Here at Tree Hugging Family, I mainly advocate making your own homemade green cleaners. Not only is it easy to make simple green cleaners, but very cost effective. That said, there will always be folks who want to buy, not make cleaners, so I figured we should take a look at which store bought cleaners are actually green.

The number one rule for choosing a green store bought cleaner is – read your labels. A pretty waterfall or little green leaf means nothing. Ignore fancy ‘green’ packaging and read your labels.

Terms you want to see on a cleaning bottle include:

• Ammonia free
• Chlorine free
• Plant based
• Biodegradable
• Certified organic
• Solvent free
• Phosphate free
• Chemical free
• Fragrance free
• Dye and artificial color free

Of course, one cleaner may note that it’s got certified organic ingredients or that it’s fragrance free, but that doesn’t mean it’s perfect. You need to read the whole label, not simply go by the first thing you see.

Terms you DO NOT want to see on a cleaning bottle include:

• “Poison” or “Danger.” Federal law mandates that these terms indicate the highest possible level of hazard.
• “Caution” or “Warning,” both mean a product carries a moderate hazard.
• “Wear gloves” – “Only use in a well ventilated area” and other likewise terms are big baddies. I’m sorry, but if you need to wear gloves or a face mask in order to handle a product, right there it’s a bad idea.

Next check for full ingredient disclosure: If a product says something like, “Natural ingredients” or has a super scanty ingredient list, I’d be leery. They could do better. Some products may be just fine, and list their healthy ingredients at their website, but they should include them on the package.

Lastly check the packaging:

• Is it excessive?
• Is it recyclable?
• Is it refillable? Some co-ops do offer refillable cleaning products.

Is it worth it?

All in all, this is a lot of work just to find a green cleaner. You could just make most of your own. If you need help making homemade green cleaners (or help choosing a green conventional cleaner) read the following:

Basic green cleaning

• 25 Safe, Non-toxic, Homemade Cleaning Supplies
• Hot Water for Cleaning – Yeah It Works
• Breathe In Some Green Air
• Homemade Organic Liquid Handsoap
• Are Sponges A Great Green Choice?

Nice scents

• Homemade Spicy Apple Air Freshener
• Natural Air Fresheners
• Pennyroyal, Cinnamon, & Lavender Air Freshener

Laundry

• Solar Stain Fighting
• Green Product Review: Biokleen All Temperature Laundry Liquid

Dishes

• Green Product Review: Biokleen Automatic Dish Powder
• Green Product Review: Seventh Generation Automatic Dishwasher Gel
• Seventh Generation Dishwasher Powder Review

Which cleaners do you buy vs. make?

[image via stock.xchng]

Post from: Tree Hugging Family

“I was wondering if you (or any readers) knew of a cheap way to make your own liquid soap from all those crazy “soap slivers” that slime around the kitchen, bathrooms, showers and tubs?

There has to be a way to liquify them, right? Or am I in la-la land?”

Angelique is not in la-la land. I answered her question in the comments, but one I answered it with a short version (leaving out specific timing), and two, since maybe you missed that post, I figured I’d post about this topic.

You can make liquid soap from all those left-over slivers, or buy a natural, (detergent free) organic bar of soap. Depending on how much liquid soap you need buy a 3-4 oz bar, or save up enough slivers to equal the same.

You also need distilled water. You can buy some or better yet, simply leave a gallon on water sitting open on your counter for a couple of days.

Chop the soap up super small or grate. Boil the water (start with 3-4 cups) and once hot, add the soap. Mix, let it sit on a low boil, and if needed add more soap and or water, let low boil, mix. Once it appears to be the right thickness, do a massive final mix, it needs to be completely blended or little soap hardened pieces will show up, which of course will clog your pump. After the final mix, run a test. Your test is to let it sit out overnight. If you come back and it’s too thick, heat and add more water.

Getting the thickness right is the hard part. It depends on the soap. If you add 3 oz of soap or so, start with 3-4 cups H2o and go from there. It will turn out different depending your soap, so this is a project you need to watch, at least the first time you do it. You can add a few drops of organic essential oils too.

Variations:

Scrubby shower soap: You can make this as a liquid shower soap with scrubby bits in it – such as ground almonds or oatmeal. However, you can’t put this in a pump, it’ll clog. You need to put it in a bottle.

Herbal: Before adding the soap, boil organic herbs in the distilled water. Remove and strain before adding soap.

Other additions: Other items you can play with as additions include; a few tablespoons of Aloe Vera, honey, coconut or olive oil, vanilla or cinnamon (boil whole sticks), flower essences, and more – really whatever you like. This is an almost free project, so mess-ups won’t kill you.

You can also use this to clean your house, not just your body.

Click here to learn about all the current contests, themes, and green challenges going on at Tree Hugging Family in May 2008

Post from: Tree Hugging Family

I’ve been considering trying to make this with natural veggie, plant, or fruit dyes, but I’m not sure how well it will work. If you do try to make painting soap with all natural dyes remember that not all plants are safe for kids to be slathering on their bodies.

If you aren’t sure that the plant is safe for your child (i.e. won’t cause an allergic reaction) then don’t use the dye in a body care product like this.

Gather together:

• 6 Tbs. cornstarch
• 2 Tbs. water
• Organic food coloring
• Your favorite essential oil – something mild like lavender or orange is good for children.
• 1 oz. unscented organic liquid soap – most natural food stores and co-ops sell clear organic liquid soap in bulk.
• A bottle or bowl for the soap paint

To make the painting soap:

1. Mix the cornstarch, water, and a few drops of oil. Stir well.
2. Add drops of color until you reach your desired shade. Mix the color in well.
3. Add the liquid soap to the mixture, mix, and adjust color if needed.
4. Store in your container.

Kids can use this to paint the bathtub and their bodies during bath time. It won’t hurt your kids or your tub. You can also put the kids in an empty kiddie pool outside and let them paint. Another option I’ve been considering is to buy organic soap flakes and use that instead of cornstarch and liquid soap. You could make little soap crayons (or balls). I haven’t tried it – but I bet it would work. Well, maybe.

Post from: Tree Hugging Family