Replacing tons of toxic cleaners with baking soda and vinegar

[elizabeth]

I would just like to share my experiences - I am gradually replacing all the commercial toxic cleaners available at stores with only baking soda and vinegar. So far I manage to successfully clean the bathtub, bathroom floor, kitchen surfaces and appliances, my guinea pigs' cage, soap scum, and speed up the slow drains. I've found a good read for all this: Baking soda and vinegar (http://www.bakingsodavinegar.com). I hope you will find it useful as I did.

I am also "working" on the natural air freshener and disinfectant using white vinegar and orange peels - I will keep you posted if it would work, it takes time to create it :)

Cheers!

[Rosemary]

Amazing, isn't it? It's been about 20 years since I quit purchasing commercial cleaning agents.

[leslieann]

What amazes me is how much MONEY you save.....I have been gradually removing those kinds of purchases and when I think of the years I assumed that I had to spend dollars on "toilet cleaner" I am a bit ashamed....

[Gardenarian]

I use baking soda and vineegar, but also Bon Ami, which is non-toxic and can be cheaper than baking soda as a scrubbing cleanser.
Rubbing alcohol and hydrogen peroxide are also useful around the house.
We've had good luck with using coffee grounds to absorb odors - just let used grounds dry (we have a gas oven with a pilot that is perfect for drying) and put them in an open container in a room.

[catherine]

I LOVE vinegar. Can't do without it. I also use baking soda and Bon Ami.

I bought an odor eliminator a couple of weeks ago because I have a dog and I was self-conscious about any possible smells in the house because of her, so I cleaned the floor with this new cleaner and it just left a sticky residue. So I went back to my good old vinegar, with lemon juice added, and no more stickiness, and I hope no more odor.

[lac]

Thanks for the link!

[Tussiemussies]

I've recently tried the vinegar with orange peels and vinegar with lemon peels and the orange peel, the orange peel one smelled great. I used the new vinegar by Heinz, called "Cleaning Vinegar" which is a high concentration of vinegar. My experience is that it does not clean as well, unfortunately. I have a lot of things to clean around my dog and the smell was still there . Bleach and laundry detergent is still my favorite, unfortunately....

[try2bfrugal]

We went on the home made cleaner band wagon last year - vinegar, baking soda, Dr. Bonners, Bon Ami, and a few bottles of essential oils. I wish I had the money back from all the years we used toxic cleaners.

Too bad no one spends millions of dollars to advertise the virtues of vinegar.

[rosarugosa]

Similar changes here: vinegar, baking soda, Bon Ami, Dr. Bronner's, Dawn, Rubbing alcohol, & some lavender oil. It is amazing how much we used to spend on cleaning products unnecessarily.

[Rosemary]

Gardenarian - when you use the dried coffee grounds, do they make the room smell like coffee? I am thinking this would be a good odor absorber in the room where we have our cats' litter boxes, but don't know if the coffee scent would be bothersome to them.

[Float On]

I had finally gone completely chemical cleaner free.
I came home the other day and opened the back door and was overwhelmed by cleaner smell.
Apparently my husband decided to do something nice and restocked the cleaning closet and 'cleaned' the house for me.
Maybe I should of communicated with him a little better about what I was trying to do - oh well....all I could do was say 'thank you honey'.

[Mrs-M]

There are two crowds related to this, the first crowd being the crowd who has made the switch, and the second crowd, the crowd made up of those like myself, the ones where people point fingers at and chant, shame on you.

I really need to pull my socks up in relation to this. When my kids were babies I used vinegar to launder their diapers, which helped maintain pH balance (less diaper rash, etc), and the vinegar (when used as a rinse agent) helped keep the diapers soft by removing excess/built-up laundry detergent in the fabric.

Now my mom on the other hand is, Mrs. Vinegar! She washes floors with it, does laundry with it, and even washes windows with it, and when, I, along with my siblings were little, she added orange peels to the diaper pail.

I've been meaning to mix-up a batch of scented vinegar water/cleaner using essential oils and such, but never seem to get around to doing it. Thankfully, due to thread topics such as this, it keeps the idea and thought fresh in my mind. One day I'm going to do it!

[Tradd]

Like another poster mentioned, I prefer Bon Ami for scouring. My preferred way to get my bathtub clean is a good scrub brush and Bon Ami.

[Mighty Frugal]

I never knew that about Bon Ami and will get some next time I am shopping-it truly is a 'bon ami'!!

I have used exclusively vinegar and baking soda for years now. We also stopped using dryer sheets about 10 years ago with no problems

For floors, counters, fixtures and mirrors it is 2 parts water to 1 part vinegar. I sometimes put in a few drops of orange essential oil because dh always complains about the smell!

baking soda for scouring

For inside microwave I cut a lemon in half-squirt it into a small bowl with water in it and nuke for about 1 minute-dried up gunk wipes away clean!

To clean our 1920s walnut dining room table. I put 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a bowl-microwave for 10 seconds or so, squirt int he juice of half a lemon-be careful not to let any pulp fall in-and then dip a clean dry cotton rag in this and use this to wipe down your wood furniture-cleans and adds moisture to it

For dusting I slightly dampen a cotton rag and just use that!

[iris lily]

Lately I've been cleaning the floors with vinegar, a little Dawn, and hot water. I do use a Clorox mixture for some areas occasionally when the dogs are excreting blood and urine.

[simplelife4me]

Tradd, what scrub brush do you like? I am not sure what is best to use.

[rosarugosa]

Mrs M: I would never point fingers and chant "shame on you." Especially at YOU!

[Zoebird]

I use a wooden and natural bristle (made from coconut, I think) dish washing brush as a toilet brush, and then I use cotton cloths for dishes and general washing (i label them with a sharpe "dish" and "cleaning" so that DH realizes the difference and doesn't use a (cleaned) cleaning cloth for dishes. that just freaks me out), and then I have an wooden and natural bristle brush for scrubbing. I like them. And they look pretty.

[Sad Eyed Lady]

I use baking soda and vineegar, but also Bon Ami, which is non-toxic and can be cheaper than baking soda as a scrubbing cleanser.
Rubbing alcohol and hydrogen peroxide are also useful around the house.
We've had good luck with using coffee grounds to absorb odors - just let used grounds dry (we have a gas oven with a pilot that is perfect for drying) and put them in an open container in a room.
Like Gardenarian, I am of the baking soda/vinegar/alcohol/hydrogen peroxide fan for cleaning. I do have some Method cleaning products that I found at a very, very cheap price and use some of those but like them no better than my homemade. I am not totally chemical free in my cleaning, but much more than I was 20 years ago, (I have been doing this for a long time), and as someone else pointed out the money saved has to be significant! The thing that used to get to me is WHY they try to sell us, (and do to a great many people), so MANY different cleaning products: one for kitchen counter tops, one for floors, one for glass, one for bathroom sinks, one for showers and on and on! My opinion is dirt is dirt, and with a few minor adjustments you can clean most things with only a few cleaners, not one for each area of the house! Talk about money spent! Of course, I know the WHY - more $$$$$ for the industry. I guess more accurately is WHY so many people fall for it.

[Mrs-M]

Hi, Rosarugosa!

Awww... thank you. :)

[Mrs-M]

Originally posted by Iris Lily.
Lately I've been cleaning the floors with vinegar, a little Dawn, and hot water.I've accidentally spilled dish detergent on the floor, and it's a bugger to clean up! Does the Dawn, not leave a slippery, soapy, greasy residue afterwards? I would think that if one filled a bucket with clean hot water (no cleaners), you'd be able to lift that soapy reside from the floors surface. Yes/no?