I have the same thought as janis g, the glass must be etched by crud. When something green, brown or black such a mold is growing in unwanted places, I'd go with the big guns, liquid bleach and I even clean my drains regularly with a mixture of soda and bleach. Most of the time I go with the "green" cleaning products, but there are times when I need more power.

This got really long way too fast, and I did not even get to tell about my new Cycnoches chlorchilon! Oops! I did! It has just got a nubbins of a spike, and I think my rather confused Rhynchostylis gigantea is putting up a spike too. Very exciting times here in the north! I did a little bit more reading too on line and much of the text espousing the wonders of H2O2 is from the hydroponic and aeroponic growers. I have given this some additional thought and have hit upon a theory of sorts. And more questions. A funny side note, many of the indoor growers that are using some very hi-tech and sophisticated systems and nutrient solutions are not growing Orchids, or fruits or veggies for consumption, but in fact are growing vegetable matter for combustion. It strikes me as funny that in my youth the persons most likely to indulge in this recreation were that last ones you might suspect as having the mental horsepower to put together these kinds of growing systems. Do not even ask about the plant genetics discussed in some forums, and one site had what looked to be a doctoral dissertation on the molecular biology of a very particular part of the plant, more specifically on the plants production of the compound that makes this plant an item of interest in the first place. I was fascinated and humbled, but will continue to grow orchids. As a final humorous note, several of my sons friends (college age) have seen my grow lights and set up and suggested that the orchids are just a cover for growing this particular "other" indoor crop. I digress. Howard, the resources I saw suggest using only the 35% food grade H2O2, and diluting it to around 1%, and then using this 1% solution anywhere from 1 to several tsp per gallon of water. A ratio of 1 part 35% H2O2 to 11 parts water is alleged to yield about a 1% solution, but I have not checked the math on that. The reason for using the 35% food grade is that the typical 3% stuff from the market of pharmacy has several compounds added as stabilizers to prevent degradation of the H2O2 during storage that may theoretically reduce the availability of the H2O2 and may be outright bad for the plants. Modest quantities of food grade H2O2 are cheap, but make no mistake undiluted 35% H2O2 is a liquid to be treated with reverence. Since this amount of a 1% solution added to a gallon of water makes a pretty thin soup it is not hard to see how undiluted 3% might be very hard (or deadly) on plant roots. I am betting the cuticle on leaves offers some margin of safety when 3% or less is applied to a crown or diseased plant tissue topside. My speculation(s): The growing conditions the roots of hydroponically grown plants are in very different conditions than plants in soil, bark or other media. Semi hydro as it is often called is not really the same situation either as I see it. The hydro people are also using higher concentrations of H2O2 as washes to keep tanks hygienic, and some sites suggested that having low concentrations in the re-circulating solution might prolong its safe use by reducing the rate of growth of plant pathogens. The roots of plants grown in soil or soil-less media have the potential for exposure to both helpful and harmful microorganisms. One bit of sand in the Vaseline for me is that H2O2 is as noted previously just a dumb bomb, killing in general as opposed to killing only the harmful organisms. In this light it could be helping on one hand but disturbing the balance of important microflora in the immediate root environment. So, if the benefit is in cleaning up the bad stuff (plant pathogens = bad stuff) at the root, it may give not a net gain if it is also killing off the good stuff too. Now bear with me here, I am not being argumentative, that would be my 16 year old daughter, I am just thinking out loud and asking some questions. The secondary hypothesis is that the release of oxygen near the root is itself helpful to the plant directly. What I am wondering is how the oxygen near the root is helpful to the plant? Roots are not primarily respiratory organs in most plants. Roots are important for absorption and transport of water and micronutrients, anchoring of the stem to the substrate, in some cases the storage of "food", and in more specialized cases active energy production through photosynthesis. We are for the time ignoring the "Ghost" orchid. In a non-photosynthetic root one could wonder what need it might have for oxygen at all. Why then do we consider oxygen to be good to have around the roots? Also the role oxygen plays in plant physiology and "respiration" is quite different than how we think of oxygen and our breathing. In truth on a quantum level it could be argued that there is little difference in its function, but you would really be splitting hairs there. Plants both use oxygen and generate it as a byproduct. We think of them as "making" oxygen because at the end of the day the plant has made more oxygen than they have used while living. Food for thought is all, just food for thought. PS: Urea has a little nitrogen in it too, though it may not be the most available form to the plants.

Most of these tips, I do them on a daily basis. I love the banana peels tip for the roses too! I'm going to start on it. Here's my tips. Find something to laugh each day. It'd turn your white hair back to dark & erase wrinkles from your face ;o) Most of all, it'd add years to your life! Flue & cold season is around. If, unfortunately, you get it, stop taking daily vitamins except for vitamins C. Daily vitamins & minerals will strengthen your cold or flue. On the other hand, during the illness, take at least 1000 mg of vitamin C to ease the symptoms. Reduce the dosage to daily recommended dosage as you get over it. Happy Monday!... whatever is left of it =o)

This is an old thread but the tips are still useful! I'd like to add another tip to clean coffee makers. You probably heard, seen or have used Brew Rite and Dip It cleaners. It will save you alot of money if you just go to the laundry isle of Walmart or other stores and purchase a box of Arm & Hammer Washing Soda. Washing Soda = Sodium Carbonate = Brew Rite. Sodium Carbonate is also in Dip It cleaner. They are all the same stuff but in different bottle and a whole lof of cost difference. I believe at Walmart, an 8oz. bottle of Brew Rite is $4.98, but a box of 55oz. Arm & Hammer Washing Soda is only $3.24. If you do the math, you'd be saving at least $30 using washing soda. I know there are many type of coffee makers out there. I'm going to give 2 methods, for percolators and for dripper. If you have another type, just use one of these methods. For Percolators: Use 1 tablespoon of Washing Soda for every 4 cups of Water. Pour into the carafe, stir these well to dissolve the washing soda. Assemble all components (stem, cup & lids), and brew/perk as usual according to your type of percolators (stovetop, electric, etc.). Turn off the heat or unplug, let it sit for an hour while the unit is cooling down. Discard the mixture and rinse each component with water thoroughly. For Drippers: Use 1 tablespoon per 4 cups of water. Mix the washing soda well to desolve before pouring the mixture into the water reservoir. (Do NOT put just washing soda powder into the water reservoir.) Then, brew as usual. Discard the mixture and pour just water into the reservoir. Brew again to rinse. Do this for a total of 3 times, each time changing with fresh water. It should clean just as well as Brew Rite and Dip It.