Organic Cleaning Part 1: Vinegar the great

As promised yesterday, I’ll try to post a few of the more organic solutions I’ve been using around the home to clean with. I started out by naming this blog ‘Organic Cleaning.’ Then I realized I was writing so much about vinegar that I’d probably have to do more than one blog on this topic! So here we are with Organic Cleaning Part I: Vinegar.

Vinegar is one of my favorite all-purpose, around-the-house and outside staples now. I either use straight vinegar or a solution of 50/50 vinegar and water. I have it stored in spray bottles at my kitchen sink and in every bathroom. Vinegar is also a disinfectant. Click here to get more information on using vinegar as a disinfectant.

I’ll list some of the more common things I use vinegar for (as well as caveats) here…

I spray my shower lightly with the 50/50 solution after I shower to prevent soap scum and mineral build-up, making cleaning a breeze. When I clean the shower, I use baking soda and vinegar. I either sprinkle some baking soda on the tub and then wipe it down with a washcloth soaked in vinegar, or I spray it down with vinegar, then sprinkle baking soda and use a damp rag to wipe it down. Works wonderfully. 

Vinegar acts as a disinfectant. Before I eat vegetables or fruits with edible skins, I wash them off and then hit them with the straight vinegar.

I add a 1/2 cup to the rinse cycle of my laundry to keep whites staying whiter. I accomplish this by putting the vinegar in the fabric softener receptacle in my washing machine. Vinegar also acts as a fabric softener, so I eliminated dryer sheets from the drying cycle. It is important to make sure you don’t over-dry clothes. Over-drying is part of what creates static cling, especially when lycra, nylon, or polyester are present. 

Vinegar is great at removing mold and mildew. I had some green growing on my deck where the sun can’t reach it so I sprayed with vinegar, waited a few moments, then wiped it up with a towel. It hasn’t grown back.

Vinegar can be used as a weed-killer instead of the nasty chemicals they sell in the stores. It’s safer for our environment too. ) I just spray straight vinegar on the weeds and wait a few days – voila. When doing this I have to be careful not to spray it directly where I’d like to keep the grass or allow my plants to grow – vinegar can affect the pH of soil and make it difficult to grow anything. Driveways, walkways, etc. are the types of places to use this as a weed killer.

I use vinegar instead of glass cleaner on mirrors, windows, glass, etc. It is a great glass cleaner. I use straight vinegar but you can also use the 50/50 solutions. If working in a delicate area (e.g. the glass on a picture frame), I spray it on the rag first then wipe. If you try this method and you’ve been using store bought glass cleaners for a while, it may take a couple of vinegar applications before all the residue comes off. Commercial glass cleaners contain some kind of chemical that leaves a waxy residue (I think it might be wax but I can’t remember where I saw that). Once that residue is gone, you’ll have shinier glass and mirrors than ever before.

Things to be aware of:

The vinegar smell dissipates shortly after using it. When spraying in the shower I find it more pleasant to hold my breath while spraying then immediately walk out of the shower. I’ve read that you can infuse the vinegar with natural oils, but I haven’t done this as the smell doesn’t bother me that much, and it really does go away. The less ingredient mixing I have to do, the better.

I use WHITE vinegar only. I buy the regular household strength (5%) solution. I make sure the bottle says the vinegar is “made from grain”, otherwise it may be petroleum based. Heinz sells made from grain white 5% vinegar in giant jugs at places like BJs’ and some supermarkets. These are what I pick up. They last a long time, even with 5 spray bottles hanging around the house.

As mentioned above, if you have been using lots of chemically-based cleaners in your house you may find the first couple of times you use vinegar that there is a film on the things you clean. That will go away eventually.

DO NOT USE VINEGAR on calcium based stone such as marble or granite. They can cause staining (as can any acetic food such as lemons and fruit juices). You can use it to clean the grout between tiles, but make sure it is diluted and rinse thoroughly afterwards otherwise it can start to break down the grout.

There are hundreds of other ideas for uses of vinegar in one of my favorite reference books: “Vinegar: Over 400 Various, Versatile, and Very Good Uses You’ve Probably Never Thought Of” by Vicki Lansky. I highly recommend it. Everything is indexed to make it easier to find. I also recommend “Green Housekeeping”  (also sold as “Organic Housekeeping”) by Ellen Sandbeck. Many of the cleaning tips I use now I found in these two books while I was researching greening up my house. 

I also just happened upon a website located here, that claims to give 1001 uses for vinegar although I have not checked it out thoroughly yet.

Of course I need to add the disclaimer that you have to use these tips at your own risk, because what works for me might not always work for you.

Happy greening!!

Our latest update

Today I received a call from the director of adoption at agency #2. It was a pre-planned call to go over the travel information packet they sent me in the mail. She confirmed we will likely travel within the next 3-5 weeks (usually it is 4-6 weeks from approval, and our approval was 8/7). The next steps are a whirlwind of occurrences: we will get “the call” that Jaden is ready to travel. We will travel the same week (on the nearest Friday or Saturday). We are to immediately call the travel agent (who we don’t have yet) and put a 24 hour hold on our flights. After that we contact the agency and let them know what our tentative itinerary is. They will contact Korea, get the confirmation that the itinerary we gave them is peachy, and call us back so we can purchase the tickets (or make other plans if the itinerary doesn’t work). 

They prefer if we travel out of NY either on a Friday or Saturday and then return to NY from Korea on the following Friday. While we are in Korea we will visit the foster home on Monday to meet the foster family and Jaden. We go to the foster home with the social worker who will hopefully speak English well enough to help us communicate. Then we leave (without Jaden – boohoo) and tour the city on Monday evening and Tuesday. On Wednesday morning we go to the Korean agency and the foster mom meets us there with Jaden. We get to bring him back to the hotel with us, then spend Wednesday evening and Thursday getting adjusted and finally fly home on Friday.

The way they do things is very specific – they like everything just so — which is why we won’t be able to take Jaden until Wednesday. Their rule is that we cannot take him with us until 2 evenings before our departure. Once we have him in our care we are not allowed to leave the city limits of Seoul except to board our flights. This is to avoid having health complications before traveling. 

Jaden’s passport will have his Korean name on it. We won’t get to change his name officially until after the social worker visits us at least three times at our house once we return to the U.S. and provides a report back to Korea. After those three visits, we will have all the documentation necessary to complete the final paperwork — at least, that’s the way I understand it right now. As these things go, there are so many intricate details it is very difficult (especially for right-brained people; teehee) to absorb all at once, so you learn as you go. 

The agency representative warned us that Wednesday, when we meet the foster mother to take Jaden home with us, will be a very emotion-filled day. She said it is not uncommon for the foster mother to cry a lot, and Jaden may become very emotional too. I have been having nightmares about this…. for a couple of weeks now… maybe it is my mind trying to prepare me for the emotional exhaustion of it all. Our brains are amazing. 

We should bring gifts for the staff at the agency in Seoul, as well as the social worker. I read some suggestions on the message boards about Korean adoption as to what types of gifts to bring…. they suggest things made in the USA (hahahaha – is anything anymore?) or related to our local area. I also saw a hint on one of the  boards suggesting we bring flowers to the foster mother the day she brings Jaden to the agency to go home with us. I thought that was a great idea. 

The agency rep also told me a few interesting tidbits about Korean culture: proper dress usually means no jeans, sneakers, or open toe shoes. Slacks, dresses, and button down shirts are the norm for restaurants. It is proper etiquette to wear socks or nylons when entering someone’s house — no bare feet. How different from here! I’m always barefoot in the summer (but obviously not pregnant- LOL).

So this is totally off-topic, but a number of you have asked me for websites or other resources on green housecleaning – so tomorrow I’ll post some of the things we’ve been doing around here to be more ‘organic.’

Until then, nighty-night!