Do you do hop water? Or other flavored sparkling water?
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Wowee . . . do you really use that 205-degree water?
Comments (31)Blood stains are removed easily via cold water to warm/hot (120F-140F)profile wash, or pre-treating the area with any good stain product and or hydrogen peroxide then washing in cool to warm water. Heat sets the protiens in blood, modern enzyme detergents/pre-treatments work quite well in removing such stains. It also helps to flush the stain while fresh with cold water. As for "boil washes", most all my vintage laundry books from about the 1940's on clearly state boiling laundry went out with modern automatic washing machines and certianly as laundry products have evoloved from soap. Boiling was done mainly as a way to loosen muck,grime and other soils from laundry without all the rubbing/scrubbing one had to do prior to automatic washing machines. Very hot water washes were also a way of combating common vermin found in laundry (lice, nits, fleas, etc), which happily are not as widespread today. Very hot water washes do offer a way of sanitising laundry, but at widely differnt temps. E coli requires only 160F at 20 minutes, but yeasts, and other types of bugs require much higher temps for longer contact times. It must also be remembered that there was much more of an emphasis on "boil washes" in eras past when there were few if any modern disenfectants and especially antibiotics. Cathing a germ until as recently could almost mean certian death, unless one was strong enough to fight off the infection, even then many still died. Therefore housewives did everything they could to keep their homes "germ free". However because of modern sanitation and health care we simply do not see the sorts of illnesses/widespread diseases housewives commonly were used to. Thyphoid fever, measles, cholera, minor strep or staph infections that rapidly turned into major systemic infections which caused everything from child birth fever to pneumonia can are are controlled. Also modern hospitals have replaced sick rooms in the home. This means less disease in homes to infect other members of the same household. The final reason for very hot water washes was that perborate/percarbonate bleaches require temps of 120F/130F and above to become really effective. The lower the water temp, the longer contact time must be for equal results. Modern chemistry as gotten around this problem by creating "activated" oxygen bleaches found in most better quality detergents/laundry products. Bleach activator chemicals when combined with oxygen bleaches in wash water,provide equal or better bleaching/stain removal action at wash temps of 100F, and even 80F. This is why repeated washing of darks even in cold or cool water using products such as Perisl or Tide will eventually "bleach" those colours. Activated bleaches also provide very effective disenfection of laundry at wash temps of 100F to 120F, with a contact time of at least 20 minutes. In fact the chemical produced by combining oxygen bleach and bleaching activators "Peracetic acid" is a very, very effective broad spectrum biocide and stain remover. Peracetic acid is such an effective biocide that brewers and other use it to clean stainless steel vats because unlike chlorine bleach it does not cause damage. Commercial and hospital laundries around the world have long switched to activated oxygen bleaches because they can obtain the same level of stain removal/disenfection at wash temps of 120F or lower, which results in a savings on energy costs. It also results in longer textile life as lower wash water temps are less harsh on textile fibers. Again, unlike chlorine bleaches (never very popular outside of the United States for laundry use), activated oxygen bleaches do not cause textile damage. For all the above reasons, the average wash temp in Europe/UK is widely documented to be 40C. The use of activated oxygen bleaches, and better detergent formulas has really removed the requirment for long boil washes. Of course if one uses lower quality detergents and mainly cool/cold water washes, that is a different matter all together. Americans have really only recently "rediscovered" front loading washing machines, and built in water heaters. Just because one can launder something at 160F to 200F, does not mean one ought to; first of all not many items produced today can withstand repeated super or even very hot water washes. Second of all many American detergents are not designed for long boiling washes. Designed with enzymes and activated bleaches, they work quite well at wash temps of 140F and below, (140F-120F the common setting of most hot water heaters in American homes, with 120F usually the factory setting). Indeed long wash times with detergents not desigened for the purpose can lead to poor results, as the componets of said detergent begin to loose their soil suspension ability, allowing removed soils to redeposit back onto laundry. Conversely many European detergents designed for long boil washes have been redesigned to work in lower wash temps and or shorter cycles. Have washed everything from badly soiled table linens to muddy gardening clothes setting my Miele to ho higher than 120F and using plain old Tide or Wisk dual action tablets, and the results have always been great. Have also "restored" vintage linens that had foxing stains (that yellowing one sees from linens lying about stored), using the same low wash temps, but quality products. My Miele goes up to 200F, and cannot remember the last time (aside from occassional "maitaining washes), ever laundering anything at that temp. Especially as I still do quite a bit of ironing, and cottons/linens laundered at very high temps emerge with lots of wrinkles. Simply do not fancy making more work for myself. C.dS...See MoreGain Fresh Water Sparkle, the skinny
Comments (62)I finally made it to DG today. I did not wear a hat or glasses but I did wear green scrubs since I was in the process of cleaning house and wasn't ready to shower yet..so I was in disguise of a doctor, trust me no one recognized me. as we pulled in the parking lot hubs said he would wait in the car..at this point I was very excited, hubs staying in the car and I had my big handbag so I could buy more goodies and he will never know. I head straight to the back where I know the laundry supplies are and guess what..there's a tag the Gain Fresh Water Sparkle is 4.50 a bottle and the shelf is empty...sold out until the truck comes in next week..just my bad luck. Dang it. So I figure I'll buy something else just to calm me down, nothing, there was nothing in that store that I didn't already have. now I'm really bummed I had my sheets soaking in Queenie and planned on using the new Gain FS , now I have to go home and choose one from the vast collection I already have yet I'm bored with...I leave the store empty handed carrying a big handbag..who does that..who goes into a dollar store and buys nothing? So next we run into a small town grocery store I'm not excited since I've already bought them out of the old scent Tide and Cascade with phosphates, but I take a walk down the detergent isle anyway and I found nothing, now I'm really disgusted so I head for the bakery department and buy a dozen donuts LOL. I don't even like donuts, but Ahh the hubs does and I want to go to the DG in the other direction tomorrow so I'm starting the kiss a$$ project now ...stay tuned....See MoreAarke Sparkling Water Maker Anyone?
Comments (7)We have a SodaStream and a Kitchenaid soda maker. The Kitchenaid is red and uses a lever, and the new SodaStream is electric and you simply push a button, which is much easier. The electric one is 17." high and fits perfectly on a counter under a cabinet. I noticed that the Aarke is 16" high, which is even better and has a nice selection of colors. The Kitchenaid is 17.9" high and is rather bulky, taking up more space. It also did not fit under our cabinet, but since it is manual, it can go anywhere. The Kitchenaid came with directions saying that you must use chilled water, and so we have to keep at least one extra bottle with chilled water, but the electric one will use water that we get from our refrigerator dispenser, and so it is cool but not chilled. I like that the Aarke is metal....See MoreWhat do you drink for dehydration other than water?
Comments (37)I can't eat after I've been sweating unless it's guacamole and chips. :) Trail, you make a good point about sugar. It plays a big part in helping hydrate our bodies. Taken from the internet and I've read this many times, "The specific amount of sugar and electrolytes in sports drinks is intended to allow for quick hydration and absorption. This type of nutrient depletion generally occurs only with high-intensity exercise that lasts an hour or more." DS2 has been working out like this for 20 years and I think since he's now living in Florida his body is trying to tell him something, if that's the reason. Honey is also good if you make a homemade drink. Water, tea, seltzer, etc. is all fine for minor dehydration, but not for extreme workouts or anything that causes a lot of sweat for a long period of time. Sweating constantly for an hour is losing a lot of liquid. I've sure learned a lot on this topic....See More- last year
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