Natural cleaners

[YeyYey]

Since I'm new here I'm not sure this is the best place to post this question, so moderators may move this thread. But I thought that folks interested in organic might have some good answers.

Have any of you switched from commercial cleaners to making your own? If so, what works best?

I suddenly realized I have way too many commercial cleaners under my kitchen sink and want to use them up and replace them with natural, environmentally safe, "cheap" homemade solutions. I've seen a few websites dedicated to this, but want to hear from real-life friends what their opinions are!

Thanks!

Jodi

[stargirl21]

Honestly, vinegar and water is the best all natural cleaner I've ever used. If you don't care for the smell, you can add a few drops of essential oils (I like lemon). My solution is 1/2 c vinegar in a spray bottle, fill the rest with water and a few drops of oil.

And for scrubbing- baking soda is the best.

Probably the worst (environmentally speaking) cleaning product is drain cleaners. Every couple of weeks I dump 1/2c baking soda followed by a cup of vinegar down my tub drain and it keeps it clean.

[debkeversole]

Dr Bronners
mrs. Meyers clean day
simple green

vinegar
baking soda
borax

when i get back from work i will find you some recipes....search for the Penny Pinchers threads on here lots of good ones there!

and honestly the natural stuff has been getting things tons cleaner than the regular stuff! go figure!!

[CindyC923]

Hi,

I use Quick n' Brite which comes as a concentrated paste and can be used like that for
tub, shower, sink etc. or a tsp or two dissolved in hot water, then put in
a spray bottle, filled with more water. The paste get all the shower and tub scum off with no chemical odor.
I have been using it for years and it works fine on glass, wood, cars, dishes, floors even as a laundry soap if needed. I sometimes add essential oils to the spray bottle. It has no scent at all by itself.

Shaklee Basic G cleaner for my disenfectant choice another concentrated product
that goes a long way

Cindy

[BikerAng]

I make all my own, so much cheaper and I love that I'm not living in a toxic slurry.

All purpose cleaner:

Mix 2 Tbs vinegar with 1 tsp borax. Fill the rest of the spray bottle with very hot water and shake until borax is dissolved. Add 1/4 cup castile soap or 1/8 cup dish soap. Add 10 to 15 drops essential oil. (use 1 TBS borax to prevent mold and mildew).

DISINFECTING SPRAY

Fill a 16 oz spray bottle with water and then add 3 TBS liquid soap. Add 20-30 drops tee tree oil. Shake to mix. Squirt on anything that needs disinfecting (floors, laundry, toys, doorknobs, bathtubs, toilet seats, etc).

FLOOR CLEANER

1. Fill a 16 oz squirt bottle with equal amounts of white distilled vinegar and water. Add 15-20 drops of peppermint oil. Shake to mix. Squirt directly on floor and wipe clean with rag or mop.

2. Add 1 or 2 squirts liquid dish soap to a full bucket of water (less is better, or else it will leave a film). Can use a scented vinegar to rinse to make sure all soap residue is gone.

GLASS CLEANER

Fill a spray bottle with club soda. Spray and wipe (use one terry cloth to clean, another to dry).

TOILET BOWL CLEANER

1. Mix 1/2 cup liquid soap and 2 cups baking soda together. Work out any lumps with a fork. Dilute with 1/4 cup water and add 2 tbsp vinegar to make it foam. Add 1/2 teaspoon tea tree oil (1/2 tsp = 50 drops). Mix and pour the final solution into a 22 oz squirt bottle. Shake the bottle well before using the cleaner.

2. Add 20 - 30 drops tea tree oil and 1/2 cup borax directly to toilet bowl. Sprinkle more borax onto toilet brush and squish around edges of bowl. Leave solution in toilet overnight. In the morning squish bowl with toilet brush and your done!

TUB AND TILE CLEANER

1. Mix 1 2/3 cups baking soda with 1/2 cup of liquid soap in a bowl. Dilute with 1/2 cup water. Add 2 tbsp vinegar last. Stir until the lumps are gone. If you can pour it into the container easily, then you have the right consistency. If it's too thick, add more water. Keep the cap on because this mixture will dry out. Shake well before using.

2. Mix 1 2/3 cup baking soda with 1/2 cup liquid soap in a bowl. Add 2 tbsp water. Mix with a fork until smooth. Sirt in 2 tbsp vinegar last. The mixture will foam nicely. Use a spatula to scoop your homemade scrub into a jar. Add warm water if the paste dries out. You may need to stir this recipe a little before using. When mixing this paste, don't mix the vinegar and the soap directly together or you will make gunk instead of scrub. Add the vinegar LAST!

[Margot 65]

Originally Posted by stargirl21

Honestly, vinegar and water is the best all natural cleaner I've ever used. If you don't care for the smell, you can add a few drops of essential oils (I like lemon). My solution is 1/2 c vinegar in a spray bottle, fill the rest with water and a few drops of oil.

And for scrubbing- baking soda is the best.

Probably the worst (environmentally speaking) cleaning product is drain cleaners. Every couple of weeks I dump 1/2c baking soda followed by a cup of vinegar down my tub drain and it keeps it clean.

I could have written this!!

ETA: I use the baking soda out of the fridge when it is expired down my drains.

I buy vinegar by the 2 gallon jug and try to buy 5-6 at a time (no name brand is cheapest)

Laundry is another thing though.... I use Tide FREE and always a vinegar rinse in the final rinse. I also use dryer balls and the balls/vinegar keep the static down nicely.

I have yet to find a decent natural laundry soap

[BikerAng]

Costco has a 12lb bag of baking soda for like $3 or $4. They also have a double pack of vinegar (gallon sized I think) for $3. I bought the Kirkland brand of natural laundry soap and it's pretty good. Trader Joe's has one that's ok too, not my favorite. I've heard great things about soap nuts, but have yet to try them.

[debkeversole]

Originally Posted by Margot 65

I could have written this!!

ETA: I use the baking soda out of the fridge when it is expired down my drains.

I buy vinegar by the 2 gallon jug and try to buy 5-6 at a time (no name brand is cheapest)

Laundry is another thing though.... I use Tide FREE and always a vinegar rinse in the final rinse. I also use dryer balls and the balls/vinegar keep the static down nicely.

I have yet to find a decent natural laundry soap

mrs meyers clean day seriously!! krager's even has it...when DH was staioned in Germany we used Earth Friendly laundry soap and it worked well...no stores around where i am now but you can order it online!

[Criosa]

One thing I'd like to add is a paste mixture I put by my sink, which is mixing equal parts of liquid castile soap and baking soda (a little borax is good too), then 10-20 drops of essential oil - like orange or lemon. I use it for my sink and pans. Great stuff.

[Criosa]

[QUOTE=Margot 65;11153502
I have yet to find a decent natural laundry soap [/QUOTE]

I have tried many kinds of laundry soaps, and have settle on Natural Value Laundry powder. I use only 2 Tbsp in my huge front loader - it works very well. Sometimes I add a scoop of Oxo Brite, oxygen cleaner to my white clothes. If anything still has a stain on it, I scrub it with a brush, a little water and the oxygen cleaner. I still have small children around, and our clothes are nice, even though many things are second hand. If I have a stubborn stinky kind of load, I might soak it awhile with Borax.

[brittone2]

Vinegar and baking soda here too LOL (and sometimes essential oils added).

We also use castile soap (Dr. Bronners or stuff from Trader Joe's) and Bon Ami (like comet, but no yucky stuff, and pretty cheap).

For laundry we like Charlie's Soap.

[northernstar]

Love, love, love, LOVE VINEGAR!!

I use it for everything. I put it in every load of wash, it's a great softener. Clean everything with it. It disinfects and gets rid of anything smelly. And honestly, I find the vinegar-y smell itself goes away very quickly.

[BikerAng]

Vinegar is just an awesome cleaner (I mop my floors with it). Toss about a cup of baking soda and a cup of vinegar in the toilet and let sit for a while then swish with a brush. It's strong smelling when you use it, but the smell totally dissapates (sometimes I use essential oils too). It's the best cleaner, and SO cheap!

[Margot 65]

I run around the house with a vinegar mist after cooking something that smells up the house.

I also will simmer a pot of vinegar on the stove when I cook fish and sometimes bacon (not a fan of the after smell of bacon cooking...)

[BikerAng]

That's a great idea! I've been misting with water and essential oil but it doesn't really "clean" the air. I'll try the vinegar mist, great idea!

[terez]

I guess when you say vinegar, you're talking about white vinegar?

I just started using a Clorox "organic" cleaner made with coconut oil and Trader Joe's Cedar and Sage (in alcohol) cleaner. I think it is making me just a little sick. I also use their castile soap.

I found that I was getting nauseated and sick from the Tide for cold water, and I can even smell it on people at work who use it for their clothes.

Right now, I use Trader Joe's laundry detergent in hot water, and one of those rub sticks for stains. So far, it's not making me sick like it used to. If anything doesn't come out with the rub sticks, I use OxyClean.

I found nasty smells coming up from the pipes in my house (only on the second floor) and I poured a whole bottle of bleach and then half a bottle of Mister Plumber to get rid of the smell. It was also making me nauseated. It seems to have cleared it up for a while, but it's back. We don't have a septic system, so I can't imagine what it could be.

[BikerAng]

hair and soap scum get stuck in there and in warm dark places molds can grow. I have a problem like this with my drains too. I put a hair catching thing on the drain (I have really long hair, so it clogs really fast w/o this) and remove the hair every couple of days. I also take a long spoon with a rag attached on the handle with rubberbands and scrub the drain (black and pink mold grows in my shower/drain) as far down as I can with baking soda and dish soap. Then I pour a decent splash of vinegar (supposed to kill mold) down the drain.

[Kris T.]

MysticMaid

I have about 6 of these, one for each bathroom, one for counters, one for the windows and mirrors. You just wet it. I also wanted to add that I haven't bought paper towels in about a year. We use washable microfiber cloths and sponges for spills, cloth napkins for mealtimes. Love it!

I do admit to using bleach now and then, for mold, but other than that, vinegar, baking soda and washing soda. I used to make my own laundry soap, but have settled on a homemade pretreater since I'm so busy. Lately I've been wetting my Zote soap with water and rubbing that on stains, it works immensely well also!

Not the most e-friendly, but I buy the cheapest detergent possible (phosphate free) and just add a bit of the washing soda. No fabric softener, we use vinegar in the rinse. We also don't use hand sanitizers or soaps that have triclosan. Just a plain old bar of Dr. Bronner's in each bathroom for washing up.

I'm not anal about germs and will mostly try to get away with plain water whenever possible. I rarely sanitize things! Besides, half of it is prevention anyway. We squeegee the shower daily and open the windows when showering to cut down on mold.

[Kris T.]

(not a fan of the after smell of bacon cooking...)

I have a neighbor who cooks fish, onions, bacon..etc (not all at once), then sprays the air fresheners around. It's completely toxic! I swear she's going to sprout another head from all of the chemicals she uses.

[DiamondDeb]

I use Dr. Bronner's for most things. I tried several "green" products for my kitchen sink and ended up going back to some cheap product that will probably kill us all but at least my sink will look good when I go....

[Criosa]

Originally Posted by DiamondDeb

I use Dr. Bronner's for most things. I tried several "green" products for my kitchen sink and ended up going back to some cheap product that will probably kill us all but at least my sink will look good when I go....

You crack me up.

[terez]

Originally Posted by BikerAng

hair and soap scum get stuck in there and in warm dark places molds can grow. I have a problem like this with my drains too. I put a hair catching thing on the drain (I have really long hair, so it clogs really fast w/o this) and remove the hair every couple of days. I also take a long spoon with a rag attached on the handle with rubberbands and scrub the drain (black and pink mold grows in my shower/drain) as far down as I can with baking soda and dish soap. Then I pour a decent splash of vinegar (supposed to kill mold) down the drain.

Thanks for the info! I thought I was being a hypochondriac. I don't know about scrubbing pipes out with a rag, I think that in itself would make me sick. I like the idea of the hair catching thing.

And yeah, I noticed that I have black and gray and, what I describe as red mold. It shows up in the toilet bowl, on the shower curtain and in the tub pretty much at the same time. But this is mostly in warm, wet weather.

I have to use some kind of bleach to get rid of it; when the red mold is around, the Clorox organic cleaner and other alcohol based products don't seem strong enough.

I like the idea of vinegar down the drain; it doesn't smell great, but if it works, at least it won't make me sick. AND, it's cheaper than bleach and all kinds of Mister Plumber.

[BikerAng]

yeah, scrubbing out the drain is pretty and it is my least favorite thing to do (I'll take scrubbing the toilet over that any day) but the SMELL is just so gross. If I don't do that, I can actually smell it from my bed (my bathroom is attached to my bedroom, but it's pretty far away from my bed - but I am very sensitive to that smell. The baking soda and vinegar foam up and are kind of a natural drain unclogger (very mild though, nothing like liquid plumber). I just shake a good amount of baking soda down the drain, then splash about a cup or so of vinegar and it fizzles up. I don't rinse it either, I just let it sit in there until I shower next. I also mix tea tree oil with the vinegar for more killing power. To help with the vinegar smell, you can add about 1/2 teaspoon of any essential oil right to the jug of vinegar and it really helps with the vinegar-iness. Just dedicate that jug to cleaning.

[VanjaJames]

Am I the only one who reaches into my shower drain with tweezers to pull out the massive clumps of hair......

Hmmmm...No chemicals needed...
The hair trap helps but my BFs house doesn't have the hair trap.
So he blames ME for the clogged drain every time, and he's always right...hah.

[fawn]

Bronners
Vinegar
Coconut Oil
Borax

This is all I use.

[NutinHonie]

I recently bought some soap nuts. I throw a few in a small pot with some water and let them simmer for a half hour. The I leave the pot there until it cools completely and I pour the water (sans the soap nuts) into a spray bottle with some essential oils and grapefruit seed extract.

[Susan81]

I use Dr Bronners for the dishes and to shower. Target stores recently released a Green Brand of Cleaning supplies. I forget the name but I've used the lavendar scent cleaners from them. They also have hand soaps, as well. I mix vinegar with fresh lemons to clean the bathroom and floors - I love it.

[Tesaje]

White vinegar - straight for most things and the first thing I try
Baking soda - add to soaking water in dishes. For bad burns, I pour in boiling water and baking soda and let soak. Nothing can resist that.
Vinegar + baking soda
Citric acid - add to laundry to get rid of rust stains and the dishwasher
Borax
Washing soda
Oxygen bleach (sodium percholerate)
Barkeeper's Friend

Dr Bonners castile soap for light cleaning.