Natural household products that we use

Following on from my last blog post about what we eat and drink in our house, this post is about what we use to clean our house, naturally. It's been a bit of trial and error on my part. Not everything on the market is completely natural OR all that the sales pitch promises it to be. I've gone through many dishwashing liquids and SO MANY laundry powders and liquids but I finally think I've got the right mix. GLM is happy and that is a big plus. I can adjust to just about anything if I know it's good for me, and for the environment, but my wife is a bit fussier so, if it passes muster with her, you can be assured it's ok!

My domestic looked at me like I was completely nuts as I went about experimenting with different dishwashing liquid brands. I bought, and tried, several. I even made some of my own for a while. The problem with making your own is that they don't foam and that means a little more elbow grease is going to be involved when cleaning. This was NOT going to work for our domestic who prefers to use as little elbow grease as possible;) I used the following 2 brands for quite some time but I have now changed to a new one which I'll go into in a bit.

What's so awesome about Enchantrix "I clean it all" is that it is completely versatile. It literally cleans it ALL. You can even use it for your laundry. It doesn't make it smell the way conventional washing powders do, but it cleans it well enough. (I can't stand the fake fragrance in conventional washing powders anyway. Staying away from them for a while has made me realise just how strong they smell and now they just make me feel ill after a while) I wouldn't recommend using Enchantrix on a permanent basis for your clothes. It's wonderful for everything else like dishes, counters, floors, baths, toilets, basins and pretty much any other surface except wood. After I discovered this one, our domestic begged me to keep getting it and to stop trying to make my own;) The downside: it costs R80 per litre. Before you panic though, remember, this is the ONLY cleaning product you will need. It's super-concentrated so you don't use it neat to clean everything, you mix it with water and it lasts. You will save money that you would ordinarily spend on separate bathroom and kitchen cleaner, domestos and glass and mirror cleaners, floor and tile cleaners and every other cleaner that Mr Muscle insists you NEED. I promise, you don't need them all. If you add them all together, you are spending about the equivalent on all the separate ones and all they are doing is poisoning you and your family, and putting poison into our water system.

After using Enchantrix for quite a while, I discovered Triple Orange and started re-looking my affection for "I clean it all":

This stuff is SO concentrated you only need a teaspoon added to 20litres of water and that will clean all your floors and surfaces for the day. I fill a bucket and add my 1 teaspoon and then I use that to wash my dishes, clean the floors, clean the bathrooms etc (you get the message). I found it for R77 at the Weleda pharmacy in Pineslopes shopping centre. Again, you may panic at the price, but again, this is ALL you need for everything. I calculated that you will get 100 teaspoons out of this 500ml tub. If you use 1 teaspoon a day it will last you for 3 months. 2 washes a day will get you 2 months out of this little tub. It definitely beats "I clean it all" for me and it smells amazing and cleans like a bomb and it's totally natural.

As I said, we were using both of these for quite a while. But, over time, the large retailers have started coming to the party with environmentally friendly cleaning products. I tried Woolworths one but it lasted about a day! It wasn't as concentrated as they said it would be. Then I tried the Clicks one:

Now, as I said before, you don't actually need a million products to clean your house. That is a serious marketing ploy that we have all bought into. What is good for tiles will be good for counters, dishes and bathrooms, believe it or not. So I tried the Clicks My Earth Dishwashing Liquid and now we use it for EVERYTHING in our house. It foams really nicely and cleans really well and it's earth friendly. The best part is it's only R26.99 for a 750ml bottle. We go through 2 a month so that's just over R50 we're spending on cleaning our house and our house is clean, let me tell you:) Of course, Clicks are going with the age-old marketing ploy of making a product to clean everything, but I didn't fall for it! We'll stick with one cleaning product thanks very much. The world has enough plastic to deal with!

Laundry Liquids

I have been through LOADS of different laundry liquids and powders. I made my own for a while but, when our whites started to turn grey I backpedaled. GLM was not impressed;) I tried various things but all ended up costing me more trouble, time and money. The ONLY way to get around this one is to spend the money and I think it's money well spent. We now use Londa Bio Bleach:

It's R119 for 2kgs. That seems quite pricey initially but, here's the thing; it's the ONLY cleaning agent you will ever use for your dirty clothes again. No more need to buy normal bleach, Vanish Stain Remover, Stasoft, handwash soap etc. This stuff is a natural bleach that also happens to clean clothes EXCEPTIONALLY well. I know you hear "bleach" and you think, "But what about colours, clothes turning yellow, harsh on material etc." Here are the benefits of using it:

• Colour safe and fabric safe – Brightens colours
• Continual use will not cause yellowing or graying of cotton fabrics
• Effective stain removal in a broad range of water temperatures
• Lengthens time between linen replacement
• Prevents fabric from becoming yellowed or darkened
• Does not weaken the strength of fabrics like chlorine bleach does
• In the laundry, Bio Bleach is used to de-stain, deodorise and whiten and is VERY effective as a laundry pre-soak for heavily stained articles

This stuff is pure magic, that's all I can say. Within one wash, all our whites were white again and our brights were bright! And it doesn't just work on clothes. I have soaked all manner of things. It works on any material (except silk and wool) and it doesn't destroy it. It seems to brighten and whiten it the more you use it! If you have something that is heavily stained, simply soak it for a few hours (no scrubbing necessary) and then wash in a normal wash. Your stains will be history. I can't tell you how it works, I just know it works so well and it's natural!

Dishwasher soap

Final household product is dishwasher soap.  I was using Better Earth Dishwashing Liquid for ages, and it works like a charm:

Using this stuff means you don't need to add additional rinse aids to keep your dishwasher clean. It contains water softening agents so no need to add salt either. 1 teaspoon of gel, in the dispenser, will clean a full load. You can get about 200 washes out of this bottle so even if you do a load a day, it will last you about 6 months! Granted, you may have a really dirty load that needs 2 teaspoons but you are still looking at about 5 months. At R100 a bottle you also might initially want to choke BUT divide that 100 by 6 months and you are paying R16 a month to keep your dishwasher going for 30 straight days and it's GOOD for you and the environment. Not too shabby... A small box of dishwasher pills costs around R20 and you will get maybe 2 weeks worth of washes out of that. No comparison really. It's also really bad for you and the environment.

As I said, we WERE using this one. Now we actually use the Londa Bio Bleach for the dishwasher as well and it works amazingly well! Told you that stuff was versatile;) Both work very well so feel free to give them a try. You can buy Londa Bio Bleach here.

Ok, so to recap, you basically need TWO products to clean your house and living area. Clicks MyEarth Dishwashing Liquid and Londa Bio Bleach. Total cost of those 2 is R172.98 per month if you use 2 of the Clicks bottles. 2kgs of Londa Bio Bleach often ends up lasting me longer than a month as well. Depends on if I need to soak anything or not.

As far as cleaning other things go, I have learnt how to make my own and these ones work just fine.

Carpet stains:

• Mix equal parts white vinegar and water
• Pour on the stain
• Leave it for a few minutes
• Rub it with a cloth until stain is gone

It leaves no residue, no marks and removes the stain. The cheapest carpet cleaner you will ever find!

Drain cleaner and unclogger:

• You will need white vinegar, bicarb (baking soda) and boiling water
• Pour a cup of bicarb down the drain making sure it goes down as far as possible
• Pour a cup or two of boiling water down the drain to dissolve all the sludge
• Pour another cup of bicarb down the drain making sure it goes down as far as possible
• Pour a cup of vinegar down the drain and immediately put the plug in
• Leave until its done fizzing and bubbling
• Pour another cup of boiling water down the drain

Hey Presto, your drain is clear and you haven't put any DANGEROUS caustic soda into the environment or near you. Seriously, caustic soda. It eventually erodes your pipes and it is extremely toxic for you to breathe in, never mind handle. Protective gear is paramount. Most drain unblockers contain it so try avoid them.

Furniture polish:

Please, under ALL circumstances, avoid aerosol cans. They are dangerous and they also cannot be recycled at all. Keeping them around your family and putting them into the environment is just plain irresponsible. As far as aerosol furniture polish goes, did you know the ingredients cause irritability and depression, in the short term and long term? Even worse, the smell of furniture polish can linger for weeks or months, polluting your home and putting strain on the central nervous system of every person living in your house. Solvents in furniture polish are highly neurotoxic. Avoid, avoid, avoid. It's so easy to make your own and it works. You can make it as you need it, or make a bottle and keep it in the fridge. Simply combine:

• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1/4 cup vinegar 
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• A few drops of lemon oil (optional) 
• Shake the container, dip your cloth, and rub onto your furniture

You may notice a common denominator through all these recipes, is vinegar. I keep it on hand for everything. Stubborn dirt on pots or stains on the kitchen counter, or on the floor? Vinegar is the answer. If you feel your clothes aren't soft enough when they come out of the machine, instead of using a chemical softener, put a tablespoon of vinegar in the softener dispenser. It conditions your clothes beautifully and doesn't leave a vinegar smell I promise.

I use vinegar to clean all my fruits and vegetables. Most organic produce comes to you unwashed so it's good to clean out any remaining insects, sand and anything else that might have been along for the ride.

Here's a handy tip: if you have lettuce in your fridge that is starting to sag a bit, put it in a bowl of water with a couple of tablespoons of vinegar added and leave to soak for about 10 minutes. Remove the lettuce, rinse and shake off the excess water and put it back in the fridge in a sealed bag. Your lettuce will have a new lease on life and be crunchy again;) This also works for any other leaves like spinach and kale.

I think that covers pretty much everything. Any other questions, feel free to ask! Next post will be all about natural beauty products and the ones we use on a daily basis.