Here at Chiot’s Run we’ve been using homemade cleaning products for a long long time. My mom always used vinegar and baking soda for cleaning, so I grew up using them. Here are a few of the products I love and use for keeping my house clean without all those harsh chemicals & toxic products. By learning to make your own cleaning products you’ll not only save money, but you’ll save space. I don’t have to run to the store to buy products, I don’t have tons of bottles taking up space, and best of all I’m not polluting the air inside my home with chemicals and synthetic fragrances.
I keep a few main ingredients around for all of my housekeeping needs:
Dr. Bronner’s Sal-Suds
Washing Soda
Borax
Baking Soda
White Vinegar
Peroxide
IN THE LAUNDRY ROOM: We make our own laundry detergent with some locally made lye soap. I’ve tried soapnuts in the past but I can’t handle the smell of them. I’m fairly happy with my homemade mix, which is just grated locally made lye soap, borax and washing soda mixed together. I’d like to try using just soap as I don’t like buying borax and washing soda and using them and I’d love to keep my cleaning products as local as possible. If a load of laundry is super dirty I’ll often pour in a Tablespoon or two of Sal Suds as well. I don’t use any kind of fabric softener as I don’t like them. I also appreciate that my laundry doesn’t smell like anything, simply clean. I’m not keen on any kind of fragrance in my home as I’m very sensitive to synthetic fragrances (they usually give me a headache).
IN THE KITCHEN: For washing dishes I love Dr. Bronner’s Sal-Suds. It cuts grease like nothing else! I mix it up in a foaming dispenser and a little goes a long way (simply buy a foaming dispenser and experiment with amounts for your particular one, I use about 2 Tablespoons per 1 cup of water). I also keep a Glass Cheese Shaker filled with baking soda on the sink. I sprinkle some in pots and pans when I’m scrubbing them, it really helps get those dirty dishes clean! I currently use Ecover Ecological Automatic Dishwashing Powder 48 oz (1.36 kg) and I’m pretty happy with it. I’ve experimented with making my own and haven’t made a product I love quite yet. I add a Tablespoon of this to the wash and usually a few drops of Sal Suds for grease cutting (don’t add too much as this is a foamy soap). I simply use white vinegar in my rinse cycle dispenser to keep water spots off of the dishes.
IN THE BATHROOM: For cleaning my bathrooms I have a little basket filled with a few items. Sal Suds cleaner in a spray bottle (mix a teaspoon or two of Sal Suds in a spray bottle with water), a spray bottle of vinegar, a parmesan cheese shaker filled with baking soda, a few rags, a toothbrush, and a compostable sponge. Generally I’ll spray all the surfaces in the bathrooms with vinegar and wait a few minutes, then I sprinkle a little baking soda in the sinks and scrub with the Sal Suds cleaner that I make. If you want a scented cleaner simply add a few drops of essential oils to your Sal Suds mix. I sometimes add orange, sometimes eucalyptus.
For cleaning toilets the non-toxic way simply add a quarter to a half cup of vinegar, let sit for 15 minutes (or overnight if very dirty). Sprinkle in some baking soda, and scrub. You’ll be amazed at how well this cleans. If you want to keep your toilets cleaner longer, keep a squirt bottle with some vinegar in it by the toilet. Every night before you go to bed squirt a Tablespoon or two of vinegar in the toilet. This keeps them cleaner longer, smelling better and free from germs. If you have really stuck on dirt or hard water deposits let vinegar soak overnight and use a stainless steel scrubber to get it off.
OTHER AREAS: For cleaning windows I usually mix a few drops of Sal Suds in a bucket of hot water. Then I use a window scrubber and a squeegee to clean the outsides of the windows. I’ll wipe the insides with vinegar and rag. I find that if I do this often my windows stay very clean without streaks.
FOR TOUGH DIRT ON RUGS, CARPETS FURNITURE AND PET ODORS: After trying all kinds of products I finally came up with a recipe that makes a terrific wonder cleaner. I use this on my floors, floors, and just about every surface in my home. It’s great for cleaning up pet stains and it gets rid of pet odors better than anything else I’ve ever tried. The basic recipe: one cup of peroxide, one cup of water (I use filtered), a few drops of Sal Suds, a few drops of essential oils if you want fragrance (I usually don’t add any). Mix in a bottle and use when needed. As with all cleaning products test on an inconspicuous area before using on an entire rug or piece of furniture.
What great non-toxic products do you make at home (any recipes)? Any great products you’ve found that you’d like to share?
I can also be found at Chiot’s Run where I blog daily about gardening, cooking, local eating, maple sugaring, and all kinds of stuff. You can also find me at Ethel Gloves, Simple, Green, Frugal, Co-op, and you can follow me on Twitter.
I am surprised at your use of Dr. Bronner’s product. (It contains sodium Lauryl Sulfate) Don’t get me wrong, I use Dr. Bonner’s stuff and Ecover and a few other things, especially since we have problems with iron bacteria in our water. Just wondered if you knew…
Yes I did know that it included it. I appreciate the company and that they source organic fair trade ingredients for their products so I use them as opposed to other products.
I am experimenting with dissolving the locally made lye soap I buy into a liquid to use in place of Sal Suds, but until I get that right, I’ll keep using it.
Oh. My. Goodness. I am printing this post and using it as a reference for the next time I am out to pick up supplies!
I really badly need a good all purpose cleaner to replace all of the different spray cleaners I’ve wasted money on… [except, there is this bathroom cleaning product I bought like two years ago, I use it once every two months in the shower and it really keeps the basin clean! Will be hard to replace it…] But I want to start to progress into using vinegar and baking soda… it sounds so simple and easy!
[Sal Suds… must look into this!]
My ‘tool kit’ is very similar to yours! Wonderful!
I just got potty training and pet odor out of my rug with a few drops of essential oil in baking soda (let sit for a few days for scented floor powder) sprinkled on the rug and then spritzing with vinegar…the kids loved watching it foam up…when it dried, I just vacuumed it all up…and it smells great.
As with learning to eat SLOW (Seasonal, Local, Organic, Whole) cleaning this way requires retraining yourself. It’s not that it’s more work (if it even is); the problem is that you have to make it your routine. As with my change over in the kitchen, I think what I’ll discover is a couple of months (or more) of frustration and confusion, followed by an inability to even remember how I used to clean.
Any advice for cleaning hard-wood floors? We have hardwood in the kitchen, and they get really sticky (we also have little kids). Thanks for the advice!
I sometimes use vinegar diluted by half with water to clean my hardwood floors. I also like using the recipe I give above for floors, carpet & pet stains. I sometimes use the method brand good for wood floor cleaner and like it as well.
Homemade deoderant:
1 part baking soda
3 parts corn starch
Powdered herbs or a few drops of EO if you like a scent.
(I use neem and lavender and grind them in my mortar/pestle.)
If you’re sensitive to baking soda, lower that ratio. 1:4 or 1:5.
I need to find a local source for lye. You have lots of great tips here. Thanks for sharing.
I asked my pharmacist to order lye for me. It came in the next day. Now I just need a tried and true recipe for lye soap. I kept all the kidney fat from our beef we butchered. If anyone has one I would be delighted if you would share it 🙂