apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Since we have dogs all around the house, I try to keep it natural with my cleaning products.

White Vinegar and Baking Soda don't leave my side, and neither do grapefruits or salt.

If you salt a grapefruit half, it cleans even the toughest grime from your tub, showers, sinks, and counters. It best of all it leaves the bathroom smelling like an orchard!

I will definitely remember the grapefruit!

My two favs (and so not organic, sorry!) are Lime Action Windex (multi surface) cause it really does work on all surfaces w/no problem, and Simple Solution spray - anyone that has pets knows about it, LOL. I've found it's also a good all purpose air-freshener when sprayed on carpets.

Those and my bar towels that get used for EVERYTHING.

my pampered chef plastic scraper https://www.pamperedchef.com/ordering/prod_details.tpc?prodId=241&catId=9
which somehow I lost in the move and I can't survive without it.

I LOVE the grapefruit tip! thank you so much, sarahrae!

I'm a big fan of grapefruit in all its guises - but how exactly are you using it? Kosher salt? Rinsing afterwards because it would get sticky? How do you not get grapefruit juice all over the place? I'm intrigued and puzzled.

And, of course, looking forward to grapefruit season.

This is sort of off-topic, but any tips on cleaning a yoga mat? I stuck mine in the washer the other day, but it seems to have absorbed the soap in a weird way. I ran it through again without soap, and then rinsed it in the shower, and it's still slightly soapy.

Mrs. Meyer's All Purpose Cleaner in Lavendar. It's bio-degradable, phosphate free, smells yummy! Before I was a green-clean convert, I used Oxy Clean and Fantastic, but I noticed that it made my dog sneeze and his nose run like the dickens after I cleaned the floors. So far, Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day has left him snot-free!

Murphy's Oil Soap is the only thing I like to use on my wood floors! I couldn't live without it. I also adore Barkeeper's Friend for getting stains off of my stainless steel countertops and sink, but I only use it once a month or so.

Other than those things, I try to stick to baking soda, peroxide, and vinegar as much as possible.

white vinegar is #1
but citrasolve is #1.1

half a lemon and salt is used for alot of things, like cleaning brass
I imagine it's the same as grapefruit

I 2nd the Mrs. Meyers All Purpose Cleaner in Lavender. I have it in spray bottle for surfaces and also dilute it for cleaning the floors. It smells so nice it makes me enjoy cleaning! I just wish they would bring back the honeysuckle fragrance, that was my favorite.

Vinegar is top on my list, use it all the time. I also make my own general cleaner that is super awesome at hitting the tough, greasy messes. I fill a standard spray bottle (like what you would have for 409) with 8 oz. rubbing alcohol, 3 TBS ammonia (I just eyeball it. No need to be exact, but if you overdo it too much the ammonia will overpower you each time you spray), and fill to the top with water. Gets greasy fingerprints off just about anything, cleans random smudges on my cheap apartment carpet pretty well, and gets the post-cooking stove mess off in no-time. And so cheap, too!

I do love scrubbing bubbles. I feel guilty each time I use it, all those chemicals, but gosh does it clean my shower better than anything out there.

I use vinegar and baking soda for almost everything. But nothing gets my black and white floors clean except those magic erasers.

Method, Method, and more Method! (Mandarin grapefruit & lavender all purpose cleaning spray, almond scented wood care, rosemary mint floor care, on and on and on...) LOVE their stuff!

The rosemary-mint floor cleaner from Method is great. They make an excellent shower spray, too (much, much more effective than Tilex, surprisingly), but the Ylang Ylang smell is too sweet for me.

I love the grapefruit/salt idea. I'll try it out on the bathtub sometime.

I like bon ami because I can use it on the sinks, tilework and to scrub the floor.

I also like fresh lemon because a small slice squeezed in the kitchen sink gives it such a nice smell.

and while it's not a product but a tool, I love my broom since my apt. is all hardwood floors.

Bakings soda, vinegar, Bon Ami for the stainless steel sink and pans, leftover lemon chunks for the garbage disposal. Method go naked all-purpose spray is good for anything those won't take care of.

I am surprised that no one has mentioned Trader Joe’s Multi-Purpose Cleaner. It not only cleans counters, sinks, etc. but it also works GREAT on stainless steel! I love the fact that it is all natural and smells great!

I make my own all-purpose cleaner. 1/2 t washing soda, 2 t borax, 1/2 t liquid soap, 2 c hot water (to dissolve). I put it in a spray bottle and use it for everyday cleaning of counters and sinks. It's cheap and non-toxic!

I just bought a big tub of Pink Solution, which all my friends swear is the best cleaner around for absolutely everything, and its non toxic and biodegradable too. Anyone use this stuff?

Actually, for the tub Scrubby bubbles can't get it all out. Then again, I do tend to have an extra-dirty tub on a regular basis.

What I do is scrub with baking soda and then rinse with vinegar. Works great, cleans the pipes as a bonus, and it's spotless. Gets the dirt out of scratches in the old ceramic tub at the old place; also got off everything the bubbles left behind. It's green and cheaper; I don't use the bubbles any more now.

I second the Traders Joes all purpose. Nice green color in the bottle and smells like cedar.

Bar Keeper's Friend, both powder and liquid... Non-toxic, biodegradable, etc., doesn't scratch, cleans stainless, cleans my All-Clad, sinks, tubs, taps... We have incredibly, off-the-scale, hard water and it is the only non-toxic thing that works. And it is cheap to boot (bought off their website).