Question: Should I get (and use) a SAD lamp?
I haven’t been diagnosed with SAD or anything, but I definitely experience typical winter hibernation behaviors (some blahs, weight gain/fatigue), I also have been told that my Vitamin D was on the low side (like lots of people living on the 47th parallel north).
My doctor thinks they’re worth trying, my therapist says they’re “placebo at best”, and anecdotes from others I’ve talked with suggest a lot of hit and miss.
Can you just take a high dose of vitamin? Or does the lamp do something extra?
How can I wash my washing machine? It’s kinda smelling funky. The internet said a vinegar wash at the largest setting but that only helped a little.
Among my friends (and myself) that have used them, those of us who used them consistently as recommended have noticed a difference. For me it’s a fairly profound effect since my workdays begin and end in the dark so my light is the only way my retinas get that spectrum.
I think it’s important to note they’re meant to treat fatigue and malaise due to lack of sunlight, and affect the pathway of retinal light exposure (not skin) – so won’t treat things like clinical depression or chronic fatigue and won’t help produce vit D.
I use one and it helps me a bit. It’s not a massive change, but enough that I notice.
I’ve never taken any meds & it was suggested by my therapist as another “tool in my tool belt” when we did a check-in re:my feelings about meds and I was still reluctant.
I now have a ridiculous amount of things on my tool belt. But for me the lamp was worth it. 
I think there may be specific washing machine cleaner tabs, but I have never used those. I have used bleach with an empty machine set for a full load on hot water. Or even just an empty load with soap. If you are concerned about any bleach residue, run another empty load (though your machine may have settings for two rinses, or you can manually do another rinse cycle).
I also try to let the machine dry out between use, so leave the lid (or door) open for awhile (a day or two).
I should add I have best success in winter making sure my Vit D is adequate and getting enough sleep.
This thread is amazing, by the way. I love it a lot
Kitti do you have a top loader or front loader? I have a top loader so do a cup of bleach in hot water by itself once or twice a year. Vinegar rinses with my clothes the rest of the time.
Local appliance repair service here recommends gallon of bleach on full hot, then a cycle with gallon of vinegar on full hot. Then one cycle empty full hot.
The funky smell is caused mainly by detergent residue breeding bacteria. If you don’t have hard water, you need to use a lot less detergent than most people think. Like 1/2 way up to the #1 line on detergent cap even for large loads.
Favorite brand or link to a SAD lamp in case I want to try it?
My high efficiency top loader is fancy (read: needy) and asks me to run a cleaning cycle every thirty washes*. I can use Fancy Branded Product or just a quarter cup of bleach. I’m not sure how much water it puts in to go with the quarter cup of bleach but per Clorox’s website answering a question about sanitizing a sick person’s room to avoid MRSA and C. Diff: “For your problem, a disinfecting bleach can be used as follows. Pre-clean any surface. Make a disinfecting solution (3/4 cup Clorox® Regular Bleach2 in a gallon of water); wash or wipe this solution on the surface; allow to stand for at least 5 minutes; rinse and air dry.
Read more at https://www.clorox.com/how-to/disinfecting-sanitizing/disinfecting-with-bleach/sanitizing-with-bleach/”
Math says that it’s 3 parts bleach to 63 parts water, or 1 part bleach to 21 parts water, so I guess if a washer is using 21 gallons in a normal wash cycle then 1 gallon of bleach sounds right.
Wow ok that’s a lot! But I guess it should do the trick. I have hard water and always run large load so do the max soap.
Thanks!
That’s why I like my top loader. I’ve used front loaders but I don’t think they work as well.
I also use way less detergent than what is “recommended” (like half or less). Unless you are washing really soiled things (poopy diapers, clothes with a ton of mud on them), “normal” clothing is just not that “dirty”.
I’ve also heard that powdered detergent is “better” for your machine’s life, as in, if you use powdered the machine with last longer because it will leave less residue. I don’t remember if this was a specific recommendation for front loading machines though (I have a front loader and it works great for me). I switched to powder for all but the worst stuff I am washing, and my clothes are still clean and the powdered costs less. YMMV!
I can’t find an empty jar to mix together my shea butter with another oil for better using. And adding vanilla. If I use a ramikin and a fake lid like tinfoil, how many weeks before the bacteria rise up and kill me? Or I’ll be okay? Did Greeks and Romans have lids on their amphora of oils?
And I think powdered seems less Evo terrible!
Plant people! I have a plant that was outdoors that I recently brought indoors (pepper plant). The plant itself seems to be thriving but the vessel it’s in (a terra cotta pot) seems to have mold or something growing on it. It looks like little white fuzz. I scrubbed it clean, and now it looks like it’s growing back! There’s no fuzz on the actual plant. Thoughts as to what this could be? I am planning on just replanting it in a new pot and tossing this pot out— it this the right move? Thanks!
When you scrubbed it clean did you use soap or anything on it? Or just water?