Natural kitchen cleaner?

[amyandelle]

Hi Mama's,
I started deep cleaning my kitchen tonight and I am really annoyed with using regular cleaning products. I don't like to get them on my skin because I have terrible eczema. So I have to figit around with the big kitchen gloves and all that crap. What do you mama's use to clean your kitchens? Is the vinigar and water mix good enough or do you need something stronger to kill the bacteria?
Thanks,
Amy

[Leetah987]

http://www.care2.com/channels/solutions/home/14

And....

http://www.care2.com/channels/solutions/home/344

I really like the second one!

[crunchymomma]

I use a spray bottle of vinegar, water, and essential oils to clean just about everything in my house, including the kitchen. I scrub my sinks with baking soda followed by a rinse from the aforementioned spray bottle, and the sink shines! Baking soda is also great for getting stubborn stains and stuck-on food from counters and stovetops. Sprinkle on the BS, spray with vinegar, let the chemical reaction do its work, and then scrub. My friend got an old red wine stain off her countertop by just using BS. I add a few drops of essential oil to my baking soda to make it smell nice.

Hope that helps!

[girlndocs]

Baking soda, Dr Bronner's liquid soap & hot water will scrub the bejeezus out of almost anything

[momto l&a]

Vinegar and H2O2 (7%) each in their own spray bottle. Better disinfectant then bleach.

[mamagranola]

I use a squirt bottle of water, with a squirt or 2 of castille soap and 4-5 drops of tea tree oil. I love this and it smells a lot better than vinegar. I still use vinegar for heavy cleaning projects, but for every day wiping the counters or mopping the floor I like my squirt bottle cleaner. (And it's also a great bug spray! )

[srain]

We pretty much use water and a scrubby sponge; we'll add dish soap if something's too sticky. Not really concerned about bacteria issues because we don't eat meat.

[MamaE]

Hi Amy,

I'm pretty new to the natural home care stuff, but I've been using a spray bottle of 1/2 vinegar and 1/2 water along weth some baking soda everywhere lately. The vinegar smell has been pretty tough for me to get used to, so I got this tip here - use peppermint EO - it smells exactly like a buttermint! I LOVE LOVE LOVE it!

Well, I really don't clean much around here :LOL, but I agree, if needed, I would add Dr. B's. We are still using up some our antibacterial soap from Sam's club. Groan. Buying in bulk can be a bad thing!

[annethcz]

Originally Posted by srain

We pretty much use water and a scrubby sponge; we'll add dish soap if something's too sticky. Not really concerned about bacteria issues because we don't eat meat.

That's EXACTLY what I do too.

[PikkuMyy]

Both tea tree oil and hydrogen peroxide will kill bacteria but the peroxide is stronger. I use a strong dilution (bought in the form of "Non-chlorine bleach" from the health food store) of it to bleach and kill mold and mildew.

Other than that, I use vinegar and also the concentrated orange oil cleanser for the floors and countertops. Vinegar for windows with cloth or newspaper.

[tinybutterfly]

We use vinegar with water, we use baking soda, and occassionally Bon Ami. If we want to disinfect something we use straight vinegar, rubbing alchohol or cheap vodka... :LOL My kids think it's normal to use vodka on the toilet seats! : Bleach gives me an asthmatic reaction.

[chow46]

Originally Posted by MamaE

The vinegar smell has been pretty tough for me to get used to

Yeah, it's pretty tough when you first spray it but the nice thing is, the smell disappears as it dries. I like that a lot better than my house smelling like fumes when I'm done cleaning. Or, if I want a nice smell, I add EO also. Basically, I use vinegar, BS and tto to clean my home.