26 Adar, 5775
Call the kids and seat them in front of your monitor.
Share some quality time as you learn how to create a cleansing (and Passover-friendly), non-allergenic volcano in the kitchen, bathroom and other drains. You can use the recipe all year long, too.
Fill a kid-friendly bucket with the following supplies:
A plunger (NOT the one you use on toilets, a new one for the kitchen sink!)
Several packets, or a box, of bicarbonate soda (mei shtiya מי שתיה in Hebrew)
A slim container of 5% yellow vinegar
Paper toweling
Now you're ready for fun. But first, open a nearby window.
Kids, take charge. Grab a paper towel and wipe out all the gunk from the kitchen sink. Toss that into the trash. Yes, you. Don't worry, this is gonna be fun in a minute.
Take a new piece of paper towel and remove all the hair in bathroom sink, shower or bathtub drains. Trash that, too.
Okay, back to the kitchen. Sprinkle a packet or several tablespoons' worth of bicarbonate soda into the drain. Boring, huh? Well, add some fun with a generous dollop of vinegar and watch your kitchen volcano go into action. PU! Stand back for fresh air and let the drain goo dissolve on its own.
Add a bit more powder and/or vinegar to keep the action going. When the bubbling stops, you should, too.
Use the Kitchen Sink-Only Plunger and pooka-pooka over the drain with all your might. You're using basic chemistry and good housekeeping skills at the same time.
Adults, after the drain stops bubbling and it was pooka-pooka'ed loose of remaining debris, have the kid chemists stand far away from the sink as you pour boiling water down the pipes. That washes the loosened debris to the sewer. Mention that this is a dangerous task and that you'll teach the child/ren how to do it after they're taller and stronger.
After you're sure that the drain is cleared of all obstructions, store the kitchen plunger where it belongs. Hide the water kettle and treat the stove as a No-Fly Zone.
Thank each other and double-check that the flame on the stove is OFF. No need for more boiling water.
Head on over to the bathroom and do the same vinegar and bicarbonate soda thing in that sink, and in the tub or shower drains. There's NO NEED to follow up with boiling hot water down those drains. A simple pooka-pooka with the bathroom plunger will suffice. Flush the toilet and run the shower to chase away loosened soil.
The job is done. Teamwork is terrific.
Thank each other again and have fun figuring out why that chemical combination worked so well. Check out Kid Chemistry and be sure to share Sneaky Uses for Everything. Your inner MacGyver will have lots of fun with those resources.
PS - If you're cleaning for Passover, do not torture yourself and take the fun out of the holiday or its preparations. Dirt is NOT hametz (leavened food remnants). Rabbi Scheinberg shared that life lesson.
PPS - Today is Israel's election day and my tummy is in a knot. I'm keeping in mind that Nissan begins this Shabbat. It's a month of miracles. I'm praying for several. May this be the year of Geula B'Rakhamim (global rescue by GOD). Politicians have sure messed up countless lives.
Cheer up someone who's sick, even yourself. Buy the E-book or print edition of EMPOWER Yourself to Cope with a Medical Challenge.
Face Your Medical Problems with Dignity. Face Your Future with Optimism.
Fill your life with fun. It makes doing chores more bearable.
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