Non-toxic/homemade cleaning products

[LadyR]

What non-toxic cleaning products do you use? I just discovered Method cleaning products sold at Target. Target also sells Clorox Green Works. What do you think of these products?

 

If you make your own non-toxic surface cleaner (table, countertops, etc.) what do you use?

[Scarlett]

What non-toxic cleaning products do you use? I just discovered Method cleaning products sold at Target. Target also sells Clorox Green Works. What do you think of these products?

 

If you make your own non-toxic surface cleaner (table, countertops, etc.) what do you use?

 

My friend uses baking soda and vinegar for almost every thing. I'm thinking of trying it.

 

I use a mixture of baking soda/salt/vinegar to clean out slow drains..I did this just last night .I hate the chemicals in commercial drain cleaners.

[newbie]

What non-toxic cleaning products do you use? I just discovered Method cleaning products sold at Target. Target also sells Clorox Green Works. What do you think of these products?

 

If you make your own non-toxic surface cleaner (table, countertops, etc.) what do you use?

 

We use Method for laundry and love it. For the rest of house we invest in a steam cleaner. Otherwise I would go vinegar route.

 

JEt

[Tammyla]

I use vinegar/water in a squirt bottle for the counters, sinks, hardwood floors and things. The kitchen sink gets a baking soda dusting and then spritz with vinegar and cleans up nice with very little elbow grease.

 

Windex is on the Green list according to the bottle and I use that on my mirrors because I'm picky.

[abreakfromlife]

What non-toxic cleaning products do you use? I just discovered Method cleaning products sold at Target. Target also sells Clorox Green Works. What do you think of these products?

 

I've never looked at the labels, but I'd be curious to see what's in them. Nearly all chemicals are taxing on our bodies, if not toxic, even if they're labeled 'safe'. I use baking soda and vinegar for everything, except Windex for the windows. Vinegar kills 99% of germs.

[LadyR]

I just recently cleaned my hardwood floors with a bucket of hot water, just a bit of white vinegar and about 2 drops of dish detergent. They came sparkling clean and shiny. I like to spray something daily on my counter tops and tables that smells really nice. I don't know if I'd like the smell of vinegar every day. Anyone ever try tea tree oil? I heard that has antibacterial properties and I do like that scent. Maybe lemon?

 

Sorry if I'm rambling...I'm on pain killers. :p

[Spy Car]

An amazing way to disinfect is to keep two (2) spray bottles in the kitchen.

 

In one keep distilled vinegar, in the other hydrogen peroxide. When counters, or cutting boards need disinfecting (say they've had raw meat or chicken on them) spray with equal portions of each. And let sit a bit.

 

This is evidently even more effective than bleach (and not toxic like chlorine). This combo kills all salmonella and e. coli on contact.

 

I use a stainless steel spray bottle for the peroxide, as I understand light causes it to break-down.

 

This one is a god-send for people (like me) who are very sensitive to bleach and "Lysol-type" products. Plus it works BETTER, and is non-toxic.

 

Bill

[brehon]

I just recently cleaned my hardwood floors with a bucket of hot water, just a bit of white vinegar and about 2 drops of dish detergent. They came sparkling clean and shiny. I like to spray something daily on my counter tops and tables that smells really nice. I don't know if I'd like the smell of vinegar every day. Anyone ever try tea tree oil? I heard that has antibacterial properties and I do like that scent. Maybe lemon?

 

Sorry if I'm rambling...I'm on pain killers. :p

 

 

I have 2 spray bottles: one with vinegar and Citra-Solv and 1 with vinegar and tea tree oil. The smell of vinegar doesn't really bother me that much and it dissipates fairly quickly. Both the Citra-Solv and tea tree oil cut the vinegar smell a bit, I find.

[mcconnellboys]

I've been using Target's products for a while because I ADORE the scents! I recently got the one for granite counter tops and love it, too!

 

I also just picked up my first Greenworks product to try (but haven't yet).

 

I will also often use simple baking soda and plain white vinegar for things around the house. Salt added in to baking soda helps to scour better, too.

 

I was told to just use anti-bacterial soap on my tile floors (but I'm actually trying to phase out using that type soap).

[Rebecca in GA]

I use lots of recipes from Clean House, Clean Planet. Most of them involve some combination of vinegar, baking soda, liquid soap, water and essential oils. They work very well, they don't trigger ODS' asthma and I feel fine about letting the children use them. A bonus is that they are very inexpensive to make, especially if you use the Method or Seventh Generation dish soaps instead of Dr. Bronner's. My favorite recipe from the book is for a disinfectant made from soap, water and tea tree oil.

[Mekanamom]

I just recently cleaned my hardwood floors with a bucket of hot water, just a bit of white vinegar and about 2 drops of dish detergent. They came sparkling clean and shiny. I like to spray something daily on my counter tops and tables that smells really nice. I don't know if I'd like the smell of vinegar every day. Anyone ever try tea tree oil? I heard that has antibacterial properties and I do like that scent. Maybe lemon?

 

Sorry if I'm rambling...I'm on pain killers. :p

 

I use vinegar/water to clean most surfaces, including mirrors and windows. I swear, it works better than Windex at my house. (It's the microfiber cleaning towels that do the trick on the shiny surfaces!) Anyway- I do also add a couple drops of tea tree oil to my spray bottle. It doesn't make the vinegar smell go away, but it does leave a nice smell that lingers a bit after the vinegar smell wears off. :)

[Scarlett]

I use lots of recipes from Clean House, Clean Planet. Most of them involve some combination of vinegar, baking soda, liquid soap, water and essential oils. They work very well, they don't trigger ODS' asthma and I feel fine about letting the children use them. A bonus is that they are very inexpensive to make, especially if you use the Method or Seventh Generation dish soaps instead of Dr. Bronner's. My favorite recipe from the book is for a disinfectant made from soap, water and tea tree oil.

 

Thanks for the link! I can't wait to look it over.

[clementine]

I have used the Clorox Green Works spray for about 3 months. I love it! Nice smell & works great!

[sdWTMer]

I use a mixture of baking soda/salt/vinegar to clean out slow drains..I did this just last night .I hate the chemicals in commercial drain cleaners.

 

What parts do you use for this?

 

Thanks.

[Scarlett]

What parts do you use for this?

 

Thanks.

 

1 cup of salt, 1 cup of baking soda, and 1/2 vinegar. Mix in large bowl (let your kids watch cause it looks cool bubbling up) It should be a fairly thick mixture. Pour into drain. Let sit 15 minutes while you boil 2 quarts of water. Pour hot water into drain. If the drain is not bad it will bubble up inside and drain out quickly. Voila! If it is pretty stopped up, this might take a couple of treatments. After it clears let the hot water from the tap run for about a minute....you want to clear out all that salt since it is so corrosive

[3lilreds in NC]

Here is a link for making your own non-toxic cleaning tool kit. There are tons of recipes on the web, if you Google for them. I've used some and they seem to work pretty well.

 

Right now I have a bunch of Melaleuca stuff. Every now and then I sign up to help a friend, but don't really want to take the vitamins, so I end up with tons of cleaning supplies. I'm still using them up from the last round, which was last year I think.

 

Shaklee also makes nice cleaning supplies. It seems expensive at first, but they're so concentrated, you get a ton out of what you buy. I haven't tried their reformulated stuff, but I'm a big fan of Basic H, and their Scour Off Heavy Duty Paste. I liked their laundry stuff, too.

 

I LOVE Method cleaners. They work really well, and they have a lavender scent that is my favorite. Mostly I'm lazy and don't remember to make my own stuff.