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Post by Unswamping on Dec 19, 2014 23:08:09 GMT -5
Oh i forgot, method makes a toilet bowl cleaner. It works well in maintenace mode or even a modestly neglected bowl. I did need to use something else for the rust and hard water stains when i moved in. But then i dont think it had been cleaned in years, and i have have very hard water here. The cleaner is eucalyptus mint scent and i generally cant tolerate eucalyptus but i can handle it.
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Post by cyn on Dec 20, 2014 10:06:50 GMT -5
Thank you all for your awesome and informative posts! My biggest obstacle is *me* and my impatience. I just dumped some hot tub chlorine granules on the shower floor, and rubbed them in with my fingers. Wow, can you say stupid? At least I stopped while I still had some skin left...but I'm a complete idiot when I'm in my sleepy stupor. It seemed like a good plan, at the time. I'm very disappointed that those stains won't come out of the plastic floor. Or that the glass still has weird etching-type marks on it. How do you get rid of those???
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Post by rededen on Dec 20, 2014 14:31:23 GMT -5
A very good disinfectant is 80% methlayted spirits (meths), 20% water. Put in spray bottle. Kills anything. Very very cheap. Don't know what meths is called in the USA. Wood alcohol? You can't drink it, well you could but it would kill you. I disinfect by gardening secateurs with this.
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Post by Jannie on Dec 21, 2014 9:36:03 GMT -5
Lots of good cleaning info here. Here's my favorite tip for cleaning: I use an old expired credit card or those free "phony" cards they send you with credit card offers as a general scraping tool. Works great on anything that sticks to the floor. But because the edge is hard plastic, it won't scrape and damage surfaces like a metal edge tool (such as a razor blade). Oh, and I got this one "elsewhere": To really get a wood butcher block surface clean, cut a lemon in half, dip in salt and rub on the wood. Wipe off with a damp cloth. This cleans great and the lemon leaves a nice smell.
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Post by moonglow on Dec 25, 2014 17:06:39 GMT -5
I am adding this post that I also made on another thread because I consider it important:
I was disappointed and alarmed to learn that many (most?) essential oils are toxic to cats. Apparently a cat's liver is not able to process and break down some of the (natural) chemicals found in essential oils. Bad ones that struck me: tea tree oil and lavender! Oh NO.
I was hoping to make some cleaning solutions and use essential oils for scent. To put it in perspective, I am sure that a lot of the scents in commercial cleaners aren't healthy either, in fact in my reading I found that Lysol is also quite toxic to cats.
There is some controversy over it of course, some essential oil proponents claiming that the "impurity" of the oil is the problem. A few vets claiming that they use essential oils for cats successfully. Some saying that the dilution must be proper and then the essential oils are safe for cats. I am not convinced. I think it makes sense not to put essential oil on cats' skin or fur, particularly if it is undiluted. I am unsure about using oils in cleaning solutions, now. And some folks are saying that you shouldn't even use a diffuser around cats.
Bottom line, we just have to do the best we can with what we are able to find out about the many toxic substances out there. And never assume that your companion animal can safely tolerate what you can, or that what is healthy for you is also healthy for them.
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Post by shosha on Dec 26, 2014 9:34:30 GMT -5
Yeah, I've been trying to find out what oils are safe to use around my cat, apparently rosemary is okay for use on cats, so I presume I can safely use it around the home? I suspect adding a couple of drops of tea tree to a product I'm using to clean something like the bath or windows would be okay - things she doesn't really come into contact with, but I'm not sure yet. Apparently vinegar is a pretty good antibacterial anyway, from what I've read it's not actually particularly useful for *cleaning* things - other than things with a limescale buildup or similar - but it's good as a mildly disinfecting rinse after using a soapy product to get things clean.
I've just cleaned the microwave, squeezed half an orange into my pyrex measuring jug, poured in a cup of water, stuck the orange peel in to the mix and a dishcloth, microwaved the whole shebang and wiped down the inside of the microwave after letting the steam sit for fifteen minutes or so. Kitchen smells wonderful and I used some of the liquid to clean up some grotty bits on the kitchen floor near the door to the balcony.
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Post by cyn on Dec 26, 2014 9:54:23 GMT -5
Moonglow, thanks for sharing that info. I'm hesitant to use certain oils, because I don't know how my pets will react. I do like the fresh scent of essential oils better than those of typical cleaning products. And it's nice to have a pleasant smell, while working with a wet rag. I wonder if I should just add some of my catnip oil to the solution? My cat would be in Heaven! Nice work on the microwave, Shosh! Also using the liquid on other projects too - I'm going to use your idea next week, thank you for that.
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Post by shosha on Dec 26, 2014 10:20:00 GMT -5
I wonder if I should just add some of my catnip oil to the solution? My cat would be in Heaven! Or trying to climb all over everything you've cleaned
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