Good Cleaning Products

[Mnemosyne]

Hi, do you know of any good cleaning products?

I really like the Method cleaning products. They smell nice and do a decent job. I'm wondering what type of products you use though. Some bathroom products have such a strong bleachy smell that everything smells like bleach for an hour after I use them.

I really like natural products. Do you know any good recipes for cleaning products that I can use to concoct my own special, nice smelling product? I'm looking for any product- cleaning spray, floor scrub....etc.

[spirit wind]

All I can say is Baking Soda!!! It does everything and if you use it with vinegar it packs a powerful punch.

My own 'Spray N Wipe' concoction:

Spray Bottle
Warm water
2 Teaspoons of Baking Soda
A little squirt of dishwashing liquid

Put all in to bottle with warm water and use just like you would 'Spray N Wipe'
You can also add a few drops of essential oil, I like to use Lavendar but you could use Tea Tree, Eucalyptus, Cinnamon or whatever you wanted.

I have heaps more like the above, I prefer natural products as much as possible.

[Tom Bombadil]

All I can say is Baking Soda!!! It does everything and if you use it with vinegar it packs a powerful punch.

Emphasis on "IT DOES EVERYTHING". My spray and wipe concotion is like yours, only replace the baking soda with vinegar, equal to the amount of water. I break out the baking soda when tough scrubbing is called for. Both baking soda and vinegar remove odors, so you're left with nothing but a fresh smelling house when you're done (the vinegar smell disappears very quickly).

Someone posted a baking soda carpet freshener recipe, now I'm kicking myself for not writing it down. Baking soda, some essential oil, maybe something to hold it together...

The only thing you have to watch out for is going down the cleaning products isle after you get used to using this stuff. The artifical smells go straight up your nose and start pounding on your brain, ech!

[spooky]

vinegar is a fantastic cleanser. i works well on floors, it's all we're allowed to use on our hardwood.
anything with animal pee on it can be neutralized with vinegar, because it reacts with the ammonia in it.

ash mixed into a paste with water gets the soot off fireplace doors.

there are also these little "stain devils" for laundry, which are amazing. little yellow containers.

[spirit wind]

Someone posted a baking soda carpet freshener recipe, now I'm kicking myself for not writing it down. Baking soda, some essential oil, maybe something to hold it together... I use Baking Soda and essential oil. Just a few drops in a jar with a heap of baking soda, put the lid on and shake s&$% out of it and voila a lovely smelling carpet deoderiser. Plain baking soda quickly thrown over liquid spills on carpet and no more stain.

Vinegar, used neat, on stains on clothes gets most of them out. I use vinegar as a fabric softener and as a whitener for the cloth nappies for my toddler. Also on the shower recess in the bathroom as it kills mould in minutes and doesn't over power you.

If you go to Care2 (http://www.care2.com)
they have healthy living pages with MANY pages on green cleaning :)

[spooky]

pouring boiling water over ant hills and weeds gets rid of them without using harmful chemicals.

boiling water also kills germs from underwear and diapers.
ironing the crotch of your panties kills yeast living there. regular washing won't do it.


a weak mix of bleach in cold water is a good fruit and veggie wash.

[misschief]

white vinegar, baking soda, bleach.... i use vinegar for lots of things. after i clean my coffee pot with it, i dump the hot vinegar in the sinks or tub, wipe it off, rinse it... shiny and clean. i put baking soda on my carpet sometimes before i vacuum, i use bleach watered down all over the kitchen... there are tons of natural things you can do to make those things smell better without diluting the 'cleaning ability'.... i'll try to post some later on.

[Karma Chameleon]

I use Method, I find that it works really well and doesn't make it so I can't breath like most all of the other cleaners do. I also really like that it's enviromentally friendly.

Of course I also have a few cans of Srubbing Bubbles foam spray, but recently I've just used them for killing scorpions and roachs that sneak into my house.

[Tom Bombadil]

[size=3][color=Indigo] I use Baking Soda and essential oil. Just a few drops in a jar with a heap of baking soda, put the lid on and shake s&$% out of it and voila a lovely smelling carpet deoderiser.

Cool...I think I can remember that this time. :cool: Definitely gonna give it a shot. The people that lived in our house last had one of those little piddly-problem yappie dogs. I got it to the point where you can't really tell just by walking in the house, but...full locust yoga pose. That's all I'm gonna say. :geez:

[spirit wind]

Cool...I think I can remember that this time. :cool: Definitely gonna give it a shot. The people that lived in our house last had one of those little piddly-problem yappie dogs. I got it to the point where you can't really tell just by walking in the house, but...full locust yoga pose. That's all I'm gonna say. :geez:

If the dog has peed anywhere, or for that matter also a cat, use vinegar neat. Cover the spot with the vinegar, let it sit for a little bit then cover with baking soda to sop it up. Usually it takes one go but if its bad then you might need to do it again.

[Brónach Druid]

This site has great recipes for non-toxic cleaning.
http://www.care2.com/channels/solutions/home/344
The link takes you to "Make Your Own Non-Toxic Cleaning Kit - How To"
which has wonderful ideas, and if you scan down to the bottom of the page there are many more recipes for just about anything you can think of. I use this site all the time and have had great results. :)

[Isil Darkmoon]

I'm a big fan of a line called "Seventh Generation". Most health food/organics type of stores carry it. It's an entire line of products, from detergent to toilet paper to a windex-equvalent to organic 100% cotton tampons, that are enviornmentally friendly and free of the harmful chemicals in so many commercial products.

Their entire business model and philosophy is based on this idea:

Their website is here (http://www.seventhgeneration.com/site/pp.asp?c=coIHKTMHF&b=79539)

I've used quite a few of their things, and am gra dually trying to switch over some of my more caustic cleaning supplies and buying 7th gen instead as my current stuff runs out. I've been nothing but pleased, and if I didn't know what was isn teh bottle/box/container, save for a difference in smell, I probably couldn't tell teh difference, resultswise. I was suprised at how well they worked for such nonstandard products.

They've also recently teamed up with the Target Corporation. Seventh Gen products are going to hit 50 Target stores currently, and if things go well, they're hoping to expand to the ~1400 stores nationwide within a year or two.

Target won't have ALL the 7th Gen products, but will carry most of the major, common ones. Some of their really esoteric stuff will still have to be found in healthfood stores or special ordered from the web, but hopefully this'll bring the products to a lot more folks who want them and pre viously didn't have local access to them.

[Sennefer]

This site has great recipes for non-toxic cleaning.
http://www.care2.com/channels/solutions/home/344
The link takes you to "Make Your Own Non-Toxic Cleaning Kit - How To"
which has wonderful ideas, and if you scan down to the bottom of the page there are many more recipes for just about anything you can think of. I use this site all the time and have had great results. :)
That's a great link, Brónach! Thanks! :)

[Sun Sprite]

I use a 10% bleach and water spray to clean in the kitchen and bathroom.

I use a 10% vinegar and water spray for floors (all wood or vinyl) even good for dusting if careful.

I use a 10% rubbing alochol and water spray for computer screens and windows.

In the bathroom are the only other two cleaning products, the Scrubbing Bubbles for the hard water, and the toliet bowl cleaner.

I just went through all my cleaning chemicals and disposed of many my husband had before we met, 4 years ago. Its so nice to have a clean smelling house. I never understood why some people thought clean smelled like citrus.

[Rhianna813]

I use Simple Green for most cleaning. The bottle is a concentrate and you can dilute it into a sprayer for different jobs. It uses some natural enzymes and is non toxic. For really tough jobs I use 409 or some clorox spray. I also use Fels Naptha for stained clothes.

I use cloth diapers on our little one that we wash ourselves. Soda and vinegar are used in the wash to clean and freshen them. Works great!!

Another product which I love is Air Therapy orange spray. This stuff smells like an orange creamcicle!
http://www.vitasprings.com/air-freshener-orange-air-therapy.html (http://www.vitasprings.com/air-freshener-orange-air-therapy.html)

Rhianna

[healeri2]

I often use vinegar and baking soda in the bathroom with botanical extracts. I love the foaming action of the vinegar and baking soda, if I don't use botanical extracts in the mix, it usually smells somewhat like cake. My bathtub sparkles when I'm done.

[Kalika]

I like Zep for cleaning spots out of carpeting.

For hard wood and hard surfaces, I use Bona products. :) They are awesome. ( www.bona.com (www.bona.com) ) The hard surface cleaner can be used on any hard surface - not just floors. I use it to clean my bathtub, and it works better than anything else I've found. (Use a microfiber cloth with it) (These are also environmentally friendly and non-toxic.)

For laundry, I use All Baby. It works great as a spot remover too!

[mothwench]

I often use vinegar and baking soda in the bathroom with botanical extracts. I love the foaming action of the vinegar and baking soda, if I don't use botanical extracts in the mix, it usually smells somewhat like cake. My bathtub sparkles when I'm done.
any chance you might post the recipe for that? :heybaby: what do you mean by botanical extracts, is that something you buy, or do you mean plant extracts you make yourself?

[mothwench]

This site has great recipes for non-toxic cleaning.
http://www.care2.com/channels/solutions/home/344
The link takes you to "Make Your Own Non-Toxic Cleaning Kit - How To"
which has wonderful ideas, and if you scan down to the bottom of the page there are many more recipes for just about anything you can think of. I use this site all the time and have had great results. :)

thanks for that link. :)


i just remembered: if you have natural (unlaquered) wooden furniture, use orange oil to polish it. it's very good for the wood and your house will smell luuuurvly for weeks. :floating:

[PoisonIvy]

Simple Green and The Works are awesome!

[Michie]

I'm bumping this back up - I'd love to know the recipe for the vinegar/baking soda bathroom cleaner myself. I can never seem to get the tub looking nice. I wonder if this would help.

[Kalika]

I'm bumping this back up - I'd love to know the recipe for the vinegar/baking soda bathroom cleaner myself. I can never seem to get the tub looking nice. I wonder if this would help.


I read somewhere that filling your tub with bleach, and letting it sit there for an hour (mixed with water of course) is a good way to get it looking like new.

I've never tried it, so I can't personally vouch for it, but thought that I'd put it out there for ya! :)

[Kaylara]

I'm partial to Ecover and Ecos products. They're some of the few I've found that clean well, smell nice, are ecologically sound, and don't make me break out in hives and rashes...

www.ecover.com
and
www.ecos.com