Eco "Bubbly"

There's just something about the fizz when white vinegar hits bicarb (or baking) soda...it's the most satisfying sound and the results are outstanding.
Today I used it to unblock a drain in 5 minutes flat. No chemicals or toxins to enter our precious water supplies and disrupt our biodiversity and a perfectly functioning drain. Even better, it cost less than $2.50!

Image courtesy of stuffbysusie.wordpress.com/tag/the-environment/


Recipe for Eco Bubbly Drain Unblocker
approx. 1/2 cup bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
approx. 1/2 cup white vinegar
approx. 3.5 litres (118 ounces) of boiling water (2 kettle fulls)

How
Fill kettle and boil. Pour the bicarb soda onto/down the drain. Add the vinegar - it will bubble furiously which means it's working hard. Pour the boiled water down the drain, refill kettle and repeat until drain is clear. You may need more boiling water or to repeat the steps if your drain is seriously blocked.

Other Eco-friendly tips I use every week:

• Bicarb (baking) soda with a tiny bit of water in a stained coffee cup, rub against stains with your fingers and they will disappear in a flash. I use this all the time on tea stains. Make sure it's not a liquid, add just enough water to make a thick paste.
• Eco Bubbly in the toilet - pour in some bicarb (baking) soda, add white vinegar, let fizz and sit for a while, scrub with toilet brush and flush.
• Bicarb (baking) soda paste to clean kitchen and bathroom sinks. The same as cleaning the tea/coffee stains, mix soda into a paste, work over sink area, wash with water. I've also added vinegar to this around the bottom of taps which helps loosen any gunk before wiping away.
• Eco Bubbly to clean your dishwasheer - sprinkle bicarb (baking) soda in the bottom of your dishwasher, add vinegar to get a good fizz going, run your machine on a quick cycle (mine has an "eco" cycle). It will clean the pipes and the inside should be sparkling when you open the door. I have also been known to add orange and lemon essential oils into the bottom prior to switching on. Leaves your machine smelling extra fresh and essential oils also provide additional germ killing power.
• Bicarb paste can also be used to clean your shower however...I highly recommend that best results will be obtained by switching your soap/shampoo/conditioner etc to natural alternatives (no SLS/petrochemicals etc). This generally means no soap from the supermarket - go to the health food store. Since changing many years ago, I do not get anywhere near the soap scum from non natural soaps which means I clean my shower in about 2 minutes. Sometimes I can also go more than 2 weeks without cleaning...natural soaps do make a huge difference to shower cleaning. Would love to know if others have experienced this. I must add, I clean my shower with an Enjo shower glove...love it! You only need water to get the glove working and soap scum comes off in a flash. Obviously if your shower is covered it will take longer than my 2 minutes the first time, but after that you'll find it really easy. I've also used Eco Bubbly mix in the shower which I found didn't have quite enough power but was good at loosening things up so not as much scrubbing was required.

I must add, this post was inspired by The Spotted Sparrows post on eco stove cleaning, check out instructions here. Thanks for the reminder and tip!

Please feel free to post your own eco tips in the comments, I would love to have some new ones to use!