I have been using green/enviromentaly friendly cleaners for a long time. I have used several different brands over the years and I love Seventh Generation, but its pretty expensive. I also really love using Shaklee. You can buy little vials of the ingredients and then you just add water and put it all in a spray bottle.
A couple of months ago I started making my own All-Purpose Spray. It is so easy! The recipe I use is actually really similar to the diaper wipe spray I make, except this has vinegar in it. And it works just as good, if not better, than Seventh Generation!
These are the things you will need to make your own:
-Spray Bottle. You can get these anywhere, the dollar store, target, etc.
-Distilled White Vinegar
-Dish Soap
-Lavender and Tea Tree essential oil.
Once you have gathered up all your ingredients, fill up your spray bottle with water. I use a 1 to 4 ratio of water and vinegar. That means if you have 4 cups of water, you put in 1 cup of vinegar. Then I add the dish soap. I just eye balled it, it was probably a half a tablespoon worth, I don't like mine very sudsy. Then I added the esstential oils. Probably 10 drops of Tea Tree oil and 5 of Lavender. Gently mix it up and viola you have Homemade All Purpose Spray!
Next up, I am going to try and make Homemade Laundry Soap. It will end up costing me 1 penny a load!
Be careful with the laundry soap if you're washing any cloth diapers that have synthetic fabrics like the BumGenium/FuzzyBunz kind. I had repelling issues using the grated soap.
ReplyDeleteThe recipe I use (tweaked a bit) is here: http://talk.sheknows.com/f1002/cloth-diaper-detergent-711212/
wow that's to funny my homemade all purpose cleaner is almost identical to yours. i do 1/2 & 1/2 of water & vinegar, about 3 squirts of dish soap & tea tree oil like you about 10 drops. i love this stuff.
ReplyDeletethose that wonder vinegar smell doesn't stick around it evaporates into the air.
That is a good point, eidolons! Our diapers are ogranic cotton on the inside, so they should be ok right?
ReplyDeleteI hadn't thought of adding more vinegar, Crunchy Diva, but that is a good idea! And I actually love the smell of vinegar now. It means a job well done! But you are right, it disappears very quickly.
I used to HATE the smell of vinegar!! But, I have come to love the smell, because I know it means a naturally clean home. I plug vinegar into most of my home cleaning... I use it in my toilets, floors, kitchen... I also love to throw a half of a lemon in my garbage disposal. Baking soda + vinegar is great for clearing out drains, too!
ReplyDeleteWhat great ideas, Maureen!
ReplyDeleteHonestly I'm not sure. In addition to repelling (we only have a few of those annoying AIO things - the rest are bamboo) we also had stink issues (which can be caused by soap build up as well). With the recipe I linked I've never had any issues, though. I've found that washing diapers is a trial and error thing and that once you find something that works for you it's best to stick with it. (:
ReplyDeleteYou should try eco wash balls, they last for about three years and you don't need to add anything else, maybe except some vinegar for the softness in the rinsewater.
ReplyDeleteI have never heard of eco wash balls, I will have to go google it! Thanks, mamapaoekie!
ReplyDeleteYeah, we have had pretty good luck with Seventh Generation on her diapers (which are AIO and we love them!), so I am hesitant to try something new, but we will give it a try, I will look at that other recipe. Thanks!