alternatives for washing up liquid?!

mrsflibble · Fri Jan 25, 2008 4:42 pm

sort of urgent... have a neighbour coming round tomorrow, and all today's pots sitting in the sink. No car 'cos james is at work until 9pm, and i just cant face going out again.
have just run out of washing up liquid. short of crumbling up a lush bath bomb, what can i do?!
got no soap that's not highly scented, the best i could think was shampoo!!!
help!

I have rolled oats, vinegar, eggs and that's about it!!!

Annpan · Post: # 82178Post **Annpan** » Fri Jan 25, 2008 4:51 pm

You'll get most of the dirt off with just really hot water, I guess use the kettle if that helps - we have no hot water, so that's what I have to do.

Have you got any bicarbonate of soda? and/or borax?... in the dish-washer, I use 1 tbsp bicarb, 1tbsp borax, 3 drops of lemon essential oil, I don't see why that wouldn't work in the sink.

vinegar is really only any use as a rinse for dishes, I don't think it would do a good job of cleaning mucky pots.

Failing all that, get OH to pick some up on the way home from work, or hide the dishes in a cupboard

mrsflibble · Fri Jan 25, 2008 4:56 pm

cupboard it is then 'cos i just went to my catering piot of bicarb and theres about a teaspoon left in it

borax probably wouldn't work as washing up in a sink helper diihickey thing cos it's incresibly irritating to the skin so unless you have really great rubber gloves or an industrial pot of vaseline it's probably not a good idea!!!

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO i have half a bottle of baby bath in the bathroom from when soph was teenytiny!!!! I'll use that and rinse well.

I don't have a dishwasher any more, we can't find anywhere to fit it in the kitchen so it's sitting on the counter next to me in the spare room right now. Going to make a sign for out front saying "dishwasher for sale, make me an offer" 'cos i want that space for my sewing machine!!!

ta for the suggestions.

QuakerBear · Fri Jan 25, 2008 4:57 pm

If you need to get grease of use shampoo, just rinse well.

Annpan · Post: # 82184Post **Annpan** » Fri Jan 25, 2008 5:01 pm

mrsflibble wrote:
borax probably wouldn't work as washing up in a sink helper diihickey thing cos it's incresibly irritating to the skin so unless you have really great rubber gloves or an industrial pot of vaseline it's probably not a good idea!!!

Doh

I use rubber gloves for everything (hence the boiling water and borax)

I have really sensitive skin, can bare anything, not even ecover, even with hand soap I have to moisturise regularly... except when I had a bar of Fee Fairys coconut soap

mrsflibble · Fri Jan 25, 2008 5:17 pm

i need to get myself a decent pair. i have some thin ones which james brought home 'cos the parts bloke at work had ordered small-med (size 7.5-9.5) gloves for a depot staffed mainly by big hairy men with huge hands, but they leave a film over my hands and the smell makes me want to retch. that said, i do use them fo some things.
rather than just chucking away i use them until they fall to bits, which is why i still have half a box left.

Annpan · Post: # 82192Post **Annpan** » Fri Jan 25, 2008 5:23 pm

I have used many types but find marigolds the best value (the cheaper ones stink and get fluffy gunk all over my hands) I use them till they fall apart, then I use them in the garen, or for gross 'disposable' jobs.

Big hands do better in black 'tough gloves' which last longer too.

Couldn't live without my gloves, I'd go mad...just thinking about it is making my hands itch.

mrsflibble · Fri Jan 25, 2008 5:35 pm

I couldn't live without my pinnies.

sorry. aprons. I have 2 which are on a constant rotation, one to wash one to wear. one frilly and blue, one with lobsters on. I'd like a plastic backed one so i dont keep accidentally gettig bleach marks on my tops by it soaking through.

oh, and i have an old co-op tabbard as well from when i used to work there.

hamster · Post: # 82201Post **hamster** » Fri Jan 25, 2008 5:50 pm

Yep, I have my old apron from when I used to work in a restaurant. It's the only one that fits me, cos all the others are too long round the neck (I'm teeny). Love it, wear it for anything remotely messy, and my rubber gloves have recently met a tragic end and I am distraught...

mrsflibble · Fri Jan 25, 2008 7:25 pm

thankfully I have a more than ample bosom to make up for my short torso lol!!!

contadina · Post: # 82251Post **contadina** » Sat Jan 26, 2008 7:46 am

I've developed a bit of a pinnie fetish since moving to Puglia. There's a stall in my local market that sells second hand ones for 50 cents. They are so kitsch and funky that everyone who comes to visit goes home with a armful. I reckon that you could make a mint flogging them at one of the trendier London markets.

Please excuse the nearest pinnie-wearing emoticon that I could find.

mrsflibble · Sat Jan 26, 2008 10:03 am

Well, i got all my washing up done. i had no idea how much i relied on washing up liquid! I ended up using newspaper and brown sauce on my glasswear (mum's tip) and rinsing with cold water, they are sparkly and don't smell like sausage sarnies which is good. i then ran out of baby bath for the rest of the pots so i used Astonish cookwear cleaner and rinsed well. my kitchen now looks clean, tidy and my stainless steel stockpan is sparkling. so is my cooker.

Annpan · Post: # 82288Post **Annpan** » Sat Jan 26, 2008 4:56 pm

Well done for coping in a crisis... I would have just hidden the stuff, or just left the mess... I don't clean up for visitors these days.

I suggest that you buy in a bulk load of ecover, and take a trip to summer naturals website... stock up

mrsflibble · Sun Jan 27, 2008 10:31 am

the damned moo never turned up anyway!!! but hey, i have a nice clean house so I'm happy.