What Household Products Do You Use?

[Rattus]

Mr. Rattus and I are also environmentally friendly and so don't use anything containing detergent. We use laundry soap (don't know the brand name - Mr. Rattus buys it and actually does the laundry) and a peroxide rather than chlorine type bleach. We buy bottles of environmentally friendly fabric softener and soak towel strips in it. When they dry, you use them like a disposable fabric softener strip without the addition to the landfill. For heavy duty cleaning I use something called Nature Clean Oven and Barbecue Cleaner, which is composed of citrus and salt and is completely odor free and non-toxic. I bought a bottle a few years ago because the standard oven cleaners are just vicious chemically, and I found that Nature Clean actually did a better job than...I can't remember the name of the popular oven cleaner. I now use Nature Clean for all cleaning jobs where grease needs to be cut (fingerprints on the kitchen cupboards and soap scum in the tub, for example). All other cleaning is done with vinegar.

Since chemical based cleaning products are linked to asthma and other lung complaints, and I know for a fact that they cause my very mild asthma to act up, I can't imagine ever going back to them. Not to mention that all this crap is ending up in the water supply that we and future generations have to live on.

[Google]

 

[angelic_one2002]

Originally Posted by Stargazer

I am totally loving the new Tide with Downy. The one with Downy makes my clothes smell so divine and I don't even need to remember to add fabric softner. The smell might be too heavy for those sensitive to such things, but I usually don't like heavy aromas and I love this stuff. You smell clean and fresh like Downy all day.

I have tried this Tide with downy in it, too. I LOVED the scent. Not too overly soft clothes, yet just enough softness.

[rt1ky]

I add some Borax to my laundry detergent, especially the whites. You can also use Borax and baking soda as automatic dishwashing powder.

[cricketeen]

Borax is a good pre-soak, too. I rub grass stains with a bar of Fels Naptha and soak the item in borax. It does a good job.

[myrosiedog]

I'm a big Clorox fan. Just bleached the bathroom this afternoon.

I know I am weird, but to me the smell of bleach is the smell of clean.

[cricketeen]

I guess I'm wierd, too (no, I know I am weird, but that is another topic altogether), because I use bleach when I clean the bathroom for the same reason.

[rt1ky]

I've heard that vinegar and water is a good bathroon cleaner. I've never tried it. I like orange scented cleaners or chemicals without harsh odors or fumes. I like scrubbing bubbles, my I always get more foam on the nozzle then I do in the tub.

[myrosiedog]

I share my bathroom with a man. I NEED clorox in there. Just for my piece of mind.

I would soak the toilet in lighter fluid and light it if I thought I wouldn't burn down the rest of the house.

If I EVER win the lottery, we are having separate master bathrooms. Boys and Girls. I will even put signs on the doors and then the maid can deal with his.

(and mine too for that matter! )

[angelic_one2002]

I like using Clorox liquid bleach for cleaning the toilet bowl. It really does make it smell fresh, and removes the grunginess. For laundry, I swear by Clorox 2 powder for my white loads. It really makes them whiter.

[Lois Lane]

Originally Posted by myrosiedog

I know I am weird, but to me the smell of bleach is the smell of clean.

I know what you mean. My mom always bleached all our whites and to this day, I love that smell. It just smells like clean and tidy to me! I bleach all our whites (even though they say it wears the clothes down faster--I hate dingy socks and T-shirts). I also keep a big container of vinegar in the laundry room. I throw a splash in when I wash darks. I don't really care which detergent I use: Tide, All, Purell. But I have to have my Clorex! I use Bounce fabric softener sheets and Downey or Snuggle liquid fabric softener, depending on what needs to be hung dry etc.

I like the Swiffer for getting up light dust off the floors. I also like the Swiffer sheets to clean the computer monitors and TV screens. And we have an Oreck vacuum cleaner that works really well on the carpeting.