Going back to the original post. There is rarely a time when one needs to remove all the soil. If one wante to get rid of a bad mix, such as a commercial growers muck, it really isn't necessary to get it all off. Your new mix will predominate in the pot and the roots will grow out into it and be fine. The issue isn't one of contamination, like in cleaning a kitchen table. Its a proportional thing. But, if there is a pest issue, like soil mealy bugs, then you want to take more drastic action. When soaking the soil off a plant, I use a small plastic basin, and then toss the dirty water out in the garden. If it is a mealie bug issue, I remove the dry soil first and toss that in the trash, cut off all the roots and reroot the crown under cover, so that it doesn't shock. For a cover I used to use ziplock bags, in which I would enclose the pot and plant. But, nowadays I tend to use the rectangular domes that fit on the 10/20 trays that I use on my light stand. The violets love these enclosures--especially the high domes which are 6-7" tall and fit on top of the 2" trays. I grow my tiny minis under the domes all the time and use them for propagating gesneraids. Now, I only use ziplocks for special situations and for starting seed. There is a great chapter of the gesneriad society in Manhattan. It meets on the third Saturday in the Chelsea district. Info on this group can be found from the AGGS web site--chapter's page. I think the chapter has a web site. This is a great group with many really wonderful people. They grow all kinds of gesneriads including African Violets. I'm currently learning about Coir, having switched from Peat last summer. I am buying it in loose 2 cu ft. bags. So far so good. I am also just now trying it in my seed starting mix (1-1-1, cooked to pasturize). Hopefully this stuff will work better than peat. I don't know what the status is of the "salty coir". The world wide situation is that most coir is processed in salt water rather than fresh. But, until relatively recently this stuff was all waste. Hopefully now, the horticultural products will be from fresh water processed coir. A simple way to tell what you have is quickly seen, as I have read--all the plants die. As I said, with the stuff I have bought--so far, so good. I have bought my coir from American Soil Products in Richmond, Ca (Bay Area). Its about $8 for the bag. Jon

I do a baking soda treatment every couple of weeks and the improvement is amazing! I got the idea from the recipe website I frequent, recipezaar.com. I've posted the link to the recipe below. As you can see from the 42 reviews, there are some issues (the soda can strip hair dye right out, for instance), but most people love it. Here is a link that might be useful: hair clarifier

I love the Pureology products. I alternate then with Bumble &Bumble. I have long hair and we play a lot with the color. I always though salon products were a way too expensive but I finally decided to invest in a couple of giant bottles. I paid around $80 or $90 for those first two bottles. I found that you use so much less of the good stuff that those bottles lasted me two years plus! That's pennies on the dollar I was paying when I was spending around 10 dollars a month on drugstore products. I've found in my area at least the salon products are cheaper in my salon than they are are Target etc.

I was at Ulta last week, not my favorite place to shop, looking something for my hair. I have color treated, fine hair but lots of it. I never use conditioner, a detangler or even shampoo with a conditioner. I stay away from any extra products, they make my hair flat and feel dirty the next day. I asked one of the hairdresser for a suggestion and she recommended Beach Envy volumizer by Redken. it was pricey but she said I could come in and swap it out if I didn't like it. I will say it is the best thing I have ever tried on my hair! Its almost like a gel that you apply after shampooing, work through and then rinse out. My hair is full, the slight curl, I wear it in a longish bob, stays in for at least 3 days and it does not feel dirty, it actually feels good. I like my hair to look healthy and have movement (says my hairdresser) and it does. BTW the gal from Ulta said if I didn't like that product that Fashion waves 07 that lukki suggested was very good too, she actually didn't know which one to recommend to me. I finally have a product that works for me!!! It will probably be discontinued tomorrow LOL.