Household Cleaning

Just moved in and now that all of the boxes are finally gone....OK most of them anyway LOL. I realized that I have a whole cabinet full of cleaning products that I may not be able to use with a pup in the house. Munchkin has been confined to expen in kitchen on ceramic tiles, so cleaning that are is easy- I just sweep and use Natures Miracle on her accidents. So far, we have been really, really very careful I spot clean with water, but the floor is going to need a full scrubbing soon. I was wondering what everybody else is using.....In the kitchen, bath (especially the tub re: bathing pup), and on the carpets. I have been a big fan of "Love My Carpet" but Munch has a habit of licking. sniffing carpet every now and then when she thinks she may have left a crumb of some sort behind!! So far air fresheners and Tide (on towels w/o fabric softener) have not caused any ill effects. Got any suggestions? Thanks

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Permalink Reply by Jane Christensen on March 8, 2011 at 9:55pm

I use hydrogen peroxide for most of my cleaning and I found an organic, non toxic tub cleaner. Murphys Oil is a non toxic cleaner.There are many but please read the labels as sometimes something that sounds ok really isn't. An example is an orange cleaner we had at work...I use one at home that's great but the one at work had warnings...we got rid of it! Many times baking soda andvinegar can be used to replace most chemical cleaners.

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Permalink Reply by John Wolff on March 9, 2011 at 12:19am

I can't resist adding that vinegar (acetic acid) and baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) are chemical cleaners. :)

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Permalink Reply by Don on March 8, 2011 at 11:46pm

Oddly enough, good ole dish soap for most things. For those wonderful accidents I usually use Simple Green as its organic and non toxic, also a good degreeser.

Vinegar will eliminate urine oders and the such, as an added benifit the dogs don't like the smell or usually taste of it.

Hope this helps a bit.

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Permalink Reply by John Wolff on March 9, 2011 at 12:17am

Dish soap (usually SDS, sodium dodecyl sulfate) or plain soap like Dr. Bronner's (the two are very close to the same thing). Dish soap is all you need for cleaning toilets. Simple soap (potassium salts of fatty acids) is all you really need. First known human chemical synthesis. SDS is nearly the same thing, but a sulfate.

Vinegar (acetic acid), very good for Swedish finish wood floors and urine odors.

Sodium hypochlorite (bleach, arguably the nastiest chemical in our lab), this is a harsh oxidant but it kills everything instantly at low concentrations, and if you want to kill mold & mildew & viruses, 1-2% is plenty... Chlorox knockoffs for scouring.

Sodium bicarbonate (baking soda).

Elbow grease.

Yeah, we've got stuff like the quaternary ammonium compounds, but who needs 'em?

Rule of thumb: if you see it advertised, don't buy it. We only need to be brainwashed into buying what we don't need.

I would not advise anybody to buy those antibacterial soaps and things. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that the antibacterials are more dangerous than the bacteria. I believe one of the downsides of hydrogen peroxide disinfection of drinking water vis-a-vis chlorination is the toxic oxidation products of some of those antibacterials (I forget the details; I read it in Science).

I admit to a weakness for mechanics' hand cleaner.