QUESTION: My dishwasher has developed a brownish stain on almost the entire interior, including the cutlery rack. It is a white interior and is only six years old. What can I do to get rid of this staining? The dishes come out clean. Hope that you have a solution. Marion, Winnipeg
ANSWER: There is a product on the market called Iron Out. Open your windows and run the powder through your empty dishwasher soap dispenser (the way you would run a normal cycle). Iron Out is available at stores all over Manitoba but be prepared, it does smell, and it is strong, so remember to ventilate.
QUESTION: I use bar hand soap, and always have a small one inch or so piece leftover. I wonder if you know of any way to melt or turn these leftovers into a larger bar, so it won't be wasted. A number of friends are looking for the same answer. Thank you, I enjoy your column. Gord, Winnipeg
ANSWER: When it comes to bar soap, get the biggest bang for your buck by saving your slivers. Drop the slivers into knee-length pantyhose and keep them near the bathtub. Scrub your body by wetting the nylon with water and lathering yourself with the nylon-encased soap slivers. You can also drop the soap slivers into a plastic squeeze bottle and then fill it with water. Keep the bottle beside the sink for washing hands and dishes. You can also pile wet soap slivers one on top of the other. Stick a pop-bottle cap onto the top soap sliver (to make the squished-together bar easier to hold). Allow the soap to dry and use it in the bathtub. To make your own hand soap, save slivers of soap bars and mix them in a bottle with glycerine, shake with warm water and use.
QUESTION: I was wondering if you would be able to help me. I suspect the eczema my son has been suffering from since birth may be sensitivity to detergents. I would like to use your homemade laundry soap recipe from your first book but with pure soap flakes we purchased from eco-pioneer instead of the grated soap bar. My question is this: Would this laundry soap recipe be safe to use in the soap dispenser of my HE front-loading washing machine? I am afraid I will clog up the dispenser or the machine. Tanya, Winnipeg
ANSWER: In my experience, you can use the homemade laundry detergent in your HE washing machine and you only need one-eighth cup per load. As well, there is a completely different alternative to laundry detergent called soap nuts. The soap nut (Sapindus Mukorossi) is the fruit of a tree that grows in India and Nepal. Soap nuts are all-natural and safe! While the seeds of the soap-nut fruit are used as detergent to replace washing powder, the outer shell of the soap nut contains saponins, which are good for treating skin problems.
In India, soap nuts are used in washing woolen and silk garments, as a fabric softener, as a treatment for eczema and allergies and as shampoo. Soap nuts are a 100-per-cent renewable resource, biodegradable and can be composted after final use. Soap nuts are often sold in a drawstring bag. The bag is tossed in with a wash load and reused several times. The soap nuts are taken out of the washing machine and not put into the dryer with your clothes.
In my opinion, this is the most environmentally friendly way to clean your fabrics. Soap nuts are available at householdsolutions.org
Best Tip of the Week:
Keep your sink from clogging by not pouring fat down the drain! Collect fat in a container such as a metal coffee tin and let it solidify. Scrape the fat into the garbage (not the compost pile). Wash and reuse the container. Kenya (La Broquerie, Man.)
Reena Nerbas is the author of the national bestselling Household Solutions series. Her website is www.householdsolutions.org You can contact her at Box 429, Blumenort, Man., ROA 0C0.
