Thursday, January 20, 2011

rethinking cleaning.

So, quite a few people left a comment on my contest post about natural cleaning supplies........

I took the following picture and I wrote a post about my:
 *little bit of Simple Green, lot of vinegar, squirt of Dr. Bronner's and 3 drops of Tea Tree Oil cleaning spray*


Then, I started thinking about Simple Green.......
 And, I realized a bright green liquid with that 'so fresh and so clean clean' smell isn't very natural at all.
 Googling ensued and I decided to eliminate Simple Green from my cleaning solution.

Why add something with very questionable ingredients to my mix when it simply isn't needed?
Especially since this is my all-purpose cleaner for every room in the house so I spray it all.day.long with two little sets of lungs in close proximity. 

So, my new cleaning solution is:
*lots of white vinegar, big squirt of Dr. Bronner's, 3 drops of Tea Tree Oil and fill the bottle up with water*

Readers, thanks for making me rethink the way I clean....
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You know you want to share your favorite cleaning solution!

8 comments:

Tara said...

hmmmm... I am going to have to try your recipe. We tossed all the chemical cleaners when I got pregnant with baby. We replaced them with Mrs. Meyer's clean day soap and three cleaning solutions by a company called Biokleen. (glass cleaner, all-purpose cleaner, and a stain and odor remover--for the pets) They are all natural ingredients with coconut-based surfactants. They work really well. Unfortunately, we cant buy them in the town we live in--so we either have to order them or pick them up when traveling. It would be nice to whip up a little something at home, and I have all the ingredients you use for your cleaning solution, so might give that a whirl! Thanks!

Christine said...

For an extra oomph, you can squirt in some CitraSolv (http://www.citra-solv.com)

charlesandlauramontgomery said...

We have been cleaning with vinegar for several months now and love it.

Aspiring Foster Mama said...

We used Simple Green for a lot longer than we should have because it's marketed like it's safe! It wasn't until I started getting serious headaches and nauseous while using it that I figured out it must not be good. We love our vinegar now!

MamaMulder said...

My recipe is much like yours..
Vinegar, water, tea tree oil, and a drop of Seventh Generation dishsoap for a little lavendar scent. And I too feel like I'm spraying it allllll day long. ;)

Bethany said...

I clean with vinegar, lemon and baking soda. I still use SoftScrub in my bathroom though.

Laura @ Our Messy Messy Life said...

Bethany, my shower needs some SoftScrub. I'm deeply lamenting my choice of white tile and white grout.

So, I had a set of little hands helping me pour everything into the spray bottle and apparently way more than a few drops of Tea Tree Oil was added. I have no fears about not getting things clean after smelling those fumes all day long.

A Leoa Vigilante said...

WOW thanks!! Good idea!!!