Is the health of your family impacted by the health of your household cleaners? As someone with multiple chemical sensitivity and atopic dermatitis, I find that most readily available cleaners trigger asthma, migraine, and skin reactions. Their irritating ingredients can also have a harmful impact on the environment. On top of that, most cleaners come in single-use plastic bottles.
In this blog post, we’ll show you you how to make a non-toxic, low waste, all-purpose cleaner that couldn’t be easier. But first, let's take compare the ingredients in a popular household cleaner to the ingredients used in my recipe.
LYSOL Complete Clean All Purpose Cleaner ingredients:
Alkyl Dimethyl Benzyl Ammonium Chlorides (C12-16), Alkyl Dimethyl Benzyl Ammonium Chlorides (C12 67% C14 25% C16 7% C8-C10-C18 1%), Ethanolamine, Fragrance, Fd&C Yellow No. 5 (Ci 19140, Nonanal, Octanal, Decanal, Dipropylene Glycol Butyl Ether, Lauramine Oxide, Decyl Alcohol, 2-Methylundecanal, Water
The Environmental Working Group gives this cleaner, and others like it, a score of D - HIGH CONCERN: Likely hazards to health or the environment. May also have poor ingredient disclosure. View their full report here. You can also search EWG for your current household cleaner to see how it stacks up.
Dr. Bronner's Pure-Castile Soap ingredients:
Water, Organic Coconut Oil, Potassium Hydroxide, Organic Palm Kernel Oil, Organic Olive Oil, Organic Hemp Seed Oil, Organic Jojoba Oil, Citric Acid, Tocopherol
The Environmental Working Group scores castile soap with A - LOWEST CONCERN: Few/no known or suspected hazards to health or the environment. Good ingredient disclosure. View their full report here.
Make this non-toxic, low waste, all-purpose cleaner today and be done with worrying about harsh chemicals or allergic reactions waiting in your cabinets. I like to get my castile soap at my local refill shop, but you can also find Dr. Bronner's online, here. One 32oz bottle will make this recipe 43 times!
DIY Non-Toxic, Low Waste, All-Purpose Cleaner
Ingredients:
- 1¼ cups distilled water *
- 1½ TBSP liquid castile soap
- 15 drops tea tree essential oil **
Method:
Add all ingredients to a clean, reusable and/or reused spray bottle and shake gently. Spray any hard surface and wipe with one of our paperless towels. Recipe can be easily doubled for a larger spray bottle.
* Distilled water is recommended. Tap water should only be used if you will use all of the cleaner within one week.
** If you are allergic to tea tree oil, substitute your favourite essential oil or omit entirely.
