Toxins in Common Household Cleaners	Floors	Counters and Cutting Boards
Natural Cleaning Supplies	Laundry	Cleaning Bathrooms
Alternatives for Harsh Cleaners Chart	Recipes

Like most people, I hate to clean but I do like a clean house. I learned about harsh, toxic, dangerous chemicals the hard way when being around them in an office day in and day out compromised my immune systems tolerance of the chemicals we use to "clean" our homes. For me, some of the most convenient products are the worst for my system. You can look in your own cabinets and find some of these toxic ingredients including petroleum distillates, mineral spirits, formaldehyde. Natural, safe home cleaning is healthier, less expensive and safer than cleaning using harsh chemicals.

Many of you are aware of ingredients and definitions on the food our pets eat, but are you aware of the ingredients in cleaners we use in our living areas? Many of the products on the market today have ingredients that are closely guarded to keep other companies from making knock off products. On the same thread, there is no defined standard for some of the advertising gimmicks that tempt us to purchase so-called safer products. Two that can easily suck consumers in are: non-toxic and biodegradable.

Toxins in Common Household Cleaners
Chemical	Commonly Found In	Concerns/Issues
Ammonia	Glass Cleaners	Lung and skin irritant. See sodium hypochlorite for dangers in mixing chemicals.
Formaldehyde	Preservative in many household cleaners and air freshener	Probable carcinogen. Even really low levels can cause watery or burning eyes, stuffy/burning nose and throat, nausea, couching and wheezing, rashes, hives and allergic reactions.
Hydrochloric acid or sodium acid sulfate	Toilet bowl cleaners	Can burn skin, may cause vomiting, diarrhea and stomach burns if swallowed. May cause blindness of splashed in eyes.
Perchloroethylene or trichloroethane	Dry cleaning spot removers and carpet cleaners	Eye, skin and lung irritant. If ingested can cause liver and kidney damage. Probable carcinogen and can accumulate in fatty tissues.
Phenol and cresol	Disinfectants	Corrosive. May cause diarrhea, fainting, dizziness and kidney and liver damage.
Sodium hypochlorite	Chlorine bleach	Lung and eye irritant. If mixed with ammonia or acid based cleaners, including vinegar, it releases toxic chloramines gas. Short term exposure to the gas may cause mild asthmatic symptoms or more serious respiratory problems.

Natural Cleaning Supplies

White Vinegar: Used in many formulations. Great for cleaning and disinfecting.

Baking Soda: So many applications. Get the HUGE box and save some money.

Washing Soda: Can be found in the natural section or near laundry supplies in most groceries.

Borax: Boost the strength of cleaning solutions.

Salt: Great for adding an abrasive quality to your cleaners. Kosher or sea salt is best.

Mild Soap: Comes in both flakes and liquids. Vegetable based soap made from coconut or olive oil is known as castile soap and can be found at most health food stores and some groceries.  Comes in scented and unscented. You will want unscented if you plan to add your own essential oils. This is NOT detergent! Many products today are detergents made from petroleum distillates which are both toxic and non-renewable.
Essential Oils: These are not fragrance or perfume oils but rather the volatile oils of plants. Note: If you have cats or small dog breeds check with your Veterinarian on safe use. Cats and small dogs are especially sensitive to essential oils. May also interfere with homeopathic medicines. When in doubt, don't use them.

Containers: Spray bottles and storage containers come in a variety of sizes and styles and in both glass and plastic. You can usually find them in supermarkets, discount retailers, health food stores and container stores at very reasonable prices.

Cleaning Floors

The healthiest option is to have no carpet, but many homes have wall-to-wall carpet or gigantic area rugs that collect all the junk from the world. With carpet, you want to clean it with the least impact on yourself and you pets.

Carpet. To freshen the carpet you can make a simple mixture of equal parts baking soda and borax. Sprinkle on the carpet, then vacuum up. You can add several drops of your favorite essential oil to the powder mix. If you are concerned about fleas, Lemongrass and citronella oils are good choices.

Carpet Shampoo: This recipe will do a 10x13 room.

Rosemary-Lavender Carpet Shampoo (From The Naturally Clean Home by Karen Siegel-Maier)

2 Cups Baking Soda
1/2 Cup Soap Flakes (You can substitute Borax)
20 Drops Lavender Essential Oil
8 Drops Rosemary Essential Oil
1/2 Cup Vinegar
2 Cups Warm Water

Loosen dirt by vacuuming or sweeping the carpet. Combine baking soda, soap flakes and essential oils in a large glass or stainless bowl making sure to break up the clumps. Sprinkle mixture on the carpet. In a bucket, mix the vinegar and warm water. Dip a clean sponge mop into the bucket, squeezing out the excess liquid. Go over the carpet with the sponge mop working in sections. Wait one hour and vacuum.

Wood Floors: The best cleaner is a mixture of equal parts warm water and white vinegar. Combine in a spray bottle, spritz a small section and dry mop. You can add 15-20 drops of your favorite essential oil to 3 Cups of this mixture. (Peppermint will kill germs and keep mice away for those of you in older homes or homes with attached garages.)

Vinyl or Tile Floors: Mix one gallon of hot water and 2-3 Tablespoons of a liquid Castile soap. To this mix you can either add lemon (great for kitchens) or pine essential oil. Use 10-20 drops of essential oils and if you feel creative, mix the oils. Dip your mop into the mixture, squeeze out the excess water and mop in small section. The best part of this mix is there is no rinsing needed and the residue won't hurt your dog (or spouse) if they happen to lick the floor when you are finished.

Cleaning Counters and Cutting Boards
Clean counters and cutting boards are important to the overall health of all the members of our households.

Counters: Cleaning counters is easy, all you need is hot water, white vinegar, borax and the essential oil(s) of your preference. (Lavender and lemon essential oils are antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral and antibiotic.) For each cup of hot water use one tablespoon of vinegar and a light teaspoon of Borax. Add about 10-12 drops of essential oil. The oils are potent, so use sparingly.

Wood Cutting Boards and Butcher Blocks: Mix a couple of teaspoons of salt (Sea Salt and Kosher Salt are grittier.) and a like amount of fresh lemon juice and vigorously rub into the wood. Gloves will help protect your hands. Let this sit on the wood for 10-20 minutes, then rinse with hot water while scrubbing. Allow the wood to dry thoroughly.

Cleaning Bathrooms
Although we try to keep bathroom doors shut and toilet seats down, our dogs have on occasion enjoyed the sip of water out of the toilet. When I saw what was in toilet bowl cleaners, I thought even an occasional sip could not be good for long term health for the dogs. You can make your own germ proof toilet bowl cleaner by combining the following in a spray bottle. 1 Cup water; three Tablespoons of liquid Castile soap; 20 drops melaleuca (tea tree) oil; 7-10 drops eucalyptus oil.

Laundry
Laundry soap and fabric deodorizers and softeners are easy to make and can be enhanced to smell quite nice when essential oils are added to the mix.

Soap: Mix equal parts washing soda, baking soda and real soap flakes. (You can grate pure Castile soap.)  For tops loading washers use 1/2 Cup per load. For front loading washers use 1/4 Cup.

Deodorizer and Softener: Use 1/4 Cup white vinegar scented with a few drops of your favorite essential oil.

Whitener: One part hydrogen peroxide to 8 parts water. Soak item for 5-30 minutes. Rinse and wash if needed.

Alternatives to Harsh Cleaners

RECIPES:

Disinfectant:

Mix 1/2 cup borax (a natural mineral that kills mold and bacteria) with 1 gallon hot water.
Add a few sprigs of fresh thyme.
Steep for 10 minutes, strain and cool.
Store in a recycled plastic spray bottle.

Insecticides:

½ cup each bay and peppermint leaves
1 ½ teaspoons each citrus peels
garlic powder
diatomaceous earth
cayenne pepper
pyrethrum
salt.
What you do:
Grind the ingredients into a powder in a blender or with a mortar and pestle. Dust along baseboards, the back of counters, and other areas of infestation. Do not rinse.

All-Purpose Pennyroyal and Eucalyptus Spray (Insecticide)

1 teaspoon each essential oils of pennyroyal and eucalyptus
2 cups of water
What you need:

Combine the ingredients in a spray bottle. Shake to blend. Spray along baseboards, the backs of counters, and other areas of infestation.
Don't rinse.