Top 10 Naturally Derived Cleaning Supply Products
I began to try out natural laundry soaps before making the move from our apartment to our new house. As I was experimenting with the laundry products, I realized that our dish soap would be draining into the creek as well. So would any cleaning product used in our tub. Then I learned that I was pregnant. My paradigm had begun a relentless evolution into the world of chemical-free living. This was before the recent “green” movement, so I had to search diligently in our local stores for any natural cleaning products. Luckily, Seventh Generation had enough of a foothold in our local Kroger stores that I had a place to start. My reviews are based on the more readily available natural cleaning products that can be found in larger chains nationwide. There are probably better products in your local co-op, so please check them out. Here’s what I’ve found along the way.
Laundry detergent – The winner: Method
Seventh Generation is a decent, every day type of detergent. If you or your family brings in the bacon by literally bringing in the bacon, you’ll need to look elsewhere. This also applies if you spend a good deal of time wallowing about in mud pits. While Seventh Generation cleans clothing dirtied by regular wear well enough, it is not as effective on heavily soiled, blood stained, or oil stained clothing.
Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day detergent is much more effective at cleaning those heavier jobs. It smells excellent, too, due to the strong dose of essential oils. Our 15-year-old white floor cushions actually returned to an almost white color after soaking all day in this detergent, something even the top-brand toxic detergents could not do. Other than price, there are two drawbacks to Mrs. Meyer’s- it fades out the colors of your clothes fast, and it isn’t compatible with he (high efficiency) washers. (Note- as I researched the company websites for this article, I found that Mrs. Meyer’s is newly formulated to be he compatible. It is possible that with his new formula, the fading I mentioned will not occur anymore. Try it out. I plan to.)
Method detergents are he compatible, clean very well, and do not prematurely fade your clothing. It is a concentrated formula, so you use less product. I’ve washed my baby’s clothing in the Free & Clear since he was born- no residue is left in the clothing.
Dish soap – The winner: Method
Seventh Generation is, again, quite decent. It cleans well enough. It smells good, unless you get the Free & Clear, then it doesn’t smell at all. It’s a very good degreaser, but it doesn’t lather very well. Even though I know that lather isn’t a sign of effective cleaning, I still get a great satisfaction from seeing those bubbles pile up. It’s also very watery. So watery that the average consumer will use five times as much as they would with any other soap. At $3.50 a bottle, that can put a dent in the wallet. After having struck such a satisfactory balance on the Method brand laundry detergent, I tried their dish soap. Score another for Method! It’s viscous as well, so you use less of it. I have extremely hard water in this backwoods house (lime scaling and iron staining have become my archenemies), so getting a good lather is especially hard. Method does it.
Countertop spray – The winner: Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day
I don’t know why we need a countertop spray. I bet a little water and a sponge would do the same job. Wet sponge, wipe counter- done. However, we do like our pretty smells, don’t we? Method’s all-purpose spray has just a little foam (a teensy, eensy amount) and a clean, yummy spell. And it’s wet. A nice, wet, pretty-smelling puddle just waiting for my sponge. Mrs. Meyer’s countertop spray smells lovely, as long as you really like the scent of the product that you’ve purchased. My husband found it to be too strong. I purchased a different scent and he raved. I like the soap content in this spray. If water and a sponge can’t handle the job, the soap is added. Mrs. Meyer’s pretty-smelling product has the perfect amount of soap already added. I like that.
Toilet cleaner – The winner: Biokleen
I recently saw an ad for Lysol bragging that it kills 99.9% of germs in the U-bend of the toilet. Why does that matter? The only thing that ever sees my u-bend is on its way to my septic tank, which I’m sure has much more bacteria than any portion of my toilet.
Anyway. Method was minty fresh smelling and a nice, sticky blue. It foamed somewhat, but didn’t really do much else. Mrs. Meyer’s smelled lovely and it was also sticky blue ( but not as sticky as Method’s). It did a somewhat better job than Method, but didn’t seem to put a dent on the hardwater stains in the bowl.
Biokleen is a soy-based cleaner, which I first thought was odd. Then I remembered that the foaming ingredient in most cleaners is corn and coconut based, so maybe soy isn’t so weird after all. After soaking overnight, Biokleen almost removed all the iron stains in my toilet! This was the very first toilet cleaner that we tried, so I think it did the most work. It even loosened up those hardwater stains for the other two products.
Glass cleaner – The winner: Method
The koan of the cleaning world: why are all glass cleaners blue?
Seventh Generation left streaks on our glass, even after wiping with newspaper. There was nothing good or bad about the smell. It was another okay product for an average job. Method is minty fresh and blue. Actually, it reminds me an awful lot of mouthwash, so please do not confuse it with Scope. It did not leave streaks and I liked the way it smelled. That’s about all I want from a glass cleaner, so it wins.
Scrubbing cleaner -The winner: Method
Method. Hands down. Haven’t even tried any other. Don’t know if they exist. Don’t care. Method got lime deposits out of my black granite sink! It removed lime deposits from my chrome faucets without scratching! I’d tried vinegar soaks on that lime. Method smelled lovely (minty). No reason for me to try anything else. It hit the nail on the head.
Floor cleaners – The winner: Method
I am of the firm belief that no product is needed to clean the floors except water. However, that baby that I mentioned is now a 10 month old that’s learning how his food reacts to gravity. I now use floor product.
Method’s Wood for Good smells amazing and does not leave a residue Their Lemon Ginger all purpose floor cleaner seems decent on my tile (though my husband and stepson both hate the smell). I must mention that Method’s floor products are watered down so that you can point, squirt, and mop. I think that most people wouldn’t like that, because you get less bang for your buck, but I find it very convenient (remember that 10 month old? Yeah, I don’t have the time to properly dilute a concentrated formula so that it doesn’t leave a residue after mopping). Seventh Generation makes a carpet cleaning solution that I haven’t personally tried, but I’ve heard good things about it. Try it, just remember to test it on an inconspicuous spot first.
Tub & tile – The winner: Method
Again with the specialty cleaners! Method’s Tub & Tile spray is the only one I’ve used. It removed the iron stains like they’d never even been there (unlike the one toxic cleaner that I broke down and sprayed a spot with). They make an after shower spray that I’m a very big fan of. We have not had to clean our tub since we started using it. It actually prevents the lime scaling and rust colored stains from occurring in the first place, like all those toxic cleaners are supposed to do but don’t. This one does. I have not tried any other brand because this one works so well.
White vinegar -Did you really think you could read a list of the top natural cleaners and not see vinegar on it? For shame! Lime deposits on your chrome faucets? Soak a washcloth, drape it overnight, and viola! They should be gone. Wash your windows with a diluted solution of about 2 parts water to one part vinegar (remember that streaking will occur as you break through the layer of chemical residue from your previous toxic cleaners). Clean your coffee pot, dishwasher, and washing machines! Wash your floors! Wash your counters! Vinegar is the absolute best and cheapest all-natural cleaner there is, as long as you can stand your house smelling like a pickle factory.
Baking soda – C’mon, vinegar cannot be on a natural cleaning list without it’s best friend. The two make an explosive cleaning team (I apologize for that pun. I just can’t help thinking about my experiments in elementary school). Baking soda is a great scrubber; one of the gentlest I’ve ever used (yes, yes, sometimes it’s too gentle). It’s a great deodorizer. Sprinkle some in your kitty’s litter box! In your trash can! In your husband’s boots! On your carpet before vacuuming! Put an open box in your refrigerator! In your freezer! In your car (carefully so that it doesn’t spill)! Baking soda leaves bit of a salty feel behind it. Combine that with the smell that vinegar leaves and it’s pretty clear why we consumers like to spend money on premade products.
Find the brands listed in this article on these sites:
