Alternative Cleaning Products

[Amusement Gal]

Admin, the nose says yes, the body says no! Everything that smells nice and awesome that I love to clean with I can't stand. Much like a forbidden romance. I'm hoping that'll change soon.

Found quite a couple of websites that cater to my needs. Mountain Green is a good brand from what I see. Coincidentally, we're going to Whole Foods tomorrow. That way, I don't have to pay exorbitant shipping fees if they do have it.

[Food Lady]

It's a bit late, but I will chime in. For the countertop, mirrors, and toilet seat in the bathroom I keep a spray bottle with rubbing alcohol/water (2 to 1 ratio). Shower gets cleaned with Comet and a sponge/scrubbie. If you're allergic to it, Bon Ami or Ajax powder may be ok. I also clean the toilet bowl with it. I make a spray for the stovetop with lemon juice, alcohol, water, and a small amount of dish soap. Maybe you could replace the dish soap with castile soap or leave out altogether. I also use it for spot-cleaning the floor. Mopping gets done with vinegar/water, which I also use on kitchen countertops (foodsafe, as opposed to the spray with soap in it). I don't know what to tell you as far as laundry or dishes. I occasionally use bleach on mold or peroxide on a clothing stain. I don't think any of these are allergens.

[Seshat]

Thanks! If I don't know what to do now, I'm crazy.

You're welcome.


Note that you can wash dishes and clothes with lemon juice and/or vinegar if you need to. Soaps and (edible) detergents are typically more effective because they're a bit better at making oils water-soluble, but you can do it with the mild edible acids.


Vinegar is also a great fabric softener - and a mold-killer!

[kpzra]

Have you tried any of the Earth Friendly products? The are all sulfate free.

http://www.ecos.com/

[Magpie]

I'm a big fan of Murphy's Oil Soap. I know it lists scent, but I've never had headaches or lack of breathing with it. (You also don't need to rinse it off )

[QUOTEhttp://www.colgate.com/MurphyOilSoap/products/Product-Ingredients/original-formula]
Ingredient (INCI name) Purpose
Water Consistency
Sodium Tallate Cleaning Agent
Cymbopogon nardus (citronella) oil Pleasant Scent
Lauramidopropylamine oxide Cleaning Agent
Tetrasodium EDTA Maintains product stability[/QUOTE]

I saw a beautiful comic once. It listed all the advantages we have now in terms of available cleaning products. We have: (list of all sorts of cleansers), they use to have: soap. Honestly, if you get a simple enough cleanser, it's a cleanser. You can use in interchangeably with others.

[42_42_42]

We use the following laundry detergent recipe:

Homemade Liquid Laundry Soap- Front or top load machine- best value

4 Cups hot tap water
1 Fels-Naptha soap bar
1 Cup 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)

It really does work fabulously, even in high-efficiency machines (we have one that is a top loader and we use 1/4 c per load). And it is stupid cheap. We worked out that the cost for detergent is something like $0.003 per load!

Also, I use the shampoo from Aubrey Organics because it's the only one I can find that actually cleanses my oily hair, but they have a lot of other great products, too, from household cleansing to personal maintenance. Shipping is fairly reasonable price and time wise.

[Seshat]

You can use any soap that contains *just* soap, or just soap and mild perfume, in that recipe. I've seen it (with very little variation) in many places.

You will need to be careful with the borax - make sure the mix all dissolves, and don't touch the borax with bare hands. (Though rubber gloves are enough.)

Borax is a base (alkali). It's a mildly corrosive base - stronger than baking soda.


As long as it's properly thickened and gelled, you should be fine to use that mix as a dishwashing liquid as well, for handwashing dishes. Machine-washing relies on a more strongly corrosive mix than that. But do rinse the dishes thoroughly.

[RetailWorkhorse]

As for cleaners that won't make you break out, have you tried am-way's stuff?

SA-8, L.O.C, Pursuuuuuuue~!

Edit: Looks like most of Amway's stuff is no-go. Them big bad sulfates. :<

But....but.....SA-8......noooooooooooooooes!

....trade ya my Eco-stuff I get from Sam's Club for some SA-8.

*Ducks a brick quack*