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Parenting Club Forums > All About Being Green > All natural cleaners

Posted by: PrairieMom Jan 31 2009, 05:01 AM

I have some recipes for some all natural cleaners that I have been using for a long time now, I guess 6 months or so, and have been really happy with. Thought I would share

All purpose spray cleaner (replaces windex, pinesol, any spray surface cleaner)

2 cups water
1/2 distilled white vinegar
1 teaspoon pure castille soap ( dr. Bronners, I like peppermint)
3/4 cup hydrogen peroxide
20 drops tea tree oil
20 drops essential oil. (I like peppermint, orange or lavendar)

Mix it up and put it in a old windex bottle. It is streak free. I use it on counters, windows, light fixtures, and the out side of my toilet.

for toilet cleaning I use

straight vinegar with 20 drops tea tree oil and peppermint essential oil.
I dump it in, let it sit a while, sprinkle in some baking soda and scrub

for wood I use

1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
shake it up, and wipe it on with a rag.

For laundry detergent I use

Soap nuts. I have been using them a year. they are sustainably grown, and compostable. There are these little "nut things" (not actually nuts for you who are allergic)you put 2 or so in a little drawstring fabric bag, and toss it into your laundry with your clothes. You can use each set of nuts 3 or 4 times, then when you are done with them, they are completely biodegradable. I sometimes sprinkle in a little borax too, for good measure. Your stuff comes out clean, soft, (not as soft as if you use regular detg and fabric softener) but still, pretty soft, and there is no scent at all. I even washed Al's cloth diapers this way and they did not stink, and no stains.
This is the brand I use.
http://www.maggiespureland.com/

you can boil the nuts down to make soap nut liquid, which I use to clean my carpets. thumb.gif did I mention I LOVE soap nuts? rolling_smile.gif

Posted by: My3LilMonkeys Jan 31 2009, 07:50 AM

What do you use to clean your floors? Also, does the tea tree oil/essential oil help with the cleaning, or is it just there to mask the fragrance?

Also, do you know how the soap nuts are for people who have sensitivities to soaps/lotions? Madison has extreme sensitivities to that sort of stuff - I tried homemade laundry soap made with ivory soap, borax and washing soda and even that made her break out.

Posted by: PrairieMom Jan 31 2009, 08:06 AM

QUOTE (My3LilMonkeys @ Jan 31 2009, 10:50 AM)

For my floors I use Hot water, dump in vinegar, about a teaspoon of Dr bronners castille soap, about 20 drops of tea tree oil, and about 20 drops of essential oil (i like peppermint)

Tea tree is an antiseptic and an anti fungal. Personally I think it stinks. The essential oils help with the smell.

As far as the soap nuts go they are excellent for people who are highly sensitive.

they are:
* 100% organic

* 100% chemical and toxin free

* Bio-degradable (throw used ones in your compost!)

* Recommended for detergent - sensitive skin

* Low-sudsing (good for high efficiency washing machines)

* Non-polluting to water and eco-system

* Affordable (in most cases cheaper than commercial detergents)

* Minimum packaging means less going into landfills

* Less harsh on fabric; colors and fibers last longer

* Hypo-allergenic

* Local harvesting, no manufacturing means less negative impact on environment

* Multi-usage (all purpose cleaner, liquid hand lotion, pest repellant, delicate fabric cleaner, etc)

* Assists harvesters in South Asia in supporting their families

This site has lot of really good info, the site its self is pretty lame, but if you look past that...

http://www.buysoapnutshere.com/faqs.html#anchor_62

Posted by: MommyToAshley Jan 31 2009, 08:11 PM

I wouldn't know where to buy half those ingredients.

Are they expensive to purchase?

I tried the "green works" brand of cleaners and I haven't been impressed. The only one that I like is the one that replaced windex, but I could probably use vinegar and water and get the same result?

Posted by: PrairieMom Feb 1 2009, 05:59 AM

QUOTE (MommyToAshley @ Jan 31 2009, 11:11 PM)

I wouldn't know where to buy half those ingredients.

You can get tea tree oil and essential oils at the same place usually. My grocery store has an organic section and it has tea tree oil there. I usually go to my local health food / hippy store for the essential oil. you can get it online too.
Dr bronners you can get at both those places, but I have seen it for sale at Target too. Kind of where you would find the organic / natural make up, lotion stuff.

Posted by: luvmykids Feb 1 2009, 10:16 PM

I don't think there is a product out there that beats vinegar and newspaper for windows. I tried the soapnuts and wasn't that impressed, but maybe it was my machine. I might try them again now that I have a new machine.

Posted by: PrairieMom Feb 1 2009, 10:44 PM

QUOTE (luvmykids @ Feb 2 2009, 01:16 AM)

what didn't you like about them?
Most people I talk to don't like them because they don't make your clothes smell pretty. but, thats the point of the nuts.

Posted by: coasterqueen Feb 2 2009, 06:32 AM

QUOTE (MommyToAshley @ Jan 31 2009, 11:11 PM)

I wouldn't know where to buy half those ingredients.

You'd be amazed at how much your grocery store would have of this stuff. The other stuff I buy at our local organic/natural food store.

Posted by: coasterqueen Feb 2 2009, 06:34 AM

What does anyone use for the dryer? I read some where that you can put a couple of drops of essential oil on a wash rag and throw it in the dryer to give the laundry that "fabric softner" feel/smell. I just can't remember where I saw it and if the rag should be wet or dry.?

I also use vinegar as a fabric softner in the wash.

Posted by: PrairieMom Feb 2 2009, 08:11 AM

QUOTE (coasterqueen @ Feb 2 2009, 09:34 AM)

I also use vinegar as a fabric softner in the wash.

I use nothing. In the summer I line dry my stuff.

Posted by: moped Feb 2 2009, 08:12 AM

QUOTE (coasterqueen @ Feb 2 2009, 09:34 AM)

I also use vinegar as a fabric softner in the wash.

Wouldn't oil in the dryer stain yoru clothes? I am just curious?

Posted by: coasterqueen Feb 2 2009, 08:23 AM

QUOTE (PrairieMom @ Feb 2 2009, 11:11 AM)

QUOTE (coasterqueen @ Feb 2 2009, 09:34 AM)

I also use vinegar as a fabric softner in the wash.

I use nothing. In the summer I line dry my stuff.

So do I, in the summer, but the winter is different.

Jen - I have heard it works well. I tried it this weekend with a dry wash cloth and had no stains. I'm just not sure if it works better with wet vs. dry because I really didn't notice the smell I thought I would.

Posted by: mysweetpeasWil&Wes Feb 3 2009, 08:38 AM

Thanks for the tips Tara! Currently I just use vinegar and water on my mirrors, glass, and tile floors. Works good. But I don't add any of the oils. I need to try that for smell. Detergent, I am sensitive to just about everything so I'm skeptical to try something new. I have never used fabric softener in my life for this reason...itchy.

Posted by: PrairieMom Feb 3 2009, 08:57 AM

QUOTE (mysweetpeasWil&Wes @ Feb 3 2009, 11:38 AM)

you should totally try soapnuts. You can get a sample online at http://www.maggiespureland.com/ for just a couple dollars. run them through a wash or 2, you won't be out anything if you don't like them but everything I have read talks about how great they are for people who are sensitive.

Posted by: maestra Feb 4 2009, 03:26 PM

Thanks for the recipes- we just ran out of toilet bowl cleaner, so I am going to try yours.

As for using vinegar as fabric softener- we have a he washer, where do you put it in- where you would put the fs liquid? How much do you put in?

I love using vinegar to clean, especially my linoleum- it makes it shine. And the area around my faucet, oh, and the baking soda and vinegar volcano for drains.

When it's a big cleaning day, it smells like salad in my house!

Posted by: PrairieMom Feb 5 2009, 05:19 AM

QUOTE (maestra @ Feb 4 2009, 06:26 PM)

When it's a big cleaning day, it smells like salad in my house!

when I use vinegar I just put it in when I put my clothes in. It just naturally makes the clothes softer. I would think that if you waited until the rinse it wouldn't get rinsed out of the clothes all the way and you would smell like vinegar. I just dump t right on top of everything.

Posted by: My3LilMonkeys Feb 5 2009, 05:38 AM

Here's one I just thought of this morning - does anyone have a green recipe for a Febreze-like item? With kids who still wet the bed on occasion I need my Febreze!

Posted by: PrairieMom Feb 5 2009, 06:17 AM

QUOTE (My3LilMonkeys @ Feb 5 2009, 08:38 AM)

Here's one I just thought of this morning - does anyone have a green recipe for a Febreze-like item? With kids who still wet the bed on occasion I need my Febreze!

yea...

1/2 water, 1/2 vodka and about 20 drops of your favorite essential oil. Shake and spray.

I have tried it with out the vodka, but the smell doesn't linger quite as long as I would like. I think the vodka keeps it suspended in the air a bit longer.

Posted by: luvmykids Feb 5 2009, 06:33 AM

QUOTE (PrairieMom @ Feb 5 2009, 07:19 AM)

QUOTE (maestra @ Feb 4 2009, 06:26 PM)

When it's a big cleaning day, it smells like salad in my house!

I've done it both ways, added it in the softener compartment and put it in with the clothes. I liked it a little better in the compartment, the clothes did smell a little while still wet but after they dried, the smell was gone.

Posted by: coasterqueen Feb 5 2009, 06:45 AM

QUOTE (maestra @ Feb 4 2009, 06:26 PM)

When it's a big cleaning day, it smells like salad in my house!

I don't have an HE washer, but mine is a "smart" washer (all computer). Mine has a detergent holder that pulls out and in that you can put detergent in one compartment and fabric softner in the other. You can also tell the washer when to release certain liquids. I just put the vinegar in the fabric softner compartment and set my washer to a normal wash cycle like I have always done. So I'd say yes, you can put it in the HE FS compartment. As far as how much, I'm not really sure how much one is SUPPOSED to use, but I just fill the fs compartment until it's full.

Posted by: coasterqueen Feb 5 2009, 06:46 AM

QUOTE (PrairieMom @ Feb 5 2009, 09:17 AM)

QUOTE (My3LilMonkeys @ Feb 5 2009, 08:38 AM)

Here's one I just thought of this morning - does anyone have a green recipe for a Febreze-like item? With kids who still wet the bed on occasion I need my Febreze!

yea...

1/2 water, 1/2 vodka and about 20 drops of your favorite essential oil. Shake and spray.

I have tried it with out the vodka, but the smell doesn't linger quite as long as I would like. I think the vodka keeps it suspended in the air a bit longer.

Vodka is great for getting all kinds of smells out.

It works great spraying it on coats when they smell like smoke (like from a bonfire event, etc).

Posted by: My3LilMonkeys Feb 5 2009, 03:32 PM

My DH is gonna think I'm crazy when I tell him I have to buy vodka to spray on the kid's beds....

Posted by: MommyToAshley Feb 6 2009, 07:05 AM

QUOTE (My3LilMonkeys @ Feb 5 2009, 07:32 PM)

My DH is gonna think I'm crazy when I tell him I have to buy vodka to spray on the kid's beds....

That's my excuse too, and I'm sticking with it.

Posted by: coasterqueen Feb 6 2009, 07:21 AM

QUOTE (My3LilMonkeys @ Feb 5 2009, 06:32 PM)

My DH is gonna think I'm crazy when I tell him I have to buy vodka to spray on the kid's beds....

It is funny when you think about it, and the first time I heard about using it I was like

, but it works well. Now I was always told only use expensive vodka for it to work, but cheap vodka works just as well

Posted by: boyohboyohboy Feb 6 2009, 04:07 PM

QUOTE (coasterqueen @ Feb 6 2009, 10:21 AM)

QUOTE (My3LilMonkeys @ Feb 5 2009, 06:32 PM)

My DH is gonna think I'm crazy when I tell him I have to buy vodka to spray on the kid's beds....

It is funny when you think about it, and the first time I heard about using it I was like

, but it works well. Now I was always told only use expensive vodka for it to work, but cheap vodka works just as well

so would a lot of vodka help them sleep?????

Posted by: luvmykids Feb 9 2009, 01:29 PM

QUOTE (PrairieMom @ Feb 2 2009, 12:44 AM)

QUOTE (luvmykids @ Feb 2 2009, 01:16 AM)

what didn't you like about them?
Most people I talk to don't like them because they don't make your clothes smell pretty. but, thats the point of the nuts.

While I admit I do enjoy a good smelling softener

, I just didn't feel like the clothes were all that clean...I found myself having to re-wash a lot of the kids stuff. Maybe I was using too few nuts for the size load I was running or something...

eta: I forgot the whole reason I came back to this thread

How long does the essential oil last, how many bottles of cleaner or uses to you get out of a bottle? And does the scent linger about like other cleaning products?

Posted by: PrairieMom Feb 9 2009, 03:14 PM

I use a few different EO's so its not like I am going back to the one bottle over and over, but I am 1/2 way through my 2nd bottle of tea tree oil since going green, so about 6 months ish? my EO's go a loooooong ways, I bet you could get 6 mos to a year out of a single bottle depending on what you use it for.
I don't use it in my laundry, but my house still smells like it in the afternoon if I clean in the morning. I esp. notice it if I leave the house then come back.

as for the nuts, I use 3 in a large load on warm wash cold rinse 4 times. Then I save up the used ones. When I have a bunch I boil them down and make soap nut liquid with them for good measure before composting them.

Posted by: My3LilMonkeys Feb 9 2009, 03:16 PM

This is going to be a reallllly stupid question, but - how do you know when you've used your soap nuts 4 times? Is there a way to tell they are 'done' so to speak, or do you just remember that it's time to change them? I could totally see myself forgetting and wondering 3 weeks later why my clothes aren't getting clean.

Posted by: PrairieMom Feb 9 2009, 07:17 PM

QUOTE (My3LilMonkeys @ Feb 9 2009, 06:16 PM)

not a stupid question, and I have come up with a completely brilliant solution that only took me 6 months to figure out.
when I put new nuts in the bag I tie 4 knots in the draw string. each time I use the bag I untie one Knot. when I untie the last one, it can be opened, and I know to get new nuts.
I usually have at least 3 bags of nuts going because they get stuck in my clothes and end up in the dryer. I don't usually find the bag until I am folding laundry.

You can tell the nuts are used up because they get kind of yellow/ greyish and mushy