Stardrops: A Users Guide

TomsMom

snowleopard61 wrote: »

Thanks for this - one of the shops I looked in does all manner of foods, Chinese as well, but I don't seem to have an actual Chinese supermarket near me. Online wholesalers may be the way to go; will think about that.

What incredibly bad luck with the carpet ... :eek:

I get my white vinegar from Asda, they do it in 568ml bottles for 44p. Other supermarkets should do it, it's labelled as "Distilled Vinegar" not white vinegar. Co-op do it but in smaller bottles. I used to get it from Makro in 5L containers but don't use Makro any more, if you have a Makro card you could try there.

rosie383

snowleopard61 wrote: »

What incredibly bad luck with the carpet ... :eek:

Tell me about it! That was 5 mins after my wee one had decided to do a roly poly off the sofa, kicked the table on the way down and knocked over a glass of juice onto my newly cleaned laminate floor!!!! Flippin' kids.

snowleopard61

TomsMom wrote: »

I get my white vinegar from Asda, they do it in 568ml bottles for 44p. Other supermarkets should do it, it's labelled as "Distilled Vinegar" not white vinegar.

Thanks, I may have a chance to go to Asda in the next few days - am sure I looked there before but without success. Am sure I used to buy it years ago instead of the brown stuff as my ordinary vinegar, but it seems harder to come by now. Certainly I haven't succeeded in finding it in Sainsbury's though. It hadn't occurred to me to look for it online as distilled vinegar, although I knew that was what it's technically called, so that may help.

Nicepeach

Hi,

Thanks for telling me what size load my WM is!:) Very useful yes I probably should know!

I get my white vinegar from a local independent food wholesaler (not a national chain). Think I paid £2.29 for 5 litres which I then decant into a 1 litre old fabric softener bottle for ease of use. We have a couple of Chinese/Ethnic shops but it was really expensive in those for very small amounts.

I have read elsewhere on the OS board that brown vinegar can be used in exactly the same way & I did use brown initially when I first tried the soda & vinegar method with no ill-effects, did not stain clothes brown. Just a thought, you could try asking at your local Fish & Chip Shop if they could get you/sell you a wholesale amount of vinegar (brown or white)? I would imagine they buy it in bulk & decant into counter-top dispensers rather than buying lots of small bottles?

My WM also used to smell pre-soda regime & that has now vanished too. It's never looked so sparkly, the drum had started to scale a little & that has now disappeared too & the door rubber looks much better too now it's not covered in black slime. Still a small amount inside rubber which no amount of scrubbing has shifted but it's wearing away gradually.

I can sympathise with all who have stained carpets to clean but at least you seem to have younger children... be warned it gets no easier. My DS turned 18 very recently & makes more mess & spills more than he ever has done. Regularly come home to UBS (unidentifiable brown spillages) in various places all over the house (we have the same pale carpet right through, even upstairs). Stardrops always shifts it, whether it's tea, coffee, hot chocolate, mud or some other brown substance! He has regressed to an extreme combination of Kevin & Perry over the last 18 months!

Thanks again for useful info about my own WM!

rosie383

:rotfl::mad::rotfl::mad:

in equal measures!!

snowleopard61

Nicepeach wrote: »

Hi,


I have read elsewhere on the OS board that brown vinegar can be used in exactly the same way & I did use brown initially when I first tried the soda & vinegar method with no ill-effects, did not stain clothes brown. Just a thought, you could try asking at your local Fish & Chip Shop if they could get you/sell you a wholesale amount of vinegar (brown or white)? I would imagine they buy it in bulk & decant into counter-top dispensers rather than buying lots of small bottles?
.....

I can sympathise with all who have stained carpets to clean but at least you seem to have younger children... be warned it gets no easier. My DS turned 18 very recently & makes more mess & spills more than he ever has done.

It may be worth asking the fish and chip shop. They are nice people there ... only trouble is I've been soooo economical for so long that I haven't been there for ages and ages so it seems a bit of a nerve!

I can really identify with the bit about the teenage children and mess and spills ... and mine are even older, and female (not that that should matter, I know, but ...). Came across a quote once about a young woman in a shared house who kept her room in a complete tip all the time, and her housemate always wondered how she could emerge from it looking so pristine when she had left such chaos and squalor in her wake.;)

Nicepeach

snowleopard61 wrote: »

It may be worth asking the fish and chip shop. They are nice people there ... only trouble is I've been soooo economical for so long that I haven't been there for ages and ages so it seems a bit of a nerve!

I can really identify with the bit about the teenage children and mess and spills ... and mine are even older, and female (not that that should matter, I know, but ...). Came across a quote once about a young woman in a shared house who kept her room in a complete tip all the time, and her housemate always wondered how she could emerge from it looking so pristine when she had left such chaos and squalor in her wake.;)

Well, that's even more reason for you to pop in & treat yourself then! It is Friday after all... traditionally "Fish" day. Go on, treat yourself, even if it's just to a small portion of chips, open to eat on the way home, with lashings of salt & vinegar & scraps - yummy! Look on it as a cost cutting exercise to see if you can procure large quantities of vinegar! Just casually ask them how much they go through as you are sploshing it on your chips as you'd like to acquire a larger bottle than you can get in the supermarket & see what they proffer.

I don't mind being cheeky. Batted my eyelashes shamelessly when wholesale man said he didn't stock Bicarb & I asked him to look out for some for me... he said he'd try to get me a tub on his next order but couldn't promise & told me to pop back in a few days. I popped back & he had got me some, gave him the cash & a peck on the cheek for his trouble. He went very red & said he'd never seen anyone so excited about Bicarb in his life! I am very easily pleased!

Trying to Keep Calm & Carry On with the whole teenage mess thing. To be honest, I thank my lucky stars I have a boy as I remember what my room was like when I was still at home & the quote about the pristine looking girl emerging from chaos could have been about me. At least I don't have to cope with make up everywhere, lash glue, fake tan stains on towels etc. - bet S.drops would give all a run for their money though!

I used to shout. A lot. Have run out of energy now & it seems pointless to be in conflict all the time so I'm trying to stay positive & enjoy him whilst he's still around. The past 18 years have flown by & he could fly the nest very soon & I don't want to spend what precious time we have left rowing about mess. He's more worried when I stay really calm, look him right in the eyes & ask him in a very, quiet, controlled voice to do something. Now. Scares 'em to death - try it! Works even better on littlies if you are usually quite stressed with them - they don't know what's hit 'em if Mummy doesn't stick to the routine...;)

snowleopard61

Nicepeach wrote: »

Well, that's even more reason for you to pop in & treat yourself then! It is Friday after all... traditionally "Fish" day. Go on, treat yourself, even if it's just to a small portion of chips, open to eat on the way home, with lashings of salt & vinegar & scraps - yummy!

:rotfl:Thanks for the encouragement, I might just do that. BTW, I'm not sure if 'scraps' (as an item for sale/purchase rather than just an inevitable byproduct) are particularly a North Yorks thing? I lived for a while in Selby but I'm not sure I've come across it elsewhere. I like them though!

Think I've given up on the shouting too. The nagging, not so much ... I think I've been really restrained, and then get told how I never stop!

chelseabun_3

Hi all,

Thanks for all your really useful info! I'm joining in this thread very late indeed - I only heard of Stardrops today, reading the Old Style board! I'll definitely be buying some when I run out of surface cleaner / laundry powder / washing up liquid.

I've been using distilled white vinegar for cleaning and in laundry (sometimes) for quite a while - I think I normally get it in Mr M, but if not then a local independent store definitely sells it. The bottle I've got at the mo is Sarsons, so probably not the cheapest! I got washing soda in the independent shop too. But I have to admit, I haven't tried using it yet!

Although now I'm thinking about it, I might just go and put a load on now, to try it out! You've actually made me want to do some housework! :rotfl:

Thanks! CB xx

Nicepeach

snowleopard61 wrote: »

:rotfl:Thanks for the encouragement, I might just do that. BTW, I'm not sure if 'scraps' (as an item for sale/purchase rather than just an inevitable byproduct) are particularly a North Yorks thing? I lived for a while in Selby but I'm not sure I've come across it elsewhere. I like them though!

Think I've given up on the shouting too. The nagging, not so much ... I think I've been really restrained, and then get told how I never stop!

Go on, treat yourself - you're worth it :rotfl: I've never been charged for scraps, it's just an optional extra like salt & vinegar & yes, it's just a by-product of the bater frying process i.e. small pieces of batter all crispy & golden brown, yum! No point having chips without scraps! I have been to other areas of the country where they've looked at me like I'm asking for some exotic creation when I've asked for them & they simply scoop them out of the fryer straight into the bin :eek: Have also been to areas where they call them something totally different but can't for the life of me remember any of them that I've come across.

I'm lucky (or not depending on your viewpoint), I have a "chippy" really near to me. Not so near that I can smell it but less than a 2 minute walk away but, strangely enough, rarely go but may treat myself tonight now my appetite's been whetted.

Good luck with your ventures Chelsea Bun. Once you have got past the initial bereavement of the luxurious frothy white bubbles you'll be fine! The soda & vinegar is great (to be honest I,m still amazed it works, even after a year, & I'm persisting hoping it won't work on something & I can say "Ha, Told you so"). Just follow the destructions on the Soda packet & the Stardrops bottle when you get that. x