Breaking Up With Mr. Clean
By Alix, the M&H eco-czar
I used to think my house was only clean if I used products that required a “well-ventilated room.” Cleaning green meant using Mr. Clean’s toxic shade of greenish-yellow (even in my most environmentally apathetic moments I did find the shade disturbingly similar to antifreeze). Even motherhood and the potential danger of one of my baby boys finding, then chug-a-lugging some of these cleansers, didn’t persuade me to pursue alternatives.
So devoted was I to my chemical romance with bathroom cleaners, this was one of the last aspects of my life I tried to green. I hadn’t even realized this stuff was toxic; I naively believed there was a secret valve down in the pipes where damaging chemicals were flushed away. But when those scrubbing bubbles go down the drain, they pollute the same water that eventually flows where fish swim. The phosphates in cleansers can incite algae to flourish, suffocating our waterways. The surfactants can poison aquatic life, and—as noted—the little landlubbers who live in my house. The financial cost of these cleansers is no good for my wallet either.
Phosphates can promote algae growth.
Turns out, super cheap alternatives can get your house just as clean, and are safer for your family and the environment. A few inexpensive basics available at any supermarket will get you started: white vinegar, lemons, baking soda, borax, liquid castile soap or vegetable-based liquid soaps, and washing soda. Borax and washing soda are usually in the same aisle as the laundry detergents, where you can also buy baking soda in big boxes.
I mix mostly baking soda with a little borax and washing soda to replace scouring powders. Vinegar diluted with water does all my shower doors, windows, mirrors and floors. Complete recipes abound on the Web, at sites such as TheGreenGuide.com.
I still use store-bought dishwasher and laundry detergents, but I now make sure to buy environmentally sound cleansers. And I choose powder—no unnecessary water wasted to turn them into liquids. (If you want to make your own laundry detergent, this site provides the recipes, which work for standard and HE laundry machines.) Of course, you can buy green cleansers in most supermarkets now—you won’t save much money, though. I like Method brand and the parsley scented all-purpose spray from Earth Friendly Products.
Now my household cleansers are so non-toxic I can put my children to work scrubbing tubs and mopping floors. This is the way to do motherhood.
Here are a few of my favorite home cleaning recipes from Clean & Green by Annie Berthold-Bond:
Tub Scrub
C. Baking Soda
1/3 C. Borax
1 tsp. vegetable based liquid soap, such as Dr. Bronner’s
Enough water to make a paste (I keep it in a Tupperware container.)
Floor Cleaners
1 C. vinegar in a pail of water
(I add lemon juice or lemon oil for fragrance. You can also cut the vinegar with some vegetable-based soap like Dr. Bronner’s.)
All Purpose Cleanser
1 tsp. Borax
½ tsp. washing soda
2 Tblsp. vinegar or lemon juice
¼ or ½ tsp vegetable-oil based liquid soap
2 C. very hot water
Mix it all and keep it in a spray bottle
To avoid the small upfront investment in some spray bottles, just re-use the spray pump from your old cleanser when it’s empty.
Do you have ideas to go clean and green and save money? Comment here or email us at laura at laurarowley.com.
Related Posts
