I was never great shakes in the lab (1). In retirement, I’ve considered the kitchen my lab (2), and results have been more promising. Certainly the joy of the lab, which escaped me while working, is something I’ve found here. Still considering myself a scientist, I feel obligated to report my results, particularly when they might be of import to the general public. That’s today’s communication, as I’ve discovered a solution to what I had found to be a particularly annoying problem.
I keep a couple squirt bottles under my sink containing home-made cleaning concoctions. Why pay all that for Clorox clean-up (1 t Tide, ¼ C bleach, water to fill to 32 oz)? I also keep a 1:3 bleach water solution, good for taking stains out of my Corian counters or cutting boards.
Problem is the squirt bottles seem to crap out after a while. The bottles are cheap on Amazon, so I just toss the bad actor and employ the newbie. It happened again a few weeks back. You can still get the same cleaning effect by pouring out the bleach mixture, but that kinda negates the reason for having a squirt bottle. This morning, facing a particularly nasty stain Kathy had left on the cutting board and an empty squirt bottle, I went downstairs to our reserve to find the other bottle that came in the Amazon order, filled it with bleach and water and went to town. The stain was eliminated within an hour. Wondering if rejuvenation was possible, I tossed the dead squirt apparatus into the dish water. It sat there all day. When I pulled it out late afternoon and left one end in the sink while I squeezed, it squirted like a champ! I figure what happened (in scientific papers, we call this section “Discussion”) is the bleach solution precipitated in the line and blocked progress of any liquid. This didn’t happen in the Clorox bottle because of the Tide, which emulsified the solution. Regardless, I’m happy to have my bleach solution on line and spared from having to buy more bottles. A small advance, but one has to savor one’s victories, however tiny.
Should you like my food & drink posts, my new book is just full of ‘em (3)! 50 genuine tested recipes ready to print on 3X5 cards and the stories behind them, plus so much more. The theme is, what else could we do during COVID? My fattest book yet.
References
- Ike B. lab prattle. WordPress 10/1/22. https://theviewfromharbal.com/2022/10/01/lab-prattle/
- Ike B. in my kitchen. WordPress 6/29/21. https://theviewfromharbal.com/2021/06/29/in-my-kitchen-2/
- Ike B. Musing through a pandemic. On the sidelines. Volume V. Foodies! Amazon (Kindle) 2022. ISBN: 9798811634828. Published 8/26/22 (paperback available 10/28/22) https://www.amazon.com/Musing-Through-Pandemic-Sidelines-Foodies/dp/B0BJYJQ8NM/ref=sr_1_2?crid=DHKGEWH33WCF&keywords=%22Robert+Ike%22&qid=1667337813&sprefix=robert+ike+%2Caps%2C123&sr=8-2
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