Making My Own Household Cleaners! PLEASE HELP.

I use tea tree oil in my cleaners and my son decided to spray it in his mouth. Poison control said that a couple sprays from a bottle with an eye dropper full of tea tree oil in it was not a problem. The problem is when they get a hold of the undiluted bottle and drink that.

I think the things you are reading on the internet are more of uses directly on the skin. I believe there is some concern it may disrupt some hormones in the body. Cleaning with it is very common and shouldn't be a problem around the baby. Good luck!

Once tea tree oil is dry, it is not a danger and you really don't use it even close to full strength. However, a better choice would be grapefruit seed extract (in the cleansing;as in de-toxing your body;section of whole food). I use 2 cups of water with 1/4 tsp ea of tea tree oil and lavender oil, but I'm sure you could replace that with 1/4 tsp of grapefruit seed extract and maybe lemon oil for a wonderful citrus scent.

Here are some other recipes to try:

2 cups HOT water
5 sprigs of fresh thyme or 10 drops of thyme oil
1/4 cup of borax

or
1/4 cup vodka (natural alcohol)
1/2 cup hydrogen peroxide (the kind you find in the pharmacy)
1 cup water
5 drops grapefruit seed extract
10 drops lavender (not just for scent, but also an antibacterial)
5 drops of lemon oil

or
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup vineger
4 drops grapefruit seed extract
4 drops oregano oil
1 tablespoon baking soda
Great for cutting board

Vinegar is a great cleaner. Woman have been using it for centuries with hot water. It will clean your windows or just about anything else.Good old baking soda will clean well also, for things that need a abrasive cleaner like bath tubs and showers, toilets and the like.With all the new Green products I don't understand the extra exspense you are wanting to put out though. Good luck.

I can understand your dilemma. I found a way to disinfect and its cafe (as long as nobody drinks it, LOL) Get two spray bottle containers. Fill one with vinegar, any kind will do and fill the other with 3% hydrogen perioxide. Spray one, then the other on a hard surface and wipe up. Its a great way to disinfect , save money and be green (if that is your intent as well) Just don't mix the two in one container.

Hi L.

I started cleaning with my own homemade natural cleaners when my girls were babies to minimize the toxins in our household. Consequently, I love it so much that I do workshops and teach people to clean using the basics (baking soda, vinegar and essential oils). There are a lot of things on the market that are biodegradable, nontoxic, etc., but I still like knowing exactly what is in my cleaning products AND the way I do it is very inexpensive. Go to www.thehappysoul.com and check out the cleaning kit. It will supply you with cleaning products for a very long time. You'll have to purchase distilled water, and baking soda (sams). Also, regarding safety. The essential oils that come in the kit...very child friendly, and all the ones on their website can be used with children. However, you still need to get a good book to educate yourself because their is some safe and unsafe ways to use essential oils that you should educate yourself about. Feel free to contact me.

Find some old Amish cookbooks. They're FULL of things like that!

i use alcohol in a spray bottle with water. and i use ajax soap in a spray bottle with soap. i love it and i use the soap and water on all my windows i love it. it has worked better than anything i have tried and it does not smother me

Hi, L.,

Here's an inexpensive disinfectant: Shaklee's Basic G. One quart makes over 600 - 12 oz. bottles of antibacterial cleaner like Lysol. One quart of Basic G makes 454 - 18 oz. of disinfectant spray like Clorox. This amounts to 2 cents per 12 oz. bottle! (Lysol disinfectant spray: $5.49 for a 12 oz. bottle). It kills 44 types of bacteria, fungi and viruses - including the HIV virus.
EPA registered! If you'ld like I can send you more information ie. a sample of Basic H2 and "The Real Dirt on Clean" DVD. With your purchase from me I will give you a 15% first purchase discount and will throw in a free "Mixture and Usage Guide for Shaklee Cleaners." www.target-wellness.com or email me at ____@____.com. While your at my website sign up for my free newsletter!
Be well in your day,

J. H.

If you want to make your own cleaners remember to keep them well out of your sons reach. With homemade cleansers, poison control would be unable to help if something terrible happened. There are lots of organic products out that clean and are considered safe for pets and children to be around. Also be careful of fumes etc. when you mix them together as not all products can go together safely. Good luck.

Vinegar and water is actually the best home made disinfectant/kitchen cleaner/window cleaner you can make and yes it disinfects just as good as or even better than bleach only its safe for the kids!! I also use a mixture of lemon juice, lime juice and water for my bathroom something with the acid keeps mildew away!!

Tea tree oil is very safe I even put it in my mouth and my daughters when we had a tooth ache.

Sign up for the About.com's Frugal Living Newsletter. It is written by Erin Huffstetler. She has had tips on making your own cleaners on that site.

You can go to their site right now at "http://frugallivingabout.com". Click on "Household Savings" and go to "Cleaning Tips and Recipes". There you will find recipes for homemade cleaners.

Vinegar has moved up high on my list since reading her
newsletter. I use it to clean the counter, and the plastic well on the outside of my Refrig. where the water and ice cube dispenser is. Vinegar is the only cleaner that cleans that brown scum up! I throw some into the dishwasher to get rid of those white water stains.

Try the Dollar Tree's cleaners. Note that I said "Dollar TREE". They have off brands for a $1 that will give you a run for the money. I have their Oxy Spray, aerosol disintectant spray, dish soap and laundry cleaners such as 'Stain B Gone'.

They carried a double bonus sized dish soap called 'Dis'h Detergent' this summer. It is in a blue plastic bottle. I got 50 oz., instead of 25 oz, of good dish soap for just a $1. It looks like they are not carrying or stopped carrying 'Stain B Gone'. I thought the dual spray 'Stain B Gone' was an A-1 product. I bought two 'Stain B Gone' roll on sticks for my daughters for Christmas. Why buy the Tide pens? I will be contacting Dollar Tree to see what the status is on 'Stain B Gone'. Good Luck