Pages

Saturday, March 1, 2008

Natural cleaning products?

A week or two ago, I resolved to start using natural cleaning products. This decision was made based on the fact that our bathroom cleaner literally makes the skin on my hands peel off on contact, and the fact that Zosia is getting herself into all sorts of situations in which she is in direct contact with various household cleaners-- for example, suckling on the floor. However, I am extremely skeptical of the "natural products" industry, and basically feel that big companies are just trying to make money off of well intentioned folks by slapping a "natural" label on the front of things and marking it up several hundred percent. So, I have started the journey of trying to use household cleaners that are cost effective, effective at cleaning, and mild. So far, here are a few that have worked:

1:1 vinegar:water solution to clean floors
Straight baking soda to scrub the tub and the range-- not as quick as comet, but gets the job done with a little elbow grease
A few drops of tea tree oil in the laundry with our cloth diapers to make them smell fresh (with some detergent and some borax)

I'm in the process of searching for and testing other natural items, so I'll post any progress here! Any suggestions?

2 comments:

woerove said...

I hear lemon juice is good. Check out about.com for more info (am I allowed to advertise on your blog).

Adele said...

Yes, I've heard that too! From Lauren:
http://www.womenandenvironment.org/campaignsandprograms/SafeCleaning/recipes