No More Bloody Cuticles Ever!

I've come to a recent realization: If a cleaning product makes my cuticles bleed, it can't be that good for me. Now, I will admit I have more sensitive skin than most, but I can't be the only one.  So after this epiphany, I decided to jump on the green bandwagon.

Yup, I'm joining the Gore Force.

However, after searching for popular brands online, I noticed one thing.  Green is not nice for the Green in the bank.  Even if a product is Green, it is still marketed, process, and packaged.  All of those steps cost money.

So, I searched some more and found a solution: creating my own cleaning products.  I'm going to be trying out several in the coming weeks and telling you how it went.

First on the list:

Glass cleaner

Recipe:

• Equal parts water and white vinegar
• About a tablespoon of lemon juice
• Mix in a spray bottle

Effectiveness:
It worked!  Great!  It even cleaned about 90% of the hard water stains on my shower door without scrubbing (I did, however let it sit for a few minutes).  Easily some of the cleanest mirrors I've probably ever had.  I was worried about a lingering vinegar smell, but it seemed to dissipate after it dried.

Pros:

• Very, very cheap (about five cents to fill my small spray bottle)
• Very effective, without a chemical smell
• No bleeding fingers :-)

Cons:

• Can be hampered by the dirtiness of your mirror. I had a mud splattered mirror that took several cleanings to perfect. Long story.
• Your hands will smell a little like vinegar after, but washes off quickly

Overall, I'm never buying Windex...um...glass cleaner again.  This is way too cheap and easy to not use.  I've also heard that using crumpled newspaper works great instead of a rag or paper towels.  Haven't tried it, but if you have, let us know how it went!