Tea tree oil is a natural antiseptic. Add a few drops to any homemade cleaning solution for extra powers (disinfecting and scent)!

A few years ago, I read that studies have shown that women who work inside the home have significantly higher cancer rates than those who don’t. Repeated exposure to cleaning products is one of the contributing factors. Since then, I’ve read about a long list of health concerns related to conventional cleaning products so my household went lower toxic. In other words, we make our own cleaning “detergent” from Castille soap, vinegar, baking soda, hydrogen peroxide, lemon, and essential oils. Recently, two discoveries have improved my cleaning experiences.

Eco Clean Recipe Spray Bottle

I’ve been on a hunt for a nice-looking spray bottle since I want to leave bottles of vinegar near each toilet. I finally found one that I’m really excited about: Eco Clean Recipe Spray Bottle sold by Crate and Barrel. Not only is this spray bottle better looking than most, but it also has formulas for all-natural cleaning solutions silk screened onto the bottle!

	The perfect spray bottle for homemade cleaning solutions! Sold at Crate and Barrel for $6.95.

Libman Freedom Spray Mop

When mopping floors, and especially for a quick wipe down, I find this so much easier than carrying a bucket or bottles of cleaning solutions with my mop. Not only does this mop contain a refillable spray bottle attached to it (and the spray nozzle is by the handle), but the “mop” uses a cleaning pad that is machine washable and scratch-free. This deep cleaning pad provides a greener clean while saving you money. I love it.

Click here to check out older posts that cover lower toxic cleaning options!

Olive Trees in Thassos, Greece

Olive oil as skin care is an ancient beauty secret that the Egyptians, Greeks and Romans have been using for thousands of years. It wasn’t until this past weekend, however, that I actually experienced the true skin care powers of olive oil!

My Weekend Skin Care Dilemma

My family and I spent the past weekend at a house in which the dryness from the heating system was making us extremely uncomfortable. My one-year-old would cry and point to her legs, which were red from dryness; my three-year-old became constipated; my lips were so dry and cracked that smiling was painful; and we were constantly thirsty!

Having not brought my mom-approved lotions for the girls, I didn’t have easy access to a low-toxic moisturizer so, as my one-year-old cried from the discomfort of her dry skin, I immediately grabbed organic olive oil from the kitchen cabinets to apply to my youngest daughter’s legs. I then rubbed the extra oil around my dry, cracked hands and lips. I was struck by how soothed my hands immediately felt! Moreover, I was surprised that the olive oil didn’t stay oily / sticky. It “evaporated” and/or got absorbed quickly. I’m thrilled about this simple, effective discovery!

Skin Care Benefits of Olive Oil

Apply Organic Olive Oil on Dry Skin!

Olive oil offers a natural, hypoallergenic way to moisturize the skin. It is packed with vitamins E and A, which are antioxidants that can stimulate skin regrowth. According to The Olive Oil Source, “polyphenolic components of olive oil have been compared to traditional antioxidants, such as tocopherols, used by the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industry to prevent skin damage.” They recommend applying olive oil to damp skin to reduce any greasy residue. Eden Organic Foods recommends massaging olive oil on dry skin once per day until skin becomes smooth and silky. They also claim that this treatment is effective for eczema.

Applications of Olive Oil for Skin Care

Olive oil can also be used to exfoliate by mixing some coarse sea salt with olive oil to create a rub that battles dead skin. (Combing olive oil through my daughter’s scalp as an infant was remarkably effective in “cleaning” up her cradle cap!) Or, dab some oil on a cotton pad and use it as soothing eye makeup remover. You can also use olive oil as a deep conditioner for your hair.

From now on, after washing my hands in the kitchen during this long dry winter, I’m grabbing organic olive oil to soothe my mommy hands!

Have you ever used olive oil for your skin or hair? What are your favorite natural beauty tips?

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• The S File™ Gift Guide — Health

Olive Oil for Skin: Nature’s Best Moisturizer

VINEGAR

From Pure & Easy Cleaning website:

White Distilled Vinegar: Vinegar breaks up dirt and removes surface build-up to increase shine on the item to be cleaned. It is also an excellent deodorizer. White vinegar is made from the fermentation of grain diluted with water to make a 5% acetic acid solution.

ON WINDOWS, GLASS AND MIRRORS

Although useful for many other things, vinegar and water has not been so effective in cleaning windows, glass and mirrors. It created streaks and seems to attract dust. However, even Martha Stewart is recommending this so I’m going to have our clean lady try again with Martha’s recommended measurements (and addition of some soap).

Gorgeously Green All-Purpose Spray by Sophie Uliano, author of Gorgeously Green: 8 Simple Steps to an Earth-Friendly Life

DR. BRONNER’S CASTILLE SOAPS

We use Dr. Bronner’s to wash dishes (hand wash only), counter tops, bathtubs, and toilets; and as a body wash for baby and adults. Dr. Bronner’s has a variety of scents: Peppermint, Tea Tree, Baby Mild, Almond, etc. Below are my recommended scents for each purpose.

• Dishes, countertops, bathtubs, and toilets: Peppermint and Tea Tree
• Body wash for baby and adults: Baby Mild and Almond. In the winter, I was using the Almond Dr. Bronner’s as a body wash and it was drying. In the spring, I switched to Baby Mild which seemed to be better but the weather was also less drying so hard to know how Baby Mild will be on my skin next winter. I tried Dr. Bronner’s as shampoo once and it left my hair looking awful so I haven’t tried it again.
• There are a number of other scents that we have not yet tried, such as Lavendar and Eucalyptus. More information can be found on the Dr. Bronner’s website.

Dr. Bronner’s is always highly rated as non-toxic and is quite effective for almost everything. (We were instructed by our decorator, however, not to use it on wood.) I love that it’s very safe and gentle, and very versatile. The label contains a lengthier list for which this soap can be used.

Dr. Bronner’s products can be purchased at Shop at The S File Store.

LAUNDRY DETERGENT

Seventh Generation

We’ve tried a few brands of non-toxic laundry detergents and prefer Seventh Generation. The liquid formula seems to clean better than the powder form. We buy ours at Whole Foods. You can also purchase below in a package of 6.

MIRRORS AND WINDOWS

We use wet newspapers to clean mirrors and windows. It works great — better than water and vinegar! Click on Wet Newspapers to read about our experiences with non-toxic cleaners of mirrors and windows!

FLOORS

We’ve been using a variety of solutions to clean our wooden floors.

White Vinegar

We add 1/8 vinegar to a solution of water and a drop of Dr. Bronner’s to clean our floors. We also use a solution of vinegar and water in a spray bottle to wipe table tops and other surface areas.

Envirorite for our hard wooden floors (we were told by a decorator not to use Murphy’s Oil).

AUTOMATIC DISHWASHING DETERGENT

We use a mixture of the below.

Mrs. Meyer’s. We love this. We buy ours at Whole Foods. It can also be purchased Shop at The S File Store in a package of 6.

Wave Jet. From the EcoWise website: “Wave Jet is the first all natural spot and residue eliminator for auto dishwashing machines. For sparkling Dishes, Glasses & Silverware. Works just like the conventional auto dish washing spot removers, but without the petro chemicals. Comes in a convenient 8-ounce size bottle. Just fill your rinse agent dispenser in your dish washing machine. Refill once per month or as needed. 100% biodegradable.”

This is very effective. We buy ours at Whole Foods. It can also be purchased Shop at The S File Store.

GREASE AND SOAP SCUM CLEANERS

To clean heavy grease around the oven, baking soda and water works great!

Hydrogen Peroxide can be an effective replacement of bleach.

MORE INFORMATION

To learn more about hazards in cleaning products and to see third-party reviews of “green” cleaning products, please browse through the selected YouTube video content below. You can also click here for a very helpful video: Green Cleaning.

Check out a great third-party resource — HealthyChild.org — for more information on cleaning and other products.

Who knew… in listening to me ask our cleaning lady about vinegar and water to clean our mirrors and windows (our cleaning lady is still unhappy with the streaks and dust that collects on the mirrors), our nanny told us that newspaper and water works really well.  The cleaning lady, who had already tried it upon the suggestion of our nanny, agreed that it worked great.  Shocked, my nanny said she learned about this in 3rd grade.  My husband then interjected and said he learned about it too in grade school.  Who knew…  I just tried it this morning, however, and I’m THRILLED that all we’ll need to wash our windows and mirrors is wet newspaper!

Borax has often times come up in conversation as a good green cleaning ingredient.  So I was excited to find the information in Section B below, until I came across a site (sections of which are copied in Section A below) that has made me concerned about using Borax.  (Although the site doesn’t look so credible, it has links to government information.)

SECTION A: What You Should Know

Borax is quite popular online these days.  It’s in recipes for everything from children’s craft concoctions to alternative cleaning products and homemade baby wipe solutions. Before you use it, though, make sure you know all the facts.

Borax, which is also known as Boric Acid and is sold under the brand name “20 Mule Team” is often touted as safe and natural.  While it is a naturally occurring mineral, that doesn’t mean it is without dangers.

Borax is often recommended as a “safe” pesticide, fungicide and cleaner, but it is officially classified as a poison.  Government sites recommend that people who work with Borax use gloves and handle it with caution.  Studies have linked it to reproductive problems in some lab animals, as well as a host of serious disorders at higher levels.

Boric acid is an acute eye and respiratory tract irritant, which is quite toxic if ingested.  In addition, it is unavailable in parts of Europe because of concerns that it caused birth defects and problems with the reproductive organs of children.  It is recommended that pregnant women and children in particular do not have exposure to Borax.

Here are some medical and U.S. government fact sheets about its toxicity:

• http://www.strobel.com/studies.htm
• http://www.epa.gov/iris/subst/0410.htm

Also, It might be helpful to look at 20 Mule Team’s MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet), which they are required to provide.  You can view it here.

Note that they specifically say: “Nonetheless, the following effects have been reported for a component, sodium borate, and boric acid. Sodium borate upon entry into the body becomes boric acid.”

Also refer to section 3 (on page 2) where the company itself says: Based on our hazard evaluation, the following chemical substance(s) in this product have been identified as hazardous.

INGREDIENT:  Sodium Tetraborate Decahydrate

The health and safety warnings are also listed on the MSDS.  Everybody can make their own decisions.  I simply think it’s a bad idea to make craft concoctions for small children to handle (and possibly stick in their mouths) considering all of the health risks.

It’s important to remember that many products that we use around the house are just as harmful.  However, most of them aren’t included in recipes we give to toddlers!

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SECTION B

From Pure & Easy Cleaning website:

Borax helps to disinfect and deodorize. It is a naturally occurring mineral composed of sodium, boron, oxygen and water. It does not contain phosphates or chlorine. You can find it in the laundry product aisle of your local stores.

From GreenLivingTips.com:

I always thought borax to be an extremely toxic man-made chemical, best avoided – but it turns out it’s a naturally occurring substance with many uses. It’s cheap and relatively environmentally friendly when handled with the proper care (i.e. don’t eat the stuff and keep out of reach of pets and children) and used minimally.

Borax, also known as sodium borate or sodium tetraborate, occurs naturally and is mined in the Mojave Desert (Boron, California), other US states, Chile and Tibet. It can also be created synthetically from other boron compounds.  The mining side of borax production isn’t all that earth friendly, but compared to some other chemical compounds used around the home, it’s likely to be the lesser of the many other evils, so it’s a “greener” choice.

Borax is used in all sorts of products – pesticides, insulation, makeup, detergents and other cleaners.  In our house we have recycled cellulose fiber for roof insulation that’s been treated with Borax in order to make it flame retardant.  The other side effect of this treatment is that it discourages vermin from nesting and kills insects.

Handy Borax tips

Warning – as mentioned in the start of this article; it’s *relatively* safe to use. Given it’s insecticidal properties, that indicates that it does have some level of toxicity and should therefore be treated with care. Ingesting Borax is certainly not recommended, although in some countries it’s used in foods in small quantities as a replacement for salt. Given that it does have some toxic properties, I was very surprised to find it used as a food additive and in makeup. It’s always advisable to wear gloves when handling borax as it can cause skin irritation for some people. Borax should also not be inhaled.

For more positive suggested uses and tips on Borax, visit: GreenLivingTips.com

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SECTION C: What My Reference Books Say About Borax…

From Healthy Child Healthy World:

• De-mold safely.  It’s a myth that you need chlorinated bleaches, ammonia, or other chemically potent mold and mildew cleaners to obliterate spores.  For problem areas, wear gloves and a face mask (spores can be inhaled) and use a stiff bristle brush or toothbrush, a non-ammonia detergent (such as borax, hydrogen peroxide, or tea tree oil), and hot water.  Or spray with a solution of a half cup of vinegar to a cup of water.  (page 50)
• Try natural bug repellents for Ants.  … Only use boric acid, which can be harmful if ingested, where kids and pets can’t get to it — behind refrigerators, under sinks and stoves, etc.

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SECTION D: My Conclusion

From Pure & Easy Cleaning website:

Hydrogen Peroxide is widely regarded as the safest alternative to chlorine bleach. It has similar disinfecting and bleaching properties though it works in a different way. Hydrogen peroxide is a water molecule with an extra oxygen molecule attached. When it comes into contact with organic matter, such as bacteria, it releases the extra oxygen molecule, oxidizing and killing the bacteria. This is the bubbling action you see. When the bubbling is done, only water remains. The hydrogen peroxide you buy at a drugstore is a 3% dilution and is safe for use as an antiseptic and for home cleaning. Higher dilutions of hydrogen peroxide are used in a wide variety of non-household applications. Here is the EPA’s Fact Sheet on Hydrogen Peroxide.

It is often used in hospitals because it causes far fewer adverse reactions than alternative disinfectants.