Cream of Tartar

It's been awhile...and I've missed you.  Here's a wonderful 'green' tip I came across while perusing my sister-in-law's FaceBook wall. Just when I think I've read every "Green Cleaning Tip," another fun article crosses my path.  Read and be wowed    I never knew that baking powder was made from a combination of  baking soda and cream of tartar.  How about that?  For more fun facts about the white powder that gives Snickerdoodle cookies their Snicker... read on.

The following has been copied from FaceBook (Renee & Friends Living Healthy) 07.31.13 by KRY.

"In my little world, items like cream of tartar (potassium bitartrate) are not simply a super way to stabilize egg whites but also scandalously inexpensive cleaning secrets.

This long-forgotten gem of a cleaning agent may be used with a little water or vinegar to lift even the most stubborn stains. Unattractive grout driving you batty? Mold and mildew stains got you reaching for the Prozac? Burner pans and casserole dishes giving you fits? Cream of Tartar is your new best friend.

Cream of tartar is one of nature’s best bleaching agents. Cream of tartar, a.k.a “crusted wine,” is mixed with baking soda to create baking powder (bet you didn't know that.. okay, some of you probably did, you smartypants). While it is an acid, it’s not harmful. It’s an acidic salt which comes from grapes.

Use a few tablespoons of cream of tartar with hot water or hydrogen peroxide and clean any aluminum pans which have discoloration or any rusty drains, pans, or stains.

Do you have copper kettles? Mix some cream of tarter with lemon juice and rub the copper with it. Rinse and be amazed!

How about a porcelain sink, tub, commode? Rub the porcelain surfaces with cream of tartar and watch the stains disappear.

Fabric stains? No prob. Mix a few teaspoons of cream of tartar with some glycerin and use like spray-and-wash. The results? Well, I’m here to tell you that this stuff cured the ring around Joshua’s shirt collars.

Just need a great nonabrasive cleaner? Mix 2 teaspoons of vinegar and 2 teaspoon of cream of tartar in a small dish (use 3 or 4 teaspoons of vinegar and 3 or 4 teaspoons of cream of tartar if you have more items to clean). Apply with your cleaning rag or scrub brush and let it sit for 5-10 minutes. Scrub. Wash with hot soapy water."

Using a lemon...I mean, all of the lemon

1.  Use juice from a lemon in your favorite recipe.

2.  Add a dusting of baking soda in your stained coffee pot and scrub clean with the used lemon.

3.  Sprinkle a bit more baking soda into your sink and use lemon rind and pulp to put a shine in your sink.

4.  Drop lemon into garbage disposal to clean and leave your sink smelling fresh.  If you don't have a disposal, toss the well-worn lemon rind into your compost pail.

While browsing the internet about the healthy benefits of citrus, I came across this DIY project.  Fill a quart jar with every kind of leftover citrus. Top off with white distilled vinegar.  Sealed up tight and left to 'steep' for two weeks, the citrus infused vinegar is then strained and used in a 1:1 ratio with water for a spray cleaner.  Well, I had to try this.  I have been eating so much different citrus that it gave me a chance to 'recycle' the leftover peelings and pulp. 

Oranges, grapefruit, limes, lemons, Cuties, and tangerines...all added to this quart-jar and topped off with vinegar and set aside for a couple of weeks.  Strained my first of five jars, poured the contents into a spray bottle and added an equal amount of water.  Using the new spray, I wiped down all the kitchen counters and my stove top.

Love the feeling of accomplishment and recycling in a new way.