"Of all the animals, the BOY is the most unmanageable!" ~ Plato

6.30.2008

Let it be known....

Palmolive does NOT kill ants. Even if you happen to dump an ENTIRE bottle of Palmolive concentrate on the ants who are congregating in your bathroom....they will. not. die. I think they may actually enjoy the scent of the Palmolive as well as the lovely bubbles and slip and slide action. Also note that it is extremely, and I mean exTREMEly difficult to clean Palmolive off a tile bathroom floor. Adding water...does NOT help! I repeat....DOES NOT help! You will only have a sudsy mess. Then, when you try to wring out your towel to attempt to "clean" up the mess, you will have endless bubbles. Vinegar, however, IS helpful! It seems to cut right through the layers of suds! Ants are not detracted by vinegar either.


This is the main lesson I learned from Tanner today. The vinegar tip was from my mother.....

One more sunshiny fact from my boys....... At least the bathroom floor is clean now!

Gotta love em!

81 comments:

I Am Boymom said...

Yeah...gotta go with the positive on this one...at least the floor is clean! Yay!! I'm sure the ants neglected to thank you for the efforts you made to bathe them and give them a clean floor to walk around on...they're bad like that.

Amie said...

Duly noted...

Just wanted to say hi and let you know that I do read your blog, I just don't get a chance to comment often!

Anonymous said...

Funny story! I shall remember that for future reference :-)

Thanks again for finding my blog ... I have enjoyed reading yours, totally amazed at how you cope with FIVE boys. Now you are truly a Queen!

I'll definitely be back :-)

Sandra said...

I only have 3 boys... but we have nicknames for them after major catastrophic tornadoes, hurricanes and tsunami's.

Such fun!

Dee said...

good tip! my girls love to tip the liquid soap everywhere, what a nightmare!

April said...

What a cute story...though I'm sure it wasn't when it happened!! :)

Unknown said...

Ha! Good to know! Sorry you had to find out for the rest of us!

Heather said...

I'll have to remember that!

Lizzie said...

know i have a great image of ants slip sliding around a bathroom :) glad the floor got all spiffy and shiny! came over form SITS

Kimmie said...

Be grateful your boys didn't start using it as a slip and slide too... I know my older one would have

Lesley said...

When the end of the world comes....the only things left will be ants, roaches and Dick Clark....but at least they'll be clean....

Creative Junkie said...

Is there anything that vinegar DOESN'T do? I swear, that stuff is invaluable!

Blicky Kitty said...

I've used just vinegar to clean the floor before when we are out of cleaning stuff. It's awesome and cheap!

Preston said...

Let's hear it for the vinegar!

Toots said...

Good to know . . . congrats on your SITS day!!! :-)

Melissa Lester said...

I will gladly share this tip with my mother-in-law when she forwards me the e-mail about Palmolive killing ants ... again.

Anonymous said...

I think you might just have come up with Palmolive's new ad slogan (that stuff has been around forever!)...Great for dishes! Floors? Not so much!

Unknown said...

See - I can go to bed now because I learned something already.

Thanks!!!!

Anonymous said...

I learned something new today! Thanks for sharing that with us!

jubilee said...

Vinegar is a wonder product, isn't it?

Honey Mommy said...

Haha!

That sounds like quite the experiment! These are things that I never knew, and with two boys of my own I am almost afraid of all the things I am going to learn!

Crazy Momma said...

I love the things that our kids unintentionally teach us :)

Vickie said...

Ew, Ants!! I got the Hebbe Gebbies. Though, vinegar absorbs odd smells. So you have a clean floor and a nice smelling bathroom.

~Trish~ said...

Now that couldve been a fun (but dangerous LOL) slip and slide!!!

S Club Mama said...

At least the floor is clean. Want to come clean mine?

Happy SITS day

Kelly Deneen Raymond said...

I am curious how a whole bottle of Palmolive ended up on your floor. ha! But good to know about the vinegar. :)

Ronnica said...

Good to know. I never have any bug killer, so I attempt to kill bugs with whatever chemical I have on hand!

Anonymous said...

I love vinegar. It's so versatile. Maybe I need to dump some dish soap on my floor so I have motivation to clean it. :)

Katie said...

Yeah for clean floors....and vinegar!!

Michelle said...

Clean is always good... even if it takes some pain to get there, right? And hey -- you had a child who ummmm wanted to help you clean? Work with me here....

cornnut32 said...

i will definintely keep that in mind! i'd never heard of using vinegar. that's a great tip.

Unknown said...

So, are the ants still hanging around, or did you find another cleaning agent that DOES affect them?? lol

Karol said...

Well, I'm glad to know what *not* to use to kill ants! whew! Sounds like that was a fun time!

*Happy SITS day!

Kristy said...

Just wanted to share a little SITStaly love today!

OneZenMom said...

Well at least you've got your sense of humor about it. :)

We had a recurring ant problem this summer. They ARE hearty little buggers, aren't they? Stuff that would kill most bug - and even some people - just doesn't seem to phase them. And they just wear you down with sheer numbers.

Next time, try cedar oil. It really does work. And it's a lot easier to clean up off of the bathroom floor. And non-toxic to your beautiful boys, too. :)

LoraBB said...

What a mess! All the fancy cleaning products out there and it turns out that a simple vinegar solution is the answer. Too funny.

Laura said...

Oh, ants! Pesky little things. Vinegar is a wonder! Enjoy your SITS day!

Amy said...

Uggh, There is always an upside though :D

Avery Tales said...

Do we even want to know how the Palmolive and ants ended up in the bathroom floor? Probably not. :)

Jacie said...

I hate ants. I am convinced their little bodies of armor are not penetrable by anything you have available (Palmolive for you, Suave hairspray for me) when the need to get rid of them arises.

Marrdy said...

Hooray for clean bathroom floors with boys. At least one good thing came from the stupid ants!

Carrie said...

heehee That is SO funny! I hate bugs, so I'd be trying anything!

Mrsbear said...

Soapy messes are no fun especially on a tile floor, it's a dangerous combo...trust me, I know. ;-)

Mammatalk said...

I will keep that in mind the next time we have an ant invasion. Tricky little experiment ya had there! Hope noone was hurt.

Mandy said...

Thanks for the tip!

Congrats on your FB day!

Anonymous said...

Wait, so that's a myth? I thought that worked. I feel so misled.

Anonymous said...

ha! I can picture it. Must have taken hours to scrub off. Death to palmolive-loving ants!

Rhea said...

haha Oh, I'm sorry, I do feel for you.

Did you know that an entire apple down the toilet equates a visit from the plumber?

And a plastic remote control car in the oven baking does NOT smell good?

I have two boys.

The Boss Lady said...

I've learned, courtesy of my two boys, that:

1. You really can get stuck in between the couch and the wall if you try hard enough.

2. Army men placed in cups of water and then stuck in the freezer will explode...along with the cup.

3. Stickers on shirts from the doctor's office don't come off when you put them through the dryer. They just destroy the shirt.

4. Red ants don't like to be poked. And they call in reinforcements when they are.

5. Weiners are entertaining. Always. :)

deb@virginia blue said...

LOL..
Kind of reminds me of the time when my boys were 4 and 5 (355 days apart, they are)...
my 4 yr old came into the bathroom to tell me (oh-so-matter-of-factly) that my 5 yr old had set the kitchen trash on fire...

yep! sure enough, flames were crawling up the kitchen wall.

Gotta love life with boys! =)

Legal Diva said...

I have 5 kids, and the last 2 are boys that are 18 mos apart. They are 4 and 5 now... I will make a note of the vinegar solution. Do you think it helps with shampoo drizzled down the hall carpet?

Anonymous said...

LOL Oh Dear!!

Anonymous said...

Haha, don't I know it. We had an ant problem and I would fill spray bottles up for the kids to spray them. Every morning when I got up, I just smelled vinegar - like super strong and the ants were still there!

Grand Pooba said...

Oh dear! Thanks for the tip!

mrsmouthy said...

Maybe try paint thinner next time.

KatBouska said...

Oh my gosh! I definitely would not have thought to use vinegar!

Nina said...

I so hate when the ants come into my house.

Live.Love.Eat said...

I'll remember this!!!!

Congrats!

Louisa Claire said...

thanks! that's classic :)

Frankie and Bella said...

Wow this is so funny. I could just imagine the scene exactly! I felt for you reading this and then had to have a little giggle :)

jori-o said...

Aack...bugs of any kind, indoors are high on my list of Things I Do Not Like. Has it been long enough, though? Can you laugh about the bubble bugs?

angie said...

Ugh, ants. Once a year they would dare to visit me, so I used to keep a can of raid in certain spots. The floral scent isn't very floral. Still smells like poison.

www.AForestFrolic.typepad.com said...

OOOh Yucky! Thanks for the tip. I hate ants in the house! Cute blog!

Alison said...

Good to know!

Jen said...

that is just too funny. I will have to watch out for that one.

Susan said...

is this what i have to look forward to? my only boy is almost 3... glad to know about the vinegar and soap though. probably a tip that will in fact come in handy some day.

{leah} said...

Hey, what ever works to get the bathroom floor clean.

Anonymous said...

I hate bugs in the house! Vinegar to get rid of excess soap suds - great tip... For those times when your little one gets into the liquid soap and dumps it all over the place.

WheresMyAngels said...

You just got to learn to live with them in harmony. Ants, I don't' even bother to try to get rid of. The BUG exterminators told me along time ago, there isn't much you can do about them unless you go outside and find their source. I just picture them singing the ant song as they march around my home and that makes me happy!

Lavender n Lattés said...

I am picturing myself (after adding the water) with the towel trying to wring it! Yep - that is something I could definitely see myself doing!

Anonymous said...

Tough little buggers :)

Anonymous said...

Yes, ants are persistant. Between those and the spiders...I had to call in the professionals.....every 3 months....

Mandy said...

I hope I never, never have to find that out for myself! LOL!! Wow, what a mess!!

Tiffany said...

See, always showing you the bright side.

Shannon said...

Now I'll know how to get rid of any ants in my bathroom, LOL!

Lindsey said...

Vinegar is a wonder solution...I hear if you warm up some apple cider vinegar in the microwave, then use a toothbrush it will take gum out of clothes. Good to know! :)

C♥ said...

amazing story.

one for blackmail for sure. haha

Astrid in Bristling Acres said...

Funny story! Who got to clean up the mess? I hope it wasn't you!

Rachael said...

Oh my goodness. I can just see myself on my hands and knees with a wet towel trying to clean it up and just making it worse. Agh!

kimberly said...

ha! this so sounds like something that would go on in my house! I have 5 girls....we should compare notes! I dont have typical girls either....they are just as gross as boys!

Good luck keeping that floor clean!

Unknown said...

What a cute story...though I'm sure it wasn't when it happened!! :)