Glass Showers: Out Damned Spot! Out I Say!

The Obsessive Researching Mommy is pleased to bring you her newest first world problem: how to clean those white water stains off glass shower doors.  Now, I believe the whole glass shower door thing is really a problem that was created especially for middle class homeowners.  In the past, people had shower curtains, or nice frosted shower doors that hid water stains.  I can't believe I renovated my bathroom and put one of these in... yeah, it's beautiful, but after every shower, I stand there with a squeegee and scrape the thing down... to prevent water marks.  And you know, that doesn't work, because water still drips down and you can't squeegee the surface perfectly.

After a previous round of research, I tried baking soda.  Didn't work, but my arm got nice and tired.  I went out and eagerly bought Bon Ami.  It didn't work.

Heck, let me make a table for you of things that don't work that were suggested in various forums:

Baking soda
Bon Ami
Bounce Dryer Sheet
Cornstarch
Mr. Clean Magic Erase

With no amount of scrubbing was I able to remove the marks.  I still had numerous vertical lines from previous water drips, with the worst at the bottom of each glass panel.  Perhaps if you have the time to clean regularly so that there is little build up, these might work for you, but they did nothing for me.

My next miracle solution that I tried was Bar Keeper's Friend.  Since I last researched this, it has become more widely available in Canada, albeit not at the low price you can find it everywhere in the U.S., like in Walmart ($2 for 13 oz of the liquid cleanser).  The cost in Canada ranges from $5-6.50.

You can find a listing of stores in Canada, but shipping costs make it an expensive proposition to buy online, so you are better off buying it locally if you can.  Here are some locations in the Vancouver area:

Williams-Sonoma, 2903 Granville Street.
Call the Kettle Black, Edmonton and Vancouver (Kerrisdale), North Vancouver (Edgemount Village).

After patronizing Call the Kettle Black, the container sat in my cupboard for a month.  I tried it today, and...

IT WORKED!

Minimal amount of scrubbing.  I bought the powder form, put it on a damp scrubbing sponges, like the 3M Scrub Sponge, and applied to the surface.  Ten minutes later, I rinsed it off, and voila.  No more white water deposits!  I did this after a regular shower, which made sure the glass had water soaking on it for a while.  I wore my Crocs while standing the shower while working on the glass, otherwise, no telling what the Boric Acid would do to my triathlon hardened foot skin...

Who said you can't get fulfillment by being a stay at home mom?  :-P

Chlorine Removal from Bathing Suits: Swimsuit Longevity

You know when your bathing suits start getting old. They become see through and you can see little white bits (disintegrated lycra) in the fabric, and when you come out of the water, the bathing suit droops, and the elasticity disappears. Ugh. What an environmental disaster, constantly buying new bathing suits before one season is over.

Solution? Buy a polyester-based fabric, such as Speedo Endurance, Tyr Durafast, Speedo Aquion, Arena Fabric Stretch 150, or H20Wear ChloroGuard. There are probably other proprietary names for fabrics that resist chlorine degradation--just check the material composition tag. The higher the percentage of polyester, the longer the suit will last. Unfortunately, polyester is just not as comfortable or stretchy as other fabrics so you have to be careful with sizing.  A polyester suit will feel tighter than a regular suit, so you might have problems with bulging flesh...

The great thing is that polyester (chlorine resistant) swimsuits will last you... I've had a $20 factory outlet polyester swimsuit from Sugoi last a year, swimming in it two hours a week.  Rinse your suit out right away in cold water and remove the chlorine as soon as possible.  Regular washing doesn't seem to take the chlorine out, as the suit still stinks of chlorine after a handwash in Zero.  I use anti-chlorine shampoo and wipe my shampoo hands on my bathing suit before rinsing, hoping that it will take some chlorine out.  My "fashion" $100 swimsuits from Swimco don't even last a season of casual use (once every few weeks) without losing structural integrity, getting the droops.  I guess they're good for nothing but tanning by the pool with some oversized sunglasses and a floppy hat!

The second thing you might want to consider is limiting the chlorine in the suit. You may want to shower and wet your suit before swimming to help prevent chlorine uptake... not sure if this really works, as suggested by another writer, but shame on you if you don't shower before you use a public pool! Ew! That is how harmful chloramines get formed, from unwashed bodies' sweat and urine mixing with the pool's chlorine. Chloramines create that "pool smell" and are also responsible for a possible link to asthma in children. Enough about that!

Some ways to remove chlorine after you have rinsed your suit in cold water after your swim:

1. Swimsuit Cleansers: Expensive, ranging from $6 to $18, and sold in small quantities of 4 oz or 8 oz. that last about 30 washes. You add a few capfuls of these to your washing water. There are many brands, including Speedo, Aqua Mate, Summer Solutions, Malibu Swim Wear Care Crystals. These work but the main complaint with these is their expense. Individual bottles are not expensive, but the quantities are so small. The main ingredient is usually sodium thiosulfate. You can buy these at any shop selling swimwear, as well as on online retailers like Team Aquatics or Swim Outlet.

2. Chlorine Remover: Heloise suggests adding to your wash water a few drops of chlorine remover available in pet shop stores. Now, I called a few local aquarium supply stores to find out what is available, and most have water conditioners, which have more than chlorine removing properties.

(Update July 2012:  The local Petsmart carries a substance for $9.49 that is added to ponds to remove chlorine.  The name sort of just rolls off your tongue:  "Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Chlorine & Heavy Metal Neutralizer".  I did not try this, but the price seems reasonable, given that it neutralizes 9,600 gallons of pond water!  I would be very careful using the product for a use not anticipated by its manufacturer: if you look at the technical information sheet, it causes skin irritation, serious eye damage, etc.  As I was warned by the pool chemical supplier, it is a hazardous product.  You need to store this locked up and covered.  This product is in concentrated form and contains 30.2% sodium thiosulfate and 9.8% EDTA tetrasodium salt.  I might gather up some courage and try some next time, taking caution to first mix a couple drops with water before I plunge my hands and bathing suit into it).

Walmart in the US sells Wardley's Chlor Out, which is used for aquariums. I could not find this product in Canada. I did find Haviland Chlor Out sold in 2 pound jars of crystals for $10 online. So I called some Vancouver pool suppliers, and they will not sell to anyone for any purpose other than as pool chemicals. Sodium thiosulfate is considered a hazardous product in its pure form. Another source of sodium thiosulfate is from photographic supply shops, as it is used in developing photos. I found a Canadian hand dye supplier for "Bleach Stop" (sodium thiosulfate) Harmony Hand Dyes, at a cost of $11 plus shipping of about the same for a total of $22 (includes shipping) for 500g.

There is some great stuff written at a hand dyeing site here, which was my source for the information below.

In addition to sodium thiosulfate, you can also use bisulfite and metabisulfite, called "Anti-Chlor" by dye suppliers. A good local source would be your local home wine brewing supply store, as sodium bisulfite is widely used for sanitizing the fruit juices to be used in wine, to stop yeast growth, and as a preservative. Locally, you can buy sodium metabisulfite at Wine Kitz, $12 for 1 kg.

You can also use hydrogen peroxide, which you can buy at pharmacies in a 3% solution. It is more expensive than the other options. I have tried using a small amount of Oxiclean, and it seems to work in removing most of the chlorine odour, but I am not a chemistry expert and I cannot attest to whether this actually works on paper, but I know that Oxiclean produces hydrogen peroxide when mixed with water.

Vitamin C

UPDATE January 2014:  There is a product called Swimspray which is used to neutralize chlorine in your hair and skin.  It is Vitamin C diluted with water.  After rinsing, you spray it on your skin and hair, then shampoo.  The cost runs you around $3.37 per ounce if you buy 12 ounces at a time, and at 0.3 ounces per use, that works out to $1 per use.

Naturopath Dr. Deborah McKay suggests making your own Vitamin C spray by dissolving 5 g or 1 teaspoon of crystals in 1 pint or about 500 mL of water.  Note that Vitamin C degrades upon exposure to UV light, so if you need to make the spray and store it, choose the right container.  Perhaps this solution could be used to soak swimsuits after rinsing in cold water first.  I could not find Vitamin C crystals in Canada for any less than $44 per kg, but Dr. McKay writes that Trader Joe's offers the crystals for less than half the cost at $10 per pound.

As a final note, do not add vinegar to neutralize the chlorine... it will may destroy the chlorine but it may also create more dangerous chemicals.

Washing Workout Wear

Recently I cycled to a singing rehearsal, removed my jacket upon arrival, and was horrified to smell a distinct odour coming from me! It is not the familiar scent that you smell at the gym when there are men working out, but there was a distinctive odour that I found unpleasant. I wash all my exercise clothing after a single wear: not so good for the environment, but I have a sensitive nose and cannot stand the smell of prolific bacteria. Regular detergent is just not cutting it for me. Nor is it getting the sharp ammonia like smell out of my husband's polypropylene technical undershirts.



After some research, I found a range of options:

1. Soak in one cup of baking soda and some water.

2. Soak in Borax before washing.

3. WIN High Performance Sports Detergent. A US company designed a superoxygenated formula that works thus:

"Using a unique technology, Win Detergent's scientifically designed super oxygenated system directly targets offensive odors and stains. This powerful oxy cleaning technology eliminates the embedded sweat molecules and odors that overwhelm the fabric. Simultaneously, these same ingredients also react with soil and organic materials causing them to either decolorize or disintegrate. Once in a soluble form after oxidization, dirt and odors easily wash away." -- from its website.

This product is widely available in the US and online. In Canada it is only available at Shoppers Drug Mart for around $6 for 946 mL.

Bicycling Magazine reviewed the product in June 2008 and felt that the product removed smell no better than ordinary Tide, not justifying the cost. He recommends it conditionally: "If you want the highest level of performance out of your riding gear or have clothes that seem to always smell no matter what you do, WIN is a winner."

In October 2007, Runner's World briefly reviewed four different detergents.

The reviewer noted that while WIN detergent removed the smell at first, but after a short time, the smells came back.

4. No Sweat Activewear Detergent. A Canadian company, with the Bio Blast formula developed by an inventor in North York, Ontario.

According to its website:

"No Sweat 's unique active ingredient Bio-Blast ™ actually eliminates odor caused by bacteria and oil lurking beneath the surface." It also claims to be the first detergent to remove armpit stains and ring around the collar.

This detergent may be purchased directly from the manufacturer for sale in the US and Canada. The cost for their special promotion is $30 for 4x500 mL, or around $15 a litre, plus shipping costs. The cost for a larger amount is $70 for 4x4L plus $15 for shipping. This works out to $5.31 per litre. The availability in local stores was limited mostly to Hot Yoga establishments.

5. Assos Active Wear Cleanser. The eye popping price, $63 US for one litre was enough to stop me from further researching it. (Note, added January 2012: This was selling at West Point Cycles in Vancouver, $25 for 300 ml--sorry, I don't recall the exact size. This would last you about 30-60 washes). This wash is highly rated and prized by those who buy it to cleanse their top end kits, judging by the reviews on Wiggle. Since everything I own is not "top end" I don't need the Ferrari of sports detergents.

6. Hydrogen Peroxide added to regular wash.

Products like Oxy Active are Hydrogen Peroxide in its chemically solid form after it contacts water.

7. Penguin Sport-Wash, Base Wash by Nikwax, and Granger G-Wash Cleaner were favourably reviewed by Runner's World, with no real differences noted between them. (January 2012 note: The Penguin Sport-Wash is selling at West Point Cycles in Vancouver for $14 for the 500 ml size. They also sell samples of Penguin if you don't want to commit to a large bottle).

[Update, January 2012:

8. Halo Proactive Sports Wash Laundry Detergent ($10.42 for 1 L). I found this on Wiggle, which ships free to Canada for a minimum order. It has great reviews on Wiggle. I included it here as a low cost alternative to the others.]

In the end, I chose to use Oxy Active. With a front loading washer, I have found that adding OxiClean, or an equivalent like Oxy Active, available at Zellers or Walmart, dissolved in warm water and added manually to the clothes before starting the wash with regular detergent, is effective enough. Problem solved.

Blooming Hunter Wellies

Realizing that I needed to keep up with my kids through mud and rain puddles, I decided to buy the trendy Hunter Wellingtons that Angelina Jolie wore in Mr. and Mrs. Smith. That was a year ago. Here is a picture from a Canadian store that sells them:



The picture is not accurate, however. They are not semi-shiny and all black. Even brand new wellies out of the box look somewhat chalky.

My black wellies developed a whitish cast to them, referred to as "blooming" in various Hunter information sources. This is a natural process of the rubber that occurs over time. Scrubbing with soap and water will not remove the marks.

I found an excellent source for possible solutions in a purse forum!

I will summarize so you don't have to read the whole thread. The possible solutions are: olive oil, Armorall, and McNett UV Tech. The only solution that I would consider, given the reports on the permanency of the various methods, was the McNett UV Tech. I also like the fact that it is non-toxic and biodegradable.

McNett UV Tech is available from REI in the U.S. and at Mountain Equipment Coop in Canada.

Another blogger has posted the results of her cleaning.

Now, this all got me thinking about my triathlon wetsuit. It's overdue for a repair of two moon shaped cuts. Despite all the warnings, I still managed to cut up my wetsuit with my fingernails. McNett also makes Aquaseal, which can be used to make such repairs. I'll have to conquer that problem another day.

Read an update on whether it was worth it to buy these boots here.