Living Green

I'm far from a strict environmentalist, but I try. Recently, things around my house have forced me to find greener alternatives to getting things done. Not only do they work, they're also much cheaper.

ANTS: I opened my pantry door last night and was shocked at the sight of ants crawling all over boxes and cans. The lure was a bottle of honey, but they made sure to stop at everything else along the way as well.

We had some leftover ant baits so I busted those out. They contains something that's poisonous to ants when consumed. But the tricky part is that the ants have to crawl inside the bait, take a bite, and go home to die or something. I watched as they circled the bait and walked away. What was attracted to the bait was my dog, Briscoe. After seeing her sniff around it, I thought, there's got to be a better way. 

A quick Google searched revealed a solution that worked so well, I was totally surprised: talcum powder. Apparently, ants hate it. I scrounged around for a stray bottle of baby powder. Nothing. Found a nearly empty bottle of foot powder under the bathroom sink instead. I sprinkled it liberally in my pantry, shut the door, and about 20 minutes later, the ants were all gone. And I didn't have to worry about poison spreading on our food, or having the dog accidentally snack on the bait. 

DISHWASHER: The combination of a crappy dishwasher and hard water has resulted in plates and glasses coming out of the dishwasher with all sorts of junk still on them. I use biodegradable soaps, which used to work well at my last house, but not here. The problem seems to be with the rinse cycle, since that's when I presume grimy things are being redeposited back onto my dishes. After two visits from the dishwasher repair guy, I was advised to buy the strongest detergent I can, and use a rinse aid like Jet-Dry. Only then, I was told, would my dirty plates actually come out clean. 

Begrudgingly, I did just that. See, even though I want to be as green as possible, the products I chose have to work first and foremost. Otherwise, why bother? 

I picked up some triple-action dishwasher soap with the rinse aid already added in. After a few loads, I found that not only did it not work any better, the strong smells it created were enough to knock me out.

Google again to the rescue. The solution? Good old white vinegar. White vinegar is pretty amazing. I've long since used it as a laundry detergent booster (great for keeping whites white), a deodorizer (mix with some water and spray on upholstery, carpet and the dog's bed), and as a natural disinfectant (instead of Pine-Sol, mop with this instead).

I loaded my dishwasher's rinse aid dispenser with the stuff last night, ran a load, and viola! Clean plates with no filmy white residue or food scum! I will now go back to my green dishwasher soap. Combined with the vinegar, I think it will get the job done minus the noxious fumes.