Life With A Baby - Green cleaning methods, products and tips

Friday, March 18, 2011 1:06 PM

Message # 548679

Debbi

All the eco-conscious parents out there - please share your tips!

What products/ detergents etc do you use for general house cleaning, laundry, etc?

How do you reduce the use of chemicals in your home?

Does vinegar and baking soda really work - is it effective?

Friday, March 18, 2011 1:38 PM

Reply # 548696 on 548679

Debbi

I'll start :)

I'm a huge fan of e-cloths, which I first discovered when visiting the Science Museum in London UK over 5 years ago. It's much better than general microfibre cloths - you just use water to clean, the wash them with your laundry. In fact, I believe most of the microfibre and other similar cloths available today were following e-cloth and are basically copycats.

I bought my first e-cloths at the annual William Ashley sale, and after that at Caynes Housewares (Doncaster Road, Thornhill). It's been very exciting as I've recently discovered that Winners/ Homesense stores are now stocking these amazing products! I've just purchased some of the 'new' range to try (I've only used the general purpose and glass/ window cleaning cloths before).

Saturday, March 19, 2011 7:52 PM

Reply # 549397 on 548679

Dar

I've been using hot water, vinegar/water mix solution (1 part Vinegar, 3 parts water, in a spray bottle) and baking soda to clean everything in the house since I was pregnant with my almost 2 year old. It's been actually more effective than I thought, and I don't have to inhale any nasty fumes from regular chemical products.

I borrowed the book ' The Naturally Clean Home: 100 Safe and Easy Herbal Formulas for Non-toxic cleansers' from my local library a while ago. They have some easy to make cleaning agents that I have tried. Get it from your library, try a few of the solutions before you decide if you want to buy the book.

Tuesday, May 24, 2011 9:51 PM

Reply # 600727 on 548679

Antonella

Debbi Wong wrote: All the eco-conscious parents out there - please share your tips!

What products/ detergents etc do you use for general house cleaning, laundry, etc?

How do you reduce the use of chemicals in your home?

Does vinegar and baking soda really work - is it effective?

I grew up with water/vinegar to clean everything. My mom used to put a tiny bit of bleach in our dish water if we were sick (Yikes! but we didn't have a dishwater so soaking with water/soap/bleach in hot water was all we could do). I add vinegar to my dishwasher cycle now since the cleaners don't have phospates (great for us, bad for clean dishes and shiny glasses).

For laundry, I have been using a natural product called Charlie's Soap. I don't use fabric softener nor dryer sheets. Miss the great smell but it's all chemicals so I stopped when I got pregnant three years ago and my clothes still come out fine.

A lot of the products I use I bought in California. They have so many "green" and skin-friendly products out there that aren't available here (or were here and are now gone). I'm still looking for California Baby. It's the only hair and skin cleanser that my daughter and I aren't allergic to and they stopped selling it here. Does anyone have other suggestions?

Tuesday, May 24, 2011 9:52 PM

Reply # 600728 on 548696

Antonella

Debbi Wong wrote: I'll start :)

I'm a huge fan of e-cloths, which I first discovered when visiting the Science Museum in London UK over 5 years ago. It's much better than general microfibre cloths - you just use water to clean, the wash them with your laundry. In fact, I believe most of the microfibre and other similar cloths available today were following e-cloth and are basically copycats.

I bought my first e-cloths at the annual William Ashley sale, and after that at Caynes Housewares (Doncaster Road, Thornhill). It's been very exciting as I've recently discovered that Winners/ Homesense stores are now stocking these amazing products! I've just purchased some of the 'new' range to try (I've only used the general purpose and glass/ window cleaning cloths before).

I agree! e-cloths rock!

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