DIY: Earth-Lite Cleaning Products
Yes, I know. An eco-glam fellow or lass can buy Mrs. Meyers or Shaklee almost anywhere, but let’s hypothetically say you are cheap or broke or would just rather make deliciously green cleaning products at home, how would you do it? We got your back, as always.
Most cleaning products leave more toxins behind than the germs and toxins they are supposed to clean up. Read here about what mainstream cleaning products do to your insides.
Some scary, but interesting, factoids* attributed to the chemicals in our mainstream cleaning products: (from HealthyCleaning.com)
- In the past 40 years, at least 70,000 new chemicals have been released into the environment through new consumer and industrial products and food.
- Male and female infertility are on the rise. Research is now pointing to pesticides as a viable cause.
- Women who work in the home have a 54% higher death rate than women who work out of the home.
- Each year more than 50 million Americans suffer from allergic diseases. Allergies are the sixth leading cause of chronic disease in the US, costing the health care system $18 billion annually. The prevalence of allergic rhinitis (inflamed nasal membranes) has increased substantially over the past 15 years.
- Asthma ranks among the most common chronic conditions in the United States, affecting an estimated 14.9 million persons.
- According to the US Poison Control Centers, “A child is accidentally poisoned every 30 seconds and more than 50% of all poisonings occur at home with children under 5 years of age.”
- Asthma is the #1 cause of absenteeism in schools.
- There has been a 25% increase in the last 25 years in cancer incidence among children under 15 years of age.
- ADD/ADHD is the most commonly diagnosed childhood behavior disorder today. More than two million (3-5%) children have ADD.
- Thirty years ago the 3 major childhood illnesses were chickenpox, measles and mumps. Now it is asthma, ADD and cancer.
- Brain cancer in children is up 40% in 20 years.
If this ain’t enough to get you cleaning with simple products, we don’t know what is! First of all, you can technically use Dr. Bronner’s soap to clean everything (and at GirlieGirl Army HQ, we do!). From washing our pets to our floors, this is an all-purpose dream product and is available at any health food store. Plus a large bottle lasts forever, so it’s economically a smart choice! Dr. Bronner’s smells wonderful, is totally natural, and does the job – even in the filthiest of abodes. But you should also know that some of the most basic household items create cleaning products far superior to the icky commercial jobbies. White vinegar is the holy grail of at home cleaning! You’ll get giddy for this site, which gives you 1001 uses for White Vinegar!
RECIPES:
All-purpose Cleaner: 2 tablespoon white vinegar, 1 teaspoon Borax (natural soap), 16 ounces of hot water, 1/4 cup Dr. Bronner’s. Mix vinegar and Borax in a clean spray bottle. Fill with water and shake until the Borax has dissolved. Add Dr. Bronner’s. Shake and use.
All-purpose Kitchen Cleaner: Baking soda, essential oil. Fill a shaker halfway with baking soda. Add 20 drops Essential oil of your choice. Stir. Add more baking soda, then shake. Sprinkle a bit on dirty surface, then sponge off with warm water. Rinse well.
For Filthy Pots: 1 cup fine-grade pumice, 1/2 cup clay powder, 2 tablespoon grapefruit essential oil, 1/4 cup baking soda, 1/4 cup sodium lauryl sulfacetate, 1/2 cup boiling water – enough for thick paste. Mix all ingredients together and stir. Store in a container that closes tightly. To use, apply gently with a damp sponge or cloth and scrub.
Editor’s Note: Sodium lauryl sulfacetate is the not the same as sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS).
Floor Cleaner: White vinegar, water and essential oil. Fill a squirt bottle with equal amounts of vinegar and water. Add 20 drops of essential oil. Mix and squirt on floor.
Bathroom Cleaner: 1 2/3 cups baking soda, 1/2 cup Dr. Bronner’s, 1/2 cup water, 2 tablespoon white vinegar. Mix baking soda and Dr. Bronner’s in a bowl. Dilute with water, and add the vinegar. Mix with a fork until lumps are gone and mixture has a smooth consistency; adding a little more water is fine. Pour into a squeeze container, then shake well. Keep lid on firmly to avoid drying out. Use. Alternates: 1 cup Dr. Bronner’s, 1/2 cup baking soda, 1 teaspoon Borax, 6 cups hot peppermint tea, 1 teaspoon eucalyptus essential oil. Add mint tea to liquid soap, stir to mix well. Add baking soda, borax and eucalyptus oil. Store in plastic jug or squirt bottle. Shake before using. This soap can be used for washing floors, tubs and cleaning almost anything (except your mouth after a round of dirty cursing).
Toilet Cleaner: Use white vinegar and a brush. Baking soda can also be used if you like the SoftScrub vibe.
Glass Cleaner: 1/4 cup white vinegar, 1/2 cup Dr. Bronner’s, 2 cups water, essential oil (only if you’re fancy.) Mix soap and water in a spray bottle. Add vinegar and essential oil. Shake it up and spray. We suggest using old newspaper to clean mirrors and windows. It’s exponentially more effective, and lighter on planet earth since you are re-using. To use, spray and wipe. If you don’t want to add the soap (which requires a stronger arm, but think of the bicepts you’ll have!), it’s fine to omit it and stick with 1 cup of vinegar per 2 cups of water. Alternates: Experiment with lemon juice, club soda and cornstarch, all of which (mixed together) clean windows well.
Key Lime Dish Detergent Powder: This recipe is a litte more elaborate, so only go there when you are feeling super badass. 1/2 cup clay powder, 2 tablespoon lime essential oil, 2 cups sodium lauryl sulfoacetate, 6 cups baking soda. Wear a dust mask to mix this formula. Mix clay powder and essential oil; then, in a 2 gallon pail, combine the baking soda and sodium lauryl sulfoacetate. Mix well. You can convert this recipe to a liquid detergent by mixing 2 tablespoon of powder to 2 cups boiling water, and stir until ingredients are dissolved. You should use a squeeze top bottle to store this. To use, add aboout a tablespoon of powder or liquid per sink-load while filling sink. For tough jobs, make a paste by adding water and rubbing directly on spot.
Laundry Detergent: Use Dr. Bronner’s, straight up. We like the lavender scent! Use two small cap fulls for a large load of dirty clothes.
Fabric Softener: Toss 1/4 cup of white vinegar to the last rinse cycle of your wash load. Don’t worry, it won’t smell like vinegar. The vinegar also brightens, like a natural bleach.
Dryer Sheets: Pour a few drops of essential oil (your choice of smell, there are so many!) on a hand towel or wash cloth. Toss in dryer with your clothes. Re-use forever (adding the drops of essential oil each time).
All you need is a little elbow power and creativity and you can make anything! We believe in you! Share your tips in the comments.
Get more green on with Chloé at girliegirlarmy.com
*Originally published June 8, 2009.
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17 Comments
I’ve been thinking recently, that when I finally get my own place, I would clean it as naturally as possible. I’m definitely writing down these recipes. And I love Dr. Bronners!
Can’t tell you how much I enjoyed this post! So many amazing tidbits I can’t wait to try. Chloe is an Eco-Goddess! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!
I’ve done some research on borax and found some interesting things – I’m curious as to you take on this? Many ppl use borax as a herbicide or pesticide (Ex: I know a girl that uses a bit of it to get rid or roaches in her apartment) If it can kill bugs I don’t know how great I’d feel about using it for cleaning – esp in areas around food.
If anyone has additional cleaning recipes they want to share, let me know! :) Thanks Goddesses and Merlin’s!
I love Dr. Bronner’s – have used it on my son since he was a baby – he’s now 8. We use it all over the place. I love the peppermint. This is a great post Chloe – rock on Girl!
“Thirty years ago the 3 major childhood illnesses were chickenpox, measles and mumps. Now it is asthma, ADD and cancer.”
This is primarily due to vaccines and the demographic transition (the movement from causes of death from infectious diseases to chronic conditions. Kids used to die young from these illnesses, but no longer do due to advances in science). It’s also due to changes in the way we diagnose ADD.
I have no doubt that the connections you suggest are totally there–but we should be careful about suggesting direct causality. It doesn’t really matter though, I’m on board with the main point of the piece!!
Thanks for the cleaning recipes!! Fantastic!
Is liquid Dr. Bronner’s available in sustainable packaging? I have only found it in plastic bottles.
I am all over this!!!!! Thank you!!!!!!
I use powdered borax to get rid of cockroaches. It is amazing, you need to sprinkle it around about every three months. Apparently it gets on the hairs on the cockroaches legs and they take it back to the nest and it kills all of them…I was told it heats up their blood.
Here are many wonderful ideas to implement.would love to read more here and try it. Good Luck!!!
What is clay powder used in the dishwashing recipe?
Has anyone used soap nuts, also called soap berries, to wash their laundry? I am curious to know the pros and cons about them.
What is essential oil? Is it actually called this on the bottle? And why is it that “Women who work in the home have a 54% higher death rate than women who work out of the home”? They use commercial cleaners in offices so I don’t understand why this statement would be true. I work in my home so this concerns me! Thanks for the post. I love Dr. Bronners but didn’t realize you could use it for so many things.
I’ve found that soap + vinegar neutralizes the effects of both. I would do one or the other, not both in the same bottle.
Soap nuts are great Amber. I make the liquid up in 8 cup batches and keep it in the fridge. You do have to keep it in the fridge as it gets yeasty. (Gave my son a good yeast rash with his cloth diapers this way).
Essentials oils are derived from various plants and generally for scent. Lavender, peppermint. But some have disinfectant properties like tea tree oil and oregano oil.
I have used Dr. Bronners on my marble floors, but then need to do a clean rinse since it leaves a film. Does anyone know a way to avoid the film? Just be careful with vinegar and never use it on marble since it will etch the marble.
Don’t use vinegar on hardwoods. Think driftwood when you use vinegar on hard wood floors. This is how many people DIY making their own driftwood. Use water the less the best and dry wood floors. The other thing is that the newer wood floors you have to use what they suggest or it will void the warrenty so ask them about green cleaning.
If your floorsa have a film after using Dr. bonners the key I think is to use really hot water. Dry Mop or use a mop where you have squeezes out as much water as possible.
If you have new floors or heck old floors and aren’t sure what to use on them call the manufactor. Ask them what to use for green cleaning.
Hardwood floors after dry mopping dry them. Your really don’t need a whole bunch of green cleaning products to keep your house clean. I have a cleaning business and do Commerical and residential cleaning. I have one woman so allergic to everything we both learned simple tricks to keep her home chemical free. One is as simple as using dawn soap. For some reason this works amazingly well just a drop or two even on floors. A simple cheap degreaser. If your showers are dirty… Use 1 cup of boiled vinegar with 1/3 of borax make sure the vinegar is heated. Combine the two and pour in a spray bottle. Cheap to make. Do a test spot. Uses a greenie to scrub. Cleaning windows? Simple using any kind of dish soap again a drop or two and purchase a squeegie Lowes carries Commerical ones I use a rag with a drop of soap and water and wash the mirror or windows and just swipe it off. I dry the rest of the mirror and then use one of those micro fiber towels to get lint off the window or mirrors. I also use a micro fiber towel to dry everything. To make it shiny. Drying Is. The key for everything. You dry showers it will stop lime build up. Prevention is key. To dust I use a rag and a spray bottle of eater and lightly mist the rag I only do this if the furniture is really dusty. Then I dry it again with a microfiber towel. For very shiny furniture they have those smooth towels that are lint free to buff furniture. To clean you don’t have to pay a lot or use a ton of chemicals. I still use them depending on what and who I am cleaning for…a lot of people associate clean with smell,,,,but it ain’t so. At my home we clean almost everything green. I wear lots of gloves cleaning for others….
Chloe! Cheers, this is a great post!
June 8, 2009