My husband is an amazing chef.  I love to learn from him, enjoy all the food he makes, but I really dislike washing chef coats.   And when I say dislike, I really mean hate.  I really have nothing nice to say about chef coats.  They are big and bulky, stains stick to them like super glue and in 15 years, I have never found a product that will actually clean them well.  I have tried everything, searched on line and tired everyone else’s ideas, but still end up washing them 2-3 times each and am not totally happy with the results.  (And when I say I’ve tried everything, I’ve tried bleach, bleach pen, oxy clean, Felths Naptha, Dawn, dishwasher detergent, Simple Green, 409, Windex, dry cleaning, soaking in bleach, scrubbing, washing immediately, the list could go on. . . nothing works.  Eventually you just have to give up and buy new ones.  Until now.  I am pleased to say that after 15 years, I have found a product that actually gets stains out of chef coats.   So each morning, I take Tom’s coat from the day before, grab my Netepur bar and get to work scrubbing.  It’s a bit of work, but I usually only have to wash the coat once and it’s fine.  Unfortunately it does not get out old stains out of the coats that have been dried in the dryer 15 times, but it did make them lighter, which even a bleach pen would not do.

So now you are wondering a few things . . .  “Why should I care?  I don’t have to wash chef coats.”  Or perhaps, “Why is Jennifer wasting time to blog about this?”  Did you miss what I was saying earlier?  I FOUND SOMETHING THAT ACTUALLY WORKS!!  Yes I’m shouting!!  Not only does this little bar work great on laundry, every other item I bought from this company I am in LOVE with and works better than anything else I have ever used to clean with.

My discovery of this amazing bar of “soap” began with an invitation to a home party.  I usually decline these invitations, but hey, I clean something every day.  I figured I would check it out.    While I wouldn’t say I LOVE cleaning or laundry, I would definitely say I LOVE a clean house and clean clothes.

So one afternoon, Ashley and I headed over to a friend’s house to check out the products from H2O at Home.  I knew nothing about the company or products before I went and I was pleasantly surprised when I saw the demonstration.  I think it’s always a gamble when you buy something to see if the product will actually do what it is supposed to in your home, with your things.  But after listening to the consultant  and others who had used the products, I decided to buy a few and try them out.  They have a 30 day money back guarantee, so really, I didn’t have anything to lose.  I had quite a few cleaning products on my current shopping list so it was good timing.  In case you are still reading (thank you), below is what I purchased and how they’ve worked for us.

I tried to take before and after pictures, but none of them turned out good enough to post.  Sorry!  You’ll just have to take my word for it.  🙂

Netepur Bar

The thing I love about it is that I know if the stain will be gone BEFORE I put it in the washing machine.  With all the other things I’ve used to remove stains in the past, you treat the stain, wash it and then have to remember to check to see if it’s gone before putting it in the dryer.  With this, I basically wash and scrub the stain in the sink, watch is disappear most or all of the way and then throw it in the wash.  I still check to make sure it’s gone but very rarely do I have to wash a chef coat or other item more than once.  NICE!!  It has also gotten stains out of our carpet that neither a carpet cleaner machine or Folex could remove.  $13 might sound like a lot for a bar of “soap”, but will end up saving us money in the long run on clothes, cloth napkins, dish towels and whatever else I can think of to use it on.  

UPDATE: While I have not had success in getting out old stains in chef coats (only making them lighter and less noticeable), I have been able to get out stains that accidentally made in the washer and dryer unnoticed on a few of the girls’ shirts.  🙂

Chiffonnettes (fancy word for rag)

I bought the heavy duty, multisurface and glass chiffonnettes.  The heavy duty one works great on soap scum in the shower  and tub, laminate floors, walls, the refrigerator  (just tried this today and my refrigerator has never looked so clean.  I can’t wait for Tom to see it!!) and inside the car – all cleaned with just the chiffonnette and water.  I use the multisurface one to dust and it works great on my swiffer to dust the floor.  My favorite is the glass chiffonette.  We have glass on top of our dining room and craft tables and it’s probably not the best idea to hand my 4 year old a bottle of Windex.  However, I can hand her this damp chiffonnette and she can clean the table without the risk or spraying herself or one of her sisters in the eye with Windex.  It is amazing and works better than Windex Crystal Rain!  It works great on mirrors and faucets too.  I need another one of these.

All In One Clay Kit

You know that nasty yellow greasy stuff that you get on the hood above your stove or for us on the outside of the microwave that sat near the stove?  I had finally given up on our microwave (even the magic eraser didn’t work on this stuff) and just left it looking gross.  Until now.  This clay took it all off and the microwave looks great!  I just saved myself the cost of a new microwave, because I was seriously considering buying one because I hated how bad ours looked.  The packing from the company also said it worked on granite counter tops.  We have (had) a stain on ours that was there when we moved in.  I have no idea what caused the stain and have tried multiple times to get rid of it, but have not had any success, until now.  I scrubbed at the stain for about 10 seconds and it’s gone.  I have no idea how it works, but it’s gone.  Hello beautiful counter top without a dark stain on it!!

Cleaning and Exfoliating Cloth

The day of the party, I had face soap and toner on my shopping list.  When I saw this item and the idea you could just use water and the cloth to wash your face, I decided to give it a try since it was a little less than the cost of the 2 items on my list.  So since the end of November I have been using water and this cleaning and exfoliating cloth on my face to wash it at night and in the morning.  So far so good.  My face feels great and now I have 2 less things I will have to buy.

So all this to say, I might never buy cleaning supplies from the store again.  I am so happy with these products and can’t say enough great things about them.  If you live local, feel free to come over and help me clean one day or even borrow something and give it a try.  I’m also having a party (gasp!!) to show some of these products in action.  If you are local and would like to come, it’s on Friday, January 31st at 10am.  I’ll have coffee, snacks (probably prepared by me, not Tom – sorry), and Curious George on in the playroom for the kids.  Come hang out and see why I’m so crazy over this stuff.  The only problem is that I’ll have to leave something dirty so Vava can demonstrate how the products work.  Not sure if I can handle that.  I might have to have the girls spit on the bathroom mirror that morning before they leave for school . . .