Tag: cleaning

Lemon Vinegar Cleaner

I love my scented vinegar cleaner. I’ve been using the Orange Vinegar Cleaner now for a year and it is fantastic. It has all the benefits of cleaning with vinegar: non-toxic, food-grade, environment-safe, non-allergenic, inexpensive, gentle on hands, deodorizing and effective on all surfaces (except granite or marble) – all while giving me that sweet citrusy smell of orange.

In preparation for spring cleaning this year I am making Lemon Vinegar Cleaner for a stronger, tangier citrus scent. Fill a quart-size glass jar with lemon peel. Make sure the peels are clean. No need to scrub them or anything; just make sure there are no lemon sacs, membranes or seeds getting lost in there. If you don’t have enough to fill a jar yet, freeze it and keep adding to it until it’s packed tight.

Pour white distilled vinegar into the jar until it covers the lemon peels, not quite to the rim but pretty close. Screw the lid on and store in a cool dark place for two weeks.

After two weeks of soaking lemon peel in vinegar, it’s time to get it out. Set up a funnel into a HDPE 8-oz spray bottle. Pour the lemon vinegar a third of the way into the spray bottle. Top off with water.

March 16, 2014
Orange Vinegar Cleaner

Vinegar is an amazing all-purpose cleaner. It is non-toxic and food-grade, safe for the environment and for the family, even those who have asthma. It’s inexpensive, gentle on hands, and deodorizing. It removes fabric stains, soap scum and mineral buildup. I’ve used it to clean ceramic tile, linoleum, enamel, wood, glass, stainless steel and chrome. The only surface vinegar isn’t recommended for is granite or marble.

Although the vinegar smell dissipates in minutes, it is really strong while it’s being used. I found many recipes online for making scented vinegar cleaners so I decided to give it a try. It’s really easy!

Fill a quart-size glass jar with orange peel. Make sure the peels are clean. No need to scrub them or anything; just make sure there are no orange sacs, membranes or seeds getting lost in there. If you don’t have enough to fill a jar yet, freeze it and keep adding to it until it’s packed tight.

When you have enough orange peels to fill the glass jar, pour white distilled vinegar into the jar until it covers the orange peels, not quite to the rim but pretty close. Screw the lid on and store in a cool dark place. I hid mine under the sink. Mark your calendar two weeks from the day the jar was filled.

After two weeks of soaking orange peel in vinegar, it’s time to get it out. Prepare 3 HDPE 8-oz spray bottles for each quart of vinegar soak you have. Set up a funnel into the first of the spray bottles. Pour the orange vinegar in equal parts into the three spray bottles. Top off with water.

I added a tiny drop of Orange Extract into each spray bottle to really make the orange scent pop. And voila!

I made so many of these Orange Vinegar Cleaners that I’m giving away 3 bottles of it to 3 lucky commenters. Just leave a comment below before midnight April 7 to qualify. Good luck!

More information on Vinegar:
Vinegar Works Wonders
1001 Uses for White Distilled Vinegar
Distilled White Vinegar: A Non-Toxic Cleaner

April 4, 2013
Vodka Sanitizer

I don’t like hand sanitizer. I see them everywhere. I see them at grocery stores. I see moms whipping them out of their handbags and rubbing their babies’ hands with them. Teachers hand them out to kids in the classroom. I hate it.

It’s one of those things no one ever needed until just recently. The human race has evolved for centuries, and all of a sudden we’re afraid of a little bacteria. Well, I’m not afraid of a little bacteria. Exposure to a little bit of bacteria here and there helps the immune system develop. I’m a lot more afraid of the chemicals in those hand sanitizers.

Have you seen the list of ingredients? Isopropanol, propylene glycol, and other variations of these petrochemical solvents. The root prop in the chemical name is a telltale sign that it’s derived from petroleum, carcinogenic and causes a whole slew of diseases. Terrifying. You wouldn’t wash your hands in gasoline, much less wash your baby’s hands with it, would you?

Triclosan, another one of those horrifying ingredients in hand sanitizers, even creates mutant germs that are resistant to hand sanitizers. Phthalates attacks male fertility and the immune system. Mutant germs, infertility and cancer, anyone?

An old-fashioned handwash with old-fashioned water is still the best way to keep hands clean. In cases when I’m out and about, and water is far away, I carry an HDPE Spray Bottle of Vodka Sanitizer.

I buy the biggest cheapest vodka I can find in the grocery store. If the cashier gives you a dirty look, just say you’re throwing a big party then invite her over. Fill an HDPE Spray Bottle with vodka and it’s ready to go with you in your handbag, or under the sink in the kitchen or bathroom.

High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) is the densest and most stable of all plastic materials. It will keep its chemical composition without reacting to its contents. That’s why milk jugs are made from this translucent milky plastic. The best water containers are made from HDPE.

I use Vodka Sanitizer to disinfect toilet seats, surfaces and hands. It is food grade alcohol, made from grain, so the human liver can process it better than a synthesized petrochemical.

I would still use it sparingly on hands, only when absolutely necessary. Keep it away from little children and alcoholic friends. Promise yourself to never ever use commercial hand sanitizers again.

References:
Hulda Clark
What Dangerous Ingredients Are There in Hand Sanitizer? Should I Just Wash My Hands?

February 18, 2013
Recipes for Household Cleaning

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.”

September 23, 2004