Cyndi’s Recent Comments

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  More nontoxic tips

  On tip for those of us with hard water: replace half your detergent with borax.  It makes the detergent work better.

  I agree with Greg about water pressure.  My well water is not only hard but filled with iron/sediment; it's been destroying my appliances.  I finally installed a whole-house sediment filter (super cheap, I used one from Sears).  I think it's too late for this particular dishwasher, but it has made an amazing difference elsewhere.

  For anyone buying a new (or used) dishwasher.  Get one that heats the water to the proper temp.  Then you can keep your water heater low to medium all the time and have the equivilent of a tankless for the dishwasher.

  Consumer Reports' finding was that enzymes in the detergent are what changed a medicore product into a good one.  You can find plenty of natural brands with enzymes.  If you must have phosphates, why not a pinch of TSP now and then?  At least it doesn't have the petroleum-based ingredients, synthetic fragrance, and other toxins.On Umbra on eco-friendly detergents posted 11 months ago 13 Responses

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  Compost

  1. Stuff in landfills doesn't actually break down.
     
  2. No matter what happens to stuff in landfills, it increases the volume of the overall stuff and this means the landfill gets full faster and new landfills have to be created.
     
  3. Gardening compost is just letting nature do its work. The leaves aren't helping plants grow in a landfill.

  Solution? ask the neighbor to give you the leaves.  Give him some finished compost when he's planting his garden (or when he would otherwise fertilize)...don't make it a stated trade, just take the leaves because they are gold, he's giving you a gift.  On Umbra on compost and climate posted 1 year ago 13 Responses

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  Castile

  Hi, thanks for your article, which does a good job of explaining the difference.  But I take issue with one thing: castile does not refer to any vegetable-based soap.  Castile soap is olive oil soap.  Some people save the term for 100% olive oil and others use it with soaps that are mostly olive oil.  A few folks call soap with only a bit of olive oil castile, but us soapmakers generally poke fun at them.  Your article is the first place I've heard of soap without so much as a drop of olive oil being referred to as castile.

  Cyndi
  Tikvah Organics (which makes castile soap)
  http://tikvah.com/On Umbra on soap posted 1 year ago 6 Responses

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  Castile

  Hi, thanks for your article, which does a good job of explaining the difference.  But I take issue with one thing: castile does not refer to any vegetable-based soap.  Castile soap is olive oil soap.  Some people save the term for 100% olive oil and others use it with soaps that are mostly olive oil.  A few folks call soap with only a bit of olive oil castile, but us soapmakers generally poke fun at them.  Your article is the first place I've heard of soap without so much as a drop of olive oil being referred to as castile.

  Cyndi
  Tikvah Organics (which makes castile soap)
  http://tikvah.com/On Umbra on soap posted 1 year ago 6 Responses