Add Some Water

[StudentMom]

Originally Posted by Megan

For years, my mother diluted my sister's juice with water to get her the added fluoride. When my brother and I were young, we didn't have fluoridated water, so we had fluoride vitamins, but my sister didn't have that benefit, so Mom did what she could to get her to drink water. It made the juice last so much longer too.

I do this for my son. He will NOT drink water, I offer him a sip many times a day and he takes the sip, not a drop more. His juice is 1/4 juice, 3/4 water.

[gt0163c]

Originally Posted by amandajane

I water down full fat milk, figured it's a bit like buying low fat milk but you get twice as much :0)

I don't really understand the rationale behind watering down milk. Yes, the milk goes farther and has fewer calories, but you're also getting less of the nutrients. If you want fewer calories, you can buy lower fat milk that has the same nutrients but less fat and, therefore, fewer calories.
I suppose if you're buying whole milk for kids and the adults want something with fewer calories but don't want to buy a different kind of milk, that kinda makes sense. But there's still the issue of getting fewer nutrients.

Can someone add some additional explaination?

[mbhunter]

I think we've made a big bottle of (hand) dishwashing soap last for almost two years by putting about two teaspoons or so in a smaller bottle and diluting that about 20-40 to 1. Basically, we squirt in mostly water with a tiny bit of soap. The upside is that it's a lot easier to control how much soap goes into the sink; it's hard to take the soap out of the water once you've put it in!

[redsoxmaniac]

Along the same lines as this thread. An appliance guy told me to use 1/3-1/2 of the recommended amount of soup in dishwasher and washer. I looked at him like he was nuts. He smiled and said try it for a week and tell me you don't get the same results. I did and he was absolutely right. Now detergent good for 32 loads is good for 64-80. If clothes are really dirty (gardening clothes etc. ) I'll go with 1/2 the am't. Things like bath towels I'll use 1/3 the amount. They come out perfect. Same with dishes. I fill the dish cup 1/2 full. You would never know the difference. Manufacturers and sponsoring advertisers (you know how you always get a free sample when you buy a new appliance of some detergent or softener) are in cahoots. They decide the recommended amounts. According to the appliance guy you could run your washer or dishwasher without any soup for a few cycles because of the buildup.

[Solinvicta]

Originally Posted by gt0163c

I don't really understand the rationale behind watering down milk. Yes, the milk goes farther and has fewer calories, but you're also getting less of the nutrients. If you want fewer calories, you can buy lower fat milk that has the same nutrients but less fat and, therefore, fewer calories.
I suppose if you're buying whole milk for kids and the adults want something with fewer calories but don't want to buy a different kind of milk, that kinda makes sense. But there's still the issue of getting fewer nutrients.

Can someone add some additional explaination?

I'm not sure about watering down milk entirely, but I have heard of people mixing milk 50 / 50 with nonfat dry milk. If you don't like the taste of nonfat dry, this apparently covers up enough of the taste that you don't notice, while still giving some cost savings. Haven't tried it myself, though.

[gt0163c]

Originally Posted by redsoxmaniac

Along the same lines as this thread. An appliance guy told me to use 1/3-1/2 of the recommended amount of soup in dishwasher and washer.

I've been doing this for a while now and it does work great. Same thing with fabric softener in the dryer. Depending on the weather conditions and your own preferences, it's possible to soften a whole load of laundry on a half or third of a dryer sheet. Dryer sheets can also often be reused. If it still smells like a dryer sheet, it's still good.

[mcnerd]

When I get condensed juices in a can I will always add more water to make more. I've always done that because I liked a less strong drink, even before I realized it was a frugal thing to do. Now I pat myself on the back every time I do it.

[engchik]

I do this with the POM juice. POM jiuce is about 4-6 per bottle, so i cut it with seltzer water or tap water. tastes good, same benefits, and lasts longer. and def with ice!

[kowensby]

Originally Posted by meliann

I water down liquid dish soap - when it's half empty, I fill it back up. I also add water to shampoo bottles when it's almost empty to get a couple more washings out of it

I do the exact same thing. One time I knew I didn't have the money to go out and buy some more shampoo so I put water in every bottle of shampoo in the shower and was able to wash my hair a few more times.

[kav122]

Originally Posted by lilac

Along that kind of vein, one of my friends makes her daughter drink a tall glass of water for every box of juice she drinks to get her more fluoride and to get her used to sipping on water instead of just juicejuicejuice all the time.

In the "tightwad gazette," Amy, the author, made a point that I hadn't thought about before: Instead of watering down juice, give your kids mostly water, and an occasional glass of juice. Using about the same amount of juice to water but by making your kids drink water, you are teaching them that every drink doesn't have flavor thus *hopefully* preventing them from becoming soda drinkers.

Nothing against those that do "water down" the juice, but I thought I would give it a try. I didn't think much of it, but several family and friends have commented on the fact that my boy "will drink water". I think 'well, if that's all he's gonna get, he'll drink it.' *laugh*