BLULOW (All About Living Green)

In an earlier post I mentioned that in addition to my dish washing detergent I added baking soda to my dishwasher and my dishes came out sparkling clean. Well it seems that adding baking soda to the laundry detergent helps to boost the detergent’s cleaning power and the clothes also come out softer.

The baking soda has a water softening quality, which helps the laundry detergent to do its job better. It also helps the softener too. In my front-loading washing machine I add about a quarter of a cup of baking soda to the wash. Top loaders might require a larger dose

Because I’m frugal, I buy the store brand of baking soda that works just as well as Arm & Hammer but costs less. You should stock up on it when you can because there are so many other uses for baking soda.

Baking soda used as a paste solution (mixed with water) helps to soothe the itching caused by poison ivy and bug bites. It also does a great job on cleaning teeth. You won’t have the minty fresh taste like most toothpastes have, but you will have very clean teeth.

Because of its abrasive quality, you can use it to scrub messes. Back in the old days, we used to use Ajax to clean our bathtub. For those of you who miss the days of Ajax, you can substitute baking soda instead. It’s less toxic.

Here’s a link to 61 uses For Baking Soda. You’re sure to find some useful tips there.

Yet another use for baking soda. I’ve found that mixing equal parts of baking soda and dish detergent (whether its homemade or store bought) to the dishwasher dispenser has produced spotlessly clean dishes. No more water spots on the glasses or the silverware.

The silverware is so shiny that depending on how it catches the light; sometimes I’ve got to wear sunglasses when emptying the dishwasher. Er…well, that’s a slight exaggeration but you get my drift.

I pre-mix equal parts of baking soda and dish washing detergent in a plastic container (a recycled container of course), so when I need to use it it’s ready to go. I place 2 tablespoons of the mixture in the dish detergent compartment and 1 tablespoon in the pre-wash compartment and wash the dishes as usual.

I’m no scientist, but from what I understand the baking soda raises the pH level of the water, which helps the soap to do its job better. Honestly, I don’t care what the reason, I’m just happy to report that I’ve got very clean spotless dishes.

6/3/08 UPDATE: Play around with the amount of baking soda.  I found that my ratio of 1 to 1 didn’t allow all of the baking soda to fully dissolve, and it left a few white spots (GASP!).  I adjusted the ratio and reduced the amount of baking soda and now my dishes are spotless again.

The process of switching from paper towels to cloth towels is working perfectly. I’m really excited about my tiny little contribution to the environment. There is one thing, however, that I think I need to share with everyone.

Unless you wash clothes fairly often, do not put the soiled cloth towels in the hamper with your regular clothes. You probably want a separate basket for the cloth towels.

My children have converted and are using the cloth towels regularly. They use them for every messy spill and then toss them in the hamper (sometimes sopping wet). If it’s not my normal washday, it may be a day or two before I sort and wash clothes. As a result the sopping wet cloth towels sit and ‘ferment’ in the hamper. You won’t believe how a few simple wet towels can wreak odoriferous havoc in a hamper.

At first I couldn’t pinpoint where the awful smell was coming from. I actually thought the septic had backed up. It wasn’t until I went to sort clothes that I was blindsided by the smell. Whew, even the dog kept his distance from the hamper (this from an animal that sleeps curled up with his nose firmly implanted in his rear end).

I still consider the switch from paper towels to cloth towels experiment a smashing success; it just needs a little tweaking.

Are you reading this blog post through a dirty laptop screen?

Check out this quick and easy way to clean it (no, don’t run out to buy laptop screen cleaner - you probably have the ingredients in your house):

How to Clean a Laptop Screen: A Quick Fix Solution to a Dirty Little Problem

If you’ve read any of the entries on this blog, you know that I am a fan of homemade laundry detergent. In an attempt to further experiment with environmentally friendly laundry products, I took it one step further and tried using the all natural laundry softener of adding distilled vinegar to the softener cycle to soften my clothes.

In all honesty, it worked okay, but I guess I’ve been too programmed by the media to want really soft fresh smelling laundry (especially towels). I stuck with it for a while, but realized I wasn’t really satisfied with the way my laundry was feeling and smelling. So, much to my chagrin, I acquiesced and purchased my old favorite laundry softener.

I was surprised, however, to find that using full-strength softener was too much for my senses. After all, I survived for a couple of months without the springtime fresh smell and realized that although the smell was pleasant, it was too strong. So, I diluted my fabric softener with water.

With a combination of one part water to one part fabric softener, my laundry smelled great and my towels were just a soft and fluffy as they used to be.

Pleased with this discovery, I went out and bought a large water dispenser and filled it half with water and the other half with softener. The dispenser is sitting on top of the washing machine. Just in case anyone else in the family decides to wash clothes, the softer is there and ready to go (Who am I kidding? No one else is going to wash anything!)

I tried roughing it for a while (no pun intended). In the long run, I realized I was perfectly fine with the homemade laundry detergent, but needed a little help from traditional fabric softener manufacturers to get my towels fluffy and smelling good.

Well, at least I’m spending half as much as I used to spend on fabric softener and it’s going twice as far (a small consolation).