Welcome to Day 4 of Back to Basics Blog Series. You can catch up on Day 1, Day 2 and Day 3. Today, I am bringing you a smart lady who knows what it means to clean, and to do it naturally. When she was fed up of chemicals in her household cleaners, Steffanie Housman didn't just complain about it - she began creating her own products! Steffanie is a green products connoisseur whose simple yet effective recipes will enlighten you (and your home will sigh with relief.) Enjoy!
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Eco-friendly
cleaning. Those words tend to sound kinda scary or, worse, fluffy to
most people. What they don't realize is that you can start making some
simple changes to your everyday habits to make your environment
healthier for you, your family, and the planet. I was first turned away
from green cleaning because of the cost. All of the essential oils, the
different ingredients, everyone had different opinions and it was just
plain confusing. So, I started with what was simple and worked best for
my family. Our goals were to be wallet friendly and to use less
chemicals - keep it simple as the saying goes.
Now,
my best friends are baking soda and white vinegar. Baking soda is a
nice abrasive that isn't too rough and white vinegar is antibacterial;
together, they are even more powerful (remember science class and that
volcano?). You can buy both at about any store from your neighborhood
grocery to your corner pharmacy to the big bulk discount stores. Now,
for some cleaning tips/recipes that I have discovered.
The Shower
My arch nemesis is our shower floor. It has a grip to it so you don't slip and slide. I guess that is great for when you are showering and all, but afterwards, it grows this grime that bleach, magic erasers, ammonia and the list goes on would not remove. The trick? Baking soda and white vinegar. Sprinkle a generous layer of baking soda all over the tub. Fill a spray bottle full of white vinegar and start to spray. You want to spray enough that you hear the reaction starting to happen and so that, if you wanted, you could create a paste with the baking soda. You don't want the baking soda to get wet enough that it runs down the drain. Let this sit for at least 5 minutes, preferably 10. Then, grab your scrub brush and give the tub a scrub. You shouldn't have to work hard. If you find that you are, rinse and repeat the process. The chemical reaction actually loosens the grime and kills the bacteria making the tub sparkling clean for you! Don't worry, the yucky vinegar smell will go away too.
Cleaning Up After Pets
Anyone who follows @oldtownsuds on twitter knows that we have two cats and a dog. Sometimes, like last night, accidents happen. We only wash with our detergent
but have a trick for when we are washing things that have pet stains on
them: white vinegar. We discovered this searching pet forums many years
ago when Mr Darcy (our male cat) was just a kitten and having some
litter box issues. White vinegar neutralizes the waste, removes the
smell, and we are all happy campers! Depending upon the accident size
(and how frustrated the owner is) determines how much we'll use. A small
accident means a half a cup is added to the wash at the beginning of
the wash cycle. A larger accident means more. It's simple!
The Dishwasher
You
can make your own dishwasher detergent with simple ingredients, but
I've found that most people prefer the commercial tabs. An easy way to
be more Eco-friendly is in the rinse agent. Can you guess what I am
going to suggest? White vinegar. This trick is super simple. Instead of
the chemically based commercial products, put the super inexpensive
white vinegar in just as you would the rinse agent and set the
dishwasher as normal. The white vinegar smell goes away as the dishes
dry and there are no spots!
I hope you've enjoyed our cleaning tips. Be sure to head over to facebook to share how you plan on using these tips!
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About
Old Town Suds
began in 2011 out of the need to remove unneeded chemicals from
everyday use. After some research and several successful experiments
later our Sudsologist, Steffanie, found several ways to incorporate
eco-friendly homemade cleaners into her family’s everyday lifestyle.
Many successful loads of laundry and cleanups later, Steffanie decided
she needed to share the products she created and Old Town Suds was formed. Follow us on twitter and like us on facebook to stay in the bubble!
Leave us a comment or question below! We'd love to hear from you!
Join us again next week for another week of eco-knowledge and spread the word throughout the weekend! On Day 5, be ready for a discussion on healthy sweet treats!
I absolutely love the idea of using vinegar as a rinse agent in the dishwasher! I've been looking at green cleaning for several years now, and it's the first time I come across this method! Thanks so much, Steffanie!
ReplyDeleteLove your blog post on eco-friendly cleaning. Most of the cleaning products I use are natural. Vinegar is used often. I like your idea also for the dishwasher... I buy the natural dishwasher rinse then also add vinegar... now I will try with only vinegar and save more money. :)
ReplyDeleteNever would have thought to put vinegar in the dishwasher! We also just adopted two bunnies , so I think the vinegar trick in the laundry will be handy as well. Fantastico!
ReplyDeleteI think vinegar is the best thing since sliced bread! There are so many uses for it.
ReplyDeletePatty - congrats on the bunnies. You can totally clean their laundry with vinegar. You can also use it as an antibacterial cleaner on their cage. You want to be careful of using commercial cleaners because they can hurt your bunny's lungs. I am always super cautious with our litter boxes.