| Organic VS Chemical in my Home |
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| posted Nov 30, 2006 4:02:34 PM | To All |
I live in a house with two adults, two kids and a cat. We are cleaning up constantly from the top of the house to the bottom. Germs from two different schools and two work environments enter the house. I want something that will effectively clean in the dishwasher, on the kitchen countertops, and the four bathrooms in the house. It's a real challenge.
I think we do pretty well with Simple Green, Seventh Generation products and other dilutions. What products do you use in your busy home?
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| Organic VS Chemical in my Home |
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| posted May 5, 2008 6:12:15 AM | To All |
Hello
In my house we have two adults, one toddler, a dog, and a cat. Since our daughter's birth we have been trying to switch to non-chemical cleaners. So far we have tried Simple Green which works well on our hard water stains and Seventh Generation multipurpose cleaner in the kitchen. We have tried the Seventh Generation shower spray but we don't always remember to spray the shower when we are done :) This week we picked up the Clorox Green Works toilet bowl cleaner but we haven't tried it yet. I have heard that adding tea tree or lavendar oil to water is a good antibacterial cleaner. Do you know if this is true? |
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| Organic VS Chemical in my Home |
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| posted Jun 4, 2008 8:41:54 AM | To All |
A simple google search will yield results on the antimicrobial properties of tea tree oil. http://www.answers.com/topic/tea-tree?cat=health
I suspect the recommendation of adding lavender in this application would be for its aromatic properties, though it does have other medicinal uses as well.
My preferred cleaning products come from brand, Bio-Kleen. I find with other "natural" brands, I have to use twice as much which partly negates the purpose of using environmentally-friendly products. Bio-Kleen does the job and is very concentrated, without sacrificing efficacy.
http://biokleenhome.com/
Cheers! |
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| Organic VS Chemical in my Home |
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| posted Jun 4, 2008 9:40:57 AM | To All |
We have 2 cats as well and I find that using Ecover and Seventh Generation works well. I use those 2 products for laundry, dishes (I have to wash by hand), cleaning, mirrors and glass, etc. I haven't tried anything yet for carpet. Does anyone have a suggestion for cleaning carpet more naturally?
lassie |
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| Fonda K Davis |
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| Organic VS Chemical in my Home |
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| posted Jun 4, 2008 1:14:36 PM | To All |
In our house are 2 adults, 2 children, 2 cats and a slobbery Great Dane:) We are using up what we have left of our Seventh Generation, BioKleen and Melaleuca products. But I have been making some of my own stuff lately and really prefer it. You can find great recipes online for homemade cleaning products. We tend to use lot of baking soda, lemon juice, tea tree, lavender and orange essential oils. Also, vinegar works wonders! Plus, I reuse containers I already have to mix and store thus reducing packaging waste. |
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| Organic VS Chemical in my Home |
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| posted Jun 4, 2008 9:25:35 PM | To All |
I like to make a lot of my cleaners.
For my clothes I use this recipe.
1 bar of soap (I like Dr. Bronners lavender)
1 cup of washing soda (NOT baking soda)
1/2 cup of borax
Shave the soap into a 3-5 gallon bucket, add a bit of hot water until they dissolve, then add the washing soda and borax and fill the bucket until it is full. Cover. The next day it should be a bit gelatinous. Sometimes it comes out thick, other times watery with stringy white bits in it. Use 1 cup per load. During the 1st rinse cycle I add 1/4 cup of vinegar. I also add lavender oil to the vinegar, maybe less than a teaspoon to my bottle and give it a good shake before I put it into the wash.
For my kitchen and bathrooms I use the following...
Strong cleaner
1 part water
1 part vinegar
a few drops of essential oil, usually I use tea tree
leave it in a spray bottle and give it a good shake before spraying it. If I need it to be stronger I use a bit more vinegar.
Nice smelling cleaner
2 cups of herbal tea (mint, lavender, chamomile are all nice)
2 tblsp. of vinegar
1 tblsp. of unscented or herbal scented shampoo or soap (I like using Dr. B's liquid soaps, unscented or scented to match the teas and oils I use)
1 tsp. borax
A few drops of essential oil (tea tree, lavender, mint are nice)
Add them all to a spray bottle and give a good shake before each use.
Nice mixes...mint tea, tea tree soap and tea tree oil
lavender and mint tea, lavender soap and lavender and mint oil
This isn't as strong as the vinegar/water mix, but it does do it for my counters and such.
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