Product Reviews: Tres Rios Chips, Yoder's Salsa, Moldzyme

Chips-n-Salsa
I just tried the Tres Rios Blue Corn Chips from the Co-op. These chips are made from organic blue corn by Reyna Foods in Pittsburgh. They are on the shelf right behind the register. They are fantastic! They are super thin and therefore super crisp. They have just the right amount of salt on them--not too much, not too little. At $2.25/bag, EVERYONE who loves chips should give them a try. Be careful though, you might end up being addicted. Good thing we can get stuff by the case!

I also bought a jar of Yoder's Country Kettle medium salsa. I had this salsa at a class at the Co-op and really liked it. The unique thing about this salsa (besides it being fairly local--yay!) is its sweetness. I would not have labeled it medium. To me, a heat lover, it is merely mild. Even so, it has such a great flavor I'd buy it anyway. My kids all liked this salsa which is a coup in itself. It is great with the Tres Rios chips.

-Diane, Co-op member, mom, creative spirit

Moldzyme
I wanted to get away from the harmful chemicals used to make vinyl, so when our old shower curtain became brittle and torn, I replaced it with a curtain made from hemp. Hemp is a sturdy fiber with natural anti-mildew properties, and, I admit it, I pushed it to its limits and pretty much abused it. After every shower, it dried out slowly in my humid, poorly-ventilated bathroom, and after several months of this treatment, it started to develop a mildew odor. I washed it with laundry detergent. No good. Washing soda. No help. Vinegar. Borax. Essential oils. None of the natural odor remedies I tried totally got rid of the pervasive mildew stink. Then one day, I saw Moldzyme natural mold and mildew remover at the Co-op, and I thought, why not give this a try before I resort to toxic chemicals or buying a new shower curtain? Moldzyme is made from water, coconut-based surfactants, naturally derived citric acid, and naturally occurring enzymes.

I sprayed my shower curtain generously with Moldzyme, and I was impressed with how quickly the mildew odor actually disappeared. Then I tried Moldzyme on a spot of mold on the wall by the kitchen sink. I had already scrubbed this spot with a natural kitchen cleaner, and it didn't do much, but after I let the Moldzyme sit on it for a few minutes, it wiped away with no problem.

To be honest with you, Moldzyme is a very effective product, but it isn't a miracle cure for every mold problem. The caulk around my kitchen sink is stained black from mold. I know I should just dig the old caulk out and put new in, but I would rather avoid that job if I can. So I sprayed the caulk with Moldzyme, waited, and scrubbed gently for about 30 seconds. This decreased the darkness of the stain, but it didn't get rid of it completely. Same thing happened around the bathtub - the surface mold got lighter, but there was still that buried mold underneath the caulk. Still, it saved me from feeling like I needed to replace the caulk right away. And it didn't put anything toxic next to the kitchen sink and tub!-Chris, Co-op Member