Kitchen Cleaner Series: Mopping

First, I will say, I don't have wood floors and never have, so I don't know about cleaning those yet, but I'll look into it if you want me to!! I have always had tile or linoleum in the kitchen and bathroom areas though and have used numerous things to clean them with poor to decent results, including: Swiffer dry and wet sheets, water and a few squirts of soap, a store-bought floor-cleaning concentrate added to water. If you've been reading this blog, you know that store-bought cleaners are no longer my go-to cleaners because they have loads of toxic chemicals, they're expensive, and they don't get the job done well. Anyone else resonate with these feelings? Here's what I use for mopping now:

Kitchen Cleaner Series: Hand and Dishwashing Soap

Hand, dishwashing (by hand), and laundry soap were the first things I switched to natural in my house a few years ago. It was the easiest switch to make and very inexpensive. But first, let's look at the not-so-natural competition. There are tons of Dawn dishwashing by hand products on the EWG database that rate from C-F. The "original" Dawn soap, is shown for you, in part, here:

DIY 2-Ingredient After-Shower Spray

This post will round out my series of bathroom cleaners. If you missed a post, I'll link to them at the end of this post. All that water and soap residue isn't the greatest to just leave sitting in your shower when you're done. To help combat fungus and residue build-up, you may already use one of the cleaners shown below, as reviewed by the EWG.

First is the method Daily Shower Spray in Ylang Ylang scent. Unfortunately, this product doesn't disclose all of its ingredients on the label and EWG hasn't been able to figure out all of them yet. However, as you can see below, it does rank in all of areas of concern. It's listed at $3.19 online.

Glass Cleaner: Is there another option besides Windex?

Dirty mirrors and streaky windows and doors have to be cleaned, and you probably use Windex, right? Who doesn't? It seems like Windex has been around forever. Well, tradition doesn't always make it good. Check out the EWG report on Windex below:

DIY Natural Disinfectant for Scrubbing in Bathrooms and Kitchens

This week I'm sharing my natural bathroom cleaning solutions, which can also be used in other areas of the home. Store-bought bathroom cleaners are some of the worst offenders when it comes to toxic cleaners because they're concentrated and have strong odors. The Environmental Working Group has figured out what's in many toilet and tub cleaners and published the results. Below are some screenshots of their findings. First is a picture of all the toilet cleaners they inspected. As you can see, over 50% received an F rating because they include several toxic chemicals that can lead to cancer, respiratory problems, developmental and reproductive issues, and trigger skin allergies. Even some cleaners that are branded "natural" received an F rating!!!

DIY Non-Toxic All-Purpose Cleaner

There are lots of things you could add to your all-purpose cleaner, so I'm going to give you a few ideas. You can use this cleaner on counter tops, stove tops, and sinks, although you may need something more abrasive at times for cleaning those areas, which I'll share about another time.