing these is that I don't usually have a lot of time to test new ideas with them, or to stain soak them. When they're not in the car, it's because we need the space for some other purpose. Today, my partner is going to pick up big-kid beds for the twins. Then, they have to go right back in the car in case we need them, and because we often do. This is the nature of car seats.

I had to find something that would work relatively quickly, on all kinds of stains, and preferably not require lots of scrubbing (if you recall from previous posts, I spend a lot of time scrubbing the pit stains out of shirts already).

Here's what I tried:

1/2 cup baking soda
1/2 cup peroxide

Add both directly to your wash, as well as the detergent you would normally use, let it agitate for a bit to stir it all up, then open the machine and let it soak for at least a couple of hours. I've read that the baking soda and peroxide mixture loses its potency after only 6 hours, so any soaking for more than 6 hours is probably pointless but it won't damage your fabrics. In other words, you can let it soak over night, or from breakfast time until lunch if you want. You could leave it there all day if you forget about it, but it will stop doing any stain lifting after about 6 hours.

There are two booster seat covers in there.
The other one is mostly brown with some pink,
so it is less shocking in the before photos.

Obviously, this isn't quite as fast as I would like for it to be, but the advantage is that I get to just leave it there, out of my way, for the soak time.

Since this was my first attempt with this method, I was obsessively checking the load as it soaked to see if anything had changed. About 3 hours in, I was starting to seriously doubt I was accomplishing anything at all. When I finally transferred it to the dryer at almost 6 hours, I still wasn't sure.

This is the result of the baking soda
and peroxide soak and then regular
wash cycle

The truth is, I'm pretty sure it's cleaner than it was. You be the judge. I know the lighting is different in each picture, but I think it's still evident that at least some of the nasty came out in the wash. I'm not totally satisfied with the results. I'm less embarrassed about it than I was, at least, but that might just be because I put an honest effort into getting it clean so I have an excuse. There still remains a strange discoloration on the seat cover. You may particularly notice it on the right side pink area. Thankfully, I have another plan and will revisit this cleaning project after a trip to the store.

After doing a bit of research, the internet oracle provided me with this little bit of information: While the recipes I found use baking soda, a more effective alternative might be washing soda. I'll have to try that once I've acquired some. But I think that baking soda and peroxide might work just fine on less incredible stains, and would probably be great for kids' clothes and cloth diapers if you're trying to avoid using harsh chemicals. Plus, baking soda is something you're more likely to have just sitting around in your pantry.

*Note - I am aware that I could buy a back-up set of car seat covers and allow myself more time for stain removal. But I like my solution.

Laundry Stain Removal Liquid

As I mentioned in a previous post, I make my own stain removal liquid using peroxide, baking soda, and liquid dish soap. This started because I was at wit's end trying to figure out how to get yellow stains out of the armpits of someone's white t-shirts. My usual methods, including bleach, weren't working. This might sound silly, but letting him leave the house in those shirts made me feel like I was advertising my laundry failure.

I'm sure there are things I could buy in the laundry isle at the grocery store that would solve this problem, but I'll do almost anything to avoid adding more bottles of mystery liquid to my grocery list or cabinets. If I can use things I already have for new purposes, I call it a win.

I came across a recipe specifically intended to help get armpit stains out. It suggested peroxide and  liquid dish soap. Ideally, I would make my own liquid dish soap, that way I could know exactly what's in this stuff. I'm not that self-sufficient yet. I do have a recipe for dish soap, I just haven't convinced myself to try it yet. You don't have to make your own, either. Dawn works. The off-brand stuff I buy works just as well.

Anyway, I also added baking soda to create a thicker, more abrasive solution. I can't tell you exactly how much. I didn't measure.

What You Need:

• one part liquid dish soap
• two parts peroxide
• some baking soda

How We Did It:

Mix Ingredients: The first time I did this, I made only a small amount and planned to use all of it on one load of discolored t-shirts. I wasn't sure if it would maintain potency for a whole week or more. It does. I now make it by the jar. I reuse glass Alfredo sauce jars, specifically. I have a lot of jars in my pantry, and I need to use them for something.

Apply To Stains: Start with a dry t-shirt. It's okay if you've washed and dried it since it got the stains. Believe me, I washed and dried the offending t-shirts at least half a dozen times with increasing levels of belligerence before I finally found this recipe. Thoroughly saturate the problem areas with the solution. I used a clean toothbrush (that I don't use for brushing teeth) to agitate it and make sure the stain remover made it all the way through the fabric.

Let Stand: I applied the stain remover in the morning, when I started my first load of laundry, then let it sit until I was ready to run the last load. That translates to at least a few hours, but doesn't seem as long because the rest of the white load is also waiting to be washed that whole time so it's not really an inconvenience. Because I'm maybe a little obsessive or easily bored, I stopped by to scrub them a bit more every now and then. I don't think that's necessary. I just really hate pit stains.

 Wash: Wash as you normally would. This stuff works on more than just yellowed pits on white t-shirts. You can use it on colors, too. I don't know how he gets pit stains in olive green shirts... but this stuff gets those out as well as the taco/spaghetti/hot wing sauce he inevitably gets on his light-colored shirts. And when one of the kids woke up with a nose bleed, it got that out of her polka dot sheets (it just took a little more time and effort).

Cleaning With Baking Soda

I clean a lot. I used to be very proud of how much I knew about cleaning. There is a product for everything, and I had my favorites by the time I graduated high school. This cleaner is great for windows and mirrors but does NOT work on the tub, floors, or laundry. This one is only for laundry. Another one for the tub, sink and toilet, but not for the counters and floors. Also, they all smell terrible, some of them require ventilation and bleach your clothes and rags, and you should never let your kid or dog near them. I was pretty sure I knew all about it.

Now, I have kids and dogs and a small apartment that needs to be accessible to everyone. I also don't have enough space under my sink for all of that stuff. So, I found a few simple, safe things that take care of basically all of my cleaning needs. One of them is baking soda.

Things I use baking soda for:

Laundry - Over the years I've had small children, I've learned that baking soda is one great way to get pee smell out of clothes. I wish I had known that when I was paper training my mastiff. I just toss 1/4 to 1/2  cup of baking soda into my machine along with my usual detergent when I have something stinky to wash.

Trash Can Smell - Sometimes, when we take the trash out, our kitchen trash cans smell horrible. I spray the insides of the cans with vinegar and let it sit for a few minutes, then wipe it out. But to keep the smell away, you can sprinkle some fresh baking soda in the bottom of your trash can before you put the bag in.

Clean Toys - Baking soda  doesn't kill germs, but it's safe to use on things a baby or kid might put in their mouth and it adds some scrubbing power to vinegar, which does kill germs. So, if you have some unknowable sticky goop on your building blocks, baking soda can help scrub it off, and vinegar can sanitize it. Like vinegar, I use baking soda a lot because it is super safe to use around kids and pets.

Stain Removal - You can get stains off of surfaces with baking soda and water (3/1), and you can get most stains out of clothes with a mixture of baking soda, peroxide, and dish soap (I'll share that and my experiences with it in another post).

Clean Battery Terminals - I posted another entry about how to do this. It's just a sprinkling of baking soda, a little bit of water, and some scrubbing.

Refrigerator Smells - Keeping an open box of baking soda in the fridge helps rid your fridge of weird food smells. I don't recommend using the same box of baking soda when you want to bake, later.

Bath Tub - A paste of baking soda and liquid soap works great here. Like the stain removal liquid, if you want to brighten up the tub in the process, add some peroxide.

Other things it does:

Grease Fires -  Up to this point, I've never had one. But apparently you can put out a grease fire by sprinkling it with baking soda.

Grease Spills - Again, this is not something I've had to deal with because I live in an apartment and park in a parking lot. I've read that you can clean up grease spills by covering them with baking soda and letting it soak up.

Coffee Pots - I don't have a coffee pot, but baking soda is said to work great for removing mineral build up on these things. Scrub with ¼ baking soda to 1 quart water.

Your Face - a 2/1 mixture of baking soda and warm water is suggested as a cheap, environmentally friendly face wash. If you also want your cleanser to exfoliate, try a 1/1/2 of baking soda, water, and oat flour.

Your Hair - I... really don't know about this. I'm not sure I could do it. So, if you want to know more about washing your hair with baking soda (and conditioning it with apple cider vinegar), check out this other blog: My Merry Messy Life

Other Things - Baking soda's best quality is getting rid of smells, but it also makes a great scrubbing agent and is safe for kids and pets. If you want to scrub a painted surface, baking soda is great because it is not abrasive enough to damage the paint, but will still clean it. It does not disinfect. Really, almost anything you can think of that fits in those categories is a good candidate for an attempt with baking soda.

Cleaning With Vinegar

I clean a lot. I used to be very proud of how much I knew about cleaning. There is a product for everything, and I had my favorites by the time I graduated high school. This cleaner is great for windows and mirrors but does NOT work on the tub, floors, or laundry. This one is only for laundry. Another one for the tub, sink and toilet, but not for the counters and floors. Also, they all smell terrible, some of them require ventilation and bleach your clothes and rags, and you should never let your kid or dog near them. I was pretty sure I knew all about it.

Now, I have kids and dogs and a small apartment that needs to be accessible to everyone. I also don't have enough space under my sink for all of that stuff. So, I found a few simple, safe things that take care of basically all of my cleaning needs. One of them is distilled white vinegar.

Things I use vinegar for:

Laundry - Over the years I've had small children, I've learned that vinegar is one great way to get pee smell out of clothes. I wish I had known that when I was paper training my mastiff. I just toss 1/2 to 1  cup of vinegar into my machine along with my usual detergent when I have something stinky to wash.

Trash Can Smell - Sometimes, when we take the trash out, our kitchen trash cans smell horrible. I spray the insides of the cans with vinegar and let it sit for a few minutes, then wipe it out. Vinegar cuts the garbage smell, and don't worry... the vinegar smell goes away within minutes.

Clean Toys - Vinegar kills germs and it's safe to use on things a baby or kid might put in their mouth. The number one reason I use vinegar a lot because it is super safe to use around kids and pets.

Dog Mess - Again, vinegar kills germs and smells. I did eventually learn that it works great as weapon against dog 'accidents'. Just clean up any standing pile or puddle, then use vinegar to sanitize. I have never needed anything else, but if you need a bit more scrubbing or stain lifting power, sprinkle in a little baking soda.

Floors - My apartment is mostly carpeted and carpets do fine with vacuuming and deodorizing with baking soda, but the bathroom, kitchen and dining room need something else. On my laminate and linoleum floors, I spray diluted vinegar (1/1) and wipe it up with a towel. If your rooms are bigger, you can use a mop.

Cooking - Not what you're thinking. Although I'm sure there is a lot to be said about cooking with vinegar, I use it to clean up after cooking messes because it disinfects incredibly well. When I'm done breading chicken, I clean the table with my 1/1 vinegar spray.

Other things it does:

Shower Doors -  I don't currently have a shower door. But apparently you can clean mineral deposits from hard water with vinegar.

Dishwasher - I have never tried this, but if my dishwasher ever seems gross, I'm sure I will. To rid your dishwasher of soap build up and smells, pour 1 cup of vinegar into the empty machine and run a full cycle.

Metals - Copper, brass and pewter clean well with a mixture of vinegar and salt. (1/1)

Adhesive Labels - lay a rag soaked in vinegar over the label over night and it should slide right off in the morning.

Other Things - Vinegar gets rid of smells and mineral deposits, disinfects and is safe for kids and pets. Really, almost anything you can think of that fits in those categories is a good candidate for an attempt with vinegar. However, you should not use vinegar on marble surfaces as it can ruin the finish.

Cleaning Corroded Battery Terminals

My kids recently decided to break out their "amphibious" remote-controlled cars, which they haven't played with in probably 6 months. Of course, as children's toys are basically expected to do, they had leached the batteries dry in the interim. To be clear, they have off switches. I just stopped trying to enforce "turn them off when you're done with them" a long time ago... probably shortly after they got them for Christmas last year.

Anyway, the point is this: 9 new AA batteries all together. And in the process of changing them, I discovered that one (somehow only one) of the battery compartments was encrusted with that lovely white destroyer of metals. Corrosion. Eww.

Instantly, I thought of the time my MP3 player got lost under a huge piece of furniture at my mom's house and was destroyed by that crust by the time I found it. I did not want to have to surrender this toy to effects of material degradation just as the kids found renewed interest in them, so I resolved to fix it if possible.

First, I broke out the rubbing alcohol and cotton swabs. I knew it was safe to use. I've read of others using it to clean metal fixtures in bathrooms and kitchens. Why not battery terminals?

That worked to a certain degree, but there was no way I could get enough scrubbing power in those tiny,  AA compartments to get the rough patches off of the springs and plates. So I did some research and some experimenting. Here's what worked:

Baking soda and water.

Things you need:

• Baking soda
• Water
• Tooth Brush (clean - I used the one I have set aside for stain removal purposes)
• Cotton Swabs

How we did it:

Remove the batteries - Obviously? How else are you going to access the terminals? I'm not really sure what would happen if you didn't, actually. Just do.

Sprinkle the soda - Sprinkle baking soda on the terminals. This process doesn't require a lot of baking soda. They don't need to be coated, just dusted. And any extra you put in there now is going to be extra for you to get out of there later. A little is enough.

Dampen your brush - dip your tooth brush in water. Here again, you don't want it to be too wet, just damp. I patted mine out on a rag a bit before I used it. You don't want to have so much water in the tooth brush that it puddles in the corners of your battery compartment, just enough to wet the baking soda.

Scrub - Use your damp tooth brush to scrub the baking soda onto the metal surfaces, then to clean the baking soda out of the battery compartment. This should result in clean, shiny, like-new surfaces. If you have trouble getting the baking soda out of the corners or crevasses , a toothpick will help.

Dry - I used cotton swabs to dry any remaining dampness out of the battery compartment. I suppose you could probably blow dry it if you're impatient, or air dry it if you really like waiting. Either way, make sure it's dry before you put new batteries in, for safety purposes.

Tips - This apparently also works for car batteries (and probably batteries of all sizes). If you disconnect the wires from the terminals of a car battery and follow these steps, probably with considerably more zeal, you can clean those as well.