If You Care Sponge Cloths: Soaks up Fast & Compostable

Posted on 05/11/2022 by n2n

If You Care sponge cloths in paper packaging — If You Care Sponge Cloths in paper packaging

I am super picky and wants the best tool for the job. I use Spiff Cloth to clean smooth surfaces like counter tops, stove tops, etc. It’s ultra easy and best at cleaning chrome faucets and mirrors. But it is not the best for soaking up liquid.

In the past, I had tried and posted about other cloths for soaking up liquid. The natural fiber one needed to get a bit wet before taking on the water. The synthetic fiber one has the same issue and it’s not eco friendly.

Why I like If You Care Sponge Cloths

If You Care sponge cloths in compostable plastic packaging — If You Care Sponge Cloths in compostable plastic packaging

A few years back, I tried If You Care Sponge Cloths. I mostly use it to soak up the water catcher under the dish rack.

No waiting. It takes on water immediately and quickly.
Drys fast = less smell. I rinse it out and hang it up after use.
Durable = money saving. I am only on my 2nd cloth after 2 years. (It may not be the case for you since I only use it to soak up water)
Cloths and Packaging are made of natural materials. Cloths: 70% cellulose & 30% cotton, Packaging (plastic looking type): certified compostable corn starch.

Good to Note

These will dry in the shape you left them, so if you don’t like uneven cloths, lay them flat to dry.
On the compostable part for both the cloths and non-paper packaging: Please ask the local facilities if they would accept these in the compost bin for the garbage pickup. Mine doesn’t, so I will be downgrading my cloths for picking up liquid on the floor eventually.
For people who need to, they are machine washable in water up to 190F (88C), up to 300 times. (I don’t need to so I haven’t tried.)
They are made in Germany, not USA, That’s why I waited to post this, kept hoping they would.
For more product details, visit the If You Care page.

Where to buy

Local stores. If you want check it out first, call the stores first to make sure they have them.
If You Care web site. Free shipping in USA over $25 of purchase.
Amazon. If you decided you like them, keep it on your wish list and watch for deals.

Reduce, Reuse, Compost My Paper Towels

Posted on 01/14/2021 by n2n

To be a friend to the Earth in the kitchen, of course it’s best to use only washable towels but I still prefer paper towels in certain situations. For example, I just can’t use towels washed with laundry detergent to dry my produce and knives.

So I do my best to get as much out of each sheet as I can. The trick is to down grade the use as the paper towel gets dirtier. Below, I list the usages with the conditions of the paper towel before and after.

Wrapping Cleaned Greens for Fridge Storage

[ New —> Kind of Clean]

Drying Washed Plates/Utensils for Immediate Use

[New —> Pretty Clean]

For this, I use Tork HK1975A Perforated Roll Towel because of its chlorine-free processing (Green Seal Standard GS-1) and other features
Folded paper towel absorbs more water and less likely to tear
I sometimes let it air dry on a clean tray, then reuse it for the same purpose

Hand Drying

[New –> Pretty Clean]

I use this sheet only after I washed my hands with soap and water
I don’t use it for other purposes until it needs to be down graded
For repeat use, I use Viva for it’s durability
Between uses, I spread it to air dry
I still use cloth towel unless I will be eating with my hands (pizza, fruits, etc.)

Soaking up Oil / Cleaning Food Scraps Before Dish Washing

[Kind of Clean —> Not too Clean/Compost]

I do this before/instead of rinsing before washing dishes
This saves on soap and water because the dishes are now easier to clean
Super effective on oily plastic containers
When the paper towel has done all it can, I put it in the compost bin for garbage collection (might not work well in the home compost pile)

Prepare Items for Recycling

[Not too clean —> Compost]

I clean out the oil and food residues in containers before recycling them
I can avoid or reduce the use of soap and water since items don’t need to be food safe clean
At this stage, the sheet then goes straight to the compost bin

This strategy might not work for you but you get the idea. I almost never use paper towels outside of the kitchen but the same idea applies, only it might not be compost safe because of the chemicals in your cleaners.

My #1 USA Made Bakeware, Non-Toxic, Stick-Resist, Metal Safe

Posted on 02/12/2019 by n2n

(This post only applies to LloydPans dark coating products.)

Switched Again for Lighter, Tougher Pans

About 10 years back, I replaced all of my baking pans to ones made in USA. They were silicon coated to be nonstick.

After a while, I noticed the pans began to have brown patches. I was worried that if elements can seep through the coatings then the aluminum would have come in contact with the food, too. Also, these pans tend to be heavy and hard to handle during baking and washing, especially the care needed to not scratch the coating.

I started my search for new pans, determined to find something better and still made in USA. Then I stumbled upon a site for serious pizza makers and it led me to LloydPans.

Why I Love Using LloydPans

Made in Spokane Valley, Washington, USA
Their special DARK coatings: Pre-Seasoned Tuff-Kote® and Dura-Kote®
- Non-toxic, water base (eco-friendly), PTFE and PFOA free sealer
- The sealer gets down into the pores to form the seal over the anodized metal surface (I think that prevents interaction with food and metal)
- no seasoning the pans (I wash them after each use to avoid the need)
- no oiling before baking (from my own experiences)
- safe with metal utensil (hand whisks, spatulas, NOT knives/mixers)
- stick resistant
- safe to heat up to 700 F (450 F is the limit for silicon coated pans)
- absorbs heat very well
Light weight — easier to handle when baking and washing
Eco-friendly manufacturing
Easy to clean (more details next)

Easy to Clean

Metal utensil safe = less worry! Now I don’t have to be careful about forks and table knives touching the pans in the sink
For stubborn stuck-on food, I just soak it in warm water for 30 min, using a flexible spatula (a rep. at LloydPans told me she uses her metal spatula to do this and her pans still works well) to work on the toughest spots, then finish off with a with my 100% plant based Scotch-Brite Non-Scratch Scrub Sponge (read my review)
No rust nor stain so far after 3 months of frequent use (I dry mine at 150 F for a few minutes in my toaster oven so I can put them away sooner.)

Tough stuck-on food after reheating roasted root vegetable
Soaking it in warm water
Scrubbed the toughest spots with a flexible spatula
Only needed 30 min. of soaking
After a quick rinse
After washing it with soap and sponge

More Tips and Notes

Read and follow the instructions from LloydPans. If you have more questions after that, go to LloydPans.com, you can chat or call them for help. I had great customer service experiences with them.
NEVER put empty oiled pans in the oven, it’s bad for the coating.
Watch and adjust the oven temperatures and positions the first time you use your LloydPans with any recipes. Their dark coated pans absorb heat very well, one time I had to turn my toaster oven down 50 F.
Best to hand wash — I hand wash mine with 3M eco sponge (made in USA) and Attitude dish soap (made in Canada, read my review). According to LloydPans, the dish washer cleaners harm the coating.
“Beauty Marks” is okay — During the production process, where the clamps hold the pan, there are marks left on the reams, it doesn’t effect the performance nor the durability of the pan.

Where to Buy

For immediate availability try Amazon
Direct from LloydPans or LloydPans Kitchenware (for cookware and other home kitchen products) — I am a bit picky and wanted items as close to my ideal as possible, so I ordered from them. If they don’t have the items in stock, they will make them for you, so it may take a while. They will send you an estimated date after you placed the order.

Better Cooking Life Through LloydPans

Being a slow cook, using LloydPans pans and baking dish saves me time and many little annoyances in the kitchen. And USA made products still rock!

P. S. Want more USA made goods? See what else I actually use or shop at my Made in USA Amazon Store.

How Safe Is Your Eco Liquid Dish Soap?

Posted on 09/23/2018 by n2n

Rashes from Laundry Detergent

As I was recovering from horrible reaction from a well-known brand of enzyme based laundry detergent, my skin was worse after I washed dishes. So, I began my search for a new hand wash dish soap. Since I don’t have a dish washer, a good and safe dish washing soap is very important.

EWG.org Rates “C” on My Old Dish Soap

EWG (The Environmental Working Group) assessed my dish soap as a “C”, siting concerns on water pollution and skin irritation/allergies/damage.

I never thought an well-known eco brand would put out products like this. I was so shocked, I had to pick up the bottle and read the ingredients myself.

Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS)

That’s when I realized I had been washing my dishes with SLS in the soap. I had been avoiding SLS in my body care products, I never thought to check my dish soap. I just blindly trusted the brand.

And if I don’t want to use SLS on my skin, why would I put it in my body?

Switched to Attitude

Luckily, EWG pointed me to the Attitude brand (from Canada). I purchased one bottle of their fragrance-free natural dishwashing liquid (Though not EWG VERIFIED, it’s rated “A”).

I also found that many of their personal care products are EWG VERIFIED to be “free from EWG’s chemicals of concern and meets our strictest standards for your health.”

Clean Dishes, Smooth Skin

It’s been 3.5 months since I switched to Attitude. It cleans as well as my old brand with the same amount of soap. And I am happy to report that my hands are no longer completely dried out. In fact, my skin feels softer!

Buy A Test Bottle

Both my body and I are glad we found EWG and Attitude but as with every new product, I suggest buying one to try then go from there.

For the test bottle, get it direct on ATTITUDEliving.com, as of Oct. 2018, their flate rate shipping and handling is $8.95 for just 1 bottle. (They ship to Canadian provinces & contiguous USA)

This fragrance-free dish soap seems to be harder to find than their other items on US sites, so the prices are pretty much the same as ordering from ATTITUDEliving.com. But if you rather get it via Amazon, put it on your wishlist and see if a deal comes up.

How to Save on #attitudeliving?

If you are new to ATTITUDEliving.com, you can get $20 off while I get a 10% discount. They also have a reward program once you have an account.

PlumbClear Clears Semi Clogged Toilet [Update]

Posted on 05/31/2017 by n2n

I first used PlumbClear to clean slow drains in my very old house. It worked like a charm.

Ahh! The Toilet Is Clogged

According to Alson Enterprises, the manufacturer, the user should use it regularly to prevent any future clogging. I was too lazy…

Last night, the toilet finally had enough. The water saving presurized toilet had the power but somehow water won’t drain before the fresh flow came in, the water level got pretty high before it drained back down again. That meant PlumbClear can still be effective. (The enzyme and friendly bacteria stil could make direct contact with the organic material in the pipe.)

Patience Pays Even for Emergency

I was worried enough to consider dumping the powder right in the toilet but I held back. I used the [Septic Tank ratio]–2 scoops with 2 cups of warm water.

I waited 2 nervous hours as instructed, poured it down the toilet and waited another 30 minutes before flushing. On the 2nd flush, the toilet was working again. What a relief!

Once again, PlumbClear did a wonderful job and all without harmful chemicals!

USA Made Nano Cloth for Eco Cleaning – Spiff Cloth: Just Add Water

Posted on 12/13/2016 by n2n

Cleaning after Konmari Process

Now that I’m Konmari Clean, it was time to put my things in their permanent homes and cleaning their new homes was the first step.

Using the older style microfiber cloth was very frustrating. The small dust balls it gathers are very hard to wash off and surfaces often need more wiping. Even after I dusted with Swiffer, I still have trouble with it.

I started looking on Amazon for newer, greener technology. It seems Nano cloth is the talk of the town. It only needs water, not chemical, to use.

Made in USA

The top seller was not made in USA and I didn’t like that it has long fibers. I can just imagine the towel trapping all kinds of particles. The thicker material would dry slower after hand washing and would smell after a while.

Then I found the paper like Spiff Cloth, made in USA!

Amazing results on smooth surfaces

Just add water–it works! No chemical necessary.

Computer screen

Stovetop

Not so good for

Sticky residue from strong tapes or thick old kitchen grimes (thin grimes are easy to wipe away without much elbow grease. See the before and after photo of my old stereo.)

What else do I like about it?

Easy to wash clean by hand (use soap and warm water)
Dries fast
Cut your own size (I cut the 16″x16″ sheet in half)
Sturdy (we’ve even cleaned outside windows with it, no damage to the usability of the cloth at all)

More to know

For maximun result, be sure to wring it as dry as you can
For thick dust layer, dusting or vaccumming before wiping makes it easier, faster
For soaking up spills, I recommend If You Care Sponge Cloths (eco friendly, soaks up fast, super absorbent, machine washable. (added 5/11/2022)
I have switched Shaxon Ultra Absorbent Microfiber Cloths (6-pk) from Amazon or Frys for dirtier outdoor jobs and no longer use these to soaking up liquids. (updated 5/11/2022)
If it looks a bit dirty after washing, it still cleans just fine.
Buy direct from Lawrence and Berit Hines
Or buy from Amazon

Where to Buy

Buy direct from Lawrence and Berit Hines
Or buy from Amazon

Spiff Cloth Bonus Coupon from The Hines

Buy 10 or more, get 2 or more free! [ Good thru 12/20/2022 ]

See offer details here, must by direct from SpiffCloth.com!

P. S. Want more USA made goods? See what else I actually use or shop at my Made in USA Amazon Store.

Eco Drain, Septic Cleaner That Works: PlumbClear

Posted on 07/26/2016 by n2n

Been bothered by the slow draining issue for our bathtub for a while.

We’ve always used an extra mesh catch (very cheap with varies sizes at Daiso stores, place it upside down for bathtubs.) to stop hair and junk from getting into the pipes but tiny things that got down there do accumulate.

Chemical, homemade, or eco ready-made?

During my research, I learned that some plumbers don’t like the chemical solutions because they create particles that are harmful to your septic tank.

Then I read some homemade solutions but didn’t trust them because how varied and inconsistant they are. I wanted something that just works and not having to spend time testing all the formulas and run the risk of clogging up the pipes.

When I found this eco drain, septic cleaner, Plumb Clear, on Amazon.com, I didn’t believe it will work well like many eco-friendly products. Since the reviews were so positive and it’s made in USA, I bought it anyway.

Since I wasn’t expecting much, I didn’t video my experiment. And I trust you’d understand that I won’t wait for my pipe to clog up again to record that it works.

First try with AMAZING result

After reading the instructions, I used the [Septic Tank ratio]–2 scoops with 2 cups of warm water, waited 2-4 hours as asked. Then I accidentally spilled it into the tub, only some got into the drain. I didn’t want to leave any solution in the tub so I rinsed the tub right away.

At this point, I thought, it’s not going to work, I washed it away. That night when I took a shower, I was amazed how well it drained.

Second try with a toilet

For this slow draining toilet, I used the [Septic/Drains ratio]–2 scoops with 5 cups of water. I wanted to make sure the enzyme and friendly bacteria had a chance to eat the built-up in the outlet path of the toilet so I dump 1 cup of the solution into the toilet bowl without flushing for an hour.

When I finally flashed it, it drained so quickly. I was very happy!

Tricks and Tips

When you first open the container, you need to fish out the scoop and the plastic snake.
To help you mix the solution and apply with more precision:
1. Find an old sports bottle similar to this (the point is to not spend any money while using something that’s just taking up space)
2. Measure and draw the lines at 1 cup increments, this allows you adjust the mix to only the volume needed.
3. IMPORTANT!!! Remember to also mark the bottle “NOT FOR DRINKING”.
Don’t wait too long to clean the pipes. According to the seller, Alson Enterprises, it works not as well for fully clogged pipe. The solution needs to come in contact with the organic built-up to digest the gunk in the pipes.
For the opening of the sink/tub drain, pull the stopper, pour in the solution (I used the more diluted ratio) until it overflows a little, let it sit for a while (I waited 15 minutes), then unstop it.

[UPDATE] PlumbClear Clears Semi Clogged Toilet

Best Green Carpet Spot Cleaner

Posted on 03/29/2011 by n2n

UPDATE: Folex has replace this as my #1 carpet spot cleaner (12/16/2015)

Reuse is a good idea. Using something until they can no longer function is even a better idea. That’s why we have the need to spot clean our carpet.

After trying all kinds of big name carpet spot cleaner and not getting the results I wanted, I decided I should at least go green.

As a test, I bought a bottle of Naturally It’s Clean Carpet Cleaner, expecting it to only work as well as the other cleaners I’ve tried. I soaked a pretty dirty spot waited 5 minutes, dried it with an old t-shirt. Wow, that spot is now clean!

I was so impressed, I went to Naturally It’s Clean web site and found out that they have products for floor, kitchen, laundry, toilet, and more. They are all non-toxic, safe, and made in USA. If you want to find it locally, use their “Where to Buy” tool.

I’m trying their Kitchen cleaner next.