Spring Cleaning...in the Fall??

Hello All-

I have been pretty busy around here with all of my spring cleaning...wait, what?  Spring cleaning in August??  Yup...you heard right.  In the actual Spring season, I am up to my eyeballs in end of the year school stuff and planning my garden and Summer activities.  In other words, I had no time for cleaning.  This time of the year has always worked best for me, and now that Hannah is in school, I tack on cleaning out the drawers to the list, and my back to school shopping becomes much easier!!

This week I have been working hard in the bathrooms and laundry room, trying to de-funk the drains, faucets, you name it.  The first thing I tackled was the Master Bathroom sink.  Any house I have ever lived in has always had a slow drain in the Master Bath.  I'm sure it has to do with the amount of use it gets, as well as my hair.  In any case, I wanted to try a DIY natural solution before resorting to chemicals and plungers.

I found a remedy online that suggests pouring 1/2 cup of baking soda in your drain, followed by 1/2 cup of white vinegar.  Let it sit for 5 minutes with a damp cloth over the top and then rinse it down with steaming water.  I gave it a go, though it sat much longer, as I got chatting on the phone with my Mom.  I did find that 1/2 cup was a bit too much for my little drain, though it worked like a charm!  After I removed the cloth, I used it to clean the sink and shine up the faucet.  The drain now flows like it was brand new and I never had to buy or use chemicals to do it! 

My next big project was the washing machine.  The people who owned this house before us did not take good care of their machine.  Remember this post??  I knew the rubber gasket was nasty, but I had put off actually cleaning it until today.  I read in several places that good old water and vinegar would clean it up, so that was my first plan of action.  As you can see from the photos, it looks much better now, but there are still nasty spots that need to be dealt with.  I scrubbed them as much as I could without ruining the gasket and that didn't seem to be enough, so I think I'm going to try bleach and water next.  I'll be sure to post my results.


Before...I wanted to throw up!!

After...still not great, but MUCH better!!

So that's part of what I've been up to.  I know it doesn't involve pretty hand knits, quilts, or cooking, but hopefully it is helpful info.  Stay tuned for some "cleaner" posts...I have lots of ideas...just need a few more hours in the day to get them all typed up.

Cheers!
Sharon


I've Solved the Mystery...

...of where all of the socks disappear to in the laundry!!  They were eaten by my washing machine!!!

Okay, you're probably asking what in the world I am talking about.  Here's a bit of back-story...

Recently one of my friends asked on Facebook what kind of washing machines everyone has, as she is looking to buy a new one.  I told her that I loved my old top-load washer and now I have a front-load washer at the new house and I hate it.  Several other friends chimed in that they too don't like their front loaders and one of the main reasons was the mold potential. 

When we moved into our new house last week, we noticed that there was a definite smell lurking in the laundry room.  I figured it was because the previous owners had moved out and shut the machine before they left, causing it to get a musty funk.  I bought some of the new Tide Washing Machine Cleaner and it helped quite a bit, but there was still a smell.  Thankfully the dryer managed to get the smell off our clothes, so I wasn't too worried about it.

Then tonight I was in the laundry room getting a few loads done and I decided to investigate the stink.  Sure enough there was some mold starting to form on the door...no biggie, I took a scrubbie sponge and off it came.  Case closed?  Not so much.  I went one step further and decided to check the seal on the inside of the washer...and what did I discover??  The answer to a timeless question...where do missing socks go??

Upon looking inside the seal, I found them...five nasty soaking wet socks, left by the previous owner.  I know they have been there for a while since the wife moved out months ago with the children and the husband was lingering until the house sold.  So, these nasty, stinky socks had been stuck inside the washer for Goodness knows how long! (They clearly belonged to the wife and boys)

I'm not sure if this will get rid of the linger smell, but so far it already smells better.  Next week I plan to use another dose of cleaner to see if that helps.  Until then, I now know to keep the door open and check often for missing clothing.  Who knows what I'll find if I go snooping around the dryer!!

Cheers!
Sharon