Archive for the ‘Natural/ Green Cleaning’ Category

I’m always amazed by the sheer number of folks who think household bleach is a cleaning product.  Just the other day, I had another professional in the green cleaning world tell me that they will, “Usually use green products, but for first cleans and very nasty things like greasy stoves, we’ll get out the bleach.”

Bleach for grease? Really?

We’ve talked about alternatives to chlorine bleach on this blog several times.  It’s poisonous, may cause certain types of cancer, smells horrible, et cetera.  But it’s also just not that great of a cleaning product. There, I said it.  Let me get on my soapbox about some common myths- and uncommon truths- about Chlorine Bleach.

1. Bleach is a verb that means “to remove color from.”

Common household bleach, sodium hypochlorite, is an oxidizing color remover.  It works by changing color molecules called “chromophores” into non-colored molecules.  “Oxidizing” is the same chemical process that rusts steel, turns fat rancid, and causes great damage to cellular membranes (which is why it’s an effective disinfectant).

2. Bleach is not a degreaser, surfactant, or detergent.

It will not cut grease or soap scum any more effectively than your average spray cleaner.  It is caustic, so it will eat through certain types of soils, eventually.  But you’d be better off using a true degreasing product like citrus-solve, or other d-Limonene natural product.

3. Bleach is the number 1 cause of poisoning cases in the U.S.

According to the Nation Center for Injury Prevention and Control, chlorine bleach was responsible for more calls to poison control than any other product.  The quick stats:

• 218,316 reported poison exposures in 2005 were from household cleaning products.
• Hypochlorite (bleach) was the source of 54,433 poisonings in 2005; 25% of the total
  exposures from household cleaning substances and the cause of 8 deaths.
• 121,498 children under the age of 6 were poisoned by household cleaners last year.

4. Chlorine Bleach is useful for ONE thing!

I’m a huge advocate of natural and safer cleaning products.  Most of the time I will use a different type of oxidizing bleach product such as Sodium Perborate, Sodium Percarbonate (marketed as “oxy-clean”), or Hydrogen Peroxide.  But Chlorine bleach really can’t be beat for very stained whites, and even I use it occasionally.

However, as a disinfectant, and a house cleaning product, it is outdated and the risks far outweigh the benefits.

Thanks for letting me vent.

Courtesy of Healthy Child Healthy World

This is why we are proud to be Fort Collins’ original 100% Natural Green Cleaning Service. Learn more about our products HERE.

Tired of staring at my badly tarnished unity candle, I decided to start exploring natural methods of polishing silver. (I had never actually polished any silver before since this is the only silver piece I own!)

Here is the recipe I tried first:

Silver Tarnish Remover

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon baking soda
6 cups of warm water
1 sheet aluminum foil

Instructions:
Line a large bowl with aluminum foil (this is not to protect the bowl; it is part of the recipe.) Mix salt and soda with warm water in the bowl. Place silver items in mixture and soak for one hour. Dry and buff with a soft cloth.

This is the most common method I’ve come across in my years of natural cleaning research.

I didn’t have a container large enough to fit the entire candle holder in, so I used the largest baking dish I had, which submerged about half of it. Then I went to a movie.

4 hours later…

It didn’t really work. I experimented with adding more salt and soda and left it for another hour. Nothing.

I was pretty surprised by this actually, although I should know by now that not all natural cleaning recipes really work all that well (which is why I keep this blog in the first place!) This recipe is just so widely spread across the internet, I never really thought to question it. Maybe I did something wrong?

In the end, I used Tom’s of Maine Toothpaste (must be white paste not gel FYI) and it came out beautifully.

It would take quite a lot of toothpaste to polish something much larger than a candle stick though. If anyone out there in cyberspace has any other natural recipes for silver polish that could more easily handle large pieces, post them in the comments – I’d love to try them out!

Mix:

2 cups baking soda

1/2 cup liquid castile soap

4 tablespoons vegetable glycerin (acts as a preservative)

optional – 5-10 drops essential oil of your choice. Another alternative would be to just use scented castile soap, like Dr. Bronner’s Peppermint Soap!

Store in a sealed glass jar. Shelf life of up to two years!

Mix equal parts walnut oil and lemon juice

Add a few drops of eucalyptus oil or other fragrant herb essential oil of your choice for fragrance (optional)

Rub generously into wood

Let stand for a few minutes and then buff with a soft dry cloth to a beautiful finish!

Fill a 32 oz spray bottle with warm water

Add 2 tablespoons of natural dish soap – I like Seventh Generation, Bi-O-Kleen, and Ecover. Don’t use conventional – it will be too soapy!

Add 20 drops of Grapefruit Seed Extract to disinfect (find it in the supplements section of your local health food store.) 

Optional – add 5-10 drops of essential oil of your choice for fragrance. Lemon or Jasmine are my top picks! 

Shake gently, and enjoy your new scent of clean!

As most people who are familiar with my company know, we have always made the majority of the products we use in our client’s homes ourselves. As of this week, that will no longer be the case.

I am excited to introduce Queen of the Meadow, our new product line. Queen of the Meadow is a small local company run by Daniela Butrick and her family, and they have mixed up a heavenly custom-blended signature scent just for All Star! Here is some information about Daniela’s company from her website (www.queenofthemeadow.com):

Queen of the Meadow

…your exclusive source of pure and natural beauty care!

We are a family business, located in Fort Collins, CO, that creates all natural, herbal hair & body care, and household products.

Our ingredients are wild gathered, or organically grown and we appreciate the renewable resources our earth is giving us.

Our products do not contain any petrochemicals like aggressive detergents or petroleum based preservatives that could harm you and our environment and do not belong at all in your hair or on your skin.

We are crafters and our products are handmade, in small batches – and get to you always fresh!

Nor do we put synthetic fragrances, colors, emulsifiers, thickeners or alcohols in our products.

The oils we add, are when ever possible cold pressed, unrefined, and organic. We only use raw butters – simply, we create our recipes with only ingredients that are kept in their most natural, authentic way, so nothing harmful gets into your bloodstream!

We care about human beings, animals, plants…just simply about our environment and planet we are living on.

You can feel and enjoy our products’ natural origin!

In addition to her cleaning products, I have personally used Daniela’s solid lotion bar for a couple of years now, and love it. Look for her in local farmer’s markets and check out the goodies for yourself!

Add 1/2 cup vinegar to a 32 oz spray bottle

Fill the rest of the way up with warm water

Add 1 tsp of Dr. Bronners Peppermint Soap

Shake!

Voila! No more streaks!

I love my steamer. I would be lost without it. I didn’t even know what a steamer was before I got my start in the cleaning industry, and now I just can’t imagine life without one. When faced with dirty grout, a soap scummy shower, sticky baseboards or other tough messes, it is a lifesaver. 

For example, just last week the grout in my kitchen was black. Fed up with looking at it, I pulled out the steamer. Here is the after pic: 

No nasty chemicals, just my steamer and a grout brush. 

Steamers are easy to use, melt away grease, dirt, grime, and soap scum effortlessly, and are relatively inexpensive. They clean with the power of dry steam – usually heated to between 240 and 275 degrees – sanitizing hard surfaces using only water. 

We have two: 

The “big steamer” for large jobs will run continuously for 45 minutes without refilling. We paid around $100 on Amazon. 

The “baby steamer” is for quicker jobs, running around 15 minutes at a time.  I think I picked this one up for around $30 at Walmart one day when big steamer was being repaired.

Please keep in mind steamers should not be used around small children or pets! They are safe to use on most hard surfaces, but always be sure test a small area first. Happy cleaning!

Here are two more tools no natural cleaner should be without – the pumice stone and the plastic putty knife. 

Pumice Stone 

Natural Pumice Stones are another well kept secret of the cleaning industry. They will remove stains and mineral deposits from toilet bowls, and scrub burnt on messes from ovens like nobody’s business. Cleaning-quality pumice stones are sold in the cleaning supply aisle of most stores, and crumble easily when wet (do not attempt to use a cosmetic-quality pumice stone in your toilet!) To avoid scratching, keep your pumice stone very wet when in use, and test a small area first. If it doesn’t scratch, go to town with it! 

Plastic Putty Knife

Have you ever been cleaning your kitchen, wiping along innocently, and suddenly run into a mysterious glob of something – petrified pancake batter, or worse, dried egg -  and it just won’t budge? No need to pull out the big guns (chemical cleaners) in an attempt to dissolve it. Just whip out your plastic putty knife, scrape it away easily, and move on. I recommend sticking with a plastic knife to minimize risk of scratching.