Natural Cleaning Products
Questions about our dipes take a little longer, so I'll start with natural cleaning products.
M. and I make almost all our own cleaning products. The two things we don't make are scouring powder (we use Bon Ami), dish soap and an toilet bowel cleaner (although I think we could just use Borax with equally good results.) Whatever products we buy, they are all low-impact and environmentally friendly. We also clean with rags and use cloth napkins.
Laundry soap can be addressed with cloth diapering since it's a bit more tricksy.
We started doing this YEARS ago (maybe eight, at least over six year), long before the popularization of the green movement and Al Gore. We found this book called The Naturally Clean Home from Storey Books and it changed our view on using chemical based cleaners in the home.
This is what you need on hand for basic homemade stuff:
- Borax
- White vinegar
- Unscented castille soap
- Baking soda
- Grapefruit seed extract
- Murphey's Oil soap
- Essential oils (I use lemon, pine, tangerine, tea tree, lavender and comfry)
1 tsp borax
1 tsp castille soap
1/4 cup white vinegar
3-5 drops essential oil
1 quart water
I usually combine it all with boiling water, let it cool and put it in a spray bottle. I did try a large batch for the floor and it came out sticky.
Floors:
1 tsp castille soap
1/2-1 cup white vinegar
5 drops essential oil
Combine with a couple quarts of boiling water!
Glass:
Equal parts white vinegar and water
And for cleaning pots (I wreck my Le Creuset regularly) I just put baking soda and water in the pan, boil it on the stove for a bit and then use the baking soda as a scouring powder with a sponge or rag.
All these store bought cleaners are the result of marketing making us feel like we NEED them and that they're somehow more effective. Cleaning more naturally is how our grandmothers did it and they did it well!
Okay, off my soap (ha ha) box...got to go feed the boy.
posted by Sacha @ 9:41 AM
6 comments
6 Comments:
We love 7th Generation dish soap, Nature Clean for toilet bowl and bathroom cleaner, Eco-vert for laundry soap (mostly for diapers) and Eco-Max for our own clothes (cheaper).
We use a steam cleaner for our floors now and it is amazing! No streaks and nice and clean! And sterilized.
Essential Oils are great! We just got a tea tree/lavendar oil for the diaper pail and it really keeps the smell neutral/nice. I was finding it stinky when I'd open it but not with the oil.
Great cleaner recipes. We may have to try some of that to see if we like it better than some of the store bought ones.
Honestly, after switching, I don't know why we didn't do it faster. These cleaners are just as good and non-toxic. Vinegar is also sooo good for getting rid of pet smells from their beds and any "accidents"--we just throw it in the wash and it's great. We put it in the fabric softener slot. We do that for the diapers as well.
What brand steamer do you have? I'd really like to buy one but haven't found one that isn't UBER expensive.
We have the Shark brand. We bought it at Canadian Tire here for less than $200. I can't remember the exact price. But it wasn't uber expensive. And it has all sorts of attachments to do floors, windows, tiles, etc. Angele uses the floor one all the time and it's great! The floors look and smell nice afterwards (no scent--just the smell of steam).
It also conditiones the floor and makes it nice and soft to walk on.
The link below is what we have.
http://www.canadiantire.ca/browse/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524443291816&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=1408474396672733&bmUID=1184947268275
There is more:
http://www.canadiantire.ca/browse/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524443299132&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=1408474396672733&bmUID=1184947268314
i love that! S. and i sort of "started" our own cleaning business over this summer to "green clean" local homes. and incidentally, i worked for Story Books (well, their parent company, Workman), and they make many more eco-friendly types of book for all sorts of home-made doo-dads. Good stuff!
I use the Method Products found at Target. They are all Non-Toxic and Biodegradable.
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