Green Cleaning Products? Expensive! Ouch! (water, best, garden, chemical)

[brien51]

Originally Posted by peppermint

I agree with MissingAll4Seasons. I make my own dishwashing detergent, laundry detergent, liquid hand soap, general cleaning soap, carpet freshner and more. It's so much cheaper and works great. Plus I know what I'm putting in my house. A friend of mine makes her own "Pledge". I have a bunch from before I turned green so when that's out, I'll use her recipe. I seriously think the store-bought "green" cleaning products are an advertising racket, but that's just me.

This post is spot on in that it recommends that you can use home made remedies. Open your granmother's and great granmothers books that show you mixing vinegar and water will clean windows with old newspaper instead of paper towels. Try buying a box of Borax soap powder and look at all the things it cleans. The old time home made products were very "green" and you likely have all of the ingredients already on your shelves since these were all pre chemical era from the 1920's, the 30' and the 40's..even back into the 19th century.

[joe moving]

we use Vinegar and borax and water

[Heyygirl]

Thanks so much for this thread! I have developed multiple chemical sensitivities and these natural cleaners are bound to be better for me, my home and my buget! I'm so excited!!!

Now, to deal with the formaldahyde (sp) in my "portable" classroom. When the temp heats up in the spring, summer, fall, I can hardly go in there. Any ideas? Oh, it from the glue under the carpet and flooring.

[peppermint]

Well, this may not be adequate and it may seem hokey, but there are houseplants that are supposed to remove harmful chemicals like formaldehyde from the air. I recommend seeing if your library has a copy of How to Grow Fresh Air. I am not going to emphatically declare this works, but I would try it. What can it hurt, right? Good luck!

[MissingAll4Seasons]

You could try a portable air purifier to help with the formaldehyde. Not the best solution, but I doubt they'd let you rip up the carpet.

[Emeraldmaiden]

Originally Posted by Heyygirl

Thanks so much for this thread! I have developed multiple chemical sensitivities and these natural cleaners are bound to be better for me, my home and my buget! I'm so excited!!!

Now, to deal with the formaldahyde (sp) in my "portable" classroom. When the temp heats up in the spring, summer, fall, I can hardly go in there. Any ideas? Oh, it from the glue under the carpet and flooring.

Sorry to say, it's probably the carpet and/or the carpet backing and pad, not the glue. Carpet adhesives have been going low- to no-VOC since a few years before I quit the business. You also get VOC's from paint, fabric, plastics, and other materials that are in a portable.

[tdna]

I don't buy any commercially made cleaning products. I make everything from floor and carpet cleaner to shampoo and laundry soap using various combinations of hot water, baking soda, vinegar, essential oils and soap nuts.
If you've never tried soap nuts, I highly recommend doing so. Here's a good resource: Soap Nuts | Soap Berries | Mukorossi Soap Nuts | Organic Soap

[eyewrist]

Originally Posted by Melissa78703

I need some advice on other lines of home cleaning products that are eco-friendly. I've been using the Seventh Generation brand, which is competitively priced for the most part. But some of the stickers on other brands are outrageously expensive. For example, I've been wanting to try the Biokleen dishwashing liquid ... but dang, not for nearly $7!

What are some other lines to check out that 1) work; and 2) don't kill the budget? The reason I asked is that a friend of mine and I decided to start an informational blog about our experiences using various cleansers, laundry detergents, etc. Between the two of us, our loyalty is pretty much limited to a couple of different lines.

Thanks!

You may want to go to CD forum under HOUSE. There is a sticky called"PSSSSST Household Secrets." It full of very interesting ways to clean the home....ALOT of INFORMATION there.

[eyewrist]

Originally Posted by BigDGeek

I will be trying some of these recipes for washing dishes and clothes...but for general everyday cleaning I mainly use things like white vinegar, lemon juice salt, baking soda, even hydrogen peroxide for multi-purpose cleaning. I only resort to commercial cleaners if those and lots of elbow grease fail. And they are very cheap to use.

I rarely even use chlorine bleach; I have been working on the same small jug of bleach for 3 years.

Agreed. I use all those but don't forget orange oil, Simple Green; two very good degreasers and Borax a multipurpose cleaner...Oh and your Magic erasers to stained counter tops and the like. But i do use Oxicleaners.

[Snixy]

I recommend the Costco/Kirkland detergent listed above and Mrs. Meyers products are great, but really, just use white vinegar and baking soda. There are plenty of online resources for mixing solutions. They are safe, non-toxic, vinegar disinfects, and best of all - CHEAP! I haven't purchased any commercial cleaning products besides laundry detergent and dish liquid in years.