When my beau and I got our own place, we were super excited to do everything our way. No more dirty dishes left around (unless they're ours!), no more non-recycling, cutting down on waste, no more pre-packaged process foods cluttering shelves and the fridge. And one we hadn't thought of until we were stocking up on household supplies - no more chemicals in the house! This may have been more exciting to me, but my beau was in full support. Instead of a handful of cleaners each designed with some specific place or bacteria in mind, we cut it all down to ONE household cleaner, well, one mix of cleaners - vinegar, lemon juice, and a small splash of bleach.We've lived here for a year and this non-toxic combo has worked well for most cleaning issues. Cleaning the floors, the walls, the windows, they were all so clean we could eat off them! Using this mix did involve cleaning more often than I remember I did when using chemical products, but for the results and the toxic free zone, it was worth it. But alas, there was one place that my miracle cleaning mix just could not conquer - the porcelain, claw footed bath tub. Because it is not a new tub, some of the enamel outer coating is gone and it is a little less stain resistant (this is my beau's theory). No matter how much I scrubbed, no matter what industrial strength scrubber I used, nothing worked to get the ring out of the tub or the stains off the floor. Even when I employed the massively hot and ripped biceps of my beau, he too could not win.
I admitted defeat an
d this past week-end, I purchased a chemical, toxic cleaner - Comet. And sadly folks, the results are in - Comet wins. With little more then 15 seconds of throwing on the green, heavily scented powder and with little scrubbing, our tub looks BRAND NEW. Know I am not gleefully reporting this, really, my heart is heavy having to admit that I might now rely on this one, chemical cleaner. I throw this is non-Green, non-sustainable failure out to all of y'all so maybe, just maybe, someone might have a lifesaver to throw me, a green substitute. Here's hoping.
Well, I commend your ability to use mostly green cleaning practices, except this ONE small exception. I don't know of any substitutes, but I still think it's pretty awesome what you have done.
ReplyDeleteDid you try baking soda or salt? Sometimes those work. Shaklee makes this scouring paste that worked pretty well on my kitchen sink. I don't know what's in it, but it's probably better than Comet. That said, I think it's awesome that you use vinegar and lemon juice for most things. Bathtubs are tricky, and if you can't them all the way clean, they just get dirtier and dirtier.
ReplyDeleteWell I'm glad you were able to clean your tub!
ReplyDeleteAlso, I received the gift you sent in the mail. At least, I think it was you haha! Thank you :)
I also had to resort to Comet for my old sink. It was the only thing that worked without me killing myself.
ReplyDeleteAnd I too received your package in the mail. Thanks!
c-snizzle - thanks dawg.
ReplyDeleteallie - the miracles of baking soda will never cease to amaze me. whatever that stuff is, it can do ANYTHING! I will try it next time the tub is looking foul.
jenn - yeah, a clean tub is important...who wants to be cleaning themselves in something gross?
noelle - at first i thought i wasn't trying hard enough. so i resorted to the "ask the man" trick. when that didn't work, I knew it was not me wimping out and it was just not worth it.
Take it easy on yourself, Erikka - if you've cut down to just ONE chemical cleaner, you are doing better than most!
ReplyDeleteCleaning products are the hardest part of being environmentally friendly - I'll keep my eyes open for an alternative:)
I'm so sorry.
ReplyDeleteYou are making a great effort to clean-up your home. One little deviation from your green ways isn't a huge deal. Cut yourself some slack.
For my tub cleaner I mix baking soda with laundry detergent to the consistancy of frosting. Gently scrub away the grime.
thanks Gruppie, I'll give the frosting a try!
ReplyDelete