Centendium Giveaway and lots of great cleaning tips!

Our 100 day celebration giveaway ended friday and we are excited to announce that the winner of the picnic pack was selected today by random number generator (we were planning to write our own code to generate a random number, since we took visual basic programming classes before we launched innBrooklyn… but sometimes you just can’t do it all!).  Adj, of Tattoos and Champagne, will be receiving all the pickled goodness, gorgeous picnicware and linen napkins just as soon as we have a mailing address!  (The napkins are in the sewing machine right this minute!)

Since we got a lot of great tips submitted by our readers we are going to publish them over a few posts so that none of these very useful ideas get lost in the excess.  Our first category, which includes the winning tip, is cleaning and is full of ways to get sparkling surfaces with salt, citrus and vinegar – we’ve already been using lots of the ideas since they came in!

Cleaning

My tip (just utilized at my house): Clean your cast-iron pan with a handful of Kosher salt and a wooden spoon. When you’ve dredged up all the gunk with the salt, dump the dirty salt and take a damp sponge or rag (make sure not soapy) and swipe the pan clean of any remaining salt and goo. -tip by Kate

Instead of rinse agent in the dishwasher and expensive chemicals to deodorize the washing machine, we run each with a couple tablespoons of white vinegar. Also, instead of dryer sheets we throw a tennis ball in with the load of clothes — does the trick without the chemical fragrances! So simple. -tip by heather

I love to reuse old lemon halves. After juicing the lemons, I reuse them by dumping 1 half in the sink – garbage disposal. Grind it up along with HOT water. The chopping of the lemon cleans up the grinder grease as well as de-odorizes the grinder. I always have a clean smelling sink. – tip by Shree

If your microwave looks anything like mine (aka some kind of crime scene), then you know what a chore cleaning it can be. But it’s easy to do without any harsh chemicals. Just take half a lemon and put it in a microwave-safe dish with 1/4 cup water. Put the lot into the microwave and run at full power for 1 to 1 1/2 minutes. E voila! The steam and citrus make the interior easily wiped or gently scrubbed. Repeat as necessary for particularly stubborn or crusty spots. -tip by Adj

It’s a well known tip but works really well – to clean clogged or slow shower drains fill the drain with baking soda. Pour white vinegar over baking soda and watch it bubble and foam. Pour until the baking soda looks mostly dissolved. Wait 10 minutes. Pour VERY hot water down drain to flush it all away. The soda-vinegar helps dissolve soap scum and the foaming action helps to push down any clogs. You can also add salt down the drain before you pour down the water. I think it helps with the clog-dissolving action. -tip by breadandbeta

For getting the inside of your favorite coffee or tea mug sparkling white again, simply pour a couple of teaspoons of salt in the mug, add a bit of water to make the salt the consistency of wet sand, then gently rub the slurry around the stained areas with your fingers. The salt acts as a mild abrasive and wipes away stains better than any heavy-duty chemical cleaner I’ve encountered. -tip by Becky
Orange oil is great not just for as a flavoring agent but also for cleaning. It dissolves sticky kitchen grease and leaves surfaces sparkly and fresh smelling. Pour a small amount onto a rag or paper towel and then wipe away the dirt and grime. It also helps to remove sticker or label residue. -tip by breadandbeta