Lots more Sneaky Ways to save the pennies

PipneyJane

Have I ever told you about my vinegar trick?  We have incredibly hard water, so I use vinegar to combat it.  I may have mentioned that I dilute washing up liquid with vinegar in a 1:1 ratio, in order to stop glasses going milky.  Well, I have another trick to do with vinegar.

Since Lockdown started in March last year, we've been working from home.  Rather than constantly boiling the kettle, I boil it once to make coffee, and use the rest of the boiling water to fill a thermos for the day.  By the time we get to Friday, the thermos lining is dull with limescale, as is the kettle. Every weekend, I'll pour a jam-jar full of cold vinegar into the thermos and leave it to work for the day.    (I have a 1lb jam jar that I use as a measure and to store the vinegar.)  5-hours or so is enough to remove all the scale from the thermos and leave it shining. That night, I'll tip the vinegar from the thermos into the empty kettle and bring it to the boil, leaving it to sit and steam overnight (as per the instructions in its manual).  

In the morning, I pour the cooled vinegar back into the jam jar and save it to reuse the next weekend.  After two or three rounds of descaling, when the vinegar starts looking cloudy, it's time to replace it, so I use for something else instead of pouring it back into the jar.  For instance, I will reboil the vinegar filled kettle in the morning, decant it into plastic yoghurt pot, take it upstairs and drop the shower head into it to descale, leaving it to soak for the day.  Finally, I'll put a couple of scoops of bicarb down the plughole, before pouring the vinegar down the sink, to clean that too.  Alternatively, if I don't descale the shower head, I'll use it to clean limescale off the draining board on the kitchen sink, very carefully pouring hot vinegar over the worst patches and letting it drain away down the sink.

- Pip

balabooberlies

Pip.......

Wow !

bala

x

gettingthrifty

Pip  very helpful information.
I too battle hard water , its my stiff laundry that drives me mad the most.! Ive just dipped into this thread having seen your post you may have already covered it. Any advice please?

-taff

vinegar to use as a rinse ai and borax in the drum.

goldfinches

gettingthrifty said:

Pip  very helpful information.
I too battle hard water , its my stiff laundry that drives me mad the most.! Ive just dipped into this thread having seen your post you may have already covered it. Any advice please?

Another living in a hard water area here and I also loathe the stiff laundry particularly the towels.
I've been trying a tablespoonful or so of white vinegar in the fabric conditioner compartment of the washing machine drawer which definitely helps.
However I'd be glad to hear about what others do and the results they get as I do think I've still room for improvement and I'm very keen to crack this niggling little problem. TIA, goldfinches.

gettingthrifty

Thank you for the suggestions re: hard water
Pip wow! Just tried the kettle thing result!! Waiting for it to cool before i decant it to a jar and reuse as you recommend
Taff will add that idea for future experiments. Im working through several .I hate that the lovely new xmas socks are stiff already
Goldfinches thanks for suggestion ..already do that and am experimenting with the amounts i use.

thriftylynny

Great idea Pip , i want to try this ..do i use white vinegar ? Also like the idea of keeping hot water in the flask thing rather than keep boiling kettle, tried it but it seems to go a bit luke warm in my thermos , is it the flask ?

MrsStepford

We have a Dualit kettle which will boil even 1 cup of water, so I don't need tp order a thermos flask on the internet, phew.

If you have a dingy old scratched stainless steel sink you can make it shiny by just using dry salt and the proverbial elbow grease, before rinsing. Suggest not using it on a new sink. 

For brass, (especially if engraved) which has brass cleaner dried on, liberally cover in cheapo tomato ketchup, let it sit for 5 mins (a bit longer if filthy) and rinse. Try a test patch first and make sure it's all covered so that it's not patchy. You should get as as new shine. 

Make a paste of bicarbonate of soda and water and clean white tile grout with a clean toothbrush. 

Husband isn't using car so much and that saves money. as less diesel bought Putting that towards tiddling up car, as new car due to arrive in a couple of months. 

BarbCh

jammy_dodger said:

i have stopped buying freezer labels and use masking tape instead , just rip a bit off and write in permanent marker , labels stays stuck but much easier to remove if washing and re using the container

Great tip... I will use this one thanks 

PipneyJane

gettingthrifty said:

Pip  very helpful information.
I too battle hard water , its my stiff laundry that drives me mad the most.! Ive just dipped into this thread having seen your post you may have already covered it. Any advice please?

Sadly, no advice from me, @gettingthrifty.  Stiff laundry isn't something that bothers me.

thriftylynny said:

Great idea Pip , i want to try this ..do i use white vinegar ? Also like the idea of keeping hot water in the flask thing rather than keep boiling kettle, tried it but it seems to go a bit luke warm in my thermos , is it the flask ?

Yes, @thriftylynny.  Distilled white vinegar is what I use, not malt.  Check out your nearest Asian supermarket - they should sell it relatively cheaply, in the convenient gallon bottle.

There may be a problem with your thermos.  The one I use on a daily basis is an ancient Thermos-brand carafe*, which I bought in the 1990's. The water does get colder as the day goes on but, if I fill it at 7.30am, I can still make a hot drink at 2 or 3pm.  

HTH

- Pip


* When the seal broke, I struggled to replace it because Thermos no longer sell seals on their own, just lids, and my carafe was so old that they don't make that model anymore.  Eventually, I cobbled together a suitable seal by combining the seals from two vacuum travel mugs that had ceased to be water tight.  Not sure how long my fix will last, but better than nothing.