I don't know why cleaning with all natural cleaning products didn't occur to me before a year ago! I am sure my husband is asking the same question! When I was pregnant he was responsible for doing all the heavy cleaning (tubs, toilets, etc.) so I wasn't exposed to the nasty chemicals and fumes.
So, my first step was to get rid of the Scrubbing Bubbles, Lysol, and Clorox. I replaced them with an all purpose, all natural cleaner I have been buying at Meijer. It works great, no complaints on that, but it is expensive! And I seem to go through it faster than the old stuff.
Living a healthier lifestyle shouldn't break the bank! At least that is my philosophy. So, I have been looking for inexpensive ways to get my house, clothes, and dishes clean without the chemicals.
Right now I am using Ecos Laundry Detergent from Costco. It is about $11 and it lasts me about 2 months. I plan to try making my own laundry detergent once the container I have open is gone. If you have a good homemade laundry detergent recipe you would like to share, please do! I have been adding 1 cup of baking soda to my whites. That has really worked well. Over the last couple of weeks I have not been pre-treating any of my girls' clothes, just throwing them in the wash with the extra baking soda, and it has been doing the job just as well as if I had spent all that time scrubbing them!
I just bought all of the ingredients to make my first batch of homemade dishwasher detergent (the same ingredients I will need for my laundry detergent). The recipe I am using is as follows:
1 cup Borox
1 cup Washing Soda
White Distilled Vinegar
Mix the Borox and the Washing Soda in a resealable container. Use 2 tbs. in each load. Use vinegar in place of your store bought rinse aid.
I will let you know next week how it goes. If it works, we'll be saving a fortune! I run our dishwasher at least twice a day.
So, for general household cleaning I tried baking soda and water. The enormous bag of baking soda I bought at Costco had all these suggestions on what you can use baking soda for. General cleaning was the top of their list. They recommended tubs, countertops, floors, etc. I would not recommend this at all! It works great as a laundry booster but not as a general cleaner. It left streaks or spots on everything! This was even after rinsing. It made my tile slippery and it didn't work on the tubs at all, even with a lot of scrubbing. I then tried vinegar and water. This is the cleaning product most of our grandparents probably used to get their homes spotless. Vinegar is cheap and the smell evaporates once it dries (except on your hands, wear gloves if you don't want to smell like a pickle the rest of the day). I filled a big bowl with warm water and poured a few glups of vinegar in it (maybe 1 1/2-2 cups)I washed my floors, windows, counters, tubs, everything with it. It worked great! It even took hard water deposits off the faucet and water dispenser on my refrigerator. I am in the process of making a citrus based all purpose cleaner (it has to ferment in my fridge for 3 months). I have high hopes for this cleaner and will let everyone know how it works once it is done. It would definitely smell better than the vinegar, but until then the vinegar and water works, its cheap, it disinfects, and it's all natural!
I would love to hear any other suggestions people have for all natural cleaning products you can make at home.
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Hey Christy! I'm so excited to see what all you find! I've been trying that dishwasher detergent and just ended up caving and buying electrosol. It worked great at first and then the last few loads I had to rewash as I was unloading. Don't know where I went wrong?? I have, however, been making my own laundry detergent for a while now and am happy with it. Here's the recipe:
ReplyDelete1 quart Water (boiling)
2 cups Bar soap (grated)
2 cups Borax
2 cups Washing Soda
■Add finely grated bar soap to the boiling water and stir until soap is melted. You can keep on low heat until soap is melted.
■Pour the soap water into a large, clean pail and add the Borax and Washing Soda. Stir well until all is dissolved.
■Add 2 gallons of water, stir until well mixed.
■Cover pail and use 1/4 cup for each load of laundry. Stir the soap each time you use it (will gel).
I also do my own fabric softener:
in a sealable container (if you have a couple old liquid fabric softener containers, those work well), combine 2 cups hair conditioner (I use a regular sized bottle- a little less than 2 cups), 3 cups vinegar, and 6 cups water. I use VO5 - it's like 89 cents a bottle!
Laundry soap (just made/split a batch w/ my mom and LOVE it. Low suds, no strong odors and it cleans. I have a top loading washer and my mom has a front loader...works great in both!)
ReplyDeleteHomemade Liquid Laundry Soap- Front or top load machine- best value
4 Cups - hot tap water
1 Fels-Naptha soap bar
1 Cup - Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda*
½ Cup Borax
- Grate bar of soap and add to saucepan with water. Stir continually over medium-low heat until soap dissolves and is melted.
-Fill a 5 gallon bucket half full of hot tap water. Add melted soap, washing soda and Borax. Stir well until all powder is dissolved. Fill bucket to top with more hot water. Stir, cover and let sit overnight to thicken.
-Stir and fill a used, clean, laundry soap dispenser half full with soap and then fill rest of way with water. Shake before each use. (will gel)
-Optional: You can add 10-15 drops of essential oil per 2 gallons. Add once soap has cooled. Ideas: lavender, rosemary, tea tree oil.
-Yield: Liquid soap recipe makes 10 gallons.
-Top Load Machine- 5/8 Cup per load (Approx. 180 loads)
-Front Load Machines- ¼ Cup per load (Approx. 640 loads)
*Arm & Hammer "Super Washing Soda" - in some stores or may be purchased online here (at Meijer.com). Baking Soda will not work, nor will Arm & Hammer Detergent - It must be sodium carbonate!!