Healthy House Cleaning (Long but food for thought)

[concreterose]

And my other two favorite words: Baking Soda!

Well you'll loooove this one:
Tub and Tile Scrub/Cleaner
For a 16-oz. bottle: Mix 1 2/3 cups baking soda with 1/2 liquid castille soap for this recipe. Use a big bowl. If you use dish soap, it makes it too hard to rinse off. Dilute with 1/2 cup water (filtered or distilled). Add 2 tbsp. white vinegar last. Stir until the lumps are gone. If you can pour it into the container easily, then it's the right consistency. If it's too thick, add more water. Pour into bottle with a flip top (I use those rubbermaid ketchup and mustard containers). Keep the cap on because this mixture will dry out. Shake it real good before you use it each time.
Use it in the tub, sink, toilet bowl, garbage cans and to get rid of grease and stuck on dirt. If you see a white residue after you rinse it, you can rinse with a little scented vinegar, or use a little less of the scrub the next time.

[concreterose]

What do you guys use to clean up after raw meat prep?

I sprinkle salt and vinegar on the cutting board (we use one specific cutting board for raw meat). Then I rinse with super hot water and wash it in a sink of hot sudsy dish water.

[pollypop]

One of my favorite homemade cleaning supply recipes is this stuff. It works very well for getting out odors from "accidents" and one-time things, though if you have a spot where a pet is repeatedly urinating, you'll need something stronger.

Pet Urine/Skunk Odor Eliminator Formula

- 1 qt. 3% Hydrogen Peroxide
- 1/4 c. Baking Soda
- 1 teaspoon Liquid Hand Soap


Mix together using a plastic spoon for one minute. Pour into
a plastic squirt bottle (like a mustard bottle) or spray bottle.
Spray evenly on the main odor area and saturate the carpet. It
is extremely important that it gets penetrated into the carpet
pad. When main odor area is saturated, then apply solution to
surrounding areas where urine may have been sprayed or splashed.

Let the solution dry by itself for 1-2 days. There is a chance
that the baking soda has left a white residue on the carpet.
This will usually clean up when you vacuum. If not, just wash
the area thoroughly with a sponge and water and let it dry. It
may also feel like there are tiny air bubbles on top of the carpet
which is residual oxygen that has surfaced.

Hydrogen peroxide may lift color from some materials, so spot test
before applying to carpets, upholstery, etc.

This solution must be used immediately after mixing to be effective.
DO NOT store the solution in any type of closed container as it
may explode due to the chemical reaction. Any unused solution can
be safely disposed of down your sink or toilet.

This may also be used to remove skunk spray/odor from pets. Mix
as directed then apply to pet's coat. Allow to work for 5-10 minutes.
Rinse thoroughly with clean water to remove all traces from coat.

On the anti-bacterial thing, ugh, don't get me started! Anti-bacterial EVERYTHING is one of my pet peeves. Anti-bacterial dog beds and cutting boards and hand soap and pillowcases and blah blah blah. It's totally ridiculous. If you are in a medical environment, it's necessary, but no one, except the extremely immunocompromised, needs an triclosan-laced anti-bacterial bed, let alone an anti-bacterial dog bed. And how hard is it these days to find normal liquid handsoap?

Shouldn't this stuff be regulated and available only by prescription, like other antibiotics?

[concreterose]

Bump for new members

[Allie]

Wow! Thanks so much for all this info. My bf and I have become very aware of the chemicals we use since we added our parrot, Twitch, to the pack... since they're especially sensitive to chemicals. I was just thinking the other day that I needed to do some more research on safe cleaners. Didn't have to go too far to find it!

[Kirstan]

CC, I'm trying the grease cutter this weekend. I hope it works - my stove backsplash has little grease dots all over it and it's driving me MAD!

[concreterose]

CC, I'm trying the grease cutter this weekend. I hope it works - my stove backsplash has little grease dots all over it and it's driving me MAD!

Let me know how it works. I haven't tried that one.

[pitgrrl]

Out of curiosity, what do people think about the essential oils that are often in home made or all natural cleaning solutions?
Is there not enough to be harmful to one's animals?

I used to add tea tree oil to the water and vinegar I use to clean, but stopped after reading about its toxicity to animals. Many other essential oils are also pretty toxic to dogs and even more so to cats.......
Am I being overly paranoid?

[concreterose]

Out of curiosity, what do people think about the essential oils that are often in home made or all natural cleaning solutions?
Is there not enough to be harmful to one's animals?

I used to add tea tree oil to the water and vinegar I use to clean, but stopped after reading about its toxicity to animals. Many other essential oils are also pretty toxic to dogs and even more so to cats.......
Am I being overly paranoid?

Nope you're not. I don't use tea tree oil on the floor or anywhere else my cats walk on. Orange oil and lemon oil is safe in small quantities. I only use 10-15 drop per 16 oz. of water.

[pblove]

I am lovig this thread!

[Linariel]

These cleaning tips are all wonderful, thank you.

Where do you purchase castille soap?

Also, I've got hard water and it leaves horrible stains. The only thing that seems to work are cleansers like BarKeepers Friends. I've tried baking soda, but it doesn't remove the stain. The toilet is the worst, it's rust coloured unless I put some Sno Bowl in it, which I hate!
Any tips?

[Deniselynn]

I use Method cleaning products. I also use vinegar a lot too but does it really wipe out germs?

[jaygirl]

Where do you purchase castille soap?

Wild Oats or Whole foods would definately sell it. I assume they sell the tea tree oil too.

I'm just wondering where you buy the Borax?

[rednoseErnie]

I use Method cleaning products. I also use vinegar a lot too but does it really wipe out germs?

I like Method, too.
Its supposed to be natural and nontoxic, and they carry it at Target.

[Linariel]

Borax can be found in the laundry aisle of most stores. There's a brand called "Twenty Mule Team" that is very prevalent.