talked to an herbalist tonight about tto

[mykdsmomy]

All this time I was thinking that my concoction of tto and dr. bronners was a great disinfectant but turns out that once the tto hits the air, it oxidizes...and after about three days, it is just as good as using water...
He also told me that when you use it in the washer, it doesnt mesh well with the water so whatever area of the clothes it "hits" is what it disinfects....so the disinfecting is "spotty"....
So moral of the story is........if you want to disinfect with gse or tto, mix and use immediately....otherwise it loses it's potency unlike commercial cleaners....

[BusyMommy]

Bummer...thanks for the info!

[camprunner]

The book Clean House Clean Planet reccomends using tto and dr. bronners mixed with filtered water to disinfect. Anyone know how much validitythere is to this recipe?

[AngelBee]

Isn't that how alot of products would work though? That the disinfecting properties would only last so long?

[mykdsmomy]

the herbalist explained it as most commercial brands are surfactants? I'm guessing like lysol and bleach and stuff stick to the surface and last longer.....He says the homemade cleaners oxidize quickly.....that's all i know... hth

[NaturalFamiLEA]

This was very interesting. Thanks for the info!

I suppose this would be the same as using TTO in a shampoo recipe...so basically add a few drops to your mixture every 3 or so days?

[Silliest]

I think the potency drops off over that 3 day period, so you'd be better off adding it fresh every day.

[NaturalFamiLEA]

[Ruthla]

Isn't that part of what makes natural disinfectants safer than the commercial versions? The simple fact that they break down over time and aren't toxic in the wastewater is what makes these less toxic!!

I have a better question for you: What is it that you're trying to disinfect, and does it HAVE to be disinfected rather than simply cleaned?