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Cleaning Up:  Ashamed to admit, but had to do it!  |
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nubidane
True Blue Farmgirl
2875 Posts
Lisa
Georgetown
OH
2875 Posts |
 Posted - Jun 17 2009 : 12:10:52 PM
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OK girls, so I clean everything with homemade enviro friendly ingredients.
I have recently switched to cotton shower curtains with no line, because my baths are not vented all that great, no windows, inside walls etc, & the plastic liners became ickky after a month or so.
Unfortunately, the mold is growing on the bottom of the
cotton curtains.
So, I tried vinegar, I tried Borax, I tried peroxide, I tried lemon juice, I tried Mrs Stewart's bluing, I tried hanging outside on a sunny day for 2 days straight. The little black mold spots looked up at me & laughed & LAUGHED & continued to grow. Nice esthetic for your bath decor
Sadly, today, I broke down, I filled a bucket with bleach & water. The spots quivered up & died, much like the wicked witch in the Wizard of Oz. So I guess bleach does have it's place, even though it pains me to use it. I will still throw the bleach water out somewhere where it will not go into my leach lines or anywhere near my garden.
But I guess I need to keep it around for my shower curtains.  |
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FebruaryViolet
True Blue Farmgirl
4810 Posts
Jonni
Elsmere
Kentucky
USA
4810 Posts |
Posted - Jun 17 2009 : 12:13:23 PM
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I hear ya, Lisa...we have the exact same problem and I've resorted to bleach for them myself, or simply buying another shower curtain. It's no fun when you're trying really hard to be green.
Musings from our family in the Bluegrass http://sweetvioletmae.blogspot.com/ |
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catscharm74
True Blue Farmgirl
4687 Posts
Heather
Texas
USA
4687 Posts |
Posted - Jun 17 2009 : 1:49:22 PM
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Lisa, I have to use bleach in my bathrooms because of a ventilation problem and I wash my shower curtains weekly. I try to use as little as possible and I fill the tub, soak down bad parts of the curtain, fill with hot water and let soak. Then into the laundry and I clean the tub with the bleachy water. I also soak my white socks, as nothing has worked. BUT I only go through about 1 bottle of bleach a year, so that is not bad.
Heather
Yee-Haw, I am a cowgirl!!!
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CherryMeDarlin
True Blue Farmgirl
602 Posts
Cherry
Odenville
AL
USA
602 Posts |
Posted - Jun 17 2009 : 5:00:28 PM
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I don't judge, Lisa! Bleach has it's place. Just be responsible with it. I tried to get away with using only baking soda in my aboveground pool, but just have to throw the Shock to it ever so often. Pained me a great deal to do, but if I wanted to swim in a pond, I'd go do that!
(Sounds like we're talking about a nuclear warhead or something!)
~~Cherry~~
http://cherrymedarlin.blogspot.com
"A thing is as simple or as complicated as you make it." --TT Murphy |
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JessieMae
True Blue Farmgirl
702 Posts
Jessie
Raleigh
North Carolina
USA
702 Posts |
Posted - Jun 29 2009 : 07:50:01 AM
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Cherry, I like your nuclear warhead remark. I am a believer in bleach to kill mold, even though it is not environmentally friendly. Like you all, I have an unvented bathroom that breeds mold like a perti dish if I don't splash a little bleach around now and again. I've tried vinegar, but I just end up with pickled mold.
Jessie Mae
Farmgirl Sisterhood #134 |
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donna rae
True Blue Farmgirl
52 Posts
Donna Rae
Virginia Beach
VA
USA
52 Posts |
Posted - Jul 11 2009 : 06:58:10 AM
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Jessie Mae, I love the pickled mold comment!
I have to tell y'all, I actually have a well-ventilated bathroom (vent system and a window) and I still get this mold occasionally. My husband, Mr. Stain Fighter in our house, does the bleaching; I have a clean shower curtain and a clean conscience.
Donna Rae
Farmgirl Sister # 593
Colonial Farm Girls
Williamsburg, VA |
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peapicker
True Blue Farmgirl
716 Posts
texas
USA
716 Posts |
Posted - Jul 11 2009 : 08:17:31 AM
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| I use bleach sparingly, but always have it here when needed. We lived over seas at one time and it was a necessity for the water. I always keep some here just in case. |
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Diane B Carter
True Blue Farmgirl
1270 Posts
Diane
Blasdell
N.Y.
USA
1270 Posts |
Posted - Jul 13 2009 : 06:43:13 AM
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I use it every now and then also, But not every week maybe once a month. I hate to use it but it's cheap and works. Does it help if I say I use reusable grocery bags to carry it home in?
Hope all your days are Sunnydays.
dianebcarterhotmailcom.blogspot.com |
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Julia
True Blue Farmgirl
1949 Posts
Julia
Shelton
WA
USA
1949 Posts |
Posted - Jul 13 2009 : 10:41:33 AM
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I'm with Cherry, though I use homemade green cleaners, I live in the NW where the areas state(s) flower is mold. I have to occationally have to pull out the bleach. Don't beat yourself up.
For tomorrow and its needs I do not pray, but keep me, guide me, love me, Lord just for today.
St. Augustine
#440 |
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katalind
True Blue Farmgirl
177 Posts
Kathy
Chapin
SC
USA
177 Posts |
Posted - May 26 2010 : 8:40:56 PM
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| I don't like bleach either but I keep it on hand to use when the natural stuff doesn't help. |
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Faransgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
895 Posts
Beth
Houston
Texas
USA
895 Posts |
Posted - May 27 2010 : 07:48:54 AM
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There is absolutely a place for bleach. I live in South Texas where without bleach the entire bathroom would be black. I hate it though so when it is time to bleach my husband does the work. Honestly I don't think our little bit of bleach is going to do that much harm. Just be conscious about everything else and us it sparingly.
Farmgirl Sister 572
When manure happens just say "WOO HOO Fertilizer". |
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MrsRooster
True Blue Farmgirl
1168 Posts
Amy
Seabrook
TX
USA
1168 Posts |
Posted - May 27 2010 : 07:57:23 AM
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I don't live far from Beth. Bleach is a have to here. Especially in the summer.
I think that if you use it carefully, you aren't hurting anything. I am all for naturals. But I am not for breathing in mold and mildew either.
Sometimes you just have to use what works.
www.mrsrooster.blogspot.com
Farmgirl #1259
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farmmilkmama
True Blue Farmgirl
2027 Posts
Amy
Central MN
USA
2027 Posts |
Posted - May 27 2010 : 8:15:37 PM
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I agree with what has been said here. you have to use what works. There is a time and place for bleach. The issue comes in when people use it for everything all the time...which you obviously aren't doing. So stop feeling guilty...you used everything you could before you resorted to bleach. I think that means that it was time to use the bleach!!
--* FarmMilkMama *--
Farmgirl Sister #1086
Be yourself.
Everyone else is already taken.
-Oscar Wilde
www.wakeupstartlearning.blogspot.com
www.farmfoodmama.blogspot.com |
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somethingticking
Farmgirl in Training
20 Posts
Sara
River Ridge
LA
USA
20 Posts |
Posted - May 29 2010 : 09:49:28 AM
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Hi Lisa-
I actually found a great natural mildew treatment in Mrs. Meyer's Clean Home that works really well. You make a paste out of lemon juice and baking soda and let it set on the mildew spots. You've got to leave it there for awhile, so it doesn't work as quickly as bleach, but it really does work very well. I would definitely recommend trying that next time.
I also got an unexpected bonus when I tried it the first time. I decided to make the paste in a mug that I thought was too stained to use anymore, and when I rinsed the paste out of it after cleaning my shower, I found that the inside was pristine and white again! |
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RedHoopWoman
True Blue Farmgirl
513 Posts
Kathryn
Yoder
Colorado
USA
513 Posts |
Posted - May 31 2010 : 11:20:45 AM
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Seventh Generation makes an eco-friendly non-chlorine bleach that I use in laundry and tougher jobs,it doesn't react with organics to form noxious gases,like chlorine bleach does,most natural foods stores or King Soopers carries it,I've used Seventh Generation products for years,mostly for cleaners that I don't make myself.
"Today's Mighty Oak is just Yesterday's Nut" |
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Cleaning Up: Ashamed to admit, but had to do it! |
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Ashamed to admit, but had to do it!
