Thursday, September 27, 2018

One Thing Leads To Another....

For the past week or so my scalp has been feeling dry and itchy, and my hair wasn't as shiny as I knew it could be.  Based on past experience I know those are symptoms of shampoo and conditioner build-up, which is easy to fix. After my trip to the gym today I decided to give my scalp an apple cider vinegar (ACV) treatment, which would get strip the gunk off and get everything back to normal. Besides, my gym shirt was sweaty and already needed to go into the laundry, so if it also picked up a vinegar smell it wouldn't matter.

Most things I've read recommend cutting the vinegar with water, but I've had good luck using it straight out of the bottle. I poured some ACV into a measuring cup, carefully dumped it on my scalp, massaged it in well, then let it sit for five minutes before I got into the shower. As I washed my body I could feel the scum rinsing off my my hair and scalp. The treatment had the desired effect...my scalp felt cleaner, and after my hair dried it was fluffy and shiny.

However, my scalp wasn't the only thing that got de-gunked by the apple cider vinegar.  When I looked down at the shower floor, there was a section where some soap scum had also loosened and washed away.
Can you see the clean section?
When I shower I use body wash, which doesn't leave a residue, but Hubby Tony uses bar soap. I really should do a better job of keeping the stall clean, but since I don't see well without my glasses (and of course shower without them) it's easy for me to ignore the grey scum on the brown floor. But today I had free time to tackle the problem, so I gathered my tools and ingredients and got started.

The first step was to douse the shower floor with plain white vinegar. I let that set for ten minutes, then came back with a scrubbing sponge. The sponge only removed some of the scum, so I got the container of baking soda and sprinkled a thick layer over the floor. As the two ingredients fizzed together I spread the paste around and walked away for an additional 15 minutes. This time the scum came up, and I washed it down the drain.

Now the shower floor is nice and clean, which makes the shower walls and glass doors look shabby. My next task will be to get some more vinegar and tackle that project.  Later.

Five years ago today: Operation Dust

12 comments:

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    1. I realized after the fact I should have taken another picture after the job was done, but it was much later in the day and I no longer had energy to walk upstairs to the bathroom :-)

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  2. That is why there is no bar soap allowed in my home--only liquid.
    My FIL used to fuss in the worst way when he came to visit. Grumbled he had no idea how to wash himself with liquid soap! I told him if he knew how to use dish soap he was more than halfway to figuring out the complexities of liquid shower soap. Hah!

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    1. Sue, thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment! Hubby claims he only feels clean when he washes with deodorant soap. I've learned over the years some things just aren't worth arguing over.

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    2. Yes, sometimes it's best to keep hubby happy. The saying is, "Happy wife, happy life" but I think it should be "Happy hubs, no troubs" (troubs as in troubles). Think it'll catch on? :^) :^) :^)

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  3. I love vinegar for its cleansing abilities. I use it here a lot with all the cats. And also if I've exposed myself to poison oak, as it cuts through oils and gets rid of it quicker. Here for cleaning I use Hydrogen peroxide, which, with baking soda, is really good to rid an area or cloth of cat urine smell, and I use a lot of vinegar. I've washed my hair once with vinegar but I might do it more often after reading your post.

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    1. Some great tips here! I'll have to investigate the hydrogen peroxide/baking soda mixture. We've found a couple of litter box 'misses' lately.

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    2. You wash your cats with vinegar? They must be pickled by now.

      God bless.

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    3. As much as I like the smell of vinegar, I don't think it would mix with the normal cat smell :-)

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  4. I have been stumped as to how to remove that shower floor scum, thanks to you I know how! Have a great week.

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    1. Helen, thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment. Glad I could be of assistance.

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