Category: Household

excerpt from The Cure For All Diseases
© 1995 by Hulda Regehr Clark, Ph.D. N.D.

“For Laundry

Borax (1/2 cup per load). It is the main ingredient of non-chlorine bleach and has excellent cleaning power without fading colors. Your regular laundry soap may contain PCBs, aluminum, cobalt and other chemicals. These get rubbed into your skin constantly as you wear your clothing. For bleaching (only do this occasionally) use original chlorine bleach (not “new improved” or “with special brighteners” and so forth). Don’t use chlorine if there is an ill person in the house. For getting out stubborn dirt at collars, scrub with homemade bar soap first; for stains, try grain alcohol, vinegar, baking soda.

For Dishes

Don’t believe your eyes when you see the commercials where the smiling person pulls a shining dish out of greasy suds. Any dish soap that you use should be safe enough to eat because nothing rinses off clean. Regular dish detergents, including health brands, are now polluted with PCBs. They also contain harmful chemicals. Use borax for your dishes. Or use paper plates and plastic (not styrofoam) cups.

In The Dishwasher

Use 2 tsp. borax powder pre-dissolved in water. If you use too much it will leave a film on your dishes. Use vinegar in the rinse cycle.

In The Sink

Use a dishpan in the sink. Use 1/4 cup borax and add a minimum of water. Also keep a bit of dry borax in a saucer by the sink for scouring. Don’t use any soap at all for dishes that aren’t greasy and can be washed under the faucet with nothing but running water. Throw away your old sponge or brush or cloth because it may be PCB contaminated. Start each day by sterilizing your sponge (it harbors Salmonella) or with a new one while the used one dries for three full days. Clean greasy pots and pans with a paper towel first. Then use homemade bar soap.”

“Floor Cleaner

Use washing soda from the grocery store. You may add borax and boric acid (to deter insects except ants). Use white distilled vinegar in your rinse water for a natural shine and ant repellent. Do not add bleach to this. For the bathroom floor use plain bleach water – follow the label. Never use chlorine bleach if anyone at home is ill or suffers from depression. Use grain alcohol (1 pint to 3 quarts water) for germ killing action instead of chlorine.

Furniture Duster and Window Cleaner

Mix equal parts white distilled vinegar and water. Put it in a spray bottle.

Furniture Polish

A few drops of olive oil on a dampened cloth. Use filtered water to dampen.

Insect Killer

Boric acid powder (not borax). Throw liberal amounts behind stove, refrigerator, under carpets and in carpets. Since boric acid is white, you must be careful not to mistake it for sugar accidentally. Keep it far away from food and out of children’s reach. Buy it at a farm supply or garden store. It will not kill ants.

Ant Repellent

Spray 50% white distilled vinegar on counter tops, window sills and shelves and wipe, leaving residue. Start early in spring before they arrive, because it takes a few weeks to rid yourself of them once they are established. If you want immediate action, get some lemons, cut the yellow outer peel off and cover with grain alcohol in a tightly closed jar. Let stand at least one hour. Use 1 part of this concentrate with 9 parts water in a spray bottle. Mix only as much as you will use because the diluted form loses potency. Spray walls, floors, carpets wherever you see them. The lemon solution even leaves a shine on your counters. Use both vinegar and lemon approaches to rid yourself of ants

To treat the whole house, pour vinegar all around your foundation, close to the wall, using one gallon for every five feet. Expect to damage any foliage it touches. Reapply every six months.

Flower and Foliage Spray

Food-grade hydrogen peroxide. See instructions on bottle

Moth balls

I found this recipe in an old recipe book. Mix the following and scatter in trunks and bags containing furs and woolens: 1/2 lb. each rosemary and mint, 1/4 lb each tansy and thyme, 2 tbs. powdered cloves.

Carpet Cleaner

Whether you rent a machine or have a cleaning service, don’t use the carpet shampoo they want to sell, even if they “guarantee” that it is all natural and safe. Instead add these to a bucket (about four gallons) of water and use it as the cleaning solution:

Wash water
1/3 cup borax

Rinse water
1/4 cup grain alcohol
2 tsp. boric acid
1/4 cup white distilled vinegar
or 4 tsp. citric acid

Borax does the cleaning; alcohol disinfects, boric acid leaves a pesticide residue, and the vinegar or citric acid give luster. If you are just making one pass on your carpet, use the borax, alcohol, and boric acid. Remember to test everything you use on an unnoticed piece of carpet first.”