Dirty Drain? Clean It Up!

Today I am going to talk about cleaning a Drain. Cost effective, healthier for your family and pets, and your drain comes out clean and clog free.

A lot of people wait until their drains are clogged and they run out and buy a harsh drain cleaner. have you read the ingredients on those? Not to mention the cost even WITH a coupon! I suggest cleaning your drains once a month, or more if you need to. It keeps them free flowing, it's all natural so it won't hurt your septic system, AND it can make them smell better!

1. Pour about 1/2 of the box of baking soda down the drain. This is done dry, just dump it right down the drain.
2. Gather up your rags, and have them ready at your side.
3. Following the baking soda, pour 1/2 cup of vinegar down the drain. Immediately after you pour it in, be sure to plug the drain with the cloth or rag, filling the hole completely so nothing can escape. This is because the interaction of the two ingredients, vinegar and baking soda, will cause a “mini volcano” that will want to come up and out of the drain – but you want to keep it down there.
4. Leave this concoction in the drain for about 30 minutes. While you are waiting, boil a tea kettle full of water.
5. After 30 minutes, remove the cloth or rag and slowly pour the boiling water down the drain.

All done! Your drain should flow smoothly now. If not, just do it again. Sometimes I have to do it twice in a row, but it doesn’t happen too often. The important thing is that you can now unclog a drain without chemicals and in a natural way, so you can do it as often as you need to.

For Kitchen drains with a garbage disposal I always grind up a lemon, orange or lime when I am done. It smells fresh and can really help keep your drain clean!

Less Waste AND A Cleaner Floor!

Ditch your Swiffer and get a reusable mop so you don't have to keep buying expensive Swiffer refills, that fill up our landfills!

I prefer the microfiber mop heads because they clean better, and you don't even need any cleaning products so that means less chemicals in your home!

Home Made Floor Cleaner: Mix 4 cups of white distilled vinegar with about a gallon of hot water. If desired, add a few drops of pure peppermint or lemon oil for a pleasant scent. After damp mopping the floors, the smell of vinegar will dissipate quickly, leaving behind only the scent of the oil.

Want to find a new mop? Try this one!

Bona Microfiber Floor Mop

Shower Doors

   

This is probably the least favorite cleaning task in your home, but it needs to be done more often then you think. When you take a shower you want to get truly clean. If your showers are funky, you are breeding bacteria!

So many of you have asked me "How do I get hard water spots off the shower door?" This one if for you! In future blogs we will tackle soap scum, mold and mildew.

Hard water, that bane of so many existences, contains excess minerals that stick around after the water has washed away. Those minerals can leave a caked-on mess in pipes and on water faucets, streaks in toilet bowls and "hard-water spots" on shower doors that are impossible to hide and seem impossible to remove.

They're not, though. Vinegar will take care of those stains, too, but in this case try a diluted mixture -- half vinegar and half water. Wipe it on just like you would for the soap scum, leave it on for several minutes, and then rinse. For water spots on the metal rim, a citrus oil (like lemon or orange) can work wonders.

And once you've cleared the spots, consider applying car wax to the shower doors. It will seal the surface so it's harder for the minerals to deposit there (and easier to remove if they do). Just make sure you don't wax the shower floor -- you'll slip.

Once you've cleaned your shower doors of water spots, mildew or soap scum, the trick is to keep them that way. If you wipe the doors with a towel or a Shower Squeegee, keep them open for air flow, and spray on a shower cleaner after each shower, you'll find your weekly scrub-down to be a lot less time-consuming.

Do You Have A Question For The Cleaning Fairy? E-Mail me or leave it in the comments!

How To Clean An Oven Vent

I'm sure you have tried to clean an oven vent at one point in your life. I run into these little "goop catchers" as I like to call them, in just about every house I clean. Sometimes, they are REALLY bad, and sometimes they aren't so bad. Either way, if you have them, you need to clean them.

I have found the easiest way to clean these is take them off and lay them in your sink and run hot water over them for a few minutes. I liberally sprinkle baking soda all over the vent making sure to get it into all the little nooks and crannies. I then spray the entire thing with vinegar. This creates a chemical reaction that should fizzle a little. I let that soak in for a little while, then I use a stiff brush to clean it out. If you have an old toothbrush laying around that works well too. I usually spray it one more time with vinegar just to make sure it is grease free. Rinse it with hot water and viola you should have a clean vent.

The more you cook the more often you need to clean this. I suggest cleaning it at least once a month. If you do, that task won't be as difficult the next time!


Do you have a question for The Cleaning Fairy? Let me know in the comments!

Who Needs Mr. Clean?

Did you know that you can make your own Magic Erasers? These little gems can remove scuff marks from floors, hand prints on walls, and recently I removed a large purple "rub" spot from bedding on a wall. I have used them to scrub stoves, tubs, and showers. The problem is they are expensive. So I did a little search on Pinterest to see if I could find something cheaper, and I did! All these are is melamine foam, and water and they become magic!

Click here to buy them on Amazon!

DIY Projects To Help You Clean

Have you ever thought "WOW! I love my swiffer sweeper but I am out of cloths?" Well the crafty gals over at Natural Nesters have just the solution! You can save money, recycle an old towel AND reduce waste.

Do you like handy cleaning wipes? I know I use them around my own house, and even when I am cleaning some of my clients homes. Why not make them yourself and save money and avoid all the chemicals? Visit the folks over at Organized Home to find out how.

Do you have a shower door that just isn't shiny anymore? Maybe a rust stain? Try this DIY Shower Scrub and you will never go back to scrubbing bubbles again! I didn't believe it myself until I tried it on hard water stains on a shower door, and like magic they were gone!

Do you have a DIY cleaning product you would like to share? Leave it in our comments!

More Ways To Use Vinegar...

I promised you more ways to use vinegar in cleaning today so here they are!

• Remove soap buildup and odors from the dishwasher by pouring a cup of white distilled vinegar inside the empty machine and running it through a whole cycle. Do monthly.
• Discourage ants by spraying undiluted white distilled vinegar outside doorways and windowsills, around appliances and wherever you find the pests coming in.
• Wipe grease off exhaust fan grids, the inside of your oven, or anywhere grease gathers with a sponge soaked in white distilled vinegar.
• Renew sponges and dishrags by placing them in just enough water to cover them. Then add 1/4 cup white distilled vinegar. Let them soak overnight.
• Clean grout by letting full-strength white distilled vinegar sit on it for a few minutes and scrubbing it with an old toothbrush.
   

I will be back tomorrow with more! What is your favorite use for vinegar!?

Green Cleaning

Did you know that you can clean without spending a fortune on store bought cleaners? 

I bet you didn't know you can clean most everything in your home with just a few simply ingredients from your KITCHEN! This week's topic is Vinegar.

White distilled vinegar is a popular household cleanser, effective for killing most mold, bacteria, and germs, due to its level of acidity. Cleaning with white distilled vinegar is a smart way to avoid using harsh chemicals. You’ll also be glad to know that it is environmentally friendly and very economical.

Just SOME of the ways you can use vinegar to clean in your home...

• Make your own scouring cleanser by combining 1/4 cup baking soda with 1 tablespoon liquid detergent. Add just enough white distilled vinegar to give it a thick but creamy texture.
• Clean and deodorize a drain by pouring in 1 cup baking soda, then one cup hot white distilled vinegar. Let this sit for 5 minutes or so, then run hot water down the drain.
• Clean the shelves and walls of the refrigerator with a half-and-half solution of water and white distilled vinegar.
•  Cut the grime on the top of the refrigerator with a paper towel or cloth and full-strength white distilled vinegar.
• Easily clean your mini blinds by wearing pair of white cotton gloves.  Dip gloved fingers into a solution of equal parts white vinegar and warm tap water, and run your fingers across both sides of each blind.

 Check back tomorrow for more tips on how to clean with vinegar!