Vinegar

[Meenah]

I think she meant mopping water!!! I use vinegar all of the time, the smell goes away pretty quickly.

[ladymoreta]

I use baking soda on the shower/bathtub grime. It works like Comet.

[Cinderella]

I'm going to try all of this. It's great stuff! Plus vinegar and baking soda are so much more cheaper than all the chemical products we can buy and probably better for us.

[diggitydot]

If you have smelly laundry, add a cup of vinegar to the wash cycle and the smell will completely disappear. Particularly helpful for people with pets who may not be entirely potty trained.

[BonBon]

I also put vinegar in the fabric softener dispenser because it cuts the soap, which leaves clothes soft.

I can't help you with the smell, because I actually like it! I also use baking soda, and Dr Bronner's castile soaps (peppermint is my fave). I don't use any "normal" cleaning products.

[BonBon]

MPspouse, for my counters I diluted castile soap with a ton of water in a spray bottle and use a sponge to clean it and a microfiber cloth to buff it. Peppermint smells much nicer than vinegar!

[spotty_dog]

Most of the messes in my house require surfactant, so while I wanted to embrace vinegar & baking soda, it has never been practical in my house. Plus my husband hates the smell of vinegar even when I try to drown it in essential oils.

My only homemade cleaning product I use now is baking soda and peppermint castille soap mixed into a paste and used to scrub the soap scum from the bathtub. I'm on an Ecover All-Purpose detergent kick at the moment, I love how a little capful dissolved in a spray bottle can clean ALL THE THINGS. And it's inexpensive and eco-friendly to boot, and smells lightly of lemon and nothing headache-inducing.

[SoonerTexan]

I love Dr Bronners too! I admit I'm addicted to Method bath products though. I probably could eliminate those

[Thirteen]

I love Dr Bronners too! I admit I'm addicted to Method bath products though. I probably could eliminate those

This is us. We have Method stuff for the bathroom, and I love it.
I'm pretty sure I could continue to fall down the Hippie Rabbit Hole, though -- homemade cleaners seem to be the next logical solution.
I do swear by a paste of lemon juice and baking soda to clean bathtubs... but when we moved into this house, I actually bought bleach.
It was the best decision... ick ick ick.

[BonBon]

Alison, I make that paste too, but I add some peppermint essential oil as well for added nasal assault. LOVE that stuff!

Anyone have any eco-friendly laundry detergent recs? Dishwasher?

[ladymoreta]

I use Rockin' Green laundry detergent for diapers, kids' clothes, and sheets and towels. Apparently you can use it for a lot of different kinds of cleaning, including dishes, but I haven't tried it.

[spotty_dog]

Oof, the peppermint soap zings my sinuses plenty.

With my hard water the ONLY dishwasher detergent for me is Finish tabs with Powerball, which I am sure is not eco-friendly.

I like Method Lavender/Cedar laundry detergent pretty well. And Seventh Generation 4X Geranium/Vanilla, but it's hard to find and leaves the laundry a little rough-feeling. For loads that need powder detergent and/or deodorizing and/or no residue (towels, sportswear) and/or unscented, I am all about Biokleen Premium Plus (with the enzymes and oxygen bleach).

[diggitydot]

With my hard water the ONLY dishwasher detergent for me is Finish tabs with Powerball, which I am sure is not eco-friendly.

Oh, amen. It's the only thing we've found that works in ugly hard water areas.

[medpedspouse]

I tried the white vinegar with peppermint essential oil. You are right in that it cut the vinegar smell. However, it left a film on my bamboo floors. It is not bad but it does not shine as well as the floor cleaner (which I am sure is not eco friendly). We have hard water too. You think it is the water?

[niener]

I made an AP cleaner using water, vinegar and lavender oil but found it left an oily film so I added a couple drops of liquid dawn (not enough to make it sudsy, just enough to help cut through the lavender oil) and that helped a ton.