Keywords: deadbolt / door latch misalignment, door gap
It's not even New Year resolution because I did it.
My entry door lock jammed because a plastic component inside chipped off. I wanted to replace it long ago. But either I have to change all the locks, re-key the new lock, or carry two keys.
Worse, my entry lock has a deadbolt and lock in one piece. There is no obvious replacement in the local hardware stores. I can do away with the deadbolt because I have another separate one.
Without direct replacement, I hate to repaint the door. I would have replaced the door if the dimension is standard. A beautiful lock on a beaten old door isn't sensible.
There is a new smartkey system that you can rekey in no time. I don't know if it will work for my old key. Anyway, I found out that it's easily breakable, at least if you follow the instructions in Youtube.
At the end, I fixed the lock by stuffing strips from cardboards into it. That limits the trajectory of the broken plastic piece so it won't run off the rails. It's not a security risk. It just won't jam.
The bigger problem is the door. It's heavy, in bad shape near the bottom due to weather, and badly misaligned that you can feel the chill when there is wind.
I always thought it's a two men job at least for the realignment. And you have to be precise - need good power tools to drill precision holes next to old holes, which is rather impossible.
I found out that I was totally wrong when I tried out some of the instructions on the Internet, which tell me to use index cards or cardboard strips to fix alignments. I wasn't hoping much but try it anyway. It's so easy and let me explain.
You don't need to take out all the hinges. You don't need to drill new holes. You don't need help. It takes may be 5 minutes. No more wind blowing from outside the front door. No more enlarging the deadbolt strike hole again and again.
Typically an old door like to "fall" down. At the opening SIDE of the door, there will be a gap near the bottom. The gap will be larger at the bottom than at the top. There will be gaps at the top and bottom but that will be confusing you. Just look at the side of the door, and not the hinged side.
All you need to do is to unscrew some of the screws at the bottom hinge and screw them back, plus some trivial adjustments. 5 minutes or less.
First check if all the screws in all the hinges are tight. Replace any broken screws or loose screws with slightly larger sizes. You may not need to do anything else. Otherwise go on.
Open the door and support the door with stack of wooden shims at the opening corner.
Unscrew only the bottom hinge, and only the screws attached to the door, NOT the door frame. It should be easy to unscrew screws in an old wooden door. No power tools needed. Just be careful not to break the old screws.
Pry the hinge from the door using a screw driver. It should be easy unless you don't want any minute scratches on your old door.
If you can feel wind through the gaps, and deadbolts cannot get into the strikes, use thin pizza boxes in the following. For lesser misalignment, use index cards or nothing at all. For anything, you can always use two stacked together.
Cut the cardboard or index card the same size as the hinge plate on the door. It does not need to be precise as long as it can fit under the hinge plate and cover most of it. Just cut with scissor free hand.
Put the strip of cardboard under the hinge plate, and screw the hinge plate back as it was.
You door is fixed. If you still have significant gaps, use thicker materials or two of the same. If you cannot close the door, use thinner materials.
That's it. Why nobody told me since 10 years ago?
Update: The cardboard filler plate got compressed and I need to replace it every few months to a year or so. Also, the required thickness seems to be increasing and I need to use two cardboard thick and them some.
I thought of using hard plastic or metal instead but you need to saw, drill to match the hinge. The desired thickness is hard to match.
It's not a bad method nor it fails totally, but I have tried other usually recommended method such as longer screws to pull closer to the door jam. It's hard work and doesn't work that easy.
At the end I bought a wood chisel to enlarge the holes on the door jam so the locks can fit in. I have a oscillator tool to cut out the raw necessary shape before that. It's a relative quick fix to have a few years of a smooth locking door, and that's not bad.
The door may be weaken a bit but many doors and locks can be opened by a hard kick.
Monday, December 24, 2012
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Two step bug killing using organic ingredients
I had great success using soapy solutions to kill ants and a lot of other bugs. But I noticed that flies return to life after they are dried. And that big spiders are very much disturbed but not dying.
Someone suggested to add vinegar to the soapy solution to kill flies. It worked. But unfortunately I used to aim at flies like AAA. So the whole area smell of vinegar after the battle.
It dawned on me that I can use two steps to get the best of both worlds. The bugs aren't going away after the first.
The first step is to immobilize the bugs using soapy solution. I use Dr Bronner's organic liquid soap. 1 tsp to 1 cup of water. I just have it and it should be safer than dish washing liquid. You can use a more concentrated solution for big spiders, and less concentrated for ants.
The ants still dies. Flies will be grounded and struggling.
For step two, you can put a few drops of anything strong to kill the bugs. A few drops of 70% rubbing alcohol will kill flies in seconds. Alcohol are safe on most surfaces and skin. You can also use vinegar, hydrogen hydroxide, or citric acid.
Someone suggested to add vinegar to the soapy solution to kill flies. It worked. But unfortunately I used to aim at flies like AAA. So the whole area smell of vinegar after the battle.
It dawned on me that I can use two steps to get the best of both worlds. The bugs aren't going away after the first.
The first step is to immobilize the bugs using soapy solution. I use Dr Bronner's organic liquid soap. 1 tsp to 1 cup of water. I just have it and it should be safer than dish washing liquid. You can use a more concentrated solution for big spiders, and less concentrated for ants.
The ants still dies. Flies will be grounded and struggling.
For step two, you can put a few drops of anything strong to kill the bugs. A few drops of 70% rubbing alcohol will kill flies in seconds. Alcohol are safe on most surfaces and skin. You can also use vinegar, hydrogen hydroxide, or citric acid.
Sunday, October 14, 2012
Two step approach organic insect killer spray
Soapy solutions kill ants instantly. It also immobilize larger insects but normally don't kill them.
Someone adds vinegar to diluted washing liquid to kill flies. It worked.
Flies are a different matter. If you don't want to wait until they rest on somewhere close, you have to spray a lot in the air and everywhere just to stop one fly. Even diluted washing liquid isn't that safe.
So for flies the first step is a wide angle spray bottle filled with diluted organic soap. Soap from soap nuts are certainly organic - food grade. I think Bronner's soap is organic too, at least the ingredients are. I just have some for the bathroom and they are good to be diluted.
The organic soap still stop ants at the spot and kills them. Flies have to find a place to land if you hit them. Water may work to some extend but you can see that they have difficult walking in the soap.
When the fly is grounded, you can move in for the kill - with drops of vinegar, lime or lemon juice. Totally organic. Even better, I have citric acid crystals. So I can make very concentrated lemon juice if some insects need that. Dry crystals can be stored much longer than juices.
The two steps also work for spiders. First they are caught in their own net with the soapy solution. Then the acid kills them.
I have no cockroaches to test. But I guess you have to have a very sticky solution to trap them, and a very strong acid to penetrate their defence. I got both.
Someone adds vinegar to diluted washing liquid to kill flies. It worked.
Flies are a different matter. If you don't want to wait until they rest on somewhere close, you have to spray a lot in the air and everywhere just to stop one fly. Even diluted washing liquid isn't that safe.
So for flies the first step is a wide angle spray bottle filled with diluted organic soap. Soap from soap nuts are certainly organic - food grade. I think Bronner's soap is organic too, at least the ingredients are. I just have some for the bathroom and they are good to be diluted.
The organic soap still stop ants at the spot and kills them. Flies have to find a place to land if you hit them. Water may work to some extend but you can see that they have difficult walking in the soap.
When the fly is grounded, you can move in for the kill - with drops of vinegar, lime or lemon juice. Totally organic. Even better, I have citric acid crystals. So I can make very concentrated lemon juice if some insects need that. Dry crystals can be stored much longer than juices.
The two steps also work for spiders. First they are caught in their own net with the soapy solution. Then the acid kills them.
I have no cockroaches to test. But I guess you have to have a very sticky solution to trap them, and a very strong acid to penetrate their defence. I got both.
Saturday, September 22, 2012
Launching Evorganics line of personal care products
Ha ha, it's next to free so I don't bother to market it.
Step 1: Greasy
Coconut oil. First of all it's a kind of reverse conditioner for hair or skin. You massage straight into your scalp or skin, then you try to rinse it off as much as possible. So it is self equalizing. People have been looking for the conditioner just right for them. That's a wrong or expensive approach.
Some use it to kill bacteria responsible for dandruff. Some use it to repair damaged hair. Some use it to soften tough skin. In any case, I don't advice to leave it on for more than a few minutes. It should also work if you do it more often.
The research is to dilute oil with glycerin and then water. You can apply a lot less that way and feel better in the process.
This step is optional of course if you hair don't need conditioner. I used to but I don't after switching to Evorganics.
Step 2: Soapy
I would suggest Dr Bonner's liquid soap. The best part is that it can be diluted with water to a concentration that you like. Avoid this step if you can. The body should produce the right amount of body oil given the chance. You don't want to strip off all the body oil. But if you put oil in your hair, probably you want to use soap to feel better.
As with all other steps, you should feel good about it. But don't judge when you are wet. It will not be squeaky clean as we are all brain washed to feel. Say when your hair are dry, you should feel like having shampoo and then conditioner. That's why you don't need them because you will feel the same with Evorganics.
Step 3: Salty
Baking soda solution in purified water (or tap water of course). One teaspoon per cup is salty enough for your tongue. Use it to rinse your hair. Baking soda can dissolve grease in bulk, which is different than soap that only works on the surface. It is pretty safe, used in and out of the body in medical applications.
Rinse thoroughly with water after each step. If they can be combined I would have combined them. Combine Greasy and Salty will result in soap. That's why some morons on youtube cry foul, generating skunk in their hair.
This step is optional if you don't feel that your hair is dirty at all.
Step 4: Fruity
One teaspoon of citric acid crystals for several cups of water to suit your own taste. If you can drink it, it won't be too harsh for your hair and skin. This is an alternative to the more common vinegar rinse. It's acidic but smell nice.
People use citric acid (or vinegar) to cure or prevent dandruff. I think it's believable but don't leave it on over a minute. It has cleaning properties at opposite of the pH scale of baking soda. So you will have best of both worlds. Mixing fruity and salty will give you carbon dioxide bubbles, and cancels each other. But that's what some morons do in their washing machine. Citric acid is also an excellent water softening agent.
I think I feel a lot of difference between vinegar and citric acid. With citric acid, I feel my hair is shiny, fluffy, and the greasy feeling on my face disappeared at an instant. But maybe that's just psychological.
This is optional if you don't feel your hair or skin dirty, and you don't need to prevent dandruff everyday.
People use lemon juice to lighten their blond hair and skin. I agree that lemon juice contains more things and the process is more complicated. I don't think that dilute citric acid and immediate rinsing will do anything to your hair or skin.
Step 5: Sweety
One teaspoon of glycerin per cup. It's extremely common in personal care products as a water soluble moisturizer. You know if you wash with just water, you will feel bad and dry. I was hoping to compensate that by adding a moisturizer. I'm not sure it do anything but I don't feel bad at all washing my hair and body with just glycerin water. You can even leave it on as a moisturizer or conditioner.
Sweety combines with fruity to produce a little bit of polyester for making cloth fibres. So don't combine. This is the only essential step, or otherwise you are not even washing anything. Glycerin also dissolves oil so it has it's cleaning powers. It is also used in washing out ear wax.
You must add enough water to glycerin, say half and half, or it will take water from your skin. Otherwise, the more glycerin the better but this is the only ingredient that cost some money.
Step 1: Greasy
Coconut oil. First of all it's a kind of reverse conditioner for hair or skin. You massage straight into your scalp or skin, then you try to rinse it off as much as possible. So it is self equalizing. People have been looking for the conditioner just right for them. That's a wrong or expensive approach.
Some use it to kill bacteria responsible for dandruff. Some use it to repair damaged hair. Some use it to soften tough skin. In any case, I don't advice to leave it on for more than a few minutes. It should also work if you do it more often.
The research is to dilute oil with glycerin and then water. You can apply a lot less that way and feel better in the process.
This step is optional of course if you hair don't need conditioner. I used to but I don't after switching to Evorganics.
Step 2: Soapy
I would suggest Dr Bonner's liquid soap. The best part is that it can be diluted with water to a concentration that you like. Avoid this step if you can. The body should produce the right amount of body oil given the chance. You don't want to strip off all the body oil. But if you put oil in your hair, probably you want to use soap to feel better.
As with all other steps, you should feel good about it. But don't judge when you are wet. It will not be squeaky clean as we are all brain washed to feel. Say when your hair are dry, you should feel like having shampoo and then conditioner. That's why you don't need them because you will feel the same with Evorganics.
Step 3: Salty
Baking soda solution in purified water (or tap water of course). One teaspoon per cup is salty enough for your tongue. Use it to rinse your hair. Baking soda can dissolve grease in bulk, which is different than soap that only works on the surface. It is pretty safe, used in and out of the body in medical applications.
Rinse thoroughly with water after each step. If they can be combined I would have combined them. Combine Greasy and Salty will result in soap. That's why some morons on youtube cry foul, generating skunk in their hair.
This step is optional if you don't feel that your hair is dirty at all.
Step 4: Fruity
One teaspoon of citric acid crystals for several cups of water to suit your own taste. If you can drink it, it won't be too harsh for your hair and skin. This is an alternative to the more common vinegar rinse. It's acidic but smell nice.
People use citric acid (or vinegar) to cure or prevent dandruff. I think it's believable but don't leave it on over a minute. It has cleaning properties at opposite of the pH scale of baking soda. So you will have best of both worlds. Mixing fruity and salty will give you carbon dioxide bubbles, and cancels each other. But that's what some morons do in their washing machine. Citric acid is also an excellent water softening agent.
I think I feel a lot of difference between vinegar and citric acid. With citric acid, I feel my hair is shiny, fluffy, and the greasy feeling on my face disappeared at an instant. But maybe that's just psychological.
This is optional if you don't feel your hair or skin dirty, and you don't need to prevent dandruff everyday.
People use lemon juice to lighten their blond hair and skin. I agree that lemon juice contains more things and the process is more complicated. I don't think that dilute citric acid and immediate rinsing will do anything to your hair or skin.
Step 5: Sweety
One teaspoon of glycerin per cup. It's extremely common in personal care products as a water soluble moisturizer. You know if you wash with just water, you will feel bad and dry. I was hoping to compensate that by adding a moisturizer. I'm not sure it do anything but I don't feel bad at all washing my hair and body with just glycerin water. You can even leave it on as a moisturizer or conditioner.
Sweety combines with fruity to produce a little bit of polyester for making cloth fibres. So don't combine. This is the only essential step, or otherwise you are not even washing anything. Glycerin also dissolves oil so it has it's cleaning powers. It is also used in washing out ear wax.
You must add enough water to glycerin, say half and half, or it will take water from your skin. Otherwise, the more glycerin the better but this is the only ingredient that cost some money.
Saturday, September 15, 2012
Glycerine - the universal ingredient for personal cleaning
Using baking soda for a while, my hair is OK. I thought of getting rid of body wash too. But I can't do without moisturizer lotion, even if I use Dove for body wash. I also suspect my dandruff is due to dryness. I wash my hair everyday so the flakes are carried away without too much visibility. But if I don't wash for a few days, the flakes come off in large visible pieces.
So I thought of adding moisturizer to my formula. Glycerin fits the bill. It's used in many many personal cleaning and cosmetics products. You can get it easily online. It's not expensive for the amount you need.
My objective is different from many other home made product blogs. It have to work better, saving time and money are bonuses. I believe in evolution work best, or sufficient. I don't want to change the texture, smell, of my hair or skin. I just want to give my body the chance to adjust and balance itself. It also have to work for the kids.
Basically I wash everything with diluted Glycerin, roughly one teaspoon per cup of purified water (or tap water). You must dilute Glycerin with water or it will absorb water from your skin. If the whole family uses one teaspoonful per day, the 32 oz bottle will last for 3 months, which is pretty good.
I didn't add any other thing because you could leave it on your hair or skin. People use it as hair detangler and it works pretty good. But if you don't use shampoo to strip all the body oil, you can just wash with Glycerin water and then rinse thoroughly with water. Yeah, I use Glycerin water like shampoo. After "washing" the hair will feel sticky when wet, but after the hair dries, my hair feels better than having shampoo and then conditioner. It looks better. And the next day I don't really need to wash my hair in order to make it tidy. So basically I could have wash my hair once every several days, not dedicated by the morning look.
My skin feels good too without using any moisturizer.
If money is no object, you can just pour a cup or two Glycerin water (diluted) on your hair, and spray yourself all over the body. $10 per bottle per month isn't bad at all. But my cheap shampoo and conditioner probably last longer.
To save Glycerin, I use a 97 cent Walmart spray bottle to wet my hair, which works pretty good. For the body wash I created a gel. I dissolve one to two teaspoon of tapioca starch per cup of purified water and heat in the microwave to boil. When cooled, you have a translucent gel. When you squeeze it out from a bottle, it just look like a clear gel. Of course, I also dissolve the Gycerin before heating.
Actually the best delivery bottle is probably the cheap squirt water bottle with a valve. The water won't come out even when upside down, until you squeeze the bottle a little. To get a proper and cheaper one, it's called (medical) cleansing bottle, or perineal irrigation bottle. It's also very good to squeeze out gel. It's easy to use for the kids, and water can't easily get in inside the shower even when the valve is open. That's kid safe.
I also tried to wash my hair with the gel. It doesn't make noticeable difference. But I just don't feel right adding a lot of sticky starch onto my hair. Though the gel can easily be rinsed away.
If I feel dirty, I'll spray myself with baking soda water first.
I also brought some Dr Bronner soap just in case. The liquid soap can be diluted so it's not expensive. But I don't think I need it except for my face and neck area.
I think vinegar rinse on hair may be useful. Acid can remove some oil (and dirt). It can neutralize the residue baking soda in solution form absorbed at the scalp. But it assumes leaving the hair slightly acidic is better than slightly alkaline. But I don't want one more step everyday for the kids. I also tried diluted lemon juice rinse. I think there's some difference from vinegar. Lemon juice is a lot easier and smells good.
My hair looks and feels great, and still do waking up in the morning.
So I thought of adding moisturizer to my formula. Glycerin fits the bill. It's used in many many personal cleaning and cosmetics products. You can get it easily online. It's not expensive for the amount you need.
My objective is different from many other home made product blogs. It have to work better, saving time and money are bonuses. I believe in evolution work best, or sufficient. I don't want to change the texture, smell, of my hair or skin. I just want to give my body the chance to adjust and balance itself. It also have to work for the kids.
Basically I wash everything with diluted Glycerin, roughly one teaspoon per cup of purified water (or tap water). You must dilute Glycerin with water or it will absorb water from your skin. If the whole family uses one teaspoonful per day, the 32 oz bottle will last for 3 months, which is pretty good.
I didn't add any other thing because you could leave it on your hair or skin. People use it as hair detangler and it works pretty good. But if you don't use shampoo to strip all the body oil, you can just wash with Glycerin water and then rinse thoroughly with water. Yeah, I use Glycerin water like shampoo. After "washing" the hair will feel sticky when wet, but after the hair dries, my hair feels better than having shampoo and then conditioner. It looks better. And the next day I don't really need to wash my hair in order to make it tidy. So basically I could have wash my hair once every several days, not dedicated by the morning look.
My skin feels good too without using any moisturizer.
If money is no object, you can just pour a cup or two Glycerin water (diluted) on your hair, and spray yourself all over the body. $10 per bottle per month isn't bad at all. But my cheap shampoo and conditioner probably last longer.
To save Glycerin, I use a 97 cent Walmart spray bottle to wet my hair, which works pretty good. For the body wash I created a gel. I dissolve one to two teaspoon of tapioca starch per cup of purified water and heat in the microwave to boil. When cooled, you have a translucent gel. When you squeeze it out from a bottle, it just look like a clear gel. Of course, I also dissolve the Gycerin before heating.
Actually the best delivery bottle is probably the cheap squirt water bottle with a valve. The water won't come out even when upside down, until you squeeze the bottle a little. To get a proper and cheaper one, it's called (medical) cleansing bottle, or perineal irrigation bottle. It's also very good to squeeze out gel. It's easy to use for the kids, and water can't easily get in inside the shower even when the valve is open. That's kid safe.
I also tried to wash my hair with the gel. It doesn't make noticeable difference. But I just don't feel right adding a lot of sticky starch onto my hair. Though the gel can easily be rinsed away.
If I feel dirty, I'll spray myself with baking soda water first.
I also brought some Dr Bronner soap just in case. The liquid soap can be diluted so it's not expensive. But I don't think I need it except for my face and neck area.
I think vinegar rinse on hair may be useful. Acid can remove some oil (and dirt). It can neutralize the residue baking soda in solution form absorbed at the scalp. But it assumes leaving the hair slightly acidic is better than slightly alkaline. But I don't want one more step everyday for the kids. I also tried diluted lemon juice rinse. I think there's some difference from vinegar. Lemon juice is a lot easier and smells good.
My hair looks and feels great, and still do waking up in the morning.
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Hair care update
I use 1 teaspoon of baking soda per cup of reverse osmosis water and put them in a large juice or milk bottle. Then pour them into an old shampoo to apply to dry hair, until they are thoroughly wet. You can dissolve a lot more soda but the taste is shockingly salty. I don't suggest more concentrated solution because it's alkaline (base) after all.
I rinse with water thoroughly before vinegar rinse. I don't use apple cider vinegar because I use white vinegar for clothes and white stuff is cheaper. I mix 1/8 cup of vinegar to 1 cup of soft water. This is mild enough not to stink your eyes. Again I put the mixture in a large bottle and pour them into smaller shampoo bottles to rinse my hair. In winter, you can make double concentrated solution and dilute with warm water when use.
Always rinse thoroughly. It's not a good idea to leave alkaline or acid in your scalp.
I've been using this for over a week and very happy with it. I have to wash my hair because of the desert climate and to bring my hair strands down. During wash, the hair felt a bit oily. But when my hair is completely dry, it's the same feeling after I shampoo and then apply plenty of conditioner. What a waste of time before. The clean feeling last a day or may be too. Since I have to wash hair everyday it's perfect.
You can't go wrong with baking soda because it's a deodorizing agent. It can dissolve grease and calcium deposits. I doubt if the vinegar does anything, but most people suggest that as rinse. I read an article that the optimum hair condition is acidic. That looks like a technical article. It may be bluffing but as long as it has claims, somebody can fact check it sooner or later. But I won't try to leave any trace on the hair. Maintaining a certain pH without exact control of the amount of materials is tricky.
The alternative to vinegar is citric acid. It's a good chelating agent, meaning it can prevent calcium from depositing on your hair. It won't have the vinegar smell. You can get it in powder form or lemon juice. I don't know how much to dilute them for use. It could end up quite expensive than vinegar.
I rinse with water thoroughly before vinegar rinse. I don't use apple cider vinegar because I use white vinegar for clothes and white stuff is cheaper. I mix 1/8 cup of vinegar to 1 cup of soft water. This is mild enough not to stink your eyes. Again I put the mixture in a large bottle and pour them into smaller shampoo bottles to rinse my hair. In winter, you can make double concentrated solution and dilute with warm water when use.
Always rinse thoroughly. It's not a good idea to leave alkaline or acid in your scalp.
I've been using this for over a week and very happy with it. I have to wash my hair because of the desert climate and to bring my hair strands down. During wash, the hair felt a bit oily. But when my hair is completely dry, it's the same feeling after I shampoo and then apply plenty of conditioner. What a waste of time before. The clean feeling last a day or may be too. Since I have to wash hair everyday it's perfect.
You can't go wrong with baking soda because it's a deodorizing agent. It can dissolve grease and calcium deposits. I doubt if the vinegar does anything, but most people suggest that as rinse. I read an article that the optimum hair condition is acidic. That looks like a technical article. It may be bluffing but as long as it has claims, somebody can fact check it sooner or later. But I won't try to leave any trace on the hair. Maintaining a certain pH without exact control of the amount of materials is tricky.
The alternative to vinegar is citric acid. It's a good chelating agent, meaning it can prevent calcium from depositing on your hair. It won't have the vinegar smell. You can get it in powder form or lemon juice. I don't know how much to dilute them for use. It could end up quite expensive than vinegar.
Monday, July 23, 2012
Full personal care with totally safe ingredients - oral
The two ingredients are of course baking soda and hydrogen peroxide. But using them carelessly you can do great harm to your teeth and gums. Many commercial oral care products contain the same ingredients, safer, but not perfectly. Some warned that you cannot use the whitening toothpaste for more than a week, and some cautions for whitening mouth wash.
I won't use dry baking soda to grind you teeth whiter. It has to be a very precise process to avoid grinding your gums. At most I would spread dry or paste baking soda on the surface of your teeth to apply them effectively, and make them wet for whatever cleaning effect they have on your teeth.
Or you can mix baking soda solution with glycerin so the paste can stay on your teeth, but all baking soda are dissolved.
Baking soda can remove water stains, which is calcium deposits. But I doubt if it can dissolve your teeth away by just brushing your teeth or rinsing your mouth. There are whitening mouth rinse that contains baking soda. The salty taste is a dead give away. The concentration doesn't really matter as long as you rinse your mouth thoroughly after.
Baking soda will definitely whiten your teeth but a simple rinse could prevent your teeth from getting more and more stains.
Baking soda is slightly alkaline while sugar caused tooth decay is an acidic process. It might protect your teeth against decay. But I will still use a fluoride toothpaste for my kids as we don't drink fluoridated water, we have reverse osmosis.
Baking soda is a deodorizer, so it would help to combat bad breath. Daily rinsing may cure bad breath. For emergency I would rinse mouth with concentrated solution and then rinse thoroughly. You can also work baking soda powder gently into the voids of your teeth, to go where your tooth brushed or flossing missed. And rinse thoroughly. Although baking soda is only slightly alkaline, I won't suggest to leave anything in your mouth.
Hydrogen peroxide attacks anything organic (living or once living) and then some. Certainly it will remove most stains. Certainly it will attack your gums and anywhere in your mouth. You pay a lot of money at the dentist to protect your gums while remove stains in the most rapid way. But a diluted mouth rinse should not cause any harm. Indeed, 3% peroxide solutions are diluted with equal parts of water for mouth rinse, to reduce bad breath, for first aid, and to kill germs.
Somehow concentrated hydrogen peroxide can dig deep into your teeth around the gum line if you don't rinse after use. So be very careful what you are using and following instructions.
I use daily a mouth rinse made up of at most 1/8 part of 3% hydrogen peroxide solution and 1 part water, saturated in baking soda. That is suppose to reduce stains, kill germs, prevent tooth decay, and cure bad breath.
I suggest to use whitening tooth paste unless you are prepared to make your own "pure" toothpaste using glycerin. If you want a boost, you can stick baking soda to your tooth paste.
I won't use dry baking soda to grind you teeth whiter. It has to be a very precise process to avoid grinding your gums. At most I would spread dry or paste baking soda on the surface of your teeth to apply them effectively, and make them wet for whatever cleaning effect they have on your teeth.
Or you can mix baking soda solution with glycerin so the paste can stay on your teeth, but all baking soda are dissolved.
Baking soda can remove water stains, which is calcium deposits. But I doubt if it can dissolve your teeth away by just brushing your teeth or rinsing your mouth. There are whitening mouth rinse that contains baking soda. The salty taste is a dead give away. The concentration doesn't really matter as long as you rinse your mouth thoroughly after.
Baking soda will definitely whiten your teeth but a simple rinse could prevent your teeth from getting more and more stains.
Baking soda is slightly alkaline while sugar caused tooth decay is an acidic process. It might protect your teeth against decay. But I will still use a fluoride toothpaste for my kids as we don't drink fluoridated water, we have reverse osmosis.
Baking soda is a deodorizer, so it would help to combat bad breath. Daily rinsing may cure bad breath. For emergency I would rinse mouth with concentrated solution and then rinse thoroughly. You can also work baking soda powder gently into the voids of your teeth, to go where your tooth brushed or flossing missed. And rinse thoroughly. Although baking soda is only slightly alkaline, I won't suggest to leave anything in your mouth.
Hydrogen peroxide attacks anything organic (living or once living) and then some. Certainly it will remove most stains. Certainly it will attack your gums and anywhere in your mouth. You pay a lot of money at the dentist to protect your gums while remove stains in the most rapid way. But a diluted mouth rinse should not cause any harm. Indeed, 3% peroxide solutions are diluted with equal parts of water for mouth rinse, to reduce bad breath, for first aid, and to kill germs.
Somehow concentrated hydrogen peroxide can dig deep into your teeth around the gum line if you don't rinse after use. So be very careful what you are using and following instructions.
I use daily a mouth rinse made up of at most 1/8 part of 3% hydrogen peroxide solution and 1 part water, saturated in baking soda. That is suppose to reduce stains, kill germs, prevent tooth decay, and cure bad breath.
I suggest to use whitening tooth paste unless you are prepared to make your own "pure" toothpaste using glycerin. If you want a boost, you can stick baking soda to your tooth paste.
Full personal care with totally safe ingredients - skin
For "body wash" I use the same thing as my "shampoo" - saturated baking soda solution in tap water, or the softest water you can get. That's about one teaspoon per cup.
You can pour the solution on your body with an old body wash bottle. Or you can simply put the baking soda into a bath. First clean yourself with a little water in the bath, then add water to whatever level you desire.
I don't suggest to use another vinegar rinse as that's too much trouble with no reason.
I hope I don't need skin moisturizer in the long run, at least not everyday.
I suggest corn huskers lotion on a as needed basis or on trouble spots. It solved all my skin troubles as the alcohol in it makes it medicated. I use it for after shave, and moisturizer after I removed tough skin on my heel with "floating stone". The formula has been used for just less than 100 years and all the common ingredients are said to be safe.
Some people suggest to use it for moisturizing your hair too. But I use it on my scalp when there's something like an insect bite, or where there are some dry spots.
You may turn your solutions into lotions or gels if you mix glycerin with it. You can make your body wash solution into something like body wash lotion. It is easier to apply for kids and it can last for a week instead of a day or two.
Food grade glycerin is about 50 cents per oz online. You need to further dilute it into lotion. Glycerin is the main ingredient in corn huskers lotion, itself a good moisturizer and found in many personal care products and food as base.
I use it for the face too. After washing I don't feel the face oily, nor dry. But the oil free feeling don't last long, but not even the strongest face wash that I use last that long. I repeat with the BS solution if I need to, or just wipe face with a wet towel.
For body scrub I sprinkle a little BS from a pepper bottle into my wet hands and rub it gently on my face or where it's needed. Dry BS is very fine crystals and can cause fine scratch lines on glass when dry. But it dissolves as soon as it touches water. And it won't scratch your skin because the "floating stone" are many times tougher than that.
You can pour the solution on your body with an old body wash bottle. Or you can simply put the baking soda into a bath. First clean yourself with a little water in the bath, then add water to whatever level you desire.
I don't suggest to use another vinegar rinse as that's too much trouble with no reason.
I hope I don't need skin moisturizer in the long run, at least not everyday.
I suggest corn huskers lotion on a as needed basis or on trouble spots. It solved all my skin troubles as the alcohol in it makes it medicated. I use it for after shave, and moisturizer after I removed tough skin on my heel with "floating stone". The formula has been used for just less than 100 years and all the common ingredients are said to be safe.
Some people suggest to use it for moisturizing your hair too. But I use it on my scalp when there's something like an insect bite, or where there are some dry spots.
You may turn your solutions into lotions or gels if you mix glycerin with it. You can make your body wash solution into something like body wash lotion. It is easier to apply for kids and it can last for a week instead of a day or two.
Food grade glycerin is about 50 cents per oz online. You need to further dilute it into lotion. Glycerin is the main ingredient in corn huskers lotion, itself a good moisturizer and found in many personal care products and food as base.
I use it for the face too. After washing I don't feel the face oily, nor dry. But the oil free feeling don't last long, but not even the strongest face wash that I use last that long. I repeat with the BS solution if I need to, or just wipe face with a wet towel.
For body scrub I sprinkle a little BS from a pepper bottle into my wet hands and rub it gently on my face or where it's needed. Dry BS is very fine crystals and can cause fine scratch lines on glass when dry. But it dissolves as soon as it touches water. And it won't scratch your skin because the "floating stone" are many times tougher than that.
Full personal care with totally safe ingredents - hair
I have sensitive and problematic skin so I had tried a lot of things. My recent experience of cleaning triggered me to research on cleaning myself, with safe and effective ingredients that I already have.
I use the most thick moisturizing body wash and that is not enough. To sustain problem skin I need to cover myself with a good body moisturizer.
After shampooing, I must use good conditioner or my hair will go crazy.
All these doesn't make any sense to me. After I stripped my hair and skin of body oil, I reapply something else to re-moisturize my body.
So I found some common natural personal care routines that I can use. I will concentrate on the simplicity of the process, the chemistry, and the safety.
For hair "shampoo" I use 2 cup of reverse osmosis water and saturate it with baking soda in a measuring cup. That means roughly two teaspoons of baking soda dissolving in very soft water. Then I pour the solution into an empty shampoo container and use it to apply to my dry hair thoroughly in the bathroom. Then rinse THOROUGHLY before next step.
Over saturating the solution with baking soda probably won't do much. If the solution don't have enough cleaning power you are the first one to know. You aim to rinse off thoroughly so the concentration of the solution isn't critical. You can use tap water. But soft water itself cleans by dissolving hard deposits, and it dissolves more baking soda. Baking soda also may have softening effects as in commercial softeners, where calcium (in water) is replaced by sodium (in Baking soda) and then extracted somewhat. That's why people should not drink softened water, especially those who need to watch sodium intake.
For the "conditioner" I use apple cider vinegar. I dilute an oz or two of vinegar with reverse osmosis water in a measuring cup, giving the water pale colour but not too smelly in the bathroom. Then I pour the solution into another bottle for use in the bathroom. Apply to wet hair thoroughly and then rinse THOROUGHLY.
You can use white vinegar but the smell is stronger. The two solution aren't really shampoo and conditioner as such, but the concept is never to mix them together. They will start off a famous chemical reaction forming carbon dioxide bubbles and a temporary acid. It may be good for carpet stains but not a good idea on your head.
Baking soda is a deodorizer and eatable, so it's fail safe. You don't need to smell your own hair to be sure that it doesn't stink. BS can remove grease and water scale effectively. I would think the vinegar is optional. But a lot of people tested it and it shouldn't cause any harm. BS is slightly alkaline and vinegar is acidic. So it may be cleaning in different ways. Keep them on the dead hair and you won't go wrong.
As for the problem of dandruff, I suggest you do more research before trying. I have no worries as my best shampoo and best conditioner still leave me with dandruff. Every week or two I need to use medicated tar shampoo to treat my hair. It isn't really treat but just a quick wash. But I bet in my case it's drying of the skin under the hair so my alternative hair cleaning shouldn't get any worse. I hope it gets better without stripping the oils everyday. I tried other dandruff shampoo but they don't clean that good or the hair don't feel that good.
I'm happy with the effect so far, but not a long term test. Your hair don't feel so clean during the washing, because you aren't removing all the oil. After natural drying, my hair feels like I shampooed and conditioned as before. So what a waste of time before. It feels a little sticky at the end of day, but I have to wash my hair everyday because of the weather.
I have tried on kids very long hair. It doesn't tangle that much without stripping the oil. But it's not a long term test either.
For me the preparation is easy. I just go to the kitchen and use the same measuring cup I use for cooking. It's easier then making coffee. And you can make more to use for a few more days. For the whole family you may want to use two large milk bottles, put them high up in the shower, and fit taps on them.
I use the most thick moisturizing body wash and that is not enough. To sustain problem skin I need to cover myself with a good body moisturizer.
After shampooing, I must use good conditioner or my hair will go crazy.
All these doesn't make any sense to me. After I stripped my hair and skin of body oil, I reapply something else to re-moisturize my body.
So I found some common natural personal care routines that I can use. I will concentrate on the simplicity of the process, the chemistry, and the safety.
For hair "shampoo" I use 2 cup of reverse osmosis water and saturate it with baking soda in a measuring cup. That means roughly two teaspoons of baking soda dissolving in very soft water. Then I pour the solution into an empty shampoo container and use it to apply to my dry hair thoroughly in the bathroom. Then rinse THOROUGHLY before next step.
Over saturating the solution with baking soda probably won't do much. If the solution don't have enough cleaning power you are the first one to know. You aim to rinse off thoroughly so the concentration of the solution isn't critical. You can use tap water. But soft water itself cleans by dissolving hard deposits, and it dissolves more baking soda. Baking soda also may have softening effects as in commercial softeners, where calcium (in water) is replaced by sodium (in Baking soda) and then extracted somewhat. That's why people should not drink softened water, especially those who need to watch sodium intake.
For the "conditioner" I use apple cider vinegar. I dilute an oz or two of vinegar with reverse osmosis water in a measuring cup, giving the water pale colour but not too smelly in the bathroom. Then I pour the solution into another bottle for use in the bathroom. Apply to wet hair thoroughly and then rinse THOROUGHLY.
You can use white vinegar but the smell is stronger. The two solution aren't really shampoo and conditioner as such, but the concept is never to mix them together. They will start off a famous chemical reaction forming carbon dioxide bubbles and a temporary acid. It may be good for carpet stains but not a good idea on your head.
Baking soda is a deodorizer and eatable, so it's fail safe. You don't need to smell your own hair to be sure that it doesn't stink. BS can remove grease and water scale effectively. I would think the vinegar is optional. But a lot of people tested it and it shouldn't cause any harm. BS is slightly alkaline and vinegar is acidic. So it may be cleaning in different ways. Keep them on the dead hair and you won't go wrong.
As for the problem of dandruff, I suggest you do more research before trying. I have no worries as my best shampoo and best conditioner still leave me with dandruff. Every week or two I need to use medicated tar shampoo to treat my hair. It isn't really treat but just a quick wash. But I bet in my case it's drying of the skin under the hair so my alternative hair cleaning shouldn't get any worse. I hope it gets better without stripping the oils everyday. I tried other dandruff shampoo but they don't clean that good or the hair don't feel that good.
I'm happy with the effect so far, but not a long term test. Your hair don't feel so clean during the washing, because you aren't removing all the oil. After natural drying, my hair feels like I shampooed and conditioned as before. So what a waste of time before. It feels a little sticky at the end of day, but I have to wash my hair everyday because of the weather.
I have tried on kids very long hair. It doesn't tangle that much without stripping the oil. But it's not a long term test either.
For me the preparation is easy. I just go to the kitchen and use the same measuring cup I use for cooking. It's easier then making coffee. And you can make more to use for a few more days. For the whole family you may want to use two large milk bottles, put them high up in the shower, and fit taps on them.
Saturday, July 14, 2012
Perfect carpet cleaning with perfectly safe ingredients
Now I have done all the experiments. Firstly, the cleaning agents are not as important as the cleaning tool. You do have to get one of the carpet "steamers" - not hot steam but will apply shampoo on the carpet and then suck it up. Without it you have to soak the wet dirt up with a micro fibre or just cloth. For removing stain in a small area it's perfectly OK. It's just don't worth the manual labour if you can get a cheap steamer for smaller areas.
Now the cleaning agents. Of course baking soda. First you optionally spread baking soda around the carpet, more on dirty areas and stains. You just drop a scoop in mid air and it will spread pretty evenly when the powder hit the ground.
Now spray the dirty area and stains with white vinegar, neat or diluted. It depends on how dirty your carpet is and how much you want to spend on vinegar. It's cheap but still a couple of dollars per gallon. The chemical will produce an acid temporary for extra cleaning. The resulting neutralized salt is slightly yellowish. It doesn't stain but if you have pure white carpet, I would try in a small area first.
Now the ingredient for carpet shampoo. Add a cup of vinegar to it, more or less if you want. Optionally add a cup of rubbing alcohol to it. Optionally you need a little bubble, if only you need it to see how much dirty water is being sucked back into the steamer. You can mix with carpet shampoo, but test first if there is adverse or mutual suppressing reactions. You can add an oz or two of laundry detergent. Or, I have an ultimately biodegradable car shampoo with very low suds.
Then follow the steamer instructions to clean the carpet. Put it simply, for the first pass backwards, press the button to apply "shampoo". Then at least pass a few times along the same area to suck back up all the shampoo. Don't reapply shampoo unless you suck up all the shampoo that can be sucked up. If the carpet get too wet, it will affect all the glue in all the layers. The carpet may get loose or be damaged.
You can replace the steamer by hand. But when I dispose of the used shampoo bucket, I always have a dark grey bucket of dirty water. The dirty water is still very dirty even if I wash in consecutive days. So that's the power of the steamer.
One thing to watch is that the baking soda from the carpet can "clog" the dirty water circulation. If that happens you just need to rinse the dirty bucket in warm or cold water. Baking soda is soluble in water. For this clogging reason I don't use baking soda as shampoo. But I think you can, but then don't add vinegar to neutralize it.
I had a Hover steamer, the biggest I could get. It was a mistake. It's so heavy to lift upstairs. Yes you can separate the buckets from the steamer before lifting but that's extra work. Even the to and fro action need some muscle if you go over the whole house.
My steamer clogged long ago, with fibre and dirt from the carpets. It it also leaks from the tool tube. I cleaned it up, took it apart, and realized that the clog can easily be cleaned if you dissemble a few parts. It didn't look promising. The seal ring broke into two pieces. But when I put it back together, it works. The leak is just a design fault, putting stress on the tube all the time. You can use tape to stop the leak if nothing else. The tube is for the hand tool, a mini steamer for the stairs, which is impossible for the full steamer to get on.
I'm not a fan of Hover but they do have supply of parts and repair if you need.
Now the cleaning agents. Of course baking soda. First you optionally spread baking soda around the carpet, more on dirty areas and stains. You just drop a scoop in mid air and it will spread pretty evenly when the powder hit the ground.
Now spray the dirty area and stains with white vinegar, neat or diluted. It depends on how dirty your carpet is and how much you want to spend on vinegar. It's cheap but still a couple of dollars per gallon. The chemical will produce an acid temporary for extra cleaning. The resulting neutralized salt is slightly yellowish. It doesn't stain but if you have pure white carpet, I would try in a small area first.
Now the ingredient for carpet shampoo. Add a cup of vinegar to it, more or less if you want. Optionally add a cup of rubbing alcohol to it. Optionally you need a little bubble, if only you need it to see how much dirty water is being sucked back into the steamer. You can mix with carpet shampoo, but test first if there is adverse or mutual suppressing reactions. You can add an oz or two of laundry detergent. Or, I have an ultimately biodegradable car shampoo with very low suds.
Then follow the steamer instructions to clean the carpet. Put it simply, for the first pass backwards, press the button to apply "shampoo". Then at least pass a few times along the same area to suck back up all the shampoo. Don't reapply shampoo unless you suck up all the shampoo that can be sucked up. If the carpet get too wet, it will affect all the glue in all the layers. The carpet may get loose or be damaged.
You can replace the steamer by hand. But when I dispose of the used shampoo bucket, I always have a dark grey bucket of dirty water. The dirty water is still very dirty even if I wash in consecutive days. So that's the power of the steamer.
One thing to watch is that the baking soda from the carpet can "clog" the dirty water circulation. If that happens you just need to rinse the dirty bucket in warm or cold water. Baking soda is soluble in water. For this clogging reason I don't use baking soda as shampoo. But I think you can, but then don't add vinegar to neutralize it.
I had a Hover steamer, the biggest I could get. It was a mistake. It's so heavy to lift upstairs. Yes you can separate the buckets from the steamer before lifting but that's extra work. Even the to and fro action need some muscle if you go over the whole house.
My steamer clogged long ago, with fibre and dirt from the carpets. It it also leaks from the tool tube. I cleaned it up, took it apart, and realized that the clog can easily be cleaned if you dissemble a few parts. It didn't look promising. The seal ring broke into two pieces. But when I put it back together, it works. The leak is just a design fault, putting stress on the tube all the time. You can use tape to stop the leak if nothing else. The tube is for the hand tool, a mini steamer for the stairs, which is impossible for the full steamer to get on.
I'm not a fan of Hover but they do have supply of parts and repair if you need.
Friday, June 29, 2012
Getting rid of spiders and their webs with soapy solution
I have an organic garden. That means a lot of weeds, bugs, and hence spiders. On a slope with irregular growing ivy and occasionally tall weeds, it's Halloween everyday. You can see spider webs covering the slope when the sun comes up, shining on the morning dew on the web.
Of course diluted dish washing liquid (for hand wash) is instant kill for spiders. I have yet to encounter bugs that cannot be killed by it.
I tried the soapy solution on the webs. Instantly the altered surface tension changed the entire structure of the web. It disappears because the fine fibres got bundled into larger strands. If you spray closer, you can dislodge the anchor points to totally destroy the web.
It's true there's easy ways to destroy the spider webs so my slope don't look like Halloween everyday. A pole or a rack will do nicely. But you may have delicate plants or surfaces that you don't want to disturb.
Once sprayed, the web will be useless and any spider in it killed. It will also kill other bugs, food for the web hunters. Hopefully they don't return. I'll let you know.
Of course diluted dish washing liquid (for hand wash) is instant kill for spiders. I have yet to encounter bugs that cannot be killed by it.
I tried the soapy solution on the webs. Instantly the altered surface tension changed the entire structure of the web. It disappears because the fine fibres got bundled into larger strands. If you spray closer, you can dislodge the anchor points to totally destroy the web.
It's true there's easy ways to destroy the spider webs so my slope don't look like Halloween everyday. A pole or a rack will do nicely. But you may have delicate plants or surfaces that you don't want to disturb.
Once sprayed, the web will be useless and any spider in it killed. It will also kill other bugs, food for the web hunters. Hopefully they don't return. I'll let you know.
Thursday, June 28, 2012
Homemade carpet cleaner so good that it remove stains
I have a so called carpet steam cleaner. It's too big too heavy and too troublesome to use. And it's not that good.
People put baking soda on their carpets to clean. People put vinegar solution on their carpets. Some people put both. The question is how good it is and how practical than carpet shampoo and steam cleaners.
After hand wash using microfiber cloth only, it's as good as oxiclean! And I tried at the heavy traffic area that looks almost black. Originally it's beige. We use to use oxiclean solution to remove stains. The problem is that it will create a light spot on the old carpet. After the baking soda and vinegar treatment, it's the same color as the oxiclean treated spot.
Now the practical process. Sprinkle baking soda all over the carpet. Work the power evenly with a brush, or use the electric brush of a steamer. Spray the carpet slightly wet with a solution of 1 part warm water and 1/4 part distilled vinegar. Then use a brush to clean like a shampoo, or use the electric brush. Work more on the stains. Wipe away wetness and lift the dirt with a microfiber cloth. I don't even have a brush so I did everything with a microfiber cloth. It doesn't look much when finished. But when it's completely dry after a while, it will look the same as treated by oxiclean.
I don't know what's the long term effect on the carpet. And you should try in a small area first. But our carpet is almost black and worn out at the high traffic area.
Baking soda is mildly alkaline and itself a good cleaner for grease and water stains on the bathroom. If you leave it on the carpet it will absorb odour. It is also an abrasive power but it's too fine and soluble to damage any surface.
Vinegar is mildly acidic, and a good cleaner to dissolve grease and water stain. You should dilute it because of the smell, and the cost if you buy it from the supermarket.
When they react, carbonic acid is first formed with heat giving out. I would think that provide extra cleaning effect. The carbonic acid should be stronger than vinegar and highly reactive. The carbonic acid will then disintegrate into water and carbon dioxide. What left is sodium acetate, a salt that is also used to replace salt and vinegar in fish and chips. A salt is like common salt, which is transparent but white when in power form. It will not turn into anything or change colour.
I use a microfiber cloth to lift the dirt because in repeated use, the microfiber cloth is less dirty than say cotton. If the cloth is not too dirty I rinse it once in water. Once a while I put it in the washing machine.
Update: It is always a mystery of using both baking soda and acid. Actually the reaction absorbs heat. When you combine both you neutralize each other. But many people swear they saw better results and so do I. Now my thinking is that the extra cleaning effect is not chemical, but physical. It's like you rub acid into hard to reach areas of the surface. And the fine baking soda powder do the rubbing.
People put baking soda on their carpets to clean. People put vinegar solution on their carpets. Some people put both. The question is how good it is and how practical than carpet shampoo and steam cleaners.
After hand wash using microfiber cloth only, it's as good as oxiclean! And I tried at the heavy traffic area that looks almost black. Originally it's beige. We use to use oxiclean solution to remove stains. The problem is that it will create a light spot on the old carpet. After the baking soda and vinegar treatment, it's the same color as the oxiclean treated spot.
Now the practical process. Sprinkle baking soda all over the carpet. Work the power evenly with a brush, or use the electric brush of a steamer. Spray the carpet slightly wet with a solution of 1 part warm water and 1/4 part distilled vinegar. Then use a brush to clean like a shampoo, or use the electric brush. Work more on the stains. Wipe away wetness and lift the dirt with a microfiber cloth. I don't even have a brush so I did everything with a microfiber cloth. It doesn't look much when finished. But when it's completely dry after a while, it will look the same as treated by oxiclean.
I don't know what's the long term effect on the carpet. And you should try in a small area first. But our carpet is almost black and worn out at the high traffic area.
Baking soda is mildly alkaline and itself a good cleaner for grease and water stains on the bathroom. If you leave it on the carpet it will absorb odour. It is also an abrasive power but it's too fine and soluble to damage any surface.
Vinegar is mildly acidic, and a good cleaner to dissolve grease and water stain. You should dilute it because of the smell, and the cost if you buy it from the supermarket.
When they react, carbonic acid is first formed with heat giving out. I would think that provide extra cleaning effect. The carbonic acid should be stronger than vinegar and highly reactive. The carbonic acid will then disintegrate into water and carbon dioxide. What left is sodium acetate, a salt that is also used to replace salt and vinegar in fish and chips. A salt is like common salt, which is transparent but white when in power form. It will not turn into anything or change colour.
I use a microfiber cloth to lift the dirt because in repeated use, the microfiber cloth is less dirty than say cotton. If the cloth is not too dirty I rinse it once in water. Once a while I put it in the washing machine.
Update: It is always a mystery of using both baking soda and acid. Actually the reaction absorbs heat. When you combine both you neutralize each other. But many people swear they saw better results and so do I. Now my thinking is that the extra cleaning effect is not chemical, but physical. It's like you rub acid into hard to reach areas of the surface. And the fine baking soda powder do the rubbing.
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Super homemade glass cleaner
At last I found somebody have similar interest but with more time - Crunch Betty. This is the glass cleaner formula from her blog, well experimented in different ingredients.
1 cup hot water
1/8 cup vinegar
1/8 rubbing alcohol 70% isopropyl (first aid)
1/2 tbsp cornstarch
No matter how awesome baking soda is, it can't clean glass with streaking, and a lot of it.
This formula works without streaking. It's easy to make instantly. It cost very little. The result is perfect if your glass isn't too dirty, as in exterior windows.The vinegar smell goes away very soon, and smelling not as strong as my CLR biodegradable.
The best use of it is via a dry microfiber cloth. There is no lint. I wash them after use and they last a long time. But themselves aren't a green product.
For the outside window, you need some elbow grease if you clean them once a year. I don't know if other glass cleaners fairs better. But I can use baking soda first to rub out the stains, rinse the glass thoroughly, then the super glass cleaner.
Being professional, the problem is that her blog is full of other not so good stuff to make up the numbers. Do you want to make your own shampoo?
The reason I like this one is that I can safely use it around the kitchen windows without moving away the other things that may one day in touch with food or eating utensils.
A bad one for example, commonly found all over in other places, is use vinegar mixed with water for carpet cleaning. The mixture is half and half, making it quite expensive compared with carpet shampoo. One gal of carpet shampoo can be used many many times diluted. One gal of vinegar last a few times at most. And if you put that much vinegar on the carpet all over the place, the smell ...
1 cup hot water
1/8 cup vinegar
1/8 rubbing alcohol 70% isopropyl (first aid)
1/2 tbsp cornstarch
No matter how awesome baking soda is, it can't clean glass with streaking, and a lot of it.
This formula works without streaking. It's easy to make instantly. It cost very little. The result is perfect if your glass isn't too dirty, as in exterior windows.The vinegar smell goes away very soon, and smelling not as strong as my CLR biodegradable.
The best use of it is via a dry microfiber cloth. There is no lint. I wash them after use and they last a long time. But themselves aren't a green product.
For the outside window, you need some elbow grease if you clean them once a year. I don't know if other glass cleaners fairs better. But I can use baking soda first to rub out the stains, rinse the glass thoroughly, then the super glass cleaner.
Being professional, the problem is that her blog is full of other not so good stuff to make up the numbers. Do you want to make your own shampoo?
The reason I like this one is that I can safely use it around the kitchen windows without moving away the other things that may one day in touch with food or eating utensils.
A bad one for example, commonly found all over in other places, is use vinegar mixed with water for carpet cleaning. The mixture is half and half, making it quite expensive compared with carpet shampoo. One gal of carpet shampoo can be used many many times diluted. One gal of vinegar last a few times at most. And if you put that much vinegar on the carpet all over the place, the smell ...
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Baking soda should have put many cleaners out of business
As an acid, it's just too weak. So the acid I prefer is the strongest one easily found in stores, and biodegradable too. It smells because it's an organic acid, masked a little by natural fragrant I guess. It works well - water stains, sink, toilet bowls, faucets.
Because baking soda, sodium bicarbonate, is a weak alkaline, I don't even tried it to clean anything.
I just replaced my microwave hood combo. The grease buildup is terrible, over a period of over 10 years. My wife clean it everyday with detergent. I tried everything from time to time, but can't deal with the grease using my favourite acid, hydrogen dioxide, and alcohol.
I can reduce the grease buildup, but I'm afraid to deal with it. I can remove a bit on the surface but the grease become gluey on the surface and it's terrible to clean the cloth and brush afterwards. The same thing goes for the grease filter. I never can clean the thing thoroughly with whatever not so toxic chemical or cleaner I can find.
Out of desperation I searched the web again. This time I found baking soda. It was amazing. I know caustic would work but it would burn your skin too. I was amazed how a mild alkaline would work so effective. Now my over 10 year old kitchen is shinning white, blinding my eyes.
The grease buildup on the stove and oven range simply gone by wiping with a damp cloth sprinkled with baking soda. The plastic surface becomes a mirror. All the finger marks are gone. On the coated metal surface, even long ago baked in food residue are removed by repeated wiping with a scrounging pad for non-stick surfaces. If you never damaged the surface with tough brushes, your range will look brand new again. Black hardened grease stains around the outside of the oven are now gone. I may clean the inside of the door too. See the reflections on the range and contrasts to the grep metal parts that I haven't cleaned seriously for 5 years.
It works on the grill and bake racks and pans too. They are not turning brand new, but the accumulated stains are getting out rather than getting worse.
My wash pad got contaminated with baking soda, and now my heavily stained mug are losing it's stains. I didn't even tried to remove the stains.
I think the chemistry is that sodium bicarbonate reacts with grease to form soap, which is a cleaner of course. Soap is soft so you can just wipe it away.
Baking soda would not work on some surfaces such as wood. The resultant soap (or something else) got into the wood grains and stain it.
For wood the only think sensible thing is rubbing alcohol, which simply dissolves grease. Alcohol will work well on grease, but not as dramatic or cheap as baking soda, and not much on hardened grease stains.
Baking soda is a pretty good cleaner for kitchen tiles, and works on the grout somewhat. But hydrogen peroxide is the better whitener for grout, and you can combine them.
But much more use is written on the Arms and Hammer box. It's a shame that they don't market it as a miracle cleaner and put some in the cleaner aisles. And the cardboard box is laughable. Seriously how can you clean carrying a paper box around without a cap?!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)