haeven

Once upon a time, I did a post on using my dishwashing powder. I'm still trying to perfect the formula for that, but I wanted to share my observations on my Bathroom & Kitchen Cleaner (or Kitchen & Bathroom Cleaner, however you want to call it).

So, this formula has gone through about three formulations. First there was the powdered formula that you added to water, shook up and used. It was good, but I didn't think it was too user friendly. Who wanted to spend their time making sure powder went into a bottle, mixing with hot water and going from there? Not even me.

Then I tried a second formula that borrowed a little science from my laundry detergent. This one worked well, but it also like to congeal and became a gloopy mess. I didn't like this one, though it had merit (I still have a jar of it in my supply closet for later.

My new formulation is much more new and improved; it's a liquid formulation that you can get in concentrated form or in ready to use.

Simple ingredients: distilled water, citric acid, castile soap, salt, borax, sodium carbonate, vit e oil, fragrancce. I chose a great sunflower fragrance for the spring/summer; I will probably change it for other seasons. It took a few tries to get the mixture just right, though the salt will settle occasionally before mixing; a good shake will get it mixed up again.



Basically, all you need to do is take the two ounce sample bottle (didn't know I sold over at Artfire, too , did ya?) and pour it into a spray bottle, adding hot water to mix. Now I tend to use 2 oz per 8 oz of water, but I like mine very strong. Give it a good shake and go to town.

The one thing I can tell you is that that "slick" feeling you get when you use commercial products is not there. You just get pure clean and even a little squeak when you're done.

A word of advice: don't use this on glass. I tried it and got streaks and all kinds of mess. Hence the creation of the Floor and Glass cleaner. More about that later.

This does a great job on stove tops and surface toilet cleaning. With a tiny bit of extra elbow grease, it cuts through grease and all that with the same level of effectiveness as the commercial cleaners. Use a scrubby for tough stains -- you can even use it full strength on tough spots.

As I said before, if you leave this sit on your shelf in its concentrated form, the salt will tend to settle. Why salt? It's a fantastic abrasive. It's also a preservative. In various faiths, it's used to clean and purify. It's actually my favorite ingredient in this mixture -- don't ask, it's probably the old "kitchen witch" in me coming out.

Now that I've bored you all completely, and while I go back and prepare for the Tiny Dancer's birthday party, I'll give you the Etsian of the Weekend


This is totally cool. It's a hand painted acrylic mini masterpiece. And who doesn't think the Buddha rocks? I'll probably get one one day soon.
Original Painted Glass Art Pendant Number 30 by TheHennesseyCompany

Till next time!