Kate is Going High-tech… kinda

5 years. Maybe more.  That’s how long I’ve been pondering an update to this blog. I like this old blog, with the picture of my old dogs (gone 3 years now). I got comfortable with the administrative side of it. I know how it works.

I can hear you saying: Come ON, Kate.  This blog is kinda “blah-looking”!

And in response, I think to myself: Self, you’re an engineer, not a designer. Straight lines, 90 degree angles and logical menus – that’s what you need, Self. You don’t need “pretty”, Self.  Heck, you can’t handle “pretty”. 

But gosh dang it, it’s time for change.

I’ve bitten the bullet and and am upgrading. I’m doing all the work by myself – which is scary – and possibly stupid.  I’m going to learn a lot or go crazy trying!

Full Disclosure:

I have no idea what this switch-over entails.  I don’t know if the blog will:

1. be off-line while I do the work (worst case)
2. all messed up while I work on it (not great, but not the worst) and/or
3. look the same until I’m all done (best case)

Whatever happens, I appreciate your patience.  I hope to have it all done by mid-Dec (or at least a first draft). I look forward to hearing from you then!

Black Friday e-cloth Sale

Another great sale at eclothusa.com. I know it’s difficult to get excited about cleaning supplies but truly, the cloths make great stocking stuffers (especially for people that have huge, stretchy stockings that are hard to fill).

As always, if you’ve got questions or need help deciding which product is best for you, please don’t hesitate to leave a comment below.

OR- if you’ve got suggestions for first-timers on what they absolutely need, please help them out with a comment below.

How Does a Black Friday/Cyber Monday Sale Sound to You?

We’ve got a doozy of a sale coming up.  Please make sure you’re on my list so that you don’t miss out.

Return of the Great Dust Pad (and our 2 for 1 sale)

A couple of years ago, someone had the bright idea to… wait for it… DISCONTINUE THE DUST PAD for the deep clean mop!

I was outraged! I mean, that thing is magic. AND after the General Purpose cloth, it was my most-recommended e-cloth product.  They stinking discontinued it.  I was so distraught, confused and angry, that I didn’t even post about it on my blog (that would have been one very harsh and blunt post). I just couldn’t comprehend the reasoning.

But now, after a couple of years of me pestering the powers that be – and getting customers to do the same.

The Dust Pad is Back! 

This is seriously good news, folks.  I’ve got a couple of blog posts here and here about how it compares to the Norwex pad, how much I love it and how I couldn’t live without it.  Check them out. And if you have questions, fire them off to me.  I’m happy to answer!

In OTHER BIG NEWS, our annual Fall 2 for 1 Sale is on.  2 amazing cloths for $7.99.

Cleaning your Instant Pot® – Getting to the Tight Spots

Foreword: I am aware that most parts of the Instant Pot® can be cleaned in the dishwasher.  I’m going to focus on the outer “Cooker Base” part that includes the buttons and heating element.

Living in Japan as a (mostly) non-Japanese speaking person is in many ways like living in a bubble.  Thanks to the internet, I had access to most news and current events but keeping up with music and new-fangled kitchen appliances is tricky.  So I was mighty bewildered when my facebook feed lit up over the Christmas break with post after post after POST by friends touting the great things they cooked in their new Instant Pot®.

And…

…now I have an Instant Pot®.

Part of the beauty of the Instant Pot is how easy it is to clean.  Essentially everything except the outer “cooker base” can be put into the dishwasher.

One of the questions I’ve seen come up frequently in the facebook groups is how to clean the top of the base. I mean the part that the lid slides into.  It collects gunk and grease and liquid.

Well, let me introduce you to the Kitchen Dynamo by e-cloth®. See how it fits right into the groove there?! Read on…

 

5 Reasons to Clean your Instant Pot® with the Kitchen Dynamo

1. Like all e-cloths, the Kitchen Dynamo picks up and traps bacteria. In fact it picks up over 99% of bacteria.  So if you accidentally spilled some raw meat juices into the lip at the top or anywhere on the sides, you can wipe that up easily. No chemical sprays required! Note: If you aren’t familiar with e-cloth and how it works, or aren’t aware of how it removes bacteria, please feel free to leave me your questions in the comments.
2. The shaggy fibres fit perfectly into the tight grooves of the top of the pot AND the shaggy fibres pick up food bits and hang on to them.
3. The Kitchen Dynamo is AMAZING at wiping up grease. Instead of spraying cleanser or soap on your Instant Pot® and then having to wipe all that off, just dampen the Dynamo and wipe. If you haven’t tried e-cloth products on grease spatter, you’re in for a very pleasant surprise.
4. The Kitchen Dynamo has rows of little scrubby fibres that remove stuck-on bits. The scrubbers are safe on all surfaces and won’t scratch the surface of your Instant Pot®.
5. The Dynamo is super absorbent! So if you accidentally spill something inside that groove at the top of your Instant Pot or moisture from the lid drop down into it, you can sop it up easily.

I’ve had my Instant Pot® for 3 months now.  I use it at least 3 times a week and thanks to my Kitchen Dynamo, it looks brand new.

For more information or to purchase the Kitchen Dynamo, please visit eclothusa.com.

 

Kate… WHERE have you been?

I know, I know, I know.  It seems like I’ve disappeared from the internet.  I’m not updating the blog,  and I’ve been slow to respond to comments.

Apologies!

You know… I moved to Japan.  That was a year ago now and I’ve gotta tell ya, this place is awesome! I have contemplated blogging about our experiences here but frankly I’m afraid I would just be worried about blogging all the time.  There are so many new – and STRANGE – things for me to experience here and I just want to focus on enjoying them.  Not on writing about them.

But I am still here.  Lurking around the internet. I’m still selling ecloth products and I respond to questions on the website (eclothusa.com) within a day. So if you’ve got specific e-cloth product questions, that’s the place to ask.

Keep in mind that I’m 12-16 hours ahead of USA time. So depending on what time you contact me (at eclothusa.com website), I may respond almost immediately… or it may take me a day.

In case you’re wondering, it’s stinking hot here in the summer.  Humid and evening temps rarely go below 30 degrees Celcius. I realize there are hotter places in the US but for this Canadian, it’s mighty uncomfy.

There are many, MANY things I could share with you, but here are just a few to wet your appetite.

Up close at Sumo practice

Squid is available everywhere, cheap, in massive quantities. Remy is NOT impressed!

$50 cake- beer can for scale. It was small!

There is a hole in our floor for storing rice.

This is the control panel for our TOILET!!! You should see the one for our tub. There are 7 more buttons on the outside of the flap that is flipped down.

All carrots in Japan are exactly the same size and shape!

There are some INSANE roads in Japan. Windy, steep and hair-raisingly narrow.

This is the truck that moved our furniture across town. It took 2 trips.

What to do if your Norwex or e-cloth® “Accidentally” Touches Bleach

Let me give you a couple of scenarios, because I know YOU would never let your precious e-cloth or Norwex cloth come into contact with bleach.

Disclaimer: These scenarios are loosely based on emails I received from kind readers like yourself.

Scenario 1: The Laundry Incident

A man (we’ll call him “Husband”), your dream man, is working shirtless, flexing his muscles as he loads laundry into the machine.  Heck who cares what he looks like, HE’S DOING THE LAUNDRY!

Love, right?

He looks your way and dazzles you with a wink and a smile as he throws your Norwex and/or e-cloths into the machine. You smile back and silently congratulate yourself on how well you trained him (Yes, I realize that I’m totally stereotyping here.)

But wait.  What is that?  WHAT is THAT? Is that BLEACH!?

Everything goes slow-mo.

Your face transforms to a look of utter fear and horror as you raise your hand to your mouth and shout/SCREAM “Noooooo-oooooo-ooooo!”.

You run, slow-mo-style, across the room.

But it’s too late, my friend.  The bleach is in the washer with your adored microfiber cloths.

Scenario 2: The Bathroom Incident

A woman (we’ll call her “Well-intended-mother-in-law” – WIMIL for short) is visiting.  You’re a tired mom with busy kids and the cleaning and cooking have fallen by the wayside. WIMIL has generously offered to do some cooking and cleaning.

Cooking is done and WIMIL heads to the bathroom to make it sparkle.  Kids are at school and you’re relaxing with a book and a cup of tea, thinking: “Life is good right now“.  You are absolutely loving your WIMIL.

But wait.  What is that sound? That sounds like a spray-bottle.  You think to yourself “I don’t have any spray bottles“.  And then you smell it.

Spray-cleanser-with-bleach!

You jump up from the couch, spilling tea in you lap and on the upholstery (but you don’t worry because you’ll clean that up with an e-cloth in a moment). Like an Olympian, you hurdle over the coffee table and stray toys to the bathroom and find WIMIL happily wiping the spray-cleanser-with-bleach with your bathroom e-cloth/Norwex cloth.

Note: This image is from thedailymail.co.uk. It’s not my mother-in-law and that is definitely NOT an e-cloth or Norwex cloth in her hand. I just thought the picture was hilarious because of how dressed up she is. Click on the link and you’ll see the entire article with lots of pics of her cleaning in her gorgeous dress. Obviously I need to step up my cleaning wardrobe.

You gasp – but silently of course because this is your WIMIL, after all. Then you turn and swear (again, silently), walk away and make a mental note to have your laundry-doing-wonder-husband to give your WIMIL a quick e-cloth/Norwex lesson.

Why Can’t e-cloths and Norwex Cloths be Used or Laundered with Bleach?

E-cloths (and Norwex) work so well because of the quality, number, and thinness of their fibers.  Bleach can degrade and break down the fibers, making them less effective.

What to do if Your e-cloth/Norwex Touches Bleach

Firstly, take a deep breath.  It’s not the end of the world.

1. A little contact with bleach – say you noticed the mistake right away (like you walk in on WIMIL wiping a bit of bleach cleanser) or the bleach was well diluted in water – say 5% bleach to water. Take the cloth out/away from the bleach and rinse it immediately in hot water. This cloth is going to continue to work well and you may not notice any difference in its ability to wipe up grease, dirt, soap scum etc. I can’t guarantee that it will still be picking up bacteria but you’ll find lots of other good uses for it (eg, in the car, windows, cleaning messes on the stove, dusting, wiping crayon off the wall, cleaning the tea off your couch that you spilled when you heard WIMIL spraying bleach to name a few.)
2. Lots of bleach – say WIMIL decided your e-cloth/Norwex was too stained and needed a “cleaning” so she soaked it in bleach.  Chances are the fibers are going to be destroyed to some level. Definitely do not depend on that cloth to remove bacteria from surfaces any longer.  But that doesn’t mean the cloth is done for.  Give it a try, it could still be great for other cleaning jobs.  It likely won’t be as absorbent as it used to be but I think you’ll still find some good use for it.

As always, if you have questions, please feel free to ask. I’m always looking for new ideas for blog posts and your questions are of great help.  If you’re asking, chances are lots of other people are wondering too.

 

5 Easy Ways to Convert a Spray Cleanser Hold-out to e-cloths

I’ve converted you, right?  Somehow, either here on my blog, or on my facebook page or personal email, I’ve led you to the lighter side of cleaning and the wonderful world of e-cloth.

You’re loving your e-cloths. You love them so much you’ve told your friends, family and even strangers.

They all love e-cloth… except that one hold-out.  That one person that just doesn’t see how much easier their cleaning could be.  Or how much safer their cleaning could be.  Or just how much better their cleaning could be.

You’ve tried everything and you just KNOW they’ll like it if they just give it a chance.  I know this because many of you have emailed me telling me about that one person in your life.

Well, here are 5 ideas on how to convert them:

1. Invite them over for breakfast/brunch and cook a big batch of bacon on the stove. (Note, some of you may be sworn “bacon is cooked in the oven” peeps, like me but to convert the hold-outs, you’ve got to cook it on the stove top) Let the grease splatter everywhere. The more grease the better.  Then show them how easy it is to wipe up all that grease – and have a squeaky clean stove – with a damp e-cloth.  If you fold the cloth in half, and then in half again, you’ll have 8 sides of the cloth to use.  With this folding method, you should be able to clean the entire greasy mess without having to rinse the cloth until you’re done.  Get your friend to rub their finger across the stove afterwards so they can hear the squeaky clean-ness.
2. Clean the kitchen sink, faucet and knobs with an e-cloth.  A very quick wipe with a damp e-cloth will remove most water marks, stains, grease and bacteria.  You can do it in between 30 and 60 seconds and have an utterly spotless, gleaming, clean sink.
3. Remind them that most chemical sprays have to be left on a surface for 10 minutes to remove bacteria.  AND, you’re inhaling those sprays.  I don’t know anyone that sprays their counter and then waits 10 minutes to wipe it off, do you?  Wipe the counter with a damp e-cloth and you’re done!
4. If the hold-out has kids, use an e-cloth to wipe any or all of these up in a jiffy: greasy fingerprints on walls, pee around the toilet, yogurt (dried or fresh) off the floor or walls, marker/crayon/paint off walls or furniture, an entire glass of spilled milk, chocolate out of the couch, etc.
5. Clean their windows.  The window cleaning impresses everyone 😉

Do you have a friend or family member that just can’t seem to make the switch?  Or did you “convert” someone to e-cloth?  I want, no NEED, to hear about it so please do share!

 

50% OFF Kate’s Most Recommended Pack and More

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again.  When the e-cloth warehouse gets crowded, you save big! We’re clearing out a number of products, which means super-amazing prices for you.

Most exciting for me (and it should be for you too!) is the sale on what I’m calling Kate’s Power Pack Blue (really called “Aquarium & Vivarium” pack, but that title is sooooo stinking boring and limiting).

The Power Pack includes a General Purposecloth AND a Glass & Polishing cloth for only $7.49!!! (Compare that to $30-$40 on the Norwex Basic Pack, which is essentially the same).

We also have the Pink Power Pack on sale but it’s slightly more expensive because $1.50 of the cost is donated to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

How Much Does Kate Love These 2 Packs?

Check out the blog post I wrote all about them some time ago!

What Else is 50% Off?

The Dual Action Car Wash Mitt is another one of my favs. It’ll easily clean grease, oil, dirt and salt off your vehicle.  And kids love it.  This would be a PERFECT stocking-stuffer for a lot of people!

A number of the e-body products are also on 50% off.

I USE and KNOW all of these products.  If you have questions, feel free to ask.

 

FREE Wash & Wipe Dish Cloth with Select e-cloth® Purchases!

The new Wash & Wipe Dish Cloths have been very, VERY popular.  So popular that we sold out of them in record time and the poor, poor people had to wait for more.

And let me just tell you that my husband said “I like that new cloth”.  Them’s strong words coming from him! He is NOT one to voice his opinion on cleaning products.  Or on anything really, for that matter.

We think you’ll like it so much that for a limited time, we’re giving them away FREE!

Free?  What’s the catch?

No catch, you get one free with the purchase of either a General Purpose cloth or a Glass & Polishing cloth.

I know, I know. You want to reach through your computer and kiss me, don’t you.

Enjoy!