Why Cleaning Product Companies Think You Are Dumb: DIY Natural Cleaners

A friend of mine who works in the recycling field recently sent me this link for an article in BioCycle magazine about trace chemicals that make it to the earth’s water supply (and into our drinking water).  The reminder made more than a little paranoid about what we’re putting in our bodies!  It also made me redouble my efforts to ensure that I am not contributing to the problem.

You may be wondering about the title of this post.  The truth is, like most people out there I’ve always used commercially available household cleaners.  They are all there at the grocery store in neat little rows.  So easy to toss in the cart.  After all, who doesn’t want to spend less time scrubbing the tub?  But then it hit me:  we default to these products because of clever marketing, not because they actually clean better.  Now, I’m not anti-marketing, but I AM anti-not-thinking-for-oneself.

With a little thought, here’s what I concluded:

1.  If all of those cleaners contain warning labels not to ingest the chemicals, petroleum, fragrances, antibiotics, etc. that are in them, why would I drink water that has been contaminated with them?

2.  Basic household products like baking soda and white distilled vinegar can do the same things (I think even better sometimes) without the expense or the chemical exposure.

3.  It’s kind of fun and thrifty to start making your own natural household cleaners.  Why should I spend my hard-earned pennies supporting petrochemical production, when I can make my own cleaners for next to nothing?

The Science of Baking Soda and Vinegar

Remember the second grade science experiment  where you had to build a volcano, fill it with baking soda and then watch in delighted horror when someone added distilled vinegar?  It turns out that chemical reaction is useful for thinking about the chemical cleaning properties of these two ingredients.

Baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) is slightly alkaline without being caustic, which makes it useful for neutralizing acids (such as for indigestion or in partnership with vinegar) and is a more gentle choice for cleaning than most other chemicals out there.  It is great for deodorizing and gently exfoliating surfaces (including skin) as well as boosting the cleaning power of soaps/detergents.

White Distilled Vinegar is an acid which makes it great for dissolving mineral deposits, disinfecting surfacing, getting rid of mildew.  Don’t be put off by the smell.  I promise: you and your house will not smell permanently of pickles.  The smell dissipates as it dries.

DIY Natural Cleaners

There are countless recipes out there for cleaning solutions using things like baking soda, vinegar, borax, tee tree oil.  Here are a few of my personal favorites.

• All-Purpose Cleaner

Fill an old spray bottle with a solution of water and white distilled vinegar.  I like about 3 C water to 1 C Vinegar for most basic jobs, but a stronger solution is better if you want to use it to disinfect.

• Furniture Polish

For unvarnished make a solution of:  2 tsp olive oil & 2tsp lemon juice on a  dry cotton cloth.  Work into the wood. (You just need a very small amount)

• Laundry Boosters

This is an especially great approach if you cloth diaper like we do.  Add baking soda to the WASH cycle for a natural detergent booster, whitener and disinfectant.  Add white distilled vinegar to the RINSE cycle for a natural fabric softener. (Tip: use a fabric softener ball.)  This is also a great way to keep from getting soap build up in your clothes, linens and especially things like towels or wash clothes that are used with soap.

• Shampoo and Conditioner

I plan to write another post about personal hygiene products, but while we’re on the baking soda and vinegar kick, I thought I’d include it here.  Baking soda is great for washing your hair (and body).  It’s a fairly gentle exfolient, cuts through grease and rinses clean; however, because it does change the pH of hair, it’s best if you also use a solution of vinegar and water to rinse your hair to restore the pH.  Vinegar works great as a conditioner replacement.   Baking soda can start to dry out your hair if you give it this treatment too often, however.  I’d use this method if you’ve got a particularly tough case of scalp build up.

• Tub, Tile and Grout Cleaning

Make a paste out of baking soda and work it in for really stubborn stains.  Rinse with vinegar solution.  You can also just use the vinegar solution for your everyday tub wipe down.  This will help prevent the formation of mildew and soap scum.

• Surface Disinfectant

Just use full strength vinegar to wipe down surfaces.  Let air dry.

Tip:  If you miss the fragrances of your old products just add a few drops of essential plant oils such as orange or lavender.

What are your favorite cleaning “recipes”?

Composting Tips for the Urban Dweller

Want an easy way to reduce your carbon footprint, reduce landfill waste and create a magic elixir for your garden, house plants or container plantation?–then compost your vegetable food scraps.  It’s easy and you can do it anywhere, even if you are an urban apartment dweller.

From the day we moved in to our new apartment in the city, Dustin has been anxious to start composting and we finally put together a system that I think will work.   Previous to this move we’d mostly lived in apartments and it seemed impossible to try it–after all, composting is what you do when you have a back yard.  But it turns out that composting your vegetable food scraps is something that you can do anywhere, even if you are an urban apartment dweller.  We did attempt to “compost” at our last residence (a house in the burbs), but it mostly turned into a slow-rotting pile of scraps that we spent more time chasing the dog out of than actually getting to use for gardening. Having renewed my commitment to composting in an apartment, I vow to do it “right” this time!

While we do happen to have a bit of a yard space and therefore opted to go with an outdoor compost set up, there are ways to set up an indoor system too.  What follows are a few composting basics and some tips for setting up a system that can work whatever your living situation.

Composting Tips for the Urban Dweller

Outdoor Composting:  I think the hardest part of the whole process is simply choosing what kind of container you will use for your compost.  The wooden bin with chicken wire is the old standby, especially if you think you’ll be staying put, but for many apartment dwellers, a more portable system is better.

You will need:

1.  Small trash barrels (2) (with lids that will stay securely on).  Either plastic or metal will do.

2.  A drill with a 1/4″ bit to drill holes in the bottom, rim and sides  of the barrel for ventilation

3. Compost Ingredients (see below)

This is the system that we went with (sorry for the picture quality!):

Drilling 1/4" holes

About Worm Compost (Vermiculture):  This is a fascinating and useful approach to composting if an indoor system is your only choice (or if you just want to try it!).  Having not tried it myself, I will not describe the process in detail, but the set up is similar.  One of the greatest things about this set up is that it takes up very little space.  You can even keep it under your kitchen sink for quick access when creating vegetable scraps.

You will need:

1.  A medium to large plastic box/bin with a secure lid.

2.  A drill with a 1/4″ bit to drill holes for ventilation.

3. Shredded newspaper for worm bedding

4.  Red worms in a small amount of soil (from a fellow worm composter or online purveyor)

5.  Compost ingredients (see below)

Compost Ingredients:

The key to composting is making sure you have the right balance of four ingredients:

1.  GREEN Stuff–This is your vegetable food scraps, grass clippings (if you have them), weeds or other plant greenery.

2.  BROWN Stuff–Dead leaves, wood chips/mulch

3.  WATER–Just a little bit.  You don’t want to much or you’ll get stinky compost.  Just about as damp as a wrung out sponge should be about right.

4.  Air–Ventilation will help prevent stink and turning the pile will help get the “greens” and “browns” mixed.

Special Tips:

1.  Make sure you have a closed system with a secure lid.  You don’t want to attract rodents!

2.  Don’t let things get stinky unless you want the neighbors to complain.  If you’ve got stinky compost and/or flies, you probably need more Brown stuff.

3.  Remember to keep meat, dairy, and greasy stuff out of the compost.  Stick to fruit, veggies, coffee grounds, tea bags, etc.

4.  We buried our bin down into the ground a couple inches.  We thought this would help deter rodents and keep it from tipping over in gusty wind if it isn’t weighted down.

With a little bit of patience, you’ll soon have rich compost for your plants and you can feel good about recycling your garbage into something that sustain the planet.

Check out these resources for further information, troubleshooting, and composting ideas.

Environmental Protection Agency

University of Illinois Extension