Jul 21, 2008

Simple Housekeeping

Housekeeping tips of the day:
Oh, For the Love of Vinegar!
  • Is your garbage disposal in need of a pick-me up cleaning? Well, make yourself some white vinegar ice cubes. Make sure you have your water running as you dispense your little vinegar cubes down to do their cleaning job.
  • Do you have laminate counter tops? Shine them up with a rinse of vinegar. Spritz on the white vinegar and wipe down to a sparkly surface. The smell disappears once the vinegar is dry.

A little cast iron tip:

Do you have a cast iron pot that needs a little reconditioning due to rust? Last week I found such a pot in my cupboard and I brought her out and filled the cavity (for her it was a donut size circle on her bottom) with apple cider vinegar. I got out a nylon scrubby and within an hour she was ready to be reseasoned. Rust free I tell you!

How do you reseason cast iron cookware? Make sure it has no rust, then rub it down with a vegetable oil (or canola), Do both the insides and outsides and handle of the pot. Just enough oil to cover, don't leave puddles. Place cookware in upside down in a 250 degree oven for 1 hour, put it into a cookie sheet (with sides) to catch any dripping oil. Leave it in the unopened oven for several more hours and once cool keep your cookware in a dry place. Take a paper towel to dry out any remain oil from your cookware before storing it. Never use soap in your cast iron pan, wipe out with water and be sure to dry thouroughly. Re-season (or cure) when necessary.


7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the garbage disposal cleaning tip!!! I usually just use a handful or more of baking soda, but that doesn't really do any "scrubbing." I bet the ice cubes do that as they're crunched up. I've also read that ice cubes will work to sharpen the blades.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for visiting my blog and leaving the nice comment. I, too, have lost a lot of flowers!!!

You have a lovely blog and quite an outstanding family. I can see that you and your hubby are unselfish and filled with love.

Best of luck...

Michelle said...

I love to use cast iron. I remember my grandpa with his pan. It always sat on top of his stove and he cleaned it with a paper towel or napkin. That's it. Never water. It was easier to cook eggs on that thing than teflon could ever be.

Thanks for all your tips.

Laura Lu said...

Would you know that I need to do all three of these things!?!? Wow...thanks for these wonderfully easy tips! Can't wait to try them.

Spirit of Adoption said...

love the tips!!! These are great! Do you have any tile floors?? What do you clean them with?

Jeff and Amy said...

Great tips!! I threw away my cast iron, wasn't sure how to clean it. LOL

Lil_Birdie said...

Thanks so much for tip on removing rust from the cast iron . I have some of my husbands grandmothers cast iron that could really use this treatment
Love your tips :)

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