Thursday, August 27, 2009

Home Made Bathroom Cleaner

This is a recipe I came across on a now canceled Canadian daytime talk show. The host was really into promoting green living; how to compost, eating local, reuse, recycle, be kind to the environment kind of stuff. At the time I was looking for some cleaning products that would address the concern I had about having a dog and a baby who would be constantly coming into contact with surfaces that I needed to clean ie; floors, table tops, windows, mirrors etc. This show had a on guy who demonstrated how to make your own bath and tile cleaner. Everything in this recipe is edible, maybe not tasty but not poison by any means. I realised that from that moment on every surface in my house had to be "lick test" worthy which is to say that if my baby licked it there was no possibility that what I had cleaned it with would make her sick. This cleaner works really well and I would never go back to store bought products. The other bonus of this recipe is that it is dirt cheap to make and you likely already have everything you need to make it in your house right now.

Equipment:
Large Bowl
Fork or Whisk
Measuring Cups
Tablespoon
Funnel
Empty Bottle (approx 500ml with a nozzle if possible)

Ingredients:
Baking Soda
Liquid Soap (I use Dr Bronner's Magic Soap which can be bought at most health food stores but any environmentally friendly, natural all purpose liquid soap will do. I don't suggest dish soap, shampoo or laundry soap as they all have additives that may leave a film)
Water
White Vinegar

Instructions:
Mix in a bowl
1 2/3 Cup Baking Soda
1/2 Cup Liquid Soap
Dilute with
1/2 Cup Water
Mix well.
Add
2 Tablespoons Vinegar
At this point there will be a lot of frothing and foaming due to the vinegar and baking soda combining. This is totally normal grade 3 science experiment stuff. Enjoy the show.
Make sure there are no lumps. If it is too thick add small amounts of water until you get the consistency you want. It should be thick but not a paste.
Use the funnel to pour the mixture into your empty bottle.

To Use:
Always shake well before using. Use just as you would any liquid bathroom cleaner. You can even use it to clean the toilet. It also works well on chrome fixtures. Rinse well after use. That's it, that easy.

In the bottle this cleaner will dry out slowly over time. Whether because the vinegar or the water or both evaporate I am not sure. If it does thicken or dry out it can still be used if you just add a bit of water and shake well. If the nozzle gets clogged simply unscrew it, wash the nozzle out and put it back on.

I hope you like this stuff as much as I do.

2 comments:

voctor said...

COOOOOL!
That totally rocks babe. I'm going to try it out!!!

Anymore recipes?

C Ste Croix said...

I got lots of yummy food recipes but no more household cleaning recipes. If you want food recipes just ask.