Use only natural cleaning products

Ran out of Downy two days ago. Now using white vinegar in the rinse cycle. Clothes are as soft as usual, and do NOT smell like vinegar.

Downy = $5.69 per bottle
Vinegar = $1.79 per bottle

And better for the earth, too.

I had a clogged bathtub drain today and no Drano. I used baking soda and vinegar instead. The clog came out fine and for the first time I can recall, the plastic pipe visible thru the drain is white! It seems that the baking soda and vinegar removed the soap scum buildup, too.

I will allow two possible exceptions: Bar Keeper’s Friend and Dawn.
OK, three. Clorox. For emergency use only.

I’ve only converted my dish soap, sometimes laundry soap and use baking soda like mad. Once I use up my window cleaner I will switch to vinegar for that, and I use reusable dust rags (fleece) instead of swiffers, method air freshener. Next on the list: find a good soap scum remover and mildew fighter instead of the super effective but terribly harsh stuff I currently use.

Oh, and my bf works as a vet tech, so we’ll never get rid of the hard core laundry detergents and bleach, but I use soap nuts on my stuff.

For the longest time I was waiting to switch to an “eco friendly” dish detergent before I marked this as done. Baking soda and vinegar are staples here for cleaning, but for the dishes…

We’ve used Sunlight for as long as we’ve had dishes to wash, and I’ve heard of “green” liquid at Shopper’s Drug Mart, but… I also got thinking, how “green” really is this stuff? Everyone is jumping on the “Go Green, buy our GREEN product” bandwagon, that it makes me think – just because the bottle is made of recycled plastic, or it is made with 2% organic materials does not make it “green.”

Even the Dr Bronners stuff I hear SO much about lists Sodium Lauryl Sulphate as its second ingredient (with an explanation), but that’s not a “green” thing to add! That’s why most people stop using shampoo!

Do I feel ever so slightly disenchanted because of that? Ohhhh yes.

So yeah, this one is done. (:

so far:

- seventh generation laundry detergent
- natural bathroom and toilet cleaners
- all natural floor cleaner
- seventh generation multi-purpose cleaner

- still working on finding a good dish cleaner

baking soda and vinegar and lemon are good cleaning friends these days!

All my cleaning and personal products are ecofriendly. Learning which products were good was some trial and error, but I have my good products now.

i want do this every day

that I really should have added this goal. I already buy and use loads of Ecover’s various (plant-based) cleaning products: washing-up liquid, toilet cleaner, general cleaning liquid, washing powder or liquid, fabric softener. And where possible I get refills when those bottles are empty, instead of just throwing them away and buying new ones.

The thing is… sometimes there’s just no getting away from the fact that you need to use some bleach!

That isn’t to say I use it for everything, all the time. I no longer use it for laundry, or for normal cleaning.

I use vinegar in the wash machine for Gabriel’s diapers and they have never came out as sparkly white as they did with vinegar. Baking soda works great for cleaning countertops and toilet bowls.

But after a trip to the vets office, where parvo is commonly picked up, the floors get a wash with bleach water.