Good old Maine How to..... (Auburn: Home Depot, buying, tile)

[starwalker]

Originally Posted by AliceT

The site I used when I first started making soap was millersoaps.com I disagree that it's as easy as cooking as you should always wear safety goggles when mixing the lye/water. That stuff gets seriously hot and creates dangerous fumes if you are doing it in an enclosed area. Children and pets should be safely away from the area at the time of mixing the lye and water. Lye should always be added slowly to the water, not the water to the lye. Lye can react violently if you try to add the water to it. Always add the lye to water - slowly.

I could post the recipe and directions I go by, but the soap I make for myself is a medicinal soap for skin problems.

I've done oatmeal soaps/scrubs, soap-on-a-rope and soap with scrubber imbedded in it. But those mostly were added to care packages to US troops overseas. I'll post the recipe for the medicinal soap if you're interested. And remember, I don't make soaps for sale - just for me and as a home made gift for various gift-giving occasions or I'll add them to any care package destined for our active troops.

I would love to see your recipe and know what sort of sink problem it is good for... as my friend K has all kinds of skin issues... he is very sensitive and diabetic to boot... getting strange things going on now that I hope we can get a GOOD doc to look at soon.

But since my bent is natural and home made... and his is too... any thoughts would be appreciated.

on the other hand, my skin seems to tolerate anything but Tide and Ajax cleanser (GOK what they have in common...)

[AliceT]

Am in full agreement with the self-stick variety. I can't hardly do anything - but can apply the self-stick tiles. As long as your substrate is even, clean and dry, you shouldn't have a problem. And cutting to size isn't too bad as long as you have a box cutter or other razor type cutting device. I won't go so far as to say it's easy to apply in a bathroom and getting it just right around the base of a commode, but as long as it's basically just a square or rectangle without pipes and such, it should be fairly easy - and I don't say that about very many things.

[starwalker]

Originally Posted by AliceT

Am in full agreement with the self-stick variety. I can't hardly do anything - but can apply the self-stick tiles. As long as your substrate is even, clean and dry, you shouldn't have a problem. And cutting to size isn't too bad as long as you have a box cutter or other razor type cutting device. I won't go so far as to say it's easy to apply in a bathroom and getting it just right around the base of a commode, but as long as it's basically just a square or rectangle without pipes and such, it should be fairly easy - and I don't say that about very many things.

did yours STAY STUCK?? When we built the small house I designed, in the 70s in CO, my dad insisted on the self-stick kind... and the ones by the doors didn't stay stuck, broke off.. it was a disaster.

Also that was at the beginning of the "textured tile" thing.. these were DEEPLY textured and I didn't get a chance to put down a real "no wax floor finish" on them before we had to move in.. on a snowy day.. it snowed over the UNfrozen earth.. there was so much mud in the texture that even changing water every 6 tiles, going over it three times, on hands and knees I could not get it clean. Can you tell I hated that floor?? LOL

in any future house I will either have INDUSTRIAL floor tile -- the kind you need a buffer and a three-step finish to put a shine on.. I CAN DO THAT -- or wood, with marine spar varnish. I can do that too... and I love it... even tomato skins do not stick to it. (experience speaking here, folks)

with the critters I am not a fan of carpet (rugs you can wash, yeah... ) either. not even on cold floors.. that is what sheepskin lined boots and slippers are for.

There is much more to life than housework, so it's my idea to make it as quick and easy to clean as possible.

[Northern Maine Land Man]

A lady bought a store with an apartment above. I stopped in to see if she had any questions and she was stripping wall paper. She reached up and slowly peeled off an entire sheet of wall paper in one piece. I asked how she did that. She and her two friends looked at me like I was toally ignorant and said in unison, "Downy."

Huh?

They said, "How can you not know this? You put a cup of Downy fabric softener and three cups of hot water in a bowl and just sponge it on the wall. Wait 15 minutes and do it again. Wait 15 minutes and the wall paper will peel right off. Jeesh; Sometimes you men don't know anything."

I was outnumbered and beat a hasty retreat, but I didn't forget that lesson.

[elston]

Originally Posted by starwalker

I would love to see your recipe and know what sort of sink problem it is good for... as my friend K has all kinds of skin issues... he is very sensitive and diabetic to boot... getting strange things going on now that I hope we can get a GOOD doc to look at soon.

But since my bent is natural and home made... and his is too... any thoughts would be appreciated.

on the other hand, my skin seems to tolerate anything but Tide and Ajax cleanser (GOK what they have in common...)

Not getting political.....!!!! But one of the candidates the other night was talking about growing up in a hard working blue collar family and he said his dad got so grimey that LAVA Soap was the only soap they had in the house. He then said, it wasnt until I went away to college that I found out that a shower isn't supposed to hurt." LOL I remember that pumice soap. (I even remember their advertisement on the radio show "The FBI in peace and war"

[AliceT]

Originally Posted by starwalker

I would love to see your recipe and know what sort of sink problem it is good for... as my friend K has all kinds of skin issues... he is very sensitive and diabetic to boot... getting strange things going on now that I hope we can get a GOOD doc to look at soon.

But since my bent is natural and home made... and his is too... any thoughts would be appreciated.

I modified a small batch recipe to my liking. It looks like this:
1/4 cup Lye
6 oz distilled water
1/2 cup sunflower oil
1/2 cup Crisco
1-1/3 cup Peanut oil
pine tar - amount varies

Prepare your molds ahead of time.

Mix the lye into the water and set aside. The chemical reaction of lye and water will become very hot, very fast. Make sure you "set it aside to cool" in a safe place - such as in the sink. A spill or splash of this mixture will burn severely and on contact.

Heat the oils in a separate container.

With a candy thermometer, check the temperature of the oils. It should be between 105-120 degrees. Then test the lye solution in the same way to ensure it has cooled to below 120. Pour the lye solution slowly into the oils and stir. I use a wooden spoon. Tip: your wooden spoon will change color - permanently.

The last thing you add is the pine tar - available at feed or tack shops. It is used on horse hooves to keep hooves from cracking. The amount you use should turn the whole mixture really dark brown. I don't measure this, I just go by the color as I am stirring. The darker it is, the better it is for things like psoriasis.

Stir constantly and check every few minutes, pulling your spoon out to see if the dripping mixture forms a little peak on the surface or if it just sinks immediately back into the rest of the mix. If it forms a little peak or "ridge" before sinking back into the mix, it is "tracing", and ready to pour into molds.

You have about one minute before the mixture will be too thick to pour. That's another benefit of making a small batch. As soon as the molds are poured, rinse all the bowls and measuring cups in hot soapy water.

Draw the edge of a popsicle stick or pencil over the mold to ensure the surface is flat and even. This is just an esthetic move and not really necessary. A lumpy bar of soap works just as well as one that sits evenly in a soap dish. After 24 hours, turn the mold trays over and the soaps should just pop right out.

I use little dixie cups as molds. They do not just pop out of the Dixie cups, however. The Dixie cups have to be literally peeled off the soaps. Once out of the molds, set the bars on a wire rack or freezer-paper lined shelf to cure for a minimum of 2 weeks.
The benefit of using all vegetable oils rather than animal fats is that the bars can be completely cured in two weeks as opposed to the 4-6 weeks usually recommended when using animal fats.

[starwalker]

I used to willingly use Lava for everything! I found it was wonderful for my skin... which admittedly is not sensitive.. but appreciates a good rough cleansing, especially in the summer. thank you for the reminder... I never found it hurt me, but then I am not a guy... and beyond that I will let it lay...

I have a hard time finding a bath brush that I like.. most of the ones designed for that are wimpy. I used a natural bristle scrub brush that is designed for veggies... I had been looking for a replacement for literally YEARS and found one at the Common Grounds Fair this fall.. AND they had one on a long wooden handle that I THINK was supposed to be a natural toilet brush... but it works great for the back.

Originally Posted by elston

Not getting political.....!!!! But one of the candidates the other night was talking about growing up in a hard working blue collar family and he said his dad got so grimey that LAVA Soap was the only soap they had in the house. He then said, it wasnt until I went away to college that I found out that a shower isn't supposed to hurt." LOL I remember that pumice soap. (I even remember their advertisement on the radio show "The FBI in peace and war"

[starwalker]

Originally Posted by AliceT

I modified a small batch recipe to my liking. It looks like this:
<snip>The darker it is, the better it is for things like psoriasis. <snip>

Thanks... I don't know if I will get a chance to try making any before we move but I would like to try... I am not sure if K's problem is psoriasis but... we can try and see what happens.

I have a friend locally here in NC who makes soaps, too... and I have tried a time or two in the past so I am familiar with the general process, cautions, etc.

[McMar]

Originally Posted by Maine Writer

I have 16 cases of floor tiles sitting in the diningroom. They scare me!

Tiling is not so tough, MW. Although I will say it's a killer on the back! I recommend renting or buying a good tile saw - well worth the $$$. I did about 3 tub surrounds, 4 bathroom floors, and 2 kitchen floors with the $88 saw they sell at Home Depot. It worked just fine, but now that I've upgraded to the $250 model that I borrowed from a friend, there's no going back. I've spoiled myself.

[McMar]

Originally Posted by elston

I dare say in the process of preparing my home for showings....I really have become an efficient house cleaner and I really derive satisfaction from it. Who knew you can clean the tracks of the slider doors with a little piece of paper towel and a pair of chop sticks....I didnt even know that they needed to be cleaned before....it was amazing how much dog hair had gotten in there. I also am pretty good in the garden and yard...taught myself how to maintain some pretty aggressively growing yews and box wood hedges with old fashion manual clipping sheers. Painting.....PSTDIFU....and any handyman job or mechanic job....PSTDIFU.

Elston, another quickie fix for your sliding doors (if you don't have actual grease around) is to clean the tracks, then spray the rails with WD-40 if they aren't sliding too smoothly. The sliders in my last house were always clogging with dirt and pet hair, so I would clean with Goof-off to keep them sparkling. But I didn't have time to mess with greasing the rails, particularly for the couple of months that my house was on the market. WD-40 worked great.