These cloths are awesome. Though they're basically just wash cloths, to be honest. What's cool is that they have particles of silver (naturally antibacterial) woven into the fabric. We bought them at HomeGoods, but I'm sure you can find them many places. I don't think there's any difference between the "All Purpose" and "Bathroom" cloths other than the color.
The texture is great. Super effective.
"Chemical free" month is going pretty well. I've found myself using the rubbing alcohol in bathroom cleaning when I'm not thinking, but, other than that, it's pretty easy. Borax and vinegar get our clothes super clean and I like how cost effective and good for the environment that particular switch is.
I will have to find those towels, awesome. Borax and vinegar, I did not think of that. I have been spending way too much for eco friendly laundry detergent. Thank you for the information
ReplyDeleteThe silver in those cloths is probably nanoparticle silver, which is far from a naturally occurring substance. Many people believe it to have bad health effects, and its health effects are far from fully known. Search google for "nanoparticle silver". I think Europe may have even banned it.
ReplyDeleteAs for cleaning stuff in general, I wrote a long post a few weeks ago, and blogger had some big burp and failed to post it but did succeed in deleting what I had typed, so I was too lazy to re-write it. But, here's some of it in short form. Vinegar works well for removing soap scum and water hazing or hard water deposits without scrubbing, because it is an acid and dissolves carbonates. Borax is an oxygen bleach, just like Astonish, but I don't think it's very cheap. For hair, all soap is going to have poor pH balance, including glycerin soaps like Neutrogena and olive oil soaps like I think Dr. Bronner. For that matter, it's not clear to me that soap is a natural product -- it's made by reacting lye or a similar alkaline with a fat, so it's the product of a man-made chemical reaction. A good conditioner is lemon juice -- my mother always used it to good effect. And, if you don't mind the smell, vinegar would probably work, too, since what they do is close down the hair cuticle -- the scales on the hair that make it frizzy and dull.
For house cleaning, ammonia solution is very good. If you use ammonia without detergent, it will not leave streaks, because the ammonia evaporates. But while it is still in water solution, it dissolves grease, just like soap or detergent. It's not clear whether ammonia is a natural product. It is made in the atmosphere by lightning interacting with nitrogen and water, and spoiling fish creates ammonia due to the putrefaction of protein, but industrially I'm not sure how it's made, though it's definitely the product of a chemical reaction. Actually, I just suddenly remembered from high school that ammonia is made with the Haber process, so if you want to know, look that up with google or just wikipedia. Also, turns out it's made by bacteria in the ground, too. Unfortunately, ammonia is no fun to breathe. I just use a paint respirator when I use it. It's the best stuff for cleaning glass, of course. Also, it's dirt cheap.
As for the alcohol, isopropyl is definitely man-made, but ethyl alcohol is the product of fermentation, and you can still get it for rubbing alcohol. Except you probably have to ask a pharmacist for it, and it will be "denatured," i.e. they put some crap in it so it will make you sick if you drink it.
How do your clothes smell after washing them in borax/vinegar? What is the 'recipe' for it? Could you do a tutorial on washing clothes this way, I'm very interested in it and would love to know how!
ReplyDeleteBTW, another source for ethyl alcohol is to buy 150 proof vodka (75% ethyl alcohol -- the rubbing kind is about 70%). It has the added benefit that if you can't get something clean enough, you can just drink the vodka and you won't care.
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