March 4, 2019
Healthy Home Swaps – Try this Instead of That
When making changes in our homes and trying out a new way of doing things, it’s helpful to have a replacement that does the same job (or better). Today’s post shares a couple of my favorite simple swaps. These products are easy to find, probably work better than what you are using, and are perfect for getting started with your healthy home.
Clean Mama’s Guide to a Healthy Home is my brand-new book full of healthy home swaps and ideas for simple ways for you to incorporate safe choices in your home.
White Vinegar for Fabric Softener
Simply add 1/4 cup of white vinegar to the fabric softener dispenser or to a fabric softener ball. The white vinegar will act as a fabric softener AND it will keep your washing machine smelling fresh and clean! Head to this post for how I use white vinegar as a fabric softener.
Baking Soda for Scrubbing Powder
Baking soda has just the right amount of scrubbing power – mix with a little essential oil and soap in the sink and you have the best scrub around. Use on sinks, faucets, any surface that needs a little scrub. This post details my Nightly Sink Scrub – one of my favorite routines!
Oxygen Whitener for Bleach
Bleach is sodium hypochlorite and can be deadly when mixed with other cleaners and is an irritant to skin and respiratory system. I find that Oxygen Whitener is just as effective (if not more) and has more uses and its safety surpasses most other cleaners. I use it in every white load and as a spot/pre-treater as well as in the carpet cleaner and to clean toilets.
I am so excited to introduce you to the all-new Oxygen Whitener in Clean Mama Home – I’ll show you more uses in the coming weeks, but I wanted to let you know that it’s in the shop and it whitens whites like nothing I’ve used before.
Hydrogen Peroxide for Disinfectant
Its chemical compound is H2O2 – water and oxygen. It’s a colorless and odorless liquid (it looks like water) with non-toxic whitening (bleaching) properties. These same properties are also EXCELLENT at killing germs. I like using hydrogen peroxide on toilet brushes, bathrooms, and cutting boards. Head to this post to see more about this disinfecting powerhouse.
Castile Soap for Dish Soap
Castile soap is an all natural, vegetable-based product made primarily of coconut and olive oils. Instead of using synthetic chemicals as ingredients, they use naturally found and sourced ingredients. A lot of soaps (dish and otherwise) contain petroleum and other toxic, caustic ingredients. By switching to castile soap for cleaning you’re using an effective and safe alternative.
Wool Dryer Balls for Dryer Sheets
Most conventional fabric softeners and dryer sheets contain artificial fragrances and ingredients that are known to cause and/or exacerbate existing respiratory and asthmatic irritations and problems. Swap dryer sheets for wool dryer sheets – head to this post for all my tips and tricks for these eco-friendly laundry room must-haves.
What healthy swap are you going to start with?
Samantha Says
Hello,
I wanted to say that you saved my life and both my babies lives. I got your email 📧 and opened to learn about the dangers of bleach and safety of your whitener. I continued to read articles online about mixing bleach, ammonia and bleach, vinegar. Stories of people dying or getting severely ill due to the toxic mix. I got out of bed finally after reading and began my daily routine with the baby. I then cleaned the tub and put some bleach powder, grabbed the bleach bottle and began to spray on top of the powder… after spraying the bottle I smelled the air………. I smelled not only bleach but vinegar mixed chemicals! I immediately began to follow what I had just learned online about lots of water and clearly the scene immediately. I took my 1 year old by the hand out of the bathroom since he snuck in behind me and I didn’t breath (I’m 9 months pregnant!)…. after leaving it for an hour and blowing air I returned to put the shower on and get it all cleaned up.
If I did not get your email 📧 I would not have known this was dangerous and would not have thought anything, continued to clean, my son would have breathed it in and my unborn would have as well!
THANK YOU FOR YOUR EMAILS AND GOD BLESS YOU FOR ALLOWING GOD TO USE YOU IN ORDER TO SAVE MY LIFE AND MY BABIES.
Samantha
b r Says
Post authorThank you for sharing that Samantha!