Admittedly, Pinterest can be an incredible time suck, but it can also be a fantastic source for many money and time-saving tips and hints. A couple of weekends ago I got on a Pinterest-inspired cleaning kick and thought I'd share a few hits (and a miss) with you.
Cleaning mold from your tub/shower caulking: HIT! I was amazed at how simple and inexpensive this project was considering the great results. Time will tell just how long the caulk stays white but it is a vast improvement over the previous state of my shower.
DIY fabric softener: HIT! I used the 94 cent Suave Ocean Breeze conditioner rather than rosemary mint, but I may try rosemary mint the next go round. The fabric softener smells great and was another very inexpensive project that should last a long time.
Cleaning your top loading washing machine: HIT, I think. It's hard to tell how much impact running through a couple of cycles with bleach and vinegar will have on my washer's performance, but since I also cleaned the fabric softener dispenser and wiped down all the knobs and outside of the washer, it definitely looks much better.
Cleaning your bathroom sink drain: HIT, I think. Again, it's a little hard to tell just how much black gunk this formula got rid of, but since I cleaned it with products I already had on hand it was worth a shot. I'll trust that it did the trick.
"No scrub" shower cleaner: HIT, sort of. Perhaps I didn't leave the formula on the shower floor long enough (or maybe my shower was just dirtier than the pinner's), but the grime didn't just magically wipe away with no scrubbing. I had to use a little elbow grease but it did a nice job of cleaning. I also scrubbed the shower walls and door with and it seemed to work well. I like using a cleaning product that doesn't have a bunch of chemicals in it that make me want to pass out from the fumes, so I will probably continue to use this to clean my bathroom.
DIY dishwashing detergent: I whipped up a batch of this a few weeks ago. I really wanted this one to work. However, I'm finding that it just doesn't get my dishes as clean as commercial dishwashing detergent. When I previously used Cascade or Target brand or whatever detergent was on sale, I could put my dishes in the washer without having to do much scrubbing in advance. With this homemade detergent I have to really scrub and pre-wash before putting dirty dishes in, which to me sort of negates the use of a dishwasher. There have been several times when I've had to re-run items through another wash cycle because the homemade detergent didn't get the job done the first go-round. I have a big jarful of the detergent left but I finally broke down and bought some detergent--there is clearly a difference, at least for my dishwasher. I hate to say it, but I'm going to have to call this DIY project a MISS.
Considering that the number of hits outnumber the misses, I'd have to say that Pinterest has been an extremely handy resource when it comes to cleaning. I've got several other cleaning-related pins that I've yet to try but intend to soon; when I do I'll give another recap on what worked and what didn't live up to the hype.
Have you learned any new cleaning tricks lately?
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