34 replies to this topic

[dconklin]

I have been sticking to baking soda, dish soap, vinegar and my recent addition is castile soap.  Castile soap is concentrated and it comes in a big enough bottle to last a long time.  You shouldn't mix vinegar with castile soap because of a film that is harder to get off, but you can mix baking soda with the soap.  You can also mix baking soda and vinegar - this works well to unclog drains.  I use garlic in my yard for bug control instead of harsh chemicals.  The only thing that I can't get rid of easily is the flies that come in with the train (it sometimes brings city garbage past our house.)

[Green Steve]

I recently tried using a product called Soap Nuts. They're essentially just dried fruit shells that you put in a bag and throw in the drum of your washing machine, a lot like standard tablets. They were quite good, but on a 30 degree wash my clothes weren't quite as clean as usual (or as fragrant!)

[adam_a]

Yoginitrish, on 09 October 2011 - 05:31 PM, said:

I often try to choose Method-brand or Seventh Generation cleaning products.

I like using these products as well, but they often come in plastic containers and it's not like you can go to a spout and just refill them and pay the difference (how great would that be?). I like trying them and using them up but then I refill them with the usual vinegar, lemon, baking soda homemade stuff.

It is a strange feeling. On the one hand I want to give my money to these companies that are striving to make greener choices but on the other hand I don't want to add any more plastic in the mix, even if I recycle it afterword.

[catevanne]

Our grandmothers and grandfathers used what they had on hand to clean and disinfect- their number one cleaning agent and all around healthy product was vinegar. I have studied it and found that it has hundreds of uses in and around the home; it's also very good for your health. You can use it on salads, add it to just about any food and even drink it. It will remove scum and spots and shine up your chrome-and this is just the beginning.

[Shortpoet-GTD]

Baking soda, borax, vinegar, salt, lemon juice, cornstarch, elbow grease.

[kalasin]

I make all of my cleaning products and the vast majority in the ingredient list-

-distilled white vinegar
-baking soda

With borax, blue Dawn dish soap, Ivory soap, and washing soda in there fairly sparingly.

[Shortpoet-GTD]

kalasin, on 05 September 2012 - 10:34 AM, said:

I make all of my cleaning products and the vast majority in the ingredient list-

-distilled white vinegar
-baking soda

With borax, blue Dawn dish soap, Ivory soap, and washing soda in there fairly sparingly.

Dawn was used to help clean those poor seabirds during the Gulf oil spill, so it's cool in my book.

[fancyfingers]

I, like many others have stated before me, use vinegar a lot when I clean. I also use baking soda, hydrogen peroxide. The less ingredients in cleaning products, the better.

[adam_a]

There are articles like this coming out there really make me want to keep making my own cleaners:

Five Things You Should Know Before You Clean Your House

[FlanneryCam]

I'm also a green cleaning product user. And even with products that are labelled 'green' or 'natural' I always check to see what's in the bottle. There are some products that I don't consider green even if they are labelled as such. Pretty much any green product made by a big chemical company has an active ingredient that I don't consider green.

I love Seventh Generation. It's a great company!

But I'm also getting better at making my own products with vinegar and baking soda. They work just as well as the chemical stuff. And I'm a fan of the vinegar smell!

[fancyfingers]

catevanne, on 04 September 2012 - 12:33 PM, said:

Our grandmothers and grandfathers used what they had on hand to clean and disinfect- their number one cleaning agent and all around healthy product was vinegar. I have studied it and found that it has hundreds of uses in and around the home; it's also very good for your health. You can use it on salads, add it to just about any food and even drink it. It will remove scum and spots and shine up your chrome-and this is just the beginning.

Vinegar is awesome! I buy it by the gallons. My brother in law wipes his  boat down with it every time he takes it out of the water. Vinegar is the main in many cleaning products at the store. I don't understand why most people do not just buy the vinegar and save  $$$?

[Evilsprinkles]

I don't buy eco cleaning products, because I make my own. Yes you can use vinegar and stuff just as it is, but I like to use the peels from citrus fruits that I've (naturally) already eaten, to couple with boiled vinegar. You let the peels sit in vinegar for three weeks, and then strain the liquid when they're done. That there, is some seriously potent all purpose household cleaner. It's safe to use around children, animals, and it's seriously cheap to make,

What really annoys me, is that a lot of shops will sell supposed eco household products, and charge EXTORTIONATE prices for them. Bypass that, make your own, and you can't get much greener.

[BuddhaStarlight]

I clean with vinegar often, although I still use bleach and other cleaners for some things (like toilets). I mostly like the vinegar because it's so cheap. It works great as a glass cleaner, I'll never need Windex again.

[ACSAPA]

Apparently vinegar has become such a popular cleaning product that it's now being marketed as such. I was in the cleaning products aisle of a big box store and I saw a bottle of "cleaning vinegar" next to the ammonia and Pine Sol. So they basically took some white vinegar ,labeled it as cleaning vinegar and made it a dollar or two more expensive. They're wise to you guys and your vinegar.

I still have half a bottle of ammonia so I'm still using it up until it's gone. Sorry. I guess ammonia is probably bad for the environment so I won't buy any more after this bottle is gone. I just don't want to throw it in the trash.

[saso777]

I never read labels but after all discussion i have read here i think I'll start that