Vinegar!

     I've been living in the dark.  I feel like my eyes have suddenly been opened and the sunlight is pouring in.  The sun is shining and the birds are chirping.  All because of vinegar.
     I've heard a million times that you can use vinegar to clean with and I've never really believed it.  Leave it to the nut eatin', tree huggin', granola people, to find a gross way to clean your house.  WRONG!  Here's my vinegar testimony.
     My washing machine is disgusting.  I'm admitting this and letting you all in on something I am ashamed and embarrassed by.  Not that people show up to my house asking to see in my washer to check the cleanliness of my house; but now I want them too.  Just to prove that I'm not lazy and gross.
     My washer has had a layer of hard detergent buildup for years.  I have bleached it, used all the over the counter additives, scraped to my heart's content, to no avail.  Nothing I have done has ever made a dent in the gross stuff.  It has just continued to grow and laugh at me every time I have opened the the lid to throw another load in.
     Today while surfing Pinterest (my dirty, dirty habit), I discovered a blog about cleaning with vinegar.  "Fine, I'll give it a try.  It can't be any worse than scraping with a putty knife for an hour with no results".
     I filled the drum with hot water and added a cup of vinegar.  I made sure to splash the top of the drum and the buildup with it so it could soak, and left it for 2 hours.
     When I came back, I grabbed a washcloth and lightly rubbed the grimy detergent.  It came off.  ALL of it.  It just came off!!!  No elbow grease.  Here comes the sun, do an do do.
     I am beyond amazed.  I have it set to do a second rinse and I can't wait to see the finished result.  I am now a believer!  Praise vinegar and it's amazing yuck melting properties.