Thursday, June 9, 2011

I hate bleach!

Today I was reminded how much I hate bleach. I rarely use the stuff but today I was washing some white curtains that my cat had rubbed her dirty self all over and really needed some whitening. I poured a bit in to the dispenser in my washer and somehow I managed to splatter on my Victoria's Secret yoga pants!!! Oh my gosh I was so mad I just wanted to scream!!! I hate everything about bleach. I hate the smell and how it makes me nauseous. I hate the way my fingers feel after touching it and I hate that one tiny splatter can ruin a perfectly good pair of clothes! Today is the day that I refuse to use bleach EVER again!

There are plenty of other alternatives out there for whitening and disinfecting. I usually use an oxygen bleach like oxyclean or hydrogen peroxide. Unfortunately I was out of both today. Bummer! Both of those work great at whitening and cleaning.

For my all purpose cleaner and glass cleaner I use a mixture of half vinegar, half water. Seriously, the stuff works better than windex. Tell me why I should ever buy that stuff again? It works great for disinfecting but when there is grease or grime involved I need a little something else. I use pure castile soap mixed with water. You have to make sure that the castille soap doesn't have essential oils in it otherwise it leaves streaks.

For bathtubs and areas where I need a bit more grit, I mix baking soda with castile soap until it forms a paste. You have to use a bit more elbow grease than if you used scrubbing bubbles or something like that but at least you know you aren't breathing in toxic fumes or putting your baby in a tub with bleach and other chemicals. Yuck!


I would love to know what homemade cleaners and things you use. I'm always looking for new ones to try. I still would love to make my own dishwasher soap - just haven't gotten around to it yet. One day....

3 comments:

  1. okay, so now i'm officially become the Crazy Comment Lady on your blog ;) i too use vinegar and water for my windows and mirrors. i use pure vinegar to disinfect and clean my toilets, and vinegar, hot water & a squirt of dish soap to wash my floors. haven't used castile soap for cleaning yet (i do use the bar version on my skin), but i will have to give that a try.

    one thing that has saved us a TON of money is homemade laundry soap. there are lots of recipes on the web, but i use this one: http://lovella-at-home.blogspot.com/2010/05/making-laundry-soap.html and it works great! an entire 5 gallon bucket full of the stuff costs me less than $4 to make.

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  2. You are so not the crazy lady! I love comments! I'm definitely going to try the homemade laundry soap. I'm super excited about it.... do you happen to know if it works on cloth diapers?

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  3. haven't tried it on cloth diapers, but i do find that my stained whites sometimes need a spray of something or other before i throw them in. i just love the fact that its so natural cuz my youngest has sensitive skin (as do i) so i'd always double rinse my laundry and now i don't have to!

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