Vinegar Friday -- Getting ready to paint

TGIVF!

It's Vinegar Friday! Every month, we celebrate vinegar on the first Friday. It's amazing to me that I keep discovering new uses for vinegar. If you have any I haven't covered here or in my book, I would love for you to send them to me. Or, if you'd like to guest post about vinegar, shoot me an email.

 
We're going to be working on some painting projects over the next week or so. Naturally, that means I needed to look up some painting-related vinegar tips and I thought I'd share them with you.



For many of us, when we start to pull out supplies, we discovered the dreaded zombie paintbrushes -- stiff, misshaped, and... well... pretty much dead. Allow vinegar to resurrect them by boiling a cup of distilled white vinegar (DWV). Immerse the bristles in the boiling liquid and let the vinegar perform it's magic for 10 minutes. Wash the brush with soapy water and rinse well. It will be good as new without resorting to toxic turpentine fumes!

Before putting that paintbrush to the walls or furniture, make sure you clean off all the dust, dirt, and mildew (this is important for garage sale finds or attic/basement treasures in need of a touchup). Undiluted DWV eradicates mildew and makes it easier to remove caked on dust, so just dampen a cloth or sponge with it and wipe away. 

If plaster repairs are necessary prior to painting, you can help to keep it from hardening by adding 2 tablespoons of DWV to the mix. This will help you apply a smooth finish.

Grease is a problem in kitchens and on kitchen cabinets. Before painting, get rid of the grease by cleaning it off with vinegar. Make sure you find and clean any greasy fingerprints because, like oil and water, they will emerge through the paint when you're done like the ghosts of Christmas past.

Finally, no matter which kind of paint you use, there will be some fumes. Of course, you should always paint in a well-ventilated area. But what about when you're done? How do you keep the fumes from affecting you and your family? Simply place a few small bowls of DWV around the room and let the vinegar soak up the fumes for a few days.

There you have it. Painting tips on Vinegar Friday. Now... wish us luck. I hate to paint.

Keeping it green with vinegar,

Vinegar Friday



Photo courtesy of Andrew Schmidt

 TGIVF!

This week finds me in my hometown of Manheim, Pennsylvania; a small town in picturesque Lancaster County. Since I am here to help my mom as she recovers from knee replacement surgery, I have limited time to work or blog. So today's post is going to be short, but relevant. It has to do with fireplaces...after all, it is that time of year to get our fireplaces ready for the man in the red velvet suit, right?

Speaking of which, how do (or did) you handle the whole Santa thing with your kids? I'd love to hear your stories!

As a side note that has absolutely nothing to do with Vinegar Friday, let me tell you how I handled it.

One day, when my daughter was about four-years-old, I found her praying to Santa Claus. When I told her we pray to Jesus, not Santa, she replied, "But Mommy, I asked Jesus for _____ (I don't remember exactly what it was she asked for) and he didn't answer my prayer. But when I asked Santa for an umbrella, I got it. So I'd rather pray to him."

As logical as that sounded, I had to shine some light on it. So I decided to tell her the truth about Santa, but with a twist. I told her that grownups loved to pretend there really is a Santa Claus, so that's what we were going to do from then on. Pretend. Oddly enough, that satisfied her and we continued to pretend for several more years. After all, kids should have a bit of magic and make believe in their lives, don't you think?

Now, on to the purpose of the VF post -- vinegar!

Did you know that distilled white vinegar mixed with some water (1:2 ratio) can be sprayed on the glass doors of your fireplace for sparkling results? Spray it on, wipe it off. Bye-bye soot and dust...hello shine!

Speaking of soot -- undiluted vinegar is the answer here -- just pour it on and use a scrub brush to scrub it off. Use an towel or rags to sop up the dirt.

If you plan on painting the cement hearth, make sure you clean it well with undiluted vinegar, allowing it to dry before you hit it with the paintbrush. If you find that someone failed to clean the brush properly the last time it was used, don't worry about it. You can clean the hardened paint off by simply filling a pan with distilled white vinegar and letting the paintbrush soak for about an hour or so before turning on the heat. Simmer for a few minutes and then thoroughly rinse the brush. Once dried, it will be good as new!

There you have it...now you can prepare your fireplace to welcome jolly ol' St. Nick. Ah, the wonderful world of make believe...and vinegar!

Keeping it green and clean with vinegar,

Hana