Cleaning Clogged Drains with Vinegar and Baking Soda

I don't know about you, but the fewer chemicals I have in my house, the better. If I can use a natural cleaner over something harsh like bleach, ammonia, or other conventional cleaners, I will. I had heard that vinegar is great on just about anything to clean. You can read one of my first posts where I cleaned mold off of a door with vinegar here and here! The second link has visuals. In addition to being a great mold killer, vinegar, especially paired with baking soda, works wonders. 

I first heard about using vinegar and baking soda to clean pipes/drains on Pinterest. Of course. One of these days I'll come up with something original! Ha. The link to the original pin site is here. 

So if you're like me, your hair seems to constantly clog the drain in the tub/shower. And if you're not fortunate enough to have a garbage disposal, eventually crumbs and bits of food cause a gross buildup in your kitchen sink. You might be ready to reach for the Drano but wait! There's an easier way! 

I have no idea how much Drano costs, but I'm fairly certain that white vinegar and baking soda is cheaper. And, much safer. 

So read on if you want to effectively, cheaply, and safely clean that nasty, backed up drain! 

All you need is:

• Distilled white vinegar
• Baking soda
• Boiling water
• Lemon juice (Optional: I used it to shine the sink) 

And in no time you'll have a sparkling sink and no more standing water! 

 Ok it may be hard to tell because of the quality of the picture but the left side has been cleaned and the right side is still nasty.

Dump a lot of baking soda into your drain. Fill it up if you want! It's fun to watch the reaction.

Then pour in your vinegar. No precise measurement, just pour until it foams nicely.

 Bubble bubble toil and trouble! That pesky junk in the drain shall be no more!

Let the baking soda/vinegar reaction sit for a minute, up to 15 if you want, then pour in a kettle full of boiling water. This will help flush everything down.

I was so excited to see how fast the water drained after I did this! I'll definitely be doing it on all of our drains, especially the tub! Gross. 

I quickly got motivated to give the sink a good scrub down. I sprinkled baking soda all around the sink then scrubbed with a regular sponge. The mild abrasiveness cleaned it really well. I then poured lemon juice on the sponge and wiped down the sink for a lovely shine. 

It may not seem like much, but it's a big difference, I swear! It's not the nicest sink, but it's what we've got! And that was probably the best it's looked since it was installed. The joys of renting. 

What are some of your favorite cleaning methods? Do you like to go all out with the strongest grade stuff available or do you like to use the not-so-harsh natural versions?

Till next time,
Catherine

DIY: Homemade Bath Salts-Great gift idea!

Need a quick DIY gift? Or are you just craving a lovely soak in the tub? Either way this is a great, quick project. I made them as a late Christmas gift for a couple of my co-workers. I originally found the recipe here but modified it to make it a bit simpler. My glass jar collection is multiplying quicker than I can use them so my husband was happy to see me use a couple of them!

Here's what you'll need:

• Epsom salt
• Baking soda
• Lemon essential oil (Or whichever scents you prefer)
• Lavender essential oil (Or whichever scents you prefer)
• Yellow food coloring (optional)
• Jar(s)
• Label(s)

I used all the baking soda that I had which was almost 3/4 cup. You can use more or less...it doesn't make much difference. I then filled the measuring cup past the 2 cup line with epsom salt. Again, it's not precise. You can use twice as much epsom salt if you prefer or are making a larger batch. 

Mix in your essential oils. The lavender I used is safe to use on your body and the lemon is from Young Living Essential Oils and it is a food-grade oil, meaning it can even be safely ingested. I wouldn't recommend just getting any oil. Many are designed only for aromatherapy purposes and shouldn't be put on or in your body. Do a little research before buying the cheapest oil on the shelf. I personally stick with Young Living brand most of the time because I trust that brand and have seen great results with them. 

I used maybe 40 drops of each oil and I added it at intervals. I moved several large spoon fulls into another measuring cup and then dripped the oils, mixed, then added more of the salt/baking soda and repeated the process until the entire thing was thoroughly mixed and smelled heavenly! If you're making the same size that I did, you may not need as many drops. I got a little overexcited because I just love the smell of lemon and lavender together! 

I decided it needed a little color so it looked the part so I mixed in yellow food coloring in the same way as the oils, at intervals until thoroughly mixed. Yes I know, it looks  orange but I swear it came from the yellow food coloring bottle!

Mix, mix, mix. And there it is...yellow! I told you so!

Gather your jars with their lovely spray painted lids. Most jars have the product label and info on the lid so I spray paint them to make them cute. 

Now fill 'em up! This recipe filled these two jars almost full. They were salsa jars, maybe half the size of a regular mason jar.

Print your labels, cut them to size and adhere them to your jar and you're ready to go! I used hot glue to get them to stick.

 Lovely little gift in no time! Plus the house smells great! I also want to note that in order to make this a nice hand/body scrub instead is just add in olive oil! Basically two gifts in one! Quite nifty if I say so myself!

I think I need to make a batch just for myself! Definitely going to make more of these for family soon too! It's such a nice alternative to those standard bath gift sets that are a dime a dozen at Wal-Mart.

What do you think? Wouldn't it be nice to soak in a lemon lavender bath? Mmm...or how about a foot soak? Ahhh...I'm feeling relaxed just thinking about it! 

Till next time,
Catherine