[SharonAnne]

I'm trying to detoxify our home. I went through all our cleaning supplies and found a garbage can full of nastiness; ajax, comet, tilex, bleach, etc etc etc.

I originally wanted to throw it all away and use baking soda, vinegar and steam. DH was not happy.

So, I conceded a bit and picked up some of the Method cleaning products from Target (dude do they smell good).

Well, DH wasn't convinced, and yesterday, he tried to use the lavendar all purpose cleaner on a glass table and decided he didn't like it. So, now we have this battle raging about cleaning products.

To be honest, since I've stopped using all the caustic stuff, I really can't take it. When I walk into my mother's bathroom after she's been cleaning, I have to open the window, because I can still smell it and it really really gets me. Burning eyes and everything.

Our baby is due in a couple weeks, and I know that while I'm "laid up" with "new-mommy-itis", DH will be doing the bulk of the cleaning; and if not him, my mom, who is just as bad, if not worse. :LOL

So, I suppose the big question is; how many of you also had issues trying to get your spouses/SO's on board with more natural cleaning products, and how did you eventually triumph??

TIA!

 

[PikkuMyy]

Gosh, you poor thing! Congrats on making the decision. I think you need to provide him with information about why the cleaners you want to switch to are SOOOOO much better than the ones you are used to using. Place a lot of emphasis on the baby's health. I was just reading the newest copy of this natural home building magazine which talked about how a new study has shown that children who grow up in homes that are very clean (cleaned with standard brands) have a much higher percentage of childhood asthma due to the chemicals in the cleansers. How's that for a start?

Vinegar cleans glass like nothing else! It's better than all other "cleansers" and never leaves any streaks.

What is he worried about? What doesn't he like? Is it the smells he's used to; did his mom teach him that he had to have everything spotless for it to be clean? And remember that there are tons of commercial natural cleansers, etc. so if you don't like one, try another! I highly recommend Ecover - I've used so many of their products and can't find anything wrong with them. (They even have a spot cleanser that you can put on clothes before you wash them to get rid of blood, grass, etc. stains and it really works.)

 

[CarrieMF]

dh isn't fond of my cleaning products either but since he rarely cleans he has to deal with it. What bugs him the most is windex so I bought a bottle of the cheapest no-name brand I could and dumped half of that into the windex bottle he had in his room. Then I poured water into both of them. This way he can clean his little room in the basement with it and I can use my stuff for the rest of his house. Because it's watered down in 2 bottles it will last him alot longer, should be at least a year. Also, once he starts using it and tells me how great "Real Windex" is I can tell him it's watered down no-name.lol

I can really notice the chemical smells when I go to other peoples houses. I babysit a 5yo. She was in my car one day and I couldn't figure out what this smell was. I finally figured out it was their laundry softener they use.

 

[peekyboo]

The Method window cleaner works great - and it's blue, so you can "disguise" it in a Windex bottle if you want to (and it smells like mint..mmm..)

Dh and I have gone back and forth and what works for me is to A) respect his opinions and B) work with him to find a good compromise. Like I had one dish soap that just stunk. He said he hated it, I agreed, so I tried another brand, while leaving some Palmolive for him to use if he wanted to. Once he saw that the natural one worked just fine, he didn't complain (Seventh Generation btw is the one we use.)

Or, be sneaky :LOL Dh swore he was allergic to Tide when we were first married, meanwhile, it was all I used. I tried other brands that didn't get my clothes clean so finally I bought Tide and hide it. What he didn't know didn't bother him. If it had caused him to break out in a rash or anything, then I would have stopped using it, but he didn't so eventually I let him know, lol!

Yeah, sometimes you have to prove it to them first before they can be convinced.