Healthy cleaning

I've been thinking about healthy alternatives to the chemical-laden foods and products that I've been mindlessly using over the years. Having a daughter that easily gets migraines from eating foods with MSG and aspartame has sensitized me to her triggers. I've had "restaurant illness" for decades myself so I know that chemicals in the food system are doing nasty things to our health.

I've also started considering how the chemicals in the cleaning products I've been using are affecting our health. Reading the caution statements on the backs of most household cleaners is a scary revelation. Here's one from the back of a product I've used a lot:

"PRECAUTIONARY STATEMENTS
HAZARDS TO HUMANS AND DOMESTIC ANIMALS
DANGER: Corrosive - causes skin burns and irreversible eye damage. Harmful if swallowed or absorbed through skin. Do not get in eyes, on skin, or on clothing. Wear goggles or face shield, protective clothing, and rubber (or chemical-resistant) gloves. Wash thoroughly with soap and water after handling. Remove contaminated clothing and wash clothing before reuse.
Chemical Hazards: DO NOT mix with chlorine-type bleaches or other household chemicals."

I had no idea I needed a hazmat suit to clean my toilet!

In the spirit of becoming "green" in my home, for the sake of my family's health and to help protect the environment, I'm now making most of my cleaning supplies myself.

Here are the "recipes" I'm using:

Laundry
In the Wall Street Journal, Seventh Generation founder Jeffrey Hollender remarks that it’s surprising most people use laundry detergent at all: “You don’t even need soap to wash most loads,” he says. The truth is, it’s the action of the agitator, not the chemicals, that gets most clothes clean. Amazing!

For millenia, clothes have been washed scrubbed against rocks in plain water. Apparently, the agitator takes the place of the rocks.

I've been using 1/4 the recommended amount of detergent for several years now; the clothes appear just as clean as they did before AND they don't feel "slick" anymore. I think the detergent hadn't been washing out completely and had left residue behind on the clothes.

For those who feel uncomfortable washing without detergent, here's a recipe to make your own:

Homemade laundry detergent
* 4 cups of water.
* 1/3 bar of cheap soap, grated.
* 1/2 cup washing soda (not baking soda).
* 1/2 cup of Borax (20 Mule Team).
* 5-gallon bucket for mixing.
* 3 gallons of water.
First, mix the grated soap in a saucepan with 4 cups of water, and heat on low until the soap is completely dissolved. Add hot water/soap mixture to 3 gallons of water in the 5-gallon bucket, stir in the washing soda and Borax, and continue stirring until thickened. Let the mix sit for 24 hours, and voila! Homemade laundry detergent.

Total cost per load? In the neighborhood of 2 cents. Store-bought detergent, depending on what you buy and where you buy it, can cost about 20 cents per load — 10 times more.

Window cleaner
Combine 1/2 cup of ammonia, 1/2 cup vinegar and two tablespoons of cornstarch to a bucket of warm water.

Washing Floors
'Floor Cleaner with Fragrant Herbs' freshens as it cleans. Combine one-eighth cup liquid soap or detergent, one-fourth to one-half cup white distilled vinegar or lemon juice, two gallons warm water, and one-half cup peppermint tea; mix well.

I was surprised at how shiny my floors were after mopping with this stuff. I'm not sure if the shine comes from the vinegar or the mint tea, but whichever it is it works better than Mop N Glow.
(This recipe will be even better when my mint grows big enough to harvest. I'll then use it for a fresher mint smell.)

Scrubbing Tubs, Toilets, & Sinks
Recommended products: I use Bon Ami, a chlorine-free scouring powder.
Make your own: Pour one-half cup of baking soda into a bowl and add enough liquid detergent to create a frosting-like texture. Rub onto surfaces with a sponge and rinse.

Toilet and drain cleaner
1 cup distilled white vinegar + 1/2 cup baking soda
To clear a clog, pour the baking soda in the drain, add vinegar, cover with a rag for 20 minutes, then follow with boiling water.

Mold killer
1 teaspoon tea tree oil + 2 cups of water
Tea tree oil is much more effective than bleach in fighting mold. The key is to buy 100 percent essential oil, not a fragrance or perfumed oil, neither of which is effective for fighting mold. Always buy tea tree oil in glass containers, since the liquid dissolves plastic.

Cleaning Ovens
Make your own: Cover the oven bottom with one quarter-inch of baking soda and spray with water until it’s damp (not soaked). Let the solution sit and spray it occasionally to keep the surface moist. Leave on overnight, and wipe clean the next day with a sponge.

Info for this blog came from these sites:
Natural Solutions
MoneyTalksNews