Noticed since I started to clean with only vinegar, baksing soda...that nowadays my nose is...

[Gwendolyn's babies]

about 5 yrs ago I started to clean with just vinegar and the like.

I went over a friends house to deliver her a meal (she just had a baby). I was keenly aware of a strong chemical smell that seem to almost choke me. I asked her about it and she said she just had the carpets cleaned. Wow!!

I asked her if she noticed and she said she didnt' notice any smell.

If I go to my mom's I know right away if she has cleaned recently I can smell the cleaner that readily.

Has anyone else gotten more sensitve now that you have gone more natural?
I can't even go down the laundry isle (not that I need to I make our own laundry detergent) because the smell is overwhelming...and I feel so tight in the throat.

[lovemyfamily6]

Yes!!!! I'm the same way. I can't believe how many years I perused the cleaning aisle purchasing the latest greatest cleaning products. I've had respiratory issues all my life and got tons of sinus infections. I was on antibiotics at least half the year every year from kindy on. In 2006 I had sinus surgery because all of my sinuses were impacted. A few months before my surgery, I switched to vinegar/baking soda/Dr. B's for cleaning and noticed right away how easily I could breathe while cleaning, especially in the confined bathroom. It's wonderful! I was considering buying some Shaklee products because a friend has been raving about the Basic H2. I talked to my mom tonight to see if she had ever used it and she hasn't, but while I talked to her I realized that what I'm using is working great, so why mess with a good thing. I love vinegar and baking soda!

[MamaRabbit]

Same here. I notice the chemical smells at other peoples' homes. I guess it's the same as since I don't drink soda anymore if I just have one sip I can taste the chemicals in it.

I accidently went down the cleaning stuff aisle at the store the other day and thought, wow if I had to work on this aisle, I'd die of cancer in a few years!

[Malva]

I can't walk down the cleaning stuff/laundry detergent aisle at the grocery store without getting a stuffy nose and runny eyes. Not sure if it's realted to the fact that we don't use anything with perfumes in it.

[jemar]

Yep! It freaks me out!

[Semi_Crunchy]

Totally.

I noticed I couldn't stand to go near the cleaning aisle in the store(s) only a week or two into the switch. Makes me sick to my stomach.

Also once I switched laundry soap to one with no smell at all, I really noticed how strong other people's clothes smelled of their laundry detergant. *cough cough gag*

[maxwill129]

Funny. I thought I was imagining things with my nose since I seem to be more sensitive to chemicals, too. I noticed that I do that with food as well.

[MamaRabbit]

Yes on the laundry detergent! It's that sweet sicky smell. And some people think that their clothes just have to have that "clean" smell. Gag.

[PapayaMom]

yuck! me too, not as much at people's homes but the laundry and cleaning aisles I can't go anywhere near. Makes you realize how bad that stuff is once you have been "detoxed"

[Zach'smom]

I associate the smell of vinegar with "clean".

[Gwendolyn's babies]

Originally Posted by Zach'smom

I associate the smell of vinegar with "clean".

Me too! Of curse now I hardly notice it. The other day I was cleaning the church's bathrooms with straight vinegar and everyone who passed by...was like , "whew, what is that smell??!!". Here I am like, "what smell?" I dont' get that!

[berryfreak]

How do you start cleaning with vinegar and baking soda and etc. I want to start using more organic things to clean but I'm not sure where to start

Thanks for the help

[Gwendolyn's babies]

I use baking soda for toilets, showers, sinks.
Vinegar for showers, floors, counter tops, mirrors, sliding glass doors, the comode.

I make my own laundry detergent using borax, washing soda and castille soap.

Buy a big ol' jug of white vinegar and see what you can do. Careful though, if you have specific instructions on how to clean your counter tops (if it's marble or natural stone) go by the manufacturer's recommendations. Vinegar will eat through concrete. No joke. I left a mop saturated with vinegar on my back patio, the next morning I went to get it and it had left..pox marks on the concrete!

Careful with vinegar and the bathroom sinks don't let it sit on the metal parts...wipe quickly. I use water to clean my toilets. the rims and seat. The vinegar will eat that too. Powerful stuff ...vinegar!

I put in 1/2 cup of baking soda in the toilet and let it sit for awhile and use the brush to scrub and flush.

make a paste of baking soda and water to clean the kitchen sink and showers.

I have laminate wood flooring and I use a squirt bottle of water and a swiffer to clean that. It actually stays cleaner longer because there is no residue left behind.

[St. Margaret]

Originally Posted by berryfreak

How do you start cleaning with vinegar and baking soda and etc. I want to start using more organic things to clean but I'm not sure where to start

Thanks for the help

Great info from Gwendolyn's babies (thanks! I learned a few new things!)

I got a pack of big spray bottles at Costco and keep them around the house, labeled with sharpies as different concoctions (talk about smelling chemicals! I cam glad I'm not teaching anymore b/c the pens alone were starting to knock me over, let alone Axe-ed up teenagers!). I just put a bunch of water and maybe a cup or less vinegar in a bottle and use it for the bathroom counters, sinks, mirrors (it works GREAT for me on all the huge mirrors in the bathrooms and the three mirrored closets and the sliding glass doors... all places my baby loves to go play, kissing herself in the mirror... so glad it's just a bit of vinegar!)

Also, you have to get the Heinz brand b/c some store brands are not natural vinegar, I read around here

Now, back on topic:

Yes! What makes me sad is the BABY aisle at the store-- phew! Must be all those chemicals in the diapers. But I am very alert to the smells coming off my ILs (especially the women... my baby always smells like fragrance after they visit, ugh! And this is AFTER they made this big deal about having switched to dreft or whatever when she was born so they could hold her...). And just out and about... anywhere within ten feet of bathrooms at stores/restaurants, I can't stand to eat b/c my nose is full of it, or even if they've just wiped down the table (rather than cloths).

But it's good, b/c it means we are making progress at home.

[Bensmommy]

Absolutely! I posted a little while ago that I broke down and used some bleach in my shower and about passed out- had a very difficult time breathing the rest of the day (despite running the bathroom fan and ceiling fan, opening the windows, etc)--I won't be doing that again!

[Tilia]

Yep. Smelling a chemically cleaned bathroom will give me a headache now. And windex? Yuck.

[kewb]

Yes, I am much more sensitive to chemical smells. Not so much in someone's home. That won't send me into distress. The laundry/cleaning aisle, though. Yikes.

[Gwendolyn's babies]

I posted this on another forum but's a good tip noe the less. When you clean out your coffee maker with part vinegar and water and run it through (like you are making coffee) use that hot vinegar water and carefully pour it on your shower walls then grab a rag and wipe...hot vinegar...strong stuff!

[treemom2]

I am totally way more sensitive to cleaners and artificial scents. We used to live in an apartment building and I hated walking down the hallway because of all the nasty smells.

[LolaMommy]

OMGosh! I'm the same way. I thought it was just me. I've recently switched to charlie's soap, dr. b's, etc and the other day I washed something with tide because I was out of CS and it was SOOOO strong! Blech.