My love affair with vinegar

I think I'm in love.  There really is nothing that vinegar cannot do!  After taking pictures for my last post I was ASHAMED by the white plaque of hard water that was all over the kitchen utensils.

Close-ups of the grossness:

Disgusting. So I did what every person does when faced with a dilemma - I asked my Mom what she suggests. She suggested soaking them in vinegar water, then washing them again in the dishwasher.  Duh! Why didn't I think of that?  Everyone knows my crush on vinegar with laundry - time to start in the kitchen!

About ten minutes after talking to my mom I already had the utensils in the sink, ready for their hot water vinegar bath!

While the utensils enjoyed their soak, I ran the dishwasher with CLR according to the directions on the back of the bottle to tackle the hard water buildup, then ran the dishwasher again through a full cleaning cycle to make sure to get rid of all of the CLR.  (This actually took about 3 hours total with me reminding to restart the dishwasher.)

After their soak, the whole lot looked like a new set of utensils!!! And did I mention it required ZERO scrubbing?!

I ultimately ran them through the dishwasher as a means to start fresh and new, then back to the utensil holder they go!  But not before a quick photo shoot on the counter.

Luke thought I had lost it: "What are you taking pictures of now?"

"Look at how clean the spoons are!" Sheer giddiness and excitement on my part.

How about a closer up?!

One more BEFORE:

AFTER:

I. Love. Vinegar.

AMAZING results from one conversation and about 5 minutes of effort - totally worth it!  Thanks Mom!