Pinterest win/fails: cleaning edition

RebeccaFlower · June 2014

Hi all! I love Pinterest for saving links, recipes and house cleaning tips. What are some of your best/worst pins (or just tricks) for cleaning?

Win:

-cleaning copper pots with vinegar & salt

-water & vinegar microwaved for 3 minutes to loosen stuck on food

Fail:

-cleaning the oven with baking soda... what a mess!

-lemon on hard water stains.... didn't do crap!

Question: does the towel "re-charge" with baking soda and vinegar work? Our towels seem funky after only 9 months.

Ndelible · June 2014

Win: hydrogen peroxide w/dish soap

Lose: baking soda, hydrogen p to clean oven. (Maybe I'm doing it wrong????)

Win - not cleaning, homemade flying insect spray.

Still love it and haven't tried a fourth of the things I've pinned....

penguin44 · June 2014

Yes. I refresh my towels like that all the time! It really works. When I'm washing them normally I throw in some vinegar with the detergent and that helps too.

kmmssg · June 2014

If your towels smell funky wash them using a cup of vinegar in the washer and nothing else. I was listening to a cleaning guru on NPR a few weeks ago and she was talking how mildew LOVES detergent. So I took her advice and just wash my towels with vinegar and hot water and it took care of the problem.

jenna8984 · June 2014

@kmmssg Do you run them through with detergent after or no? Do they smell horrid of vinegar? We use home made all purpose cleaner/ sanitizer made of just vinegar and water but we had to add essential oils because it smelled terrible.

I tried to DIY laundry detergent and while it did technically clean the items, it didn't give a "fresh" laundry smell and we didn't like that.

beethery · June 2014

@jenna8984 I do a hot wash with vinegar when I have to do that. That good hot rinse gets out all the vinegar so whatever's getting washed doesn't smell like vinegar or funky or anything.

LadyMillil · June 2014

Fail - using baking soda and vinegar to unclog drains

Fail - using baking soda to clean cookie sheets

Win - vinegar, dish soap and water to make "all-purpose" cleaner

Sort of win - home made dishwasher detergent - need to add a rinse aid or the glasses are cloudy

blabla89 · June 2014

jenna8984 said:

@kmmssg Do you run them through with detergent after or no? Do they smell horrid of vinegar? We use home made all purpose cleaner/ sanitizer made of just vinegar and water but we had to add essential oils because it smelled terrible.
I tried to DIY laundry detergent and while it did technically clean the items, it didn't give a "fresh" laundry smell and we didn't like that.

Throw in a few drops of essential oil. It won't smell like tide, but it will smell heavenly nonetheless.

I've been making my own laundry detergent for a couple years now, from a recipe I found on pinterest. I don't know if I'll ever switch back to store bought detergent.

ETF: words. why are words so hard for me?

Viczaesar · June 2014

kimches said:

Oh and the worst cleaning tip ever: ridding your coffee pot of hard water and other build-up by brewing vinegar. They say to brew vinegar through it once and then brew regular water through it 2-3 times. I've had friends do this and they swear it works. I did it and couldn't remove the vinegar taste/slimy water. I ran water through it over and over again. I think I finally gave up after brewing water through it 8 times. 8 FULL pots. The water was still slimy and vinegary and I wound up having to toss my entire coffee pot (carafe and brewer) and buy a whole new one. I was PISSED.

I do the vinegar in the coffee pot all the time, never have had a problem getting rid of the vinegar taste, nor have I had slimy water afterwards.

PrincessOfHavoc · June 2014

Homemade laundry detergent. 1 box Borax, 1 box washing soda, 2 cups baking soda, 1 bar of basic soap of choice (Dr B's lavender and tea tree get mixed here). 2 tablespoons, up to 8 for so filthy it's almost trash. To use in a front load, my machine has a divider to pull out for powder. Works like a charm, but holy hell is the water GROSS at first. Add a scoop of Oxyclean to grimy or white loads. Add a drop or two of any oil that smells good if not totally lazy. Use vinegar in a fabric softener ball as the line in the machine acts up and this is easy. Then sheets (size), towels (weight) and jeans (need fabric softener coating or they are perma dirty in two wears) get the dryer, everything else line dries.

Anything else involving baking soda tends to end up as a disgusting disaster.

If you get hair clogs in the shower, dump Nair down every so often. Or get a Zip It thing and pull what looks like a drowned squirrel from the drain. Then Nair.

kmmssg · June 2014

jenna8984 said:

@kmmssg Do you run them through with detergent after or no? Do they smell horrid of vinegar? We use home made all purpose cleaner/ sanitizer made of just vinegar and water but we had to add essential oils because it smelled terrible.
I tried to DIY laundry detergent and while it did technically clean the items, it didn't give a "fresh" laundry smell and we didn't like that.

@jenna8984 - no vinegar smell at all, just clean towels. Every few washes I do just vinegar so they keep a fresh smell.

cupcait927 · June 2014

Win - homemade all-purpose cleaner with dish soap and vinegar. We also do the trick of putting it in one of those sponge wand things and keeping that in the shower to clean it while we're in there. Works like a charm!

I don't have any fails because I've been nervous to try a lot of these things since I wasn't sure if they worked. I'm definitely going to wash all of our towels with vinegar now though since so many of you has said that it works. And maybe try the homemade laundry detergent.

goldchocobo.defunct635829490514903826 · June 2014

Win: During a huge ice storm in Toronto in december, pinterest told me I could make a de-icer out of vodka, vinegar, and a bit of water. It helped me pry my encased car door open to get my actual commercial de-icer! Science!

Fail: Making 'nail polish stickers' on ziplock bags where you just peel and stick them onto your nails. I made a mess and a effed up the design every time.

wandajune6 · June 2014

Viczaesar said:
show previous quotes

kimches said:

Oh and the worst cleaning tip ever: ridding your coffee pot of hard water and other build-up by brewing vinegar. They say to brew vinegar through it once and then brew regular water through it 2-3 times. I've had friends do this and they swear it works. I did it and couldn't remove the vinegar taste/slimy water. I ran water through it over and over again. I think I finally gave up after brewing water through it 8 times. 8 FULL pots. The water was still slimy and vinegary and I wound up having to toss my entire coffee pot (carafe and brewer) and buy a whole new one. I was PISSED.

I do the vinegar in the coffee pot all the time, never have had a problem getting rid of the vinegar taste, nor have I had slimy water afterwards.

I learned this one from my dad years ago. I've never had a people either.

Complete fail: cream of tarter to clean that sticky oily buildup you sometimes get in the kitchen. Abject failure.

I love the microwave trick - though I usually use water and a quartered lemon instead of vinegar.

emmaaa · June 2014

Wins:

1. Vinegar All-purpose cleaner

2. Vinegar/water mixture in microwave to unstick foods

3. Vinegar in a cup in the dishwasher to get it nice an clean

4. Vinegar with towels

Fails:

1. Homemade laundry detergent - I used it for a few months and it left my clothes with an odd smell and didn't feel as clean. I know it is more economical but I'll stick to my Tide Pods

2. "Marble" nails - nail polish in water and dip your finger in...looked like shit.

gmcr78 · June 2014

jenna8984 said:

@kmmssg Do you run them through with detergent after or no? Do they smell horrid of vinegar? We use home made all purpose cleaner/ sanitizer made of just vinegar and water but we had to add essential oils because it smelled terrible.
I tried to DIY laundry detergent and while it did technically clean the items, it didn't give a "fresh" laundry smell and we didn't like that.

Once in awhile I will do my towels with a cup of vinegar in hot water and nothing else. Afterward I run them with detergent and they are fabulous afterward.

VulgarGirl · June 2014

kimches said:

Oh and the worst cleaning tip ever: ridding your coffee pot of hard water and other build-up by brewing vinegar. They say to brew vinegar through it once and then brew regular water through it 2-3 times. I've had friends do this and they swear it works. I did it and couldn't remove the vinegar taste/slimy water. I ran water through it over and over again. I think I finally gave up after brewing water through it 8 times. 8 FULL pots. The water was still slimy and vinegary and I wound up having to toss my entire coffee pot (carafe and brewer) and buy a whole new one. I was PISSED.

@kimches

Try using diluted vinegar. Usually a tablespoon or so in a full pot of water will work for me. Still have to run it through a few time with regular water to get the taste out, but I do it once a week for our shop coffee pot and it works really well. But I've never done just straight vinegar, always have to dilute it with water.

OliveOilsMom · June 2014

This morning I used baking soda and vinegar to clean up the mess on my stove from an over boiled pot. And it worked like a charm! Thanks for this thread ladies! It inspired me to use that after my elbow grease failed!

I keep away from the Pinterest because my mind will implode from all of the different ideas!

lovesclimbing · June 2014

Win: I don't have any wins because I haven't tried any Pinterest projects.

Fail: Swish hydrogen peroxide around your mouth every day for white teeth with the caption "FROM A DENTIST!!!1!!!" NOOOO!

IMathlete · July 2014

I made my own laundry detergent. Works like a charm. I am still using the batch I made a YEAR ago, and it's probably half-full. Crazy. I add in the Downy Scentables to get that typical fresh laundry scent, but just a tablespoon or so in each wash adds just enough "freshness."

I tried the vinegar/dishsoap bathroom cleaner in a sponge wand, but my wand just leaks all over the tub where I set it, so I am not sure how to fix that. Suggestions? The combo works great, if I could keep it in the stupid wand.

cupcait927 · July 2014

IMathlete said:

I made my own laundry detergent. Works like a charm. I am still using the batch I made a YEAR ago, and it's probably half-full. Crazy. I add in the Downy Scentables to get that typical fresh laundry scent, but just a tablespoon or so in each wash adds just enough "freshness."

I tried the vinegar/dishsoap bathroom cleaner in a sponge wand, but my wand just leaks all over the tub where I set it, so I am not sure how to fix that. Suggestions? The combo works great, if I could keep it in the stupid wand.

I haven't figured out how to keep it in the wand either. If anyone has any suggestions, please send them our way! The trick is great but not very economical if it keeps leaking everywhere.

Pinterest win/fails: cleaning edition

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