Revelation: I DON'T NEED ALL THESE CLEANING PRODUCTS!

[K8-EEE]

I'll admit it: I'm a clean freak. As such, I have been a total sucker for every kind of cleaning product imaginable. From toilet bowl cleaners to vinyl floor cleaners to kitchen cleaners and sink cleaners....they were all crowded under my sink.

Guess what I just realized, thanks you DU and the consumer awareness I've discovered here in this forum? I DON'T NEED 90% OF THEM!

One basic spray cleaner (like Simple Green or Trader Zen cleaner from Trader Joe's) cleans everything, you just dilute it for some stuff.

Guess what else I found out. Most of the time you don't need any cleaner at all! Just water and a rag.

THIS WAS A REVELATION!

For fellow wacky, anal-retentive clean freaks here is a tip: don't WASH the sinks constantly: DRY THEM CONSTANTLY!

Because if you dry them, they don't get dirty. If you keep a washcloth by the bathroom sink and make sure the faucets and handles stay dry throughout the day, they don't get scummy in the first place.

As I haven't been replacing my old products (Soft Scrub! Lysol Toilet Cleaner! Murphy's Oil Soap!), I have much more space under the sink.

I will admit I still love the Method shower cleaner and Method stainless steel cleaner. But I'm down to just those, Trader Zen and the Costco liquid laundry soap, saving lots of money not to mention all the packaging etc. It's the little things that add up!

[NMDemDist2]

1. elbow grease and vinegar will clean most anything

and ammonia gets the rest

[K8-EEE]

2. Well Yes But I Hate The Smell Of Them!

I clean my bathrooms first thing every morning kind of a routine I have, and I can't bear the smell of vinegar or amonia especially in the a.m. That's why I love the Method cucumber bathroom cleaner. I like the sandalwood smell of Trader Zen too. I dilute it by half though; poured half into an old method bottle and add water to both and it works just as good.

[crispini]

3. You clean your bathroom EVERY MORNING?

Jeez.

I clean my bathroom.... well.... let's just say, upon occasion.

[K8-EEE]

4. It's Much Easier Every Day!

It really is! I started this after reading the FlyLady site (at www.flylady.com)

It's like a hotel maid, when you clean it every day it takes a couple of minutes, spritz spritz swish swish! If you let it get dirty that's when it's a big (and yucky!) job. I clean the toilets every day but it's like, literally 1 minute per toilet, very fast, and that way you don't start the weekend with a gross smelly toilet!

Keep in mind that I have not only my kids but most of the neighborhood kids tramping through my house all day so, if you live alone it might not be so necessary.

[WolverineDG]

5. flylady is a good website

wish i could keep up with my promise to myself to go there & follow the cleaning plan.

i did come up with my own system...set down a calendar to focus on one room each day of the week to clean (sweep/dust/tidy up) plus a 15 minute "spot clean" (ie, pick a cluttered area of the room, work it for 15 minutes, then STOP; hit it again next week when it's that room's cleaning day). on weekends, go thru boxes & throw out junk or put it in the donate pile. it takes time, but it does work. :)

dg

[Mrs. Overall]

6. My Revelation: Cleaning Products were making me Sick!

I finally realized nearly a year ago, that every time I cleaned I felt sort of ill--headache, queasy. I used products like Windex, Softscrub, Pledge, etc...

I did some Internet research and learned I could make my own products very inexpensively.

My overall cleaner is a spray bottle filled with white vinegar and a little rubbing alcohol. It cleans everything from windows, mirrors, counters to all surfaces.

For furniture/wood/leather I use a spray bottle of white vinegar with a tiny layer of olive oil floating on top and I simply shake it and use it on furniture surfaces--cleans and shines.

For scrubbing out pots and pans and for all porcelain like sinks, bathtubs, etc... I use a dry mixture of equal parts baking soda, course salt, and old-fashioned borax. It is great and everything sparkles.

A great room freshening/odor control is simply a small spray bottle filled with water and drops of essential oils, like lavender, rose, orange. If you want a good germ-killer as well, use tea-tree oil in a spray bottle with water and spray on surfaces or in the air.

For mopping floors, I fill the sink with hot water, add some vinegar and Planet brand dishwashing liquid. Works great.

I have also switched my dishwashing liquid, laundry soap, and dishwasher detergent to the environmentally friendly "Planet" brand. Totally safe and effective and no dyes or perfumes.

I can clean now and not feel ill! Plus, I feel like I am doing the environment a favor, I am not supporting big chemical companies who are Repub. contributors, and I save a lot of money.

(At first the vinegar smell turned me off, but I got used to it and now associate it with freshness)

[NMDemDist2]

7. exactly, hubby is very sensitive to chemicals

so I have gradually learned how to clean without strong chemicals

[K8-EEE]

8. Tip: You Might Want To Try The Costco Laundry Soap

My husband & oldest daughter have very sensitive skin and the only laundry detergent I could use was Planet or Trader Joes. I decided to try the Kirkland brand liquid laundry detergent because it was 96 loads for something like $10! And it contains no dyes or perfume.

Success! No rashes, no itches, I've been using it for about a month now. I figured if anyone had a reaction I would just take it to the laundrymat and give it to somebody.

[NMDemDist2]

9. yes we like that stuff

when i first met hubby he used Tide and wondered why his skin was always broke out on his body

[Mrs. Overall]

10. Thanks--I'll check it out--

I love Planet laundry soap, but it's expensive and I usually almost double the amount to make sure the clothes get clean, so it's not economical!

[Lorien]

11. I'll have to try that

I get rashes from nearly everything, especially cleaning products like laundry and dish soaps. I'll give the Kirkland and "planet" brands a try.

[luaneryder]

13. I really like the steamer cleaners

there's no chemical involved and nothing to throw away. I just wash the cloth attachments and am ready to go again. I really, really, really hate throwing away so much plastic! We recycle, but are trying to cut down on disposable items.

[KitSileya]

12. And you never need as much soap as you think, either.

My mom is the head of the cleaning department at one of the larger hospitals in Norway, so I've really been taught how to clean, properly. Using as little water as possible is actually the best.

Damp floors, and water puddles in small cracks in said floors are the best possible breeding ground for bacteria. How do you get said cracks? By using too much water. Use feather dusters for dust - on hospital floors (non-surgical rooms, that is, not baths and ORs etc.) they use mops that use static electricity to catch the dust, and then clean with damp mops afterwards. If the floors are really dirty, a third mop is used, a wet one. Both the second and third mop are taken directly from the washing machine - having been thru the spin cycle they are damp. And they're room temperature. Only in really recalcitrant spots do the cleaning staff use soapy cold water, but even that is so diluted that they only use 2 milliliters of soap per liter of water. the days of tossing half your bucket of hot soapy water on the floors are over.

The same goes for dusting. The rags come straight from the washing machine after the spin cycle, so they're still damp, not wet. In other words, they don't use soap, other than on the toilets and sinks. The rags used are simple non-weave ones.

The dust is more important than coffee stains on the floor, etc, as the dust gets in your airways, and everything in touching height is more important than lower down, because that's were you put your hands, your food, etc. And if people complain that it isn't clean, you can smear some undiluted soap in the corners, or under the steps - most times, people associate a really strong scent of soap with 'clean', and if it doesn't smell, it isn't clean. They're wrong.