Household Tricks: Part 2

Today's household tricks will be tricks I've found in the kitchen. If you didn't read part 1, you can find it here. 

1. Wash grapes in baking soda.

I've always liked grapes, but I've always hated that waxy coating on the outside that never seems to come off. I've never bought any fancy fruit and vegetable washes, but recently, I bought grapes, and I really wanted to get the waxy coating off. So I did a quick search online and found my answer: baking soda. 

Before: waxy grapes from the store straight out of the packaging

I give the grapes a quick rinse first and then I pour some baking soda on them and shake the grapes around. After that, I rinse off the grapes and they're ready to go. The waxiness on the outside is visibly gone and they actually taste different. I can't not wash my grapes in baking soda anymore before eating. It makes that big of a difference.

After: look how shiny they are. And they actually stay this shiny!
It's not reflection from water.

2. Wash strawberries in vinegar.

Strawberries are a huge hit at our house. In the summer during strawberry season, we average four pounds of strawberries a week. Next summer we're going to have four people eating strawberries at our house. 😳

I can't taste the difference in this one, but I've done this religiously since I first learned about it. I know tik-tok had a viral video about soaking them in salt so the fruit worms come out...I don't know if that's completely necessary. If someone has done that with organic strawberries and still seen the worms come out, I wouldn't worry about it so much.

3. Remove coffee and tea stains from mugs with baking soda.

Baking soda is a bulk purchase in our house. We buy the 15 pound bag from the wholesale store and it lasts us years. I'm never buying the small 1 pound boxes from the grocery store ever again. This trick I discovered on my own with some prior knowledge. After the weather turned cold, I pulled out a mug I hadn't used in a while to make some tea. Upon inspecting the inside for cleanliness, I noticed dark stains adorning the inside of the white ceramic mug. My first attempt at washing it with dish soap did not work and then I remembered baking soda. I poured in some baking soda, scrubbed it a bit, and voila! Back to its original color!

I could elaborate on baking soda for so much more, but we use it to clean everything: our stovetop, our sink, the oven, removing stains from unsealed countertops, in our laundry, and so much more!

Let me know if you've ever used these tips or if you have any of your own! Stay tuned for part 3 coming soon!

Household Tricks: Part 1

2020 has been one wacky year. At some points, it was terrible. At some points, it was ok. But mostly, it's a wash for the books. My mind is mentally stuck somewhere around May and June...so the fact that I have two mobile children eating real food still phases me at times.

Despite all of the unsettling, upsetting, and plan-ruining 2020 has ushered through, believe it or not, there has been time for personal growth and learning as well. Primarily for me, there's been a lot of household tips and tricks I've added to my mental collection. Here are a few of the ones I've specifically learned in the year 2020.

These are my top tricks I use at home for removing stains.

1. Dawn takes out grease and oil stains on clothing.

One day when I was cooking, I swirled the pot to coat the meat with the slowly thickening sauce. As I swirled, one of the pieces of meat rolled around the pot and splashed a nice circular pattern of grease onto the shirt I was wearing. Do I have aprons? Of course I do. Was I wearing it at that time? Sadly, no. Who knew spending 10 seconds swirling a pot of simmering meat in sauce was going to cause me over 10 minutes of extra work. 

It wasn't a special shirt or anything, but it wasn't one I was willing to give up or wear stained. I have three long-sleeved t-shirts that are my go-to at-home comfy shirts in the winter. They're not too formal to where I'd wear them to work, but they're also not too casual to where I couldn't leave the house in one. This was one of them. 

I rinsed the shirt under water and soaked it in a bucket before the next load of laundry. After washing, I hung it up to dry so the stain wouldn't set in case it didn't come out. It didn't come out. That's when I googled how to get grease stains out of clothing and discovered Dawn! Or maybe just dish soap. I lathered up my shirt on the stain with my Dawn and washed it again. 

And the stain came out!

And then I also realized I should have tried spraying it with my stain remover spray I use on the baby's clothing. But now I know. If you don't have stain remover, try Dawn!

2. Saline solution (or contact solution) removes blood from fabrics and stuffed animals. 

My daughter woke up with a nosebleed in the middle of the night. Of course, being two, she freaked out and rubbed it all over her face and it dripped everywhere and I was trying to get her to hold still and stop moving. And, of course, it got onto her favorite stuffed animal on the part of his fur that is white. So what did I do? I grabbed some tissues and my contact solution and started dabbing her penguin. Cause let's be honest. Nobody cares about the clothing or the bedsheets. The most important article to clean? The stuffed animal, hands down. 

And it worked great. It worked so well that the next morning when her daddy looked at the penguin, he couldn't even tell where the stain had been. High five for mommy! 🙌

So the next time blood gets on a precious stuffed animal (or precious clothing if that's your thing,) grab some contact solution and dab away! Keyword: dab.

Stay tuned for more tricks around the house next time!

Adventures with Rheem

Two and a half years ago, our hot water tank broke. The tank was here when we moved into the house and merely five years old. However, it was a lower line model and its expected life expectancy was about five years. It also happened to be Easter Sunday, and I was three days away from being 41 weeks pregnant. Sounds like fun, right?

We quickly did some research, found a new Rheem hot water tank with a 12 year warranty, and someone could come out to install it the following day (Monday). Thus, we did. And this became one of the first household fixes that we did not DIY on our own. 

It was nice to be able to take a shower before having a baby, only to become gross and not shower again for an extended period of time. 😝

Fast forward two and a half years with a two and a half year old and a seven month old.  A few days after my birthday this year, we discovered our hot water wasn’t working. The tank was still under warranty so we called Rheem and told them our situation.  After a failed troubleshooting over the phone (as expected) they found the part needing replacement and had it shipped to us. It arrived five days later and the plumber came out the next day and had it fixed in a jiffy.

While working, he and my husband were chatting. Apparently, the plumber was well aware of this problem in this particular model of water tank and had been driving around town replacing tanks with the exact same problem. He explained that they had installed a non-branded temperature sensor on these models and when the weather suddenly drops cold for the first time around mid/late October, they break. The new replacement they sent was a Honeywell part and more reliable. In the past, Rheem had been using Honeywell temperature sensors. At some point, they stopped, and the model we purchased happened to be one of the ones without the Honeywell part. Rheem figured this out eventually and the ones they manufacture now have Honeywell sensors on them.

The plumber had also mentioned he could retire if he wanted to, but he was making easy money off of these warranty jobs that it was too good to stop. Good for him. And I’m glad he knew what he was doing since he’s been doing so much of it lately.

These two hot water tank mishaps have been more than I bargained for when we bought the house five years ago. I’m also hoping and expecting the water tank not to break down on me for the next ten years. But, if it does, it’ll still be covered. 

***

Moral of the story: 

1. Don’t take shortcuts you can’t rely on. Rheem is unfortunately paying for their choice to use a different part. But they've at least learned their lesson and gone back to the more reputable brand of part.

2. Certain things are best left to the professionals. Had we installed our own hot water tank, it would have voided the warranty. Read your fine print. Keep your warranties! 

Tainted Grace

On February 22, 2020, I got a text from my dad: Call me.

My dad never sends me texts like this. It felt weird. I wasn't sure what was wrong. It couldn't have been that urgent since he texted and didn't try calling me numerous times to reach me right at that instant.

I was at dinner with some friends so I sat in my car in the parking lot afterwards and called him back. He told me he'd received a postcard in the mail saying there was an unpaid $300 fine for a speeding ticket from 2010. I told him I'd been stopped by an officer that day for speeding, but I didn't receive a ticket. I definitely would have dealt with it if I had received a ticket. We hung up and came to the conclusion that it was a scam for someone trying to get money.

When I got home that evening, I went online and looked up my driving record. Sure enough, that alleged unpaid speeding ticket was listed there dated 10 years prior. It was not a scam, but it was not accurate. Unfortunately, it was Saturday evening, and I had to mull in this false accusation until Monday when I could call the offices.

On Monday, I called the office first thing in the morning to try and get this straightened out. Nobody picked up their phone. I couldn't get the phone to ring. I called at least 3-4 offices trying to reach a person to speak to regarding this. Apparently the town was small enough where all of the administrative positions were located in one building. And yet nobody would pick up the phone. Finally, about two hours later, the phone line went through and I got a hold of someone. She told me if I wanted to dispute it, I'd have to write a letter to the judge and fax it over.

Did I mention I was 34 weeks pregnant at the time with a toddler to watch during the day?

My dad came over later that morning to show me the postcard he was mailed. I told him I needed to write a letter and fax it over to the court since I wasn't going to be driving an hour and 15 minutes to go to court. Thankfully, he stayed and entertained my daughter for an hour while I wrote my letter, back in the day when you could see people and not be afraid of spreading a deadly virus.

The day of the alleged ticket, I was driving two friends back to Dallas with me that afternoon for the weekend. I messaged one of them to ask if he/she remembered the incident. I was even careful in the way I asked the question so there wouldn't be any bias in the answer.

"Do you remember that time in college when I drove you back home?"

"Yea."

"Do you remember me getting stopped for speeding?"

"Yes."

"Did I get a ticket?"

"Nope! You didn't. I remember thinking you were very lucky."

I don't expect friends to remember much anymore, much less something from 10 years ago, because I've been let down so many times by people whom I thought were close to me. So the fact that this friend remembers this particular incident is quite special to me. 

I drove to the library that afternoon to fax the letter over and made it home in time to teach my first lesson. There was no way they could possibly accuse me of this ticket, because I had some of the strongest things going for me:

- I had a friend with me in the car 
- I wasn't told I was getting a ticket
- I didn't sign a ticket or any piece of paper

But I still ended up waiting three agonizing days to hear back. 

On Thursday afternoon, I finally got a call. They "looked through my file and the judge dismissed the ticket." I don't know what was in my file or how they somehow came up with this ticket 10 years after the fact, but I can guarantee you there was no signed ticket in my file. So how in the world they came up with this case, I have no idea. I. Have. No. Idea.

10 years ago today, when the officer handed me my license and registration back without a ticket, I felt a sense of relief but also sadness. As I started up my car again to resume driving, I began crying, and the car was silent for a long while. I cried because I knew I'd been shown grace by an officer. For nearly 10 years, I always remembered this fondly with a special respect. Now, I just remember the trouble I went through to dismiss a case that never existed in the first place.

What a shame.