Advanced DIY

[hoost]

Not sure where I read about it, but I use white vinegar in the dishwasher as the rinse aid. Been using it for several years...seems to work okay.  I guess I haven't done a comparison vs. the name-brand stuff, so I'm not sure what works better.

[WiseOne]

Be careful about using white vinegar as a rinse aid.  There are some parts (gaskets etc) that will eventually be corroded by the vinegar, and are expensive to replace.  The Bosch dishwasher I just got, though, went even further:  there is some kind of chemical sensor that will only detect their preferred brand of rinse aid (Jet Dry) and won't activate for anything else.  I was told that if I used vinegar or any other rinse aid it would void the warranty.  Suffice to say,  DON'T BUY A BOSCH DISHWASHER.  Although I'm not sure if the others top-rated models are any better.

The whole rinse aid thing is a total racket.  But Consumer Reports failed to mention this issue at all.  Basically, dishwashers get the "Energy Star" label by eliminating the drying cycle.  Instead, in order for your dishes to dry you must either use a rinse aid, or open the dishwasher and pull out the drawers for a couple hours after each cycle.  And no, you aren't allowed to know what ingredients are in those rinse aids, despite the fact that the dishes you eat out of are covered with the stuff.

So somehow, manufacturing, packaging and transporting rinse aid is more energy efficient than a dry cycle.  REALLY???

[dualstow]

Be careful about using white vinegar as a rinse aid.  There are some parts (gaskets etc) that will eventually be corroded by the vinegar, and are expensive to replace.  The Bosch dishwasher I just got, though, went even further:  there is some kind of chemical sensor that will only detect their preferred brand of rinse aid (Jet Dry) and won't activate for anything else.
~

Good to know, WiseOne. I just got a Bosch, too.

[gizmo_rat]

Speaking of vinegar, here are my other uses for distilled white vinegar:
-  []

- Cat pee removal
50/50 with warm water, and a little elbow grease. Once it's dry the smell is gone, pretty effective on bare wood.

[hoost]

Be careful about using white vinegar as a rinse aid.  There are some parts (gaskets etc) that will eventually be corroded by the vinegar, and are expensive to replace.  The Bosch dishwasher I just got, though, went even further:  there is some kind of chemical sensor that will only detect their preferred brand of rinse aid (Jet Dry) and won't activate for anything else.  I was told that if I used vinegar or any other rinse aid it would void the warranty.  Suffice to say,  DON'T BUY A BOSCH DISHWASHER.  Although I'm not sure if the others top-rated models are any better.

The whole rinse aid thing is a total racket.  But Consumer Reports failed to mention this issue at all.  Basically, dishwashers get the "Energy Star" label by eliminating the drying cycle.  Instead, in order for your dishes to dry you must either use a rinse aid, or open the dishwasher and pull out the drawers for a couple hours after each cycle.  And no, you aren't allowed to know what ingredients are in those rinse aids, despite the fact that the dishes you eat out of are covered with the stuff.

So somehow, manufacturing, packaging and transporting rinse aid is more energy efficient than a dry cycle.  REALLY???

That is interesting...I will have to look into it more.  I have a Bosch dishwasher, and have had it for about a year.  After going through the included bottle of rinse aid, I switched over to the vinegar and have been running it since.  The chemical sensor you talk about is B/S.  Well, a better way to say it is that vinegar trips the sensor.  When the reservoir is empty, it takes the time for the Normal cycle from 2:09 to 2:20.  Filling it w/vinegar takes it back down to 2:09.  I don't notice any spotting on my glasses or anything like that. 

I think the key with the newer dishwashers that do not have a heating element is to ensure your hot water temperature is high enough.  You need to be in the 130-140F range, or you won't get adequate drying.  Whenever the rinse aid gets low, I will try running a cycle without refilling it and see what happens.  I think they get the Energy Star by eliminating the heating element, and the solution is hot enough water (and enough time) to guarantee drying.  I didn't read the Bosch manual, but it probably has a specification for hot water temp.

All that said, I really like the dishwasher so far.

Write a letter to Consumer Reports on the Rinse Aid thing.  It would be interesting to see what they say about it.

[MachineGhost]

Using that baking soda by itself or in water is really freaking hard to get down to my scalp unless I use a boatload.  I think I'll stick to mixing it into the natural body wash -- sooo much easier!

[WiseOne]

Ha, I remember that column!!  Ah, NYC in the 1980's...

It's a lot better now.  The trains themselves are air conditioned.  Sort of...just remember never get into an empty car because that means that either the A/C is on the fritz, or there's an extremely malodorous homeless guy sleeping on the seats.  Some of the newly renovated large stations, like 42nd Street, are now air conditioned as well.  And the signs are much improved, plus there's an electronic system telling you how many minutes until the next train.

Still, I wouldn't want to give up the NYC metro rail system, and deal with all other cities' worship of the almighty car.  It's crazy complex because the system is enormous and designed to be used every day by real people.  I'm going to the airport by train tomorrow (for about $12 total), for example, and not even bothering to check schedules because both the city and commuter lines run every few minutes.  I've seen transit systems in other cities and it always feels like a toy version, more decorative than useful.

[Libertarian666]

Ha, I remember that column!!  Ah, NYC in the 1980's...

It's a lot better now.  The trains themselves are air conditioned.  Sort of...just remember never get into an empty car because that means that either the A/C is on the fritz, or there's an extremely malodorous homeless guy sleeping on the seats.  Some of the newly renovated large stations, like 42nd Street, are now air conditioned as well.  And the signs are much improved, plus there's an electronic system telling you how many minutes until the next train.

Still, I wouldn't want to give up the NYC metro rail system, and deal with all other cities' worship of the almighty car.  It's crazy complex because the system is enormous and designed to be used every day by real people.  I'm going to the airport by train tomorrow (for about $12 total), for example, and not even bothering to check schedules because both the city and commuter lines run every few minutes.  I've seen transit systems in other cities and it always feels like a toy version, more decorative than useful.

Yes, I remember the horror of the empty car; in my case it was always the extremely malodorous guy, since there wasn't much in the way of air-conditioning.

As for comparisons with other cities, the Philadelphia system, although a lot smaller, is fairly usable. I was on it several times recently when visiting my mother and it got us where we needed to go without too much fuss.

[hoost]

Be careful about using white vinegar as a rinse aid.  There are some parts (gaskets etc) that will eventually be corroded by the vinegar, and are expensive to replace.  The Bosch dishwasher I just got, though, went even further:  there is some kind of chemical sensor that will only detect their preferred brand of rinse aid (Jet Dry) and won't activate for anything else.  I was told that if I used vinegar or any other rinse aid it would void the warranty.  Suffice to say,  DON'T BUY A BOSCH DISHWASHER.  Although I'm not sure if the others top-rated models are any better.

The whole rinse aid thing is a total racket.  But Consumer Reports failed to mention this issue at all.  Basically, dishwashers get the "Energy Star" label by eliminating the drying cycle.  Instead, in order for your dishes to dry you must either use a rinse aid, or open the dishwasher and pull out the drawers for a couple hours after each cycle.  And no, you aren't allowed to know what ingredients are in those rinse aids, despite the fact that the dishes you eat out of are covered with the stuff.

So somehow, manufacturing, packaging and transporting rinse aid is more energy efficient than a dry cycle.  REALLY???

That is interesting...I will have to look into it more.  I have a Bosch dishwasher, and have had it for about a year.  After going through the included bottle of rinse aid, I switched over to the vinegar and have been running it since.  The chemical sensor you talk about is B/S.  Well, a better way to say it is that vinegar trips the sensor.  When the reservoir is empty, it takes the time for the Normal cycle from 2:09 to 2:20.  Filling it w/vinegar takes it back down to 2:09.  I don't notice any spotting on my glasses or anything like that. 

I think the key with the newer dishwashers that do not have a heating element is to ensure your hot water temperature is high enough.  You need to be in the 130-140F range, or you won't get adequate drying.  Whenever the rinse aid gets low, I will try running a cycle without refilling it and see what happens.  I think they get the Energy Star by eliminating the heating element, and the solution is hot enough water (and enough time) to guarantee drying.  I didn't read the Bosch manual, but it probably has a specification for hot water temp.

All that said, I really like the dishwasher so far.

Write a letter to Consumer Reports on the Rinse Aid thing.  It would be interesting to see what they say about it.

Quick update. My rinse aid light came on last week.  I've run two cycles without rinse aid (vinegar), and it seems like the dishes are actually drier than when I had the vinegar in the system.  I haven't noticed any real spotting as of yet.  This may be related to temperature, though, as it's warmed up quite a bit recently.  I'll try a few more cycles without, then refill w/vinegar and compare again with the warmer weather.  I suppose I'll locate some rinse aid at some point and try that too.

[WiseOne]

Bumping this thread up, and also have another cat-related tip to share. I think I've finally figured out the litter box!

I started with the usual clay litter, but that stuff is frankly dangerous. We need to put MG to work on this one! Silica dust will build up not only in your cats' lungs, but in your lungs as well, as you breathe it in every time you scoop the box. But, the non-clay alternatives all basically suck. They're lightweight so they get kicked everywhere and get tracked all over the place, all the ones I tried are ridiculously dusty, and they're expensive. Then I discovered pine pellets!! The trick is that pee turns the pellets into sawdust, so you want a sifting system. The pellets get used up very slowly this way, and scooping is now limited to dealing with poop. Here's how to do it:

Option 1: make your own sifting box by getting two underbed boxes that don't quite fit together perfectly, drilling 800 holes in the bottom of one, and using the other to collect the dust.

Option 2: Buy a Tidy Cat Breeze box and cheap litter box liners. Throw out or give away the expensive pellets and pads it comes with. Remove the tray underneath. Fit the litter box liner around the bottom of the Breeze box, and set it on something to protect your floor, like a litter mat. When the sawdust gets to the level of the bottom of the Breeze box, just gather up the liner and throw it in the trash. That's about once a week for two cats.

This system is great. No odor, dust and litter stays in the box where it belongs, and maintenance cost is about $5 a month (with two cats). It would be cheaper yet to buy huge bags of wood stove pellets from Tractor Supply, instead of Feline Pine, which is the same stuff repackaged and sold for 3-4x the price.

[Maddy]

For a while now, I've been getting fresh Jersey milk from a neighbor. With about 20 minutes of effort, I get five different dairy products from it. It's been months since I've had a need to visit the dairy case at the store.

When I come home with a gallon mason jar full of milk, I let it sit in the fridge undisturbed for a few hours to let the cream rise to the top. I ladle off 2/3 of the cream into a quart-size mason jar for making into butter. The other 1/3 of the cream goes into an 8-oz. mason jar for making into sour cream. What's left is a 2%-ish milk, one quart of which goes into a saucepan for yogurt. The remainder of the milk goes into a pitcher--along with a 1942 silver quarter (as a preservative)--for drinking.

Butter: Simply fill a mason jar 1/3 full of room temperature cream and shake. Keep shaking past the point where you get whipped cream, and to the point where it congeals and begins sloshing around in a big lump of butter. Pour off the liquid ("whey"), and rinse the butter several times by kneading it in a bowl of water. Then salt to taste.

Buttermilk: The liquid that you pour off when making butter is old-fashioned (non-cultured) buttermilk. It's great for biscuits, pancakes, and salad dressings. Cats love it. If a thick (commercial-like) buttermilk is desired, a culture can be added.

Sour cream: Fill a small mason jar full of cream. Add a generous splash of buttermilk. (Some say vinegar works, but I have yet to try it.) Set in a warmish place over night. Ta-da.

Yogurt: Bring milk to 160 degrees in a saucepan for 5 minutes. Let it cool to lukewarm. Add a spoonful of yogurt culture (any high-quality yogurt like Nancy's works fine) and stir. Pour the cultured milk into one or more containers, and keep warm over night. A sleeping bag works great; so does a water-filled slow cooker set on warm, for the technologically-inclined. Save a bit to use as culture for the next batch.

Total time for all this: About 20 minutes.