Natural Alternatives to Cleaning Products etc.

[rccrchickie]

Hi I joined today and I am having a great time reading all your tips.

If your shower head is blocked with limescale, put white vinager and bread soda in a plastic bag or deep bowl and leave the shower head to soak for a few hours. It loosens it up a treat and unblocks the holes, apparently it also works on taps too.

For blocked drains, pour a good amount of bread soda down the plug hole, then add a good glug of white vinegar. The foaming action, will help unblock the pipes. It helps if you haven't run water in the sink when you do this, so the bread soda goes down the plug hole.

[tasmin]

hi all,

just wondering if any of you have tried soda crystals for cleaning?
apperently its an old fashioned way of cleaning, its been in use for over 200 years.
i seen this in the sho and laughed, and said "yeah right"
cause i thought it would be a load of bul
it was only 99c a bag and u only need a small cup full in a bottle of water. and one of those spray bottles.
i've recently been trying it out, just to see if it was any use.
i've used it on worktops, ceramic tiles , cooker etc and its just as good as any of the bottles of stuff u pay 3.99 for.

and u would get at lease 6 cups, the only thing i would say against it is it doesnt leave any smell...just cleans it

aperently u can used this in the kitchen, sinks and drains and ur washing.

havent tried it in my washing yet, though might try it on something thats no use, just in case lol

all the best,
tas

[paprika]

Hi tasmin,

is that the same that's called bread soda? I use that for washing the cloth nappies after I soaked them in vinegary water. It's fine, doesn't leave any smell on them either though :)
Haven't tried it to use as a surface cleaner, but might give it a go despite all my love for Cif products...

Regards,
p

[tasmin]

hiya

no, this is called soda crystals.

my mam used to used the soad bread all the time.

god theres a memory lol


tas

[bluecurlygirl]

Yes, soda crystals have been used for years. My mum & my granny washed clothes in it especially whites. Also, a very handy way to clean your bath and save showering yourself with talc when you get out of the bath - put a handful of soda crystals into the bath while running. Hop in and scrub yourself. You get out and your skin is as soft as a baby's and your bath is clean after soaking in the crystals too!! Clean bath while relaxing in it (no scrubbing involved)!! That's a product worth trying! I forgot about it so thanks for reminding me.

[Proteavalley]

any one got any receipe for eco friendly stuff????????????/

[Proteavalley]

this is good for rubbing on leaves of your plants to restore there natural shine

[Proteavalley]

I always thought soda crystals were caustic

[JESSELVA]

I thoroughly agree with the suggestionsfor cleaning. I ve been using distilled white vinegar for cleaning window glass, floor tiles, and mirrors for several months now. I use bread soda for cleaning saucepans and cooker. We have had to abandon use of mos chemicals in the home because of serious lung disease.

However there are even more non toxic remedies.

Washing soda or soda crystals are a fantastic stain remover in your washing machine or hand wash. The cost a tiny fraction of what branded specialised stain removers do and are available in almost alll supermarkets.

For animal care. Apple cider vinegar applied to your dogs coat as a shampoo and rinsed off will keep fleas and ticks at bay. A small amount of cider vinegar added to your dogs daily feed will help prevent some bone diseases and hip displasia. ( It helps break down excessive calcium deposits) Odourless garlic capsules added to your pets feeds will really discourage fleas ticks and most worms. And if your dog rolls about in something really smelly, let their coat dry out, then liberally sprinkle him with bread soda and rub into coat. Then brush out thoroughly and you ll find he has a sweet smelling sparkling coat from his "dry shampoo"

[bluecurlygirl]

Oh Jesselva, excellent ideas there. I have a labrador who loves rolling in smelly things. Also, they're renowned for hip problems and as she's a pure bred, tics and things like that are detrimental to her (purebreds are very delicate apparently). I shall be using all your ideas. Thanks a million.

[JESSELVA]

Yes, some of the larger breeds are very prone to hip problems', We have 3 Rottweilers' , a labrador, and a little corgi/terrier. We found the Rottweilers were plagued with a mite which caused them dreadful distress. It seemed to always be a constant round of injections and very little relief for them. I happened by pure chance to come across a book called " household hints and tips" by a Margaret Bradley, published by L&K Designs. it s fairly newonly published 2008, but apart from the usual household tips, there is a pets and outdoor section in it, thats where I found the Doggie Remedes, and they really do work. They havent been troubled by this mysterious mite for the past 3 months', Its fantastic. My heart was broken watching their distress from either constan scratching, or constant needles.

[jenniferalan]

I googled this and I got this link

Don't know who this Duggar family are.. but they seem to have a lot of kids!, 20!!

They have receipes for soap and detergent on their website, see below

TIPS FOR LAUNDRY SOAP: We use Fels-Naptha bar soap in the homemade soap recipes, but you can use Ivory, Sunlight, Kirk's Hardwater Castile or Zote bars. Don't use heavily perfumed soaps. We buy Fels-Naptha by the case from our local grocer or online. Washing Soda and Borax can normally be found on the laundry or cleaning aisle. Recipe cost approx. $2.

Homemade Liquid Laundry Soap- Front or top load machine- best value

4 Cups hot tap water
1 Fels-Naptha soap bar
1 Cup Washing Soda
½ Cup Borax

- Grate bar of soap and add to saucepan with water. Stir continually over medium-low heat until soap dissolves and is melted.

-Fill a 5 gallon bucket half full of hot tap water. Add melted soap, washing soda and Borax. Stir well until all powder is dissolved. Fill bucket to top with more hot water. Stir, cover and let sit overnight to thicken.

-Stir and fill a used, clean, laundry soap dispenser half full with soap and then fill rest of way with water. Shake before each use. (will gel)

-Optional: You can add 10-15 drops of essential oil per 2 gallons. Add once soap has cooled. Ideas: lavender, rosemary, tea tree oil.

-Yield: Liquid soap recipe makes 10 gallons.

-Top Load Machine- 5/8 Cup per load (Approx. 180 loads)

-Front Load Machines- ¼ Cup per load (Approx. 640 loads)



Powdered Laundry Detergent- Top load machine

1 Fels-Naptha soap bar
1 Cup Washing Soda
½ Cup Borax

-Grate soap or break into pieces and process in a food processor until powdered. Mix all ingredients. For light load, use 1 Tablespoon. For heavy or heavily soiled load, use 2 Tablespoons. Yields: 3 Cups detergent. (Approx. 40 loads)





Inexpensive Fabric Softener Recipes

Recipe #1
1 Cup White Vinegar
Add vinegar to rinse cycle. Works great. Removes residue and odors. Also helps to keep washing machine and hoses fresh and clean too.

Recipe #2

1 Container of Name Brand Fabric Softener
4 Inexpensive sponges, cut in half

Pour entire container of softener into a 5 gallon bucket. Fill empty softener container with water twice. (2 parts water to 1 part softener) Add sponges to softener/water mixture. When ready to use wring out extra mixture from one sponge and add to the dryer as you would a dryer sheet.

...Sounds cheap and greener but does it smell and clean as good?!

[irishrose]

I don't make my own detergent, but last summer I bought a bag of soapnuts at the Oxfam Fairtrade shop just off Grafton Street. I've been using the same bag since, washing about three to four loads of laundry per week. A bag of soapnuts costs about 9 euro. They claim you can use soapnuts for virtually all cleaning - that you can make washing up liquid, shampoo, etc.. However, I followed the instructions and made a batch of what was supposed to be washing up liquid, and it turned out to be a lot like colour-tinged water, and about as effective. Since then, I've stuck to using it in the washer. It's not a panacea - it won't remove grass or wine or grease stains any more than most detergents, but it's cheap and it gets the majority of things clean. I simply pre-treat stains as I did when I was buying detergent. I would recommend them.

[daisy does it]

I found this on the internet and I tried it and it works pretty good

2 teaspoons of bread soda as the powder and vinegar as the rinse aid

you can also use equal quantities of Borax and Bread soda mix together and use 2 teaspoons as before.

It's great for keeping the dishwasher and washing machine clean as well.

Can be used as an oven cleaner just sprinkle over the bottom of the oven and spray with a little water, leave for a while and then remove. works a treat better then the spray over cleaner that nearly kills you when you spray it.

Bread soda is a good degreaser and is an old fashioned cleaner that is environmentally friendly.

it's a water softener.

It has many other uses to numerous to mention here

has anyone any other uses to tell us

[Chris P]

The cleaner your home, the more toxic it may be...

http://www.jumbletown.ie/forums/show...033#post217033