1.) Clean the underside of the rim with a nylon brush and homemade cleaning solution of vinegar, baking soda, and water.

2.) Shut off the water supply and flush the toilet to empty the tank.

3.) Block off the siphon jets with duct tape.

4.) Pour 1 gallon of vinegar in the tank and flush the toilet. Let it sit over night.

5.) In the morning remove the tape and open the water supply. Flush water through once to clear out any remaining vinegar.

1. Vase 1 is the 'before' image for the group. They all looked like this before the experiment began. Shameful, I know.

2. Vase 2 was left to soak the BOTTOM HALF ONLY in the Homemade Jewelry Cleaner (HJC) for 10 minutes.

3. Vase 3 was cleaned with Wright's Silver Cream 100% and didn't touch the HJC

4. Vase 4 was soaked completely in the HJC for 10 minutes and rinsed with clean water.

5. Vase 5 was soaked completely in the HJC for 10 minutes and then scrubbed with Wright's Silver Cream.

I think you can see a clear winner here. The one that I polished by hand with the Silver Cream is gleaming and beautiful.

It was likely a silver plated piece, but I didn't know that before I gave it a chemical bath. These vases were a memento from my wedding in 2004, so I can't replace them.

The moral here? BEWARE of homemade pinterest recipes on heirloom, mementos or expensive items like jewelry... It might not work exactly like you'd hope.

Rust in the bathroom is usually the result of two related situations. Either iron-containing metals in your bathroom fixtures have begun to rust OR your mineral-rich water supply contains iron particles and has begun to stain areas where water runs. This happens even with a porcelain tub as two of our employees found out.

Bleach and Tilex made the rust stains worse and they sparked another chemical reaction, creating more rust stains on the non-skid surface on the tub floor. Other products that either made things worse or didn't work at all: Lysol, toilet bowl cleansers, Soft Scrub, Goof Off, Awesome, Comet, Simple Green, Mean Green, Magic Eraser and CLR,

However, we found 2 things that really worked: Clorox2 and Hydrogen Peroxide. The Clorox2 worked best and required less scrubbing. Just pour either product on the stain and let it sit. Then scour gently with a damp sponge and rinse. If the stains are really bad you may have to repeat the process twice.

1. Square the hole

2. Install a backer-board

3. Cut a new piece of drywall

4. Tape all the joints

5. Apply several coats of mud

6. Sand smooth

7. Prime and paint

#drywall #repair

Adding citrus to a vinegar cleaner not only adds a pleasant smell, but it increases the cleaning power. Like many toxic cleaners, citrus helps it cut through grease, destroy molds and bacterias that may be hiding in your house and more. There are recipes out there for mixing vinegar with essential oils to get the same thing, but there's something nice about making it yourself that we just love at our house.

Here is the recipe:1. Fill a one quart mason jar with citrus peels.

2. Cover peels with white vinegar, place lid on jar, shake and allow to sit for 2-3 weeks.

3. Strain the citrus peels out of the vinegar.

4. Mix the vinegar solution and water in a spray bottle. (You can mix it in a 1:1, 1:2 or 1:3 solution depending on how strong you want your solution)

5. If you want more recipes and how-tos for making your own cleaners, check out this great post! http://www.theyummylife.com/Natural_Citrus_V...

If the mixture gets thick, just add a little water. Also, I would caution that it is important to rinse well, and keep out of eyes as you would any cleanser.