the complete DIY cleaning bible at zero cost 2U by perry estelle

• ANTS: Sprinkle cream of tartar, red chilli powder or dried peppermint where they enter.
• COCKROACHES & SILVERFISH: equal parts baking soda and powdered sugar.
• FLEAS: Use flea combs or herbal flea powders. Vacuum house thoroughly. Refer to the rec.pets.* FAQ on the subject.
• FLIES: Stick cloves in an orange.
• SUMMER BITING INSECTS: Rub vinegar on skin.
  Or you could try a drop or two of citronella oil diluted in a tablespoon or two of rubbing alcohol, then dabbed on the skin.

MISCELLANEOUS SECTION

OTHER USEFUL IDEAS

• Fireplaces: My father was a builder and as a kid, I loved pottering around with him in amongst all his tools and bits and pieces. Regrettably Dad died when I was almost 9, so I didn’t get much of a chance to record his little bits of wisdom directly. This one lives with me though: When building a fireplace, always ensure that the volume of the chimney is at least two and a half times the volume of the firebox and that fireplace will always draw and never smoke into the room. I figure it must be true, as none of the fireplaces he built ever smoked!
• Most folk I know hate having to put eye drops in. Here’s an easier way than watching the inevitable: To instil eye drops, lay head back, close eyes and place the required number of drops on the inner corner of the eye near the nose. Rest a moment. Drops will drain into the eye without creating the fear of God in the recipient. Wiggle eye around to get the drops evenly dispersed.
• Memberships of specific organisations can often be quite useful, informative, brilliant value for money, and sometimes offering incredible discounts on products. Such examples in my case would be Diabetes Australia and the Australian Breastfeeding Association (previously Nursing Mothers Association of Australia). Another would be membership of an automobile club & breakdown service.
• Often writing information or instructions at the point where they are to be used can save a lot of energy and time on the part of many users, at the same time reducing the potential for error. Such an example was where I engraved certain information on a metal peg board where I used to work. I returned there a decade later to see my handiwork was still being referred to on a daily basis by all who used it.
• Replacing vacuum cleaner bags: I found that purchasing replacement vacuum cleaner bags to be a most expensive exercise, both for cloth and paper, mainly because each bag had the necessary fitting already attached. What if there was a way to recycle the fitting and attach a new bag that I could make up to match the existing? In the case of cloth bags, I cut around the existing fitting leaving 6 or 7 cm of the original bag in place and sewed the new bag to the existing fitting. Obviously the fabric around that fitting needs to be in good condition for this to be successful.

My current project is to replace the disposable paper bag in our upright cleaner with a cloth bag. As the attachment is cardboard on the existing bag, I am envisioning doing some clever things with glue…

• To slow down pen/pencil chewers, dip ends in methylated spirits. The residue tastes awful. There is a special product available but metho can be a stop-gap measure.
• To keep a hung picture straight, get a small ball of blu-tac, plasticine, or even chewing gum (yuk!) and push onto the back of the picture at the centre bottom. Straighten the picture and push the bottom onto the wall. A more expensive method is to use a small square or dot of adhesive velcro tape.
• To remove the residue of sticky labels on hard surfaces, try rubbing with a soft cloth and a little eucalyptus oil. As all sticky labels were not created equal, the oil may not work on some of them. Just very occasionally, saliva might also work if put on and allowed to sit for a while, long enough to let the body’s enzymes to have a go at it (probably 5 or 10 minutes), and then rubbed off and the area washed. Kerosene also works. Apply sparingly and rub in. Rinse off.

I received the following suggestions for removing labels, in this instance off metal: Try applying any one of the following to the offending label: petroleum jelly; automotive degreaser for engines; WD40. The contributor had limited success with WD40 for this purpose. She noticed that what all these substances had in common was OIL. She wondered if vegetable oil used for cooking would do as well so she tried it and found that with the friction created in rubbing, it cut through and dissolved the adhesive residue. She then used hot water and dish soap to get rid of the oil. She thinks little a citrus juice may also have helped make that part of the process easier. (Pamela A. Mahony)

• To clean artists’ brushes used for oils: The most usual method is to soak them in mineral turpentine as you are painting, then clean thoroughly in the turps, followed by warm soapy water. This method failed when I pulled out my brushes from 9 years holiday only to find they hadn’t been cleaned properly all those years ago. Mild panic set in. After soaking them for 2 days in turps with negligible impact, I tried using acetone – just 30 ml or so in a small jar. It is quite expensive so only use a little. Soaking is not required. It worked beautifully in seconds! Wish I had thought of that first! Just a couple of notes of caution with using acetone: Be very careful to use in a well ventilated area, and acetone is also very good at helping the glues that hold the bristles in place to let go. So try not to let any get up past the metal bit.
• To sharpen scissors, run the blades along the top of a bottle as if you were trying to cut the top off. Do this a few times. The scissors should have sharpened up. Another way is to cut into fine sand-paper or glass-paper a few times until you have created something that looks a bit like a fringe. I don’t recommend either way for trying to sharpen serrated edged scissors.
• Alternative uses for containers: I am a firm believer in re-using containers where and when ever possible and practical. For instance, my nappy bucket is an 20 litre paint bucket with a lid that fits much better than any commercial nappy bucket on the market. Next time you plan on tossing that container into the rubbish, or recycling bin, see if you can re-use it first, to a point. I have set strict limits on how many of any item I collect for this purpose, because such collections can so easily turn to clutter.
• Handbag liner. I don’t know about anybody else, but one thing that drives me to distraction is this idea that handbag manufacturers have that the inside of a handbag MUST be a dark colour, preferably black! Perhaps they have never experienced the ‘joy’ of trying to find something in the depths of the bag in a hurry and/or in poor light conditions! (Or more sceptically, perhaps they have never used a hand bag!?) Short of having manufacturers change their ways, (I can only hope!), I came up with the following as a stop-gap measure to solve the problem. Make up an envelope, just slightly larger than the area you wish to line, in a light coloured, light weight fabric (a bit of old sheet or other fine cotton will do), and hand sew neatly into place just below any zippers. Replace when it gets worn or too grotty, whichever happens first. It also protects the real lining.
• Wax. I have entered a comment in the appliance/tools section concerning the use of wax on the teeth of a hand-saw to make it run more smoothly through the wood, but I remember Mum always had a blob of beeswax in the sewing machine drawer, which would be periodically removed to run over a sticking drawer or window. More often, though, she would draw a piece of thread across it to make it easier to thread a needle. If she wanted use thread in a heavy-duty application, like mending stitching which had come adrift in leather items, she would draw the entire length of thread through the wax a couple of times. She would use thread of sufficient strength to suit the application, of course, but drawing it through the wax would make it both easier to work and waterproof it. Candle wax works just as well.
• In your address book, if you still use a paper one, use ink to record the name and pencil to record addresses, phone numbers and e-mail addresses. (Fran Weatherly)
• Mark often used settings on the appliance. Use a bit of common sense here. If you are likely to dispose of it, consider using non-permanent markers or stickers…
• To assist in guaging how much of any particular product you actually use, and its cost, write the price on it after purchase, follow that with the date of opening and the date of finishing. Do this several times and you will probably have enough information to estimate average annual usage and cost. Don’t be surprised if this becomes a habit. It has for me.

TRAVEL TIPS

The following apply mainly to travelling where it is assumed that the roof over your head will be provided such as in hotel rooms etc., not camping where you provide your own… I have some hints on camping too but the two are worlds apart in my view. See mycamping page.

Breakfasts: I found that by purchasing a box of breakfast cereal, milk and fruit saves quite a considerable amount on breakfasts when travelling. Better yet, it saves on time too. What sort of milk I buy (powdered or liquid) depends a lot on how much I plan on using, whether I will be staying long, and whether there is refrigeration in the room. When we travel, we always pack a couple of plastic coupe plates, cutlery and cups.

Packing. What you pack, particularly in the way of clothing, depends entirely on the purpose of your trip. I have been guilty of packing far too much in the past and have even freighted stuff home! One of the best finds I ever made was the Travelite FAQ. I also found plenty of sensible travel tips and info courtesy of the Compleat Traveler.

In the earlier part of 1998 I spent two and a half weeks in the US in the middle of their spring and I found that

• I lived in my jeans. 2 pairs in light weight denim were adequate. They were also loose and comfortable and allowed for the inevitable girth expansion.
• I also lived in my joggers. Comfortable feet are an essential ingredient of a happy holiday. I wore my good shoes only twice during the whole trip.
• 2 T shirts and several long sleeved blouses where the sleeves can be rolled up were adequate.

I had spent a fair bit of time and effort assembling a mix’n’match wardrobe around a basic black skirt, pants, and jacket, together with several blouses, all of light weight, low maintenance fabrics. I used the blouses regularly over jeans but only wore the skirt twice during the whole trip! Even so, I don’t consider that this was a waste and they took up hardly any space. Had I been going to more formal places, or the purpose of my trip been other than leisure, I may have been making very good use of the other component bits. For casual trips I would recommend culling this to one complete good outfit which can be spruced up with different blouses if you really need to look different every time.

Other things I took and was glad I packed!

• Long johns. Another reason that loose fitting jeans are essential. Denim itself isn’t very warm but put a pair of long underwear underneath and jeans become particularly cosy.
• A collapsible bag. This was an impulse buy (shock! horror!) just before I left. It packed away so neatly but opened up into a pretty big carry bag, complete with shoulder strap, into which we stuffed our dirty washing mainly, and was generally a God send. We even booked it through as an additional piece of luggage on our return trip, and it withstood the rigours of airport luggage handling very well. I also stuffed a calico bag into the packing and it came in handy.
• A toiletries organiser. It was so good to have all the toiletries and some medicines etc. in one place, all neatly stowed. This too was an impulse buy but I am sure that something similar could be made fairly cheaply. It is essentially a piece of backing fabric with a series of about 4 roomy zippered pockets extending down its length. Remember to put a loop on the top so it can be hung off door knobs etc. The commercial one was made from plastic and some of the pockets were clear. There was also a velcro strip arrangement to hold the lot together when folded although some ties would have achieved the same purpose.
• Zip-lock bags. Where ever I could, I packed small items into zip-lock bags of various sizes, and stuffed another handful into a pocket in the luggage somewhere. The first aid kit I made up contained heaps of them which kept items separate, easily identifiable and dry should any other item spring a leak.

Problems we encountered:

• Swollen feet. I don’t take my shoes off on long haul travel, no matter how inviting it might be to do so, mainly because if I do, I will never get them back on again! The following are some of the things I try to do when travelling. I have had varying degrees of success.
  • Wear comfortable shoes and socks, preferably woollen or cotton.
  • Drink plenty of water.
  • Exercise feet regularly, at least every hour by stretching, moving them around in circles, pumping them up and down… (This is borrowed from a physiotherapy routine I used when I was recovering from a broken foot years ago. I went for a train trip to Sydney during my convalescence and my feet didn’t swell at all!)
  • Walk around if possible.
  • Put feet up if possible.
  • For long haul travel wear restrictive stockings/bandages on your legs. This is to stop blood pooling, which is what causes swelling, and possible subsequent clotting which can be fatal. There has been mention of late in local media of ‘Economy Class Syndrome’, which is clotting caused by inactivity during long haul travel. Australians are statistically quite susceptible for two reasons: We like to travel, and secondly, to get to anywhere from Australia, it involves long haul travel. Even NZ is 3 hours away from the east coast.
• Ironing. The hotel iron/travel iron doesn’t make much difference? Try wetting a face washer, wringing it right out and placing onto the area to be ironed. Push down firmly. Remove immediately and iron that patch. Repeat… Enough moisture transfers to the cloth to imitate the effect of a steam iron. It is a little time consuming. I certainly don’t plan on making a habit of it but is okay as a stop-gap measure.
• To those of you who are used to using clothes driers, this is probably second nature to you, but for those of us who only use driers as a last resort or whilst travelling, carefully fold up all the washing whilst it is still quite warm. This reduces the need to iron at all to almost nil. And who wants to spend their holiday ironing anyhow?

Problems we averted.

• Colour running in new clothes. It is so tempting to get/make new clothes for a big trip. I have fallen victim to this temptation… Do yourself a big favour and wash the clothes separately before you go. Jeans are a big offender here. If the colour runs, wash it again, and again until everything is colour fast, even if this means purchasing a colour fixative and/or soaking in very salty water. If you live near the sea, take the clothes for a dip…

Very approximate conversions for the harried traveller:

• 1/4 of a mile is about 400 metres, therefore 1 mile is about 1600m or 1.6km.
• 35 miles an hour is about 60km/hr; 45 mph – about 80 km/hr and 60mph – about 100 km/hr.
• A US pint is about 500ml; an imperial pint is about 600ml.
• A US quart is about a litre; imperial, about 1.2 litres.
• A US gallon is a little short of 4 litres, and imperial gallon, about 4 litres.
• A pound (weight) is about 500gr.
• A yard or 36 inches is about 92cm; back the other way, a metre is about 40 inches.
• A very rough guide for converting Fahrenheit to Celcius is take 30 from Fahrenheit degrees and divide by 2. Similarly, going the other way, multiply Celsius degrees by 2 and add 30.
• To work out 15 percent quickly in your head (useful for tipping): Divide total by 10. Divide that figure by 2 and add to the first.
• An imperial ton is fairly close to 1 tonne. A US ton or 2000lb is around about 900kg.

TOOLS

I established an adequate selection of power tools which in turn saved me much money and time over manual methods or hiring someone to do the job for me. I bought the BEST that I could afford at the time and have maintained these and all tools in good order. Tools quickly pay for themselves time and time again. If you are going to follow this route, it should go without saying that you should also learn to use them properly, and acquire the necessary safety equipment to go with them, otherwise they are a poor investment.

Another thing, call me selfish, but I won’t lend my tools. As sure as I do, any of the following things are bound to happen:

• The tool doesn’t come back, and I have to chase it. Worst case scenario is that I forget who I lent it to, in which case it never comes back.
• It comes back, but not in the same state that I lent it.
• I need the tool and it isn’t there.

I usually get around the issue by suggesting that the person come to my place to use it (where I can supervise), or if it is convenient, I’ll volunteer to use it for them. If either option is not satisfactory, well they can always ask someone else or better yet, get their own!

As a side issue: Power tools are expensive and are easily off-loaded by thieves. I strongly suggest marking ALL power tools (and other valuable items) with a property identification code. See item on property identification/insurance photographs. Resist the temptation to use your phone number. By using phone numbers you are giving a thief a walk up invitation to ring back to establish when you aren’t home and to hit your place again.

My basic kit includes a basic electric drill and bits; a jig-saw and blades for both wood and metal; and a cordless screwdriver which died and was reincarnated as a reversible cordless drill with a low speed setting ideal for screwing and unscrewing. Over time my kit has swollen to include other tools as needs have dictated.

A hand saw, claw hammer, selection of blade and cross screwdrivers, an adjustable spanner and pliers are also essential components of the basic tool kit. Don’t forget the metal retractable tape measure of the standard for your country. For most small jobs a 3 metre tape is sufficient. A square and level are good investments too.

I received some feedback from Alex Cranford, who has a page on self sufficiency, about this section that suggested that an angle grinder and a cheap set of vernier calipers could also be a most valuable addition to the basic tool kit. I guess angle grinders fall into the category of tools that once you have used them, you’ll wonder how you ever did without them. I’m not all that fond of them personally, probably because I’ve never taken the time to learn to use them properly, and whilst ever my husband enjoys using them, I’ll let him. I certainly agree that the calipers are a good idea, and remove the guesswork out of taking tiny measurements.

Just a word here about one of my pet subjects: Metric versus non-metric. When you acquire your measuring tools get what ever is the standard for your country. If metric is the standard, don’t waste your time and money buying stuff that measures feet and inches only, and vice versa. You are going to cause yourself a lot of unnecessary calculating, creating a huge potential for error, by mixing up the two standards. It truly is best to stick with one *or* the other.

Sticking saw: I remembered this hint from a trick Mum showed me as a child. If a drawer stuck, the offending part got rubbed with wax, either beeswax or candle, and the drawer would run more smoothly. I was hand-sawing a piece of board and wondered if Mum’s trick would work on the saw which was sticking annoyingly. I ran a candle along the saw teeth and for good measure a few centimetres up on each side and it worked like a charm! I’m told that soap also works.

Chafing strap on knee-pads? Wrap old tea towels (or any other bit of soft rag for that matter) around each knee first, then strap the pads on. Of course, long pants also solve the problem admirably but aren’t always practical.

PROPERTY IDENTIFICATION AND INSURANCE PHOTOGRAPHS

I recommend engraving all your tools, appliances and bicycles etc. with your property identification code.

I will explain how it works in Queensland. The code itself consists of your first and last initial, your date of birth* so that it occupies 6 spaces and the letter ‘Q’ to denote ‘Queensland’. For example, my code is ‘MV180758Q’. This code is then registered with the Police Service. In the event that some of my property is lost or stolen, is recovered and handed in to police, a check can then be made on that code and the item can then be returned to its rightful owner. In some states, driver’s license numbers are recommended over dates of birth. Whilst it is true that driver’s license address records are more likely to be kept up to date, my personal reservation is simply that not everyone has a driver’s license. Driver’s license numbers do vary over time and are also difficult to remember. Everybody has a date of birth.

Do not mark antiques or jewellery. Photograph them instead. Include a ruler or tape measure in the photo so you can see the exact scale of the pictured item at a glance.

It is a good idea to photograph all your major possessions. Mark the photograph with date the photo was taken, make, serial number and purchase date and price. In the case of family heirlooms, include a brief history of the article’s origins on the back of the photo. This will be of great assistance to future generations. Open cupboards, including wardrobes and linen closets and photograph the contents so that the photo will describe roughly what is there. Don’t forget the bookshelf, software shelf and computer gear.

Now put all the photographs and supporting material in a safe place. Do not put them in photograph albums. If you have a safety deposit box, or fire proof safe or something similar, even a tin box, put them there.

Insurance companies recommend that you update these photographs at least every three years.

I have practised what I have preached here. Many of my possessions were destroyed by fire. In amongst the ashes I found the clump of my insurance photographs which, although singed around the edges, justified much of my claim. Had they been put in albums they would never have survived.

DISASTER PREPAREDNESS

There are so many variables when talking about disaster planning it is not possible to provide a definitive list which will be a ‘one size fits all’ answer to every situation. My object is not to attempt to do this but to encourage the reader to think about the topic at the very least. Remember the adage ‘Proper prior planning and preparation prevents poor performance’?

When I speak of disasters, I mean something that is well outside the scope of a normal response, either from natural or man-made causes. I’m not speaking of something like someone’s house fire, for example. Although ‘disastrous’ for those immediately involved, the house fire simply doesn’t qualify, but if a few blocks of houses and the local hospital, school and pub went up, then that situation may qualify as a disaster.

I don’t intend to dwell on the disasters which are caused by man, save to say that aside from basic, sensible protective behaviours, and risk minimisation at a personal level, there is generally very little that any individual can do to prevent such occurrences or prepare for the results.

With regard to natural disasters however, people can do various things to help themselves or at least make living through it and the aftermath a little more tolerable. In essence, this is ‘disaster planning’ on a personal level. For instance, much of the coastal regions of the north of Australia are often affected by cyclones and the resultant flooding. When my brother and his family lived in Townsville, one of the kitchen cupboards contained enough basic food items, water, first aid kit, radio, torches, fresh batteries etc. to see them through for a week or two if necessary. There was storage under the house that had an emergency supply of camping gear in it. Everyone in the family knew not to touch these areas until needed. The contents were packed up in containers which could be picked up easily if the family needed to leave the house.

I would consider the following as part of the preparation and planning stage of developing a kit:

• Assess the most likely type of disaster to hit your area. For some that might be flood, bushfire, earthquake, or cyclone, etc. Don’t get paranoid about it, but think about it rationally.
• Preparation will vary according to what that assessment might be. It is all very subjective. It might be that in one area, a storm shelter may be the way to go; in another area where it may flood, an inground storm shelter probably wouldn’t be a real clever idea. Something else might be much more relevant and form part of the preparation, such as hosing down the house and roof & filling the gutters with water in a bushfire prone area, for example.
• See what information is already available on the subject. Check out your local relevant authority. Local councils and the State Emergency Service here play a huge role in disaster response, so inquiries with the local equivalent may assist. They may already have information readily available for the public and that takes a lot of the hard slog out of working out what to do, and how best to prepare.
• In all cases, sufficient necessities of life for the short term should form part of your survival kit. If you have covered food, water, shelter, warmth and first aid in your survival kit, you’ve probably got a real good start. I like to include communications equipment here (mobile phones are generally good, but batteries do go flat relatively quickly) but realistically that isn’t always possible, so at least a small battery operated radio will keep you informed of what is happening in the outside world and such information may influence how you utilise your resources, attempt to find assistance etc. Make sure all equipment is kept serviceable.
• Because I am a check-list type person (translated that really means, ‘I don’t remember a thing if it’s not written down’), I’d probably take the time at this stage to develop check-lists of both necessary items and of tasks which might need to be done. Keep these check lists both in the kits they refer to and in another safe and accessible place.

I didn’t specifically mention Y2K as I had no feelings about it one way or the other. When regarding issues such as these, my husband and I tend to live by the adage, ‘Better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it’ so we did have a bit of extra food and water stockpiled in the new year, and made sure all the gas bottles were filled, but aside from that, we hadn’t wasted any money or effort over and above what we were going to do anyway. If the Y2K issue has done nothing else, it has made a lot of people think on a personal level about what they would do should there be any sort of problem. Overall, I think that is a good thing.

© Margaret Van Emmerik 1998-2001.

To e-mail me, remove obvious spamtrap.

• Laundry liquid recipe:

I found the following basic recipe in an issue of ‘Soft Technology’ (now ReNew) magazine, a publication of the Alternative Technology Association of Australia. I’ve added some detail as to mixing, my experiences with it and variations on the theme. The concoction saved me the price of the magazine with the first batch.

Basic recipe:
Ingredients:
1 cake of soap, grated. Any plain soap will do, laundry or personal; or 1 cup of grated up soap ends.
1 cup washing soda, also known as sal-soda or soda ash. (Na2CO3.10H2O.)

Method:

1. Place grated soap into 2/3 of a small pot of cold water.

• 1. Either let soak for a couple of hours first (it will melt more quickly) or bring to the boil stirring continuously until all the bits are melted. Mix will boil over easily.
  2. Add melted soap to a bucket of tap-hot water.
  3. Finally, add washing soda and stir till dissolved. (Don’t do the process out of order as the mix will become lumpy.) All preparation takes about 15 minutes.
  4. Use whilst hot or let it cool. The mix cools to a slimy blob. Some liken it to mucus. You will need to mix it up again for ease of use.

Amount to use:
I use about 500ml/2 cups for large dirty loads, 1 cup for smaller, less dirty loads. Experiment with the amounts and dilutions and use what works.

Variations:

1. I like this variation and now use it exclusively: Add 1/2 cup borax to above basic mix. Reduce amount of mix used a little.

• 1. Add a couple of tablespoons of eucalyptus oil if you wish. You may also add a cup or two of vinegar to this initial mix.
  2. Another variation involves using 3 buckets of hot water to 1 cake of soap and 1 cup of washing soda. The resultant brew doesn’t set as much. Good luck to you if you’ve got room for *three* buckets of mixture…
  3. Use much less hot water (say half a bucket) for a much more concentrated mix. Obviously use less per wash, and it will probably set harder.
  4. I have used twice as much washing soda (by accident, not design) with excellent results. I used considerably less mix per wash.
  5. I have found an alternative recipe. I still haven’t tried it without the washing soda so I really don’t know how it will turn out. Replace the washing soda with an equal quantity of borax. If you wish, add eucalyptus oil (2 tablespoons) and 1/2 cups or so of vinegar.
  6. If you cannot get washing soda, it is possible to leave it out altogether. Just the soap mix alone will do a reasonable job. The main reason washing soda is added is that it is credited with dissolving grease & other grime a bit more easily, softens water and is generally a worthwhile washing aid.
  7. Another option is to use only bicarbonate of soda in the wash cycle, not to use any soap, washing soda etc., and to rinse with clear water only. This is an option for those who are extremely allergic to any washing substance. I would suggest starting at about 1/2 cup per medium sized load and work up or down from there as required.

Other notes:

Don’t store in narrow necked bottles. When the mixture cools and sets, you aren’t going to be able to get it out. Always use wide necked containers or buckets. The size of the bucket used really depends on what you have available. Whatever size it is, it is better that it has a lid. For interest’s sake, the original recipe called for a regular 9 or10 litre bucket or thereabouts.

The brew does not suds up very much. Where the water is extremely soft, it may froth up a little.

The mixture is, or should be – depending on the soap that is used – phosphate free, reducing our impact on the environment.

I sometimes add a handful of baking soda (bicarbonate of soda, NaHCO3) to the washing cycle and about half a cup of vinegar to the rinse cycle, but this is not essential. The baking soda is to assist in the removal of odours from the wash and the vinegar acts as a mild disinfectant, fabric softener and rinse aid. Some people have been concerned about using vinegar in the washing machine. If I remember correctly, it wasn’t recommended for enamel bowled machines. It didn’t cause me any difficulties but YMMV.

I used to have these issues on the page but I edited them out for one reason or another, but sure enough, I got asked them again so here they are back again:

• • Bicarbonate of soda, also known as Sodium Bi-carbonate is not the same as washing soda. Bi-carb is edible and can be used in cooking. Washing soda or Sodium Carbonate is not edible.
  • Washing soda can usually be found in the laundry aisle of the supermarket, possibly in some hardware or craft stores.

I was asked about this idea that by using soap the wash will go grey over a time, and wouldn’t it be a good idea to use a bluing agent to prevent this from happening? My experiences with using the soap mix for a number of years now don’t generally reflect this. What I have found is that for delicates there has been no greying. For general washes, any greying I have experienced has been no more than what I experienced in the past using commercial products and is more a result of poor washing practice than from using pure soap. I back that up by saying that my baby’s fitted nappies have always been washed this way and are as white as ever they were and I’ve been using them for a little over a year now. They have never been soaked in any bleaching product other than vinegar and water, and they have never greyed. I have used a stain removing soap on the stains. I’ve never used washing blue either. I don’t know what is in washing blue, seeing as how the ingredients don’t appear on the bottle that I have, and have no idea as to any environmental effects.

Miscellaneous: The residue of commercial detergents can stay in clothes for as many as four washes in plain water before being completely removed. Chances are that if you forget to add detergent for one load, there will be enough residue to do the job.

• Alternative fabric softeners include:
  • Vinegar as mentioned above.
  • 1 tablespoon of Epsom salts added to the rinse cycle.
• Some alternative methods of getting rid of cuff and collar grease:

I tend to use a commercial preparation more often than anything else. I use my own pump pack and buy refills and water down by about a third. So far, I’ve not seen any discernible difference in stain removing ability.

I also use a type of special soap with excellent results, which is reputedly a little more caustic than ordinary soap. This is dirt cheap and lasts for ever. It is great on nappies. There are other ‘wonder soaps’ on the market, some more expensive and/or better lasting than others but all are better value when compared with the cost (both monetary and environmental) of pressure packs. The general idea is to wet the offending part, rub the soap on liberally and either rub it vigorously against itself or use a small brush (old toothbrush or nail brush is fine). If washing by hand, rinse thoroughly. Otherwise, drop it into a normal wash cycle.

My various references suggest that the laundry liquid mentioned above should work. It can be applied directly to problem area and rubbed in, or allowed to soak in a fairly concentrated solution such as 1/2 cup to 1/2 bucket of water or a little stronger. Commercial laundry liquid applied sparingly and rubbed or brushed in should also work.

I’ve read about other possibilities too, courtesy of Jackie French in ‘Household Self-Sufficiency’, Keith & Irene Smith in ‘Hard Times Handbook’ and Barbara Lord in ‘The Green Cleaner’, all excellent volumes. I haven’t tried any of these yet.

• • White chalk rubbed along greasy line.
  • Eucalyptus oil (neat) sparingly dabbed along offending area. (It is potent so ‘sparingly’ means a couple of drops only.) Leave a couple of minutes. Rinse.
  • Cloudy ammonia and water used at the approximate ratio of 1 part cloudy ammonia to 40 parts water, or 1 cup c. ammonia per bucket of water, or about 5 ml to a cup (250 ml). Use on natural fibres. Be careful with synthetics – it may discolour them. This brew was also listed as a bleach alternative so be careful around coloureds.
  • Glycerine – see method for eucalyptus oil above.
  • Rub with shampoo and leave a while before washing.
  • Make paste of vinegar and bi-carb. Rub on collar and soak (presumably in water) a while before washing.
• Spray starch: Nowadays, I buy a litre of liquid starch for a fraction of the cost of the ready made up equivalent, and water down according to directions or more.

Diana Booher mailed me with the following two recipes (my additions for metric and local vocabulary) for an alternative laundry starch. I assume that the quantities in this recipe are for use in the traditional manner, ie soaking the garment, or parts thereof, in the starch, drying or part-drying and then ironing. I am sure that smaller quantities in the same ratios would be okay for use as a spray.

• • Heavy starch – Mix together until smooth, 1/3 cup corn starch/corn flour and 1/2 cup cold water. Gradually add 2 US quarts/2 litres (close enough) boiling water, stirring constantly. Use warm.
    Medium starch – Dilute heavy starch with 2 quarts/2 litres of water. Mix and use warm.
    Light starch – Dilute heavy starch with 4 quarts/4 litres of water. Mix and use warm.
  • This one is from a book called Cheaper and Better by Nancy Brines:

Spray Starch:
4 teaspoons/1 Aus. tablespoon cornstarch/corn flour
1/2 teaspoon cologne (optional)
2 cups/half a litre water

Mix ingredients, pour into a spray bottle and shake well. Yields 16 ounces/half a litre.

I made up 1 cup of this second recipe as a trial and was pleasantly pleased with the outcome. I used boiling water. I couldn’t tell the difference between the commercial and home-made stuff although it has tended to go off very quickly. Maybe a pinch of borax or salt added to the mix might improve its lasting capabilities, as might refrigeration.

Variations on using corn flour include using rice or potato water. None of these recipes lasts long.

• Getting wax out: For those who like using candles, inevitably wax will end up on some fabric it shouldn’t… Let the wax set and scrape off as much as possible without damaging the fibres. The traditional way that my mother used was to put brown paper either side of the area and iron, move the paper to a clean area and keep on ironing the stain until most was gone. Nowadays, I’d suggest using absorbant paper, such as paper towel or blotting paper if you can get it. Be careful not to use an iron that it too hot for the fabric or a wax stain will be the very least of your problems. Also, be careful when moving the paper to a new patch, not to iron the wax back into the fabric. When you have removed as much as you can this way, treat any remaining oily mark with a suitable stain remover. In respect of pure cotton or linen, you may be able to boil the fabric and this also should lift the stain right out.
• Keep a little pair of scissors/clippers on or near the ironing board to cut off all those little stray threads you find on bought clothing.
• When ironing embroidery, place it right side down on top of a towel, and iron from the back.
• To spin dry a woollen jumper*, lie the garment out flat on a bath towel or bigger. The thirstier the towel, the better. Roll the towel containing the jumper quite firmly until you have a firm roll with all parts of the jumper hidden from view. Put in the washing machine and run the spin cycle, making sure you have the load properly balanced. Unroll when done and dry however you normally dry your woollens.

When spin drying has not been possible or convenient, I have been known to put the rolled up towel, containing said item, on the floor and walk up and down a few times over it. Turn it half a turn and do it again, and it will be as dry as any spin dry.

* I understand that this word has a different meaning, depending on which country you’re in. In Australia, a ‘jumper’ is a long sleeved knitted garment, often wool, which is pulled over the head and keeps the upper part of the body warm. It is also known as a ‘pullover’ and sometimes a ‘sweater’.

• What to do when a woollen jumper has shrunk: Firstly, prevention is definitely better than cure! Always read and obey labels. For hand made garments, read the washing instructions on the skein labels if available, otherwise always use the least destructive method of washing for your garment. Briefly, that will usually be hand washing in warm water, with mild soap, wool mix or the above mentioned laundry mix recipes, rinsing until water runs clear, squeezing excess water out and laying it flat to dry, out of direct sunlight. Okay, so all that has failed for one reason or another, most often because someone else has thrown the garment into a normal machine cycle, or drier, and the thing now looks like it might fit the cat, maybe… If it hadn’t started to matt already, you might be lucky enough to save it. Try either (or both) of the following:

• 1. Wet the garment thoroughly. Gently squeeze most of the water out and pin it out, gently stretching it to its former size and shape, onto a firm surface, such as a carpeted floor. I suggested that the pins be no further apart than 5cm, closer if you have the patience. When dry, remove and press lightly with a view to moving the pin marks. I don’t know how this will work as I’ve never tried it on a shrunken garment before although I have used the same method to stretch out a circular knitted lace baby’s blanket I made a couple of decades back.
  2. I *do* like it when I find instructions which complement my best guess, and I found the following, courtesy of Jackie French in ‘Household Self Sufficiency’: Try soaking it in 1 cup of Epsom salts to 1 bucket of warm water for 10 minutes. Don’t rinse. Lay (garment) out on a towel in light shade and gently pull into shape. Don’t stretch too much. If necessary, repeat this several times.

I figure if the garment has already shrunk, you don’t have much to lose by trying the above. If it is already matted or felted, find an alternative use for it, like lining pot holders or something, as nothing is going to bring it back.

• Natural bleach: Boiling, soaking in salt and lemon and sun drying all whiten cottons.
• Fading: To reduce fading, always peg out clothes inside out. (Obviously not applicable for those who use dryers, or dry indoors/under the house etc.)
• Suds return washing machines. I bought a suds return washing machine a couple of years ago and then I wondered if I had done the right thing… I might be saving all this water, but only from the wash cycle; the rinse water was being discarded. But surely my wash would turn this unsightly grey/brown colour from using the recycled dirtiest water. I’ve found out since that some people have simply declined to use the water saver option of their machine because of this very concern. What if there were some way to reuse the water from the rinse cycle instead of the wash cycle? My solution, having only the occasional mishap when I forget to replace the hoses properly, is to change over the location of the 2 hoses so that the ‘drain’ hose now goes into the tub and the ‘pump’ hose goes into the drain outlet. (It helps to mark them too.) Don’t change how the hoses are attached to the machine, just where their destinations are going to be. This way the dirty soapy water from the wash cycle is discarded and the cleaner rinse water is saved. The only extra energy required is to put the pump hose into the tub when you want to pump the water back into the machine, and remembering to replace it into the drain outlet before you inadvertently capture all that dirty water on the next load.

Comment: If the main reason you are reusing the wash water is to conserve on washing detergents and soaps and reusing the wash cycle water is not a concern, then disregard the above method, and continue as normal.

Ideally of course, all the water would be captured again for use as grey water on gardens, etc. I’m still working on that one.

• Folding fitted sheets. My method may not necessarily be the best one around but it works well enough for me. I line dry my wash so the following explanation is not going to be applicable for those who use dryers exclusively.

• I start by hanging out the fitted sheet over the line, carefully straightening it so that both sides are perfectly even, and that where it hangs over the line, marks the sheet exactly in half. Peg. Let dry. I have learned to use the clothes line as a 3rd hand, so I fold all my sheets off the line. This is difficult to explain but I’ll try: As I remove one end peg, I grab the sheet on this fold where the peg used to be. I grab it again, on the fold in the middle, still on the fold line, with my free hand, then, carefully lift these two points off the line and over, so that the sheet is still folded in half, and is now pivoting on the last peg. I grab the first point and the pivoting point together, not letting the middle go yet, removing the last peg as I go, so I now have it folded in quarters as I remove it from the line. Then, I’ll fold it in half again, lengthwise then again, then in half the other way, and half again, stuffing the spare bits in as I go. I don’t know if it is exactly perfect but that’s how I do mine. For single bed sheets, the theory is the same but it doesn’t require as many folds.

• • I received the following advice as to how to fold a fitted sheet from Lisa Shaffer who worked at a nursing home, where driers would be most likely used exclusively:

‘I take the corners at either end of the long side of the sheet, and put my finger tips in the corner of the seam so that it has the seams inside out. I then bring those 2 corners together and overlap them. Do the same to the remaining 2 corners. It should now look like the sheet is laying flat and the folded sides in an upside down U on top. Bring those 2 corners together the same way that you did in the first part. It will now look like an upside down L on the sheet. Fold the long side in twice to make a long strip. Grab one end and roll up tight. This is how I store my fitted sheets. I fold my flat sheets just like you would a blanket. This way, I can tell them apart quickly and easily.’

• • Les Becker e-mailed me the following explanation as to how s/he folds them:

‘I fold my fitted sheets by slipping my hand into the pocket of one corner and my other hand into an opposite pocket. (I have the full length of the sheet going from one hand to the other). Bring the two corners together and tuck one of these corners into the other, keeping that hand still inside. The free hand can now pick up the new fold and even it. Transfer your “tucked corner” to the other hand and pick up BOTH untucked corners from the opposite side of the sheet and tuck those together (takes some practice but you really DON’T need three hands!) Now bring both pairs of tucked corners together and tuck THOSE into one corner. Keep one hand inside this tuck and use the other to even the opposite edge. You can now fold the sheet as if it weren’t fitted at all. Those neatly tucked “corners” no longer work against you.’

• How to reduce the stiffness of new clothes: A commonly recommended method for removing fabric fillers/sizing, hence stiffness, is by soaking in white vinegar and water. Use 1 cup to 1/2 a bucket of water (approx. 250ml:5l or 1:20) and soak overnight. Then wash as normal.

Another recipe for softening towels, which are generally cotton, is to soak overnight in 1 part Epsom salts to 10 parts warm water. (This sounds rather strong. I’d probably start off at 1:20 and see if that worked first.) Wash well.

• Hydrogen peroxide is said to work very well in removing blood stains. Just pour a bit on the stained area (if it is very bloody then rinse with cold water first) and let it sit for a minute or two, then wash as usual. The Woods state it is fun to watch the stuff bubble and fizz. They warn NOT to let it dry – it’s then very difficult to remove. (John and Mary Wood) My advice is to be a bit careful using this around coloureds. Test on an inconspicuous bit first for colour fastness.

© Margaret Van Emmerik 1998-2001.

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A great way to get off eye makeup is to mix water and baby bath. Removes it in seconds, even waterproof.

Slice one small piece off of a potato, and cut the slice in half. Put each slice under your eyes and leave them under your eyes for 20 minutes.

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Here are some tried and true mouth care recipes to not only brighten your teeth, they also save on your pocket book. Experiment, come up with your own variations.

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3/4 cup of lemon juice added to your bath water helps to bleach a fading tan and smooth away flaky skin. Or, you can mix a paste with lemon juice plus salt or sugar. Leave on the skin for 30 minutes and rinse dry, dead skin off with it!

Oatmeal is great for soothing a sunburn as well as for exfoliating. Fill an old sock with oatmeal and swish it in your bath water; once it’s softened up, you can then scrub your body with it.

Vinegar restores the acid balance of skin and also acts as a gentle exfoliant. Try adding 1 cup of raw apple cider vinegar to a lukewarm bath to ease the separation of peeling skin.

If you’re still in a blotchy, in-between stage, you might also want to experiment with gentle self-tanners or bronzers to ease the transition.