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Clean House Clean Planet
Librarian's note: This ISBN was previously used on another book.
Go green with this rollicking guide to eco-friendly cleaning alternatives that will help you save your health, your money, and your planet.
How many times have you said you’re killing yourself trying to keep your house clean? You might have been joking, but you’re closer to the truth than you think if you’re using expensive commercial cleansers. Karen Logan, an environmentalist with years of experience developing and selling her own line of eco-friendly cleaning products, reveals the secret of using simple, ordinary ingredients—like baking soda, vinegar, soap, lemon juice, and salt—to make safe, inexpensive cleaners.
For instance, did you know:
-Olive oil is not only good as a salad dressing, but also as a furniture polish.
-Plain club soda works great as a window cleaner.
-You can make your copper-bottomed pots sparkle with just lemon juice and salt.
-Ordinary liquid soap and water will clean up those ants marching through your kitchen.
Go green with this rollicking guide to eco-friendly cleaning alternatives that will help you save your health, your money, and your planet.
How many times have you said you’re killing yourself trying to keep your house clean? You might have been joking, but you’re closer to the truth than you think if you’re using expensive commercial cleansers. Karen Logan, an environmentalist with years of experience developing and selling her own line of eco-friendly cleaning products, reveals the secret of using simple, ordinary ingredients—like baking soda, vinegar, soap, lemon juice, and salt—to make safe, inexpensive cleaners.
For instance, did you know:
-Olive oil is not only good as a salad dressing, but also as a furniture polish.
-Plain club soda works great as a window cleaner.
-You can make your copper-bottomed pots sparkle with just lemon juice and salt.
-Ordinary liquid soap and water will clean up those ants marching through your kitchen.
320 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 1997
12 people are currently reading
687 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 70 reviews
August 19, 2008
Cleaning my shower wasn't very pleasant. Of course, I always put it off so it would take an hour of scrubbing, but unless it was summer and I opened all my doors and windows, the cleaner I was using made my lungs burn, and my eyes a little sore. After one particularly bad instance I felt dizzy after the big scrub, and since I had recently heard someone refer to cleaning using white vinegar, I went on the web in search of alternatives that were closer to my personal belief system.
After finding a lot of websites with great but random uses for vinegar, I also found the name of an eco-friendly cleaning book, so I started surfing Amazon and eventually came upon this little gem. It was touted as the best starter book, so I got it from the library and read it voraciously for a week. When I finished, I knew I wanted to keep it around as a reference, so I bought a copy from Powell's.
There are great recipes in here to cheaply and safely replicate all sorts of common brand-name household products. If you have five things in your arsenal (white vinegar, borax, castile soap, baking soda, lemon juice, and optional essential oils for scenting) you can make almost everything in this book. It's really easy.
The book has a section on the chemicals used in common household cleansers, including which types of cleaners particular chemicals are used for, and the toxic effects they have. I found out that the likely culprit for my burning lungs was hydrochloric and/or phosphoric acids, often used in tub and tile cleaners. "When exposed to these acids, some people feel wheezy, sneezy, or even suffocated by them. Spills and splashes can result in burns, permanent scarring, and even blindness." Yikes!
My favorite recipe is "Alice's Wonder Spray." It's an all-purpose cleaner made from borax, vinegar, castille soap, and warm water. It works just as well at cleaning my shower as the toxic chemical stuff I was using, but instead of getting lungs that burn, I get a breath of fresh air due to the peppermint essential oil I scent it with.
More difficult and obscure cleaning needs are covered as well. There is an oven cleaner (and tips for not getting your oven too dirty to begin with), rust remover, even silver polish, all without chemicals!
At the end of each recipe, the cost is compared to the name-brand of the same type of product. For "Alice's Wonder Spray," the cost of a name-brand all-purpose spray is $2.69, while this costs 23 cents(!) to make.
Last spring I amazed one of my friends by cleaning out all the nasty coffee stains on the bottom of his sink by just using some baking soda. And if my kitchen starts smelling a little funky, I just set a cup of vinegar on the counter in the evening and by morning it's smelling right as rain again. The way I clean has drastically changed, for the better, because of this book.
After finding a lot of websites with great but random uses for vinegar, I also found the name of an eco-friendly cleaning book, so I started surfing Amazon and eventually came upon this little gem. It was touted as the best starter book, so I got it from the library and read it voraciously for a week. When I finished, I knew I wanted to keep it around as a reference, so I bought a copy from Powell's.
There are great recipes in here to cheaply and safely replicate all sorts of common brand-name household products. If you have five things in your arsenal (white vinegar, borax, castile soap, baking soda, lemon juice, and optional essential oils for scenting) you can make almost everything in this book. It's really easy.
The book has a section on the chemicals used in common household cleansers, including which types of cleaners particular chemicals are used for, and the toxic effects they have. I found out that the likely culprit for my burning lungs was hydrochloric and/or phosphoric acids, often used in tub and tile cleaners. "When exposed to these acids, some people feel wheezy, sneezy, or even suffocated by them. Spills and splashes can result in burns, permanent scarring, and even blindness." Yikes!
My favorite recipe is "Alice's Wonder Spray." It's an all-purpose cleaner made from borax, vinegar, castille soap, and warm water. It works just as well at cleaning my shower as the toxic chemical stuff I was using, but instead of getting lungs that burn, I get a breath of fresh air due to the peppermint essential oil I scent it with.
More difficult and obscure cleaning needs are covered as well. There is an oven cleaner (and tips for not getting your oven too dirty to begin with), rust remover, even silver polish, all without chemicals!
At the end of each recipe, the cost is compared to the name-brand of the same type of product. For "Alice's Wonder Spray," the cost of a name-brand all-purpose spray is $2.69, while this costs 23 cents(!) to make.
Last spring I amazed one of my friends by cleaning out all the nasty coffee stains on the bottom of his sink by just using some baking soda. And if my kitchen starts smelling a little funky, I just set a cup of vinegar on the counter in the evening and by morning it's smelling right as rain again. The way I clean has drastically changed, for the better, because of this book.
September 5, 2018
Me encantaría tenerlo, la limpieza es algo que me encanta por más que me deje de cama.
March 6, 2008
A great reference book for anyone trying to detox their house from hazardous cleaning supplies. The ingredients are cheap and mostly around the house already (baking soda, vinegar, dishsoap, etc.) It offered the simple and easy to implement idea to write the ingredients of your homemade cleanser on the container so that as soon as you run out you can easily make it again (without having to find the book, look it up, etc.)
October 30, 2019
Some of the recipes look interesting but the majority of the book could basically be boiled down to “everything is toxic and will kill you so use baking soda or vinegar and essential oils instead for anything to want clean”...
February 18, 2008
This book isn't always easy to find, but it WAS easy to read. I learned so much about my household cleaners and it completely changed the way I do housework. Ironically, it has saved us money (not the reason I changed). I just wanted a healthier alternative and the noxious cleaners I found on sale everywhere gave me headaches or made me physically ill. If you want a clean but safe house for yourself, your children, your grandchildren, your pets - this is the book for you! As a bonus, it's made my cleaning a lot easier. It seems odd that cleaning with less toxic stuff would be easier, but it is. So I find myself cleaning a lot more often, since I don't have to dig out the rubber gloves and the gas mask and the radioactive suit... just kidding. If you're tired of waxy Windex, tired of plumbing problems with Draino, tired of nasty sprays and bleach spots on your clothes, tired of cabinets full of poisonous cleaners and calls to Poison Control, read this book!
November 4, 2017
As someone who is new to living alone this book helped me to start off on the right foot. Green and clean. I personally chose this book because I have always found my mother's more homemade solutions to be more effective at making household chores more cheaper and easier. That being said this book added upon those I already knew and now I have the cleanest home among my peers. Not the toughest boast for a guy but I am proud of it! This book is a must-have for anyone looking to make a fresh start in their cleaning style or just looking to build a repertoire of cheaper or environmentally friendly tricks to housework.
February 4, 2013
This was a really great book, full of helpful tips and easy recipes for a natural alternative to harsh cleaning solutions. I especially liked the author's efficacy ratings, which were really helpful in selecting which materials I wanted to purchase first.
After reading What's Gotten into Us?: Staying Healthy in a Toxic World, you tend to be a little more mindful about the dangers that certain toxins pose. Day to day choices really can make a difference!
Even if these cleanings solutions weren't environmentally conscious, they're financially conscious-- and some of them are even better than the product on the shelf. It might sound a little strange, but I'm really looking forward to trying out these new cleaning supplies.
After reading What's Gotten into Us?: Staying Healthy in a Toxic World, you tend to be a little more mindful about the dangers that certain toxins pose. Day to day choices really can make a difference!
Even if these cleanings solutions weren't environmentally conscious, they're financially conscious-- and some of them are even better than the product on the shelf. It might sound a little strange, but I'm really looking forward to trying out these new cleaning supplies.
October 28, 2009
Useful, although I could have gotten what I need from this book in a few pages stapled together. I think it's overkill with too many recipes for the same purposes, but I suppose they had to have enough content to justify a whole book. It's out-of-date, the website to buy the containers is no longer up. I have been using vinegar, baking soda, and Bronner's soap on and off to clean for a few years, but never had 'recipes' before. I've made the Earth Scrub and I love it, and the squeegee seems to be making a big difference in my shower. I tried the vanilla extract on cotton ball air freshener and it didn't work at all (or maybe I was too stingy with my vanilla). I'm going to make a few other recipes (scented baking soda, club soda for glass, all purpose spray).
July 22, 2010
If you want to get rid of all the toxic chemicals in your home from cleaners and find something safer, this is a great place to start. There are simple recipes that you can create all on your own, and they are safe enough for your little one to use, too! The two main ingredients are distilled white vinegar and baking soda. I hate the smell of vinegar, so there are some great scented vinegars and baking sodas you can use. I love this book and the recipes totally work great! Get rid of all the crap in your home and make it safer and greener!
May 17, 2011
This book has some great recipes for homemade cleaning products, but it is rather confusingly organized. There is a lot of flipping back and forth - the author often refers the reader to other sections of the book for recipes. Also, while I like the quirky names for the cleaning products, the sheer number is a little overwhelming, especially since several of the recipes are nearly identical, except for the scent. But the two recipes I have tried - Go Spot Go stain remover and More Bubbles, Please bubble solution - thus far have worked like a charm.
January 27, 2009
Great book for safe, non-toxic ways to clean your home. I plan to buy this book for my daughter who is expecting a baby as this is a marvelous way to keep the baby safe from dangerous chemicals and also to save money. It is good for the environment also. While reading this I was inspired to clean both of my bathrooms, the backroom floor and my silver all the non-toxic way. I'm very pleased with the results.
August 14, 2007
I give the cleaning recipes in the book 5 stars, the book itself is a clunky rambling 3, but it is well worthwhile. I'm saving money, I'm saving the planet, and, miracle of miracles, I actually enjoy cleaning now.
July 9, 2011
I love this book! There are lots if recipes for cleaning solutions that don't use harmful chemicals; all are rated to let you know the effectiveness. I highly recommend this book, and Alice's Wonder Spray in particular.
November 17, 2016
I've made the toilet bowl cleaner-added a little too much vinegar and made a bit of a volcano, but worked pretty well. Have also used the club soda as window/mirror cleaner-works great! Easy to read, easy instructions to read and follow. Love that all the ingredients are simple, easy to find and inexpensive. Great resource! Will be trying more recipes.
October 9, 2019
Hey, I am a cleaning service provider. I love to read cleaning book for such a learning something new, trips and technique. This book is awesome. i have read some of the page. hopefully complete it.
I start my blog about cleaning products ...here you go www.idealchoose.com
I start my blog about cleaning products ...here you go www.idealchoose.com
June 16, 2017
Change home cleaning products to safe, environmentally friendly products.
October 25, 2021
A great reference for anyone who wants to use homemade cleaning products. There are multiple ideas and this book is great for choosing your favourite recipes and trying different ones to see what you like best.
September 10, 2007
I think the most important thing this book did for me is get me to start really thinking about the impact my cleaning supplies have, not only on the planet, but on my own health. I have completely switched to non-toxic cleaners now, and my house is actually cleaner than when I used grocery-store stuff because I actually get excited about using the things I made. Her recipes are good, and I really like that if her recipe doesn't work as well as the "competition", she comes right out and tells you. It is really up to you to decide whether it's worth it to work a little harder scrubbing (in some cases) or to clean with chemicals. You can make an informed decision. The recipes do actually save me money, too - something I was skeptical about, because really, how often do you buy cleaning products? But all I have to buy for cleaning supplies now is stuff like vinegar and soap. The essential oils could add up if you wanted lots of different scents, but I get by fine with 3 oils (and you probably don't need that many). I highly recommend this book to anyone looking to get into a more environmentally-friendly lifestyle (and if you're not looking to be more environmentally friendly, what's wrong with you??)
March 6, 2009
I'm not reading this from cover to cover, but rather jumping around from one subject to another.
I've found her information to be very-well researched, and I'm really looking forward to trying out the recipes. They use mostly every-day household ingredients. The only ingredient that you won't readily find in your pantry, or a regular grocery store, are the essential oils. You'll need to find a reputable health food store for those.
I'm learning a great deal about why these natural products work and what dangers lurk in commercial cleaning products.
I've done a small amount of cleaning with natural products already, and I'm finding that simpler truly is better. You can spend a LOT less money and get a lot MORE bang for your buck.
I've found her information to be very-well researched, and I'm really looking forward to trying out the recipes. They use mostly every-day household ingredients. The only ingredient that you won't readily find in your pantry, or a regular grocery store, are the essential oils. You'll need to find a reputable health food store for those.
I'm learning a great deal about why these natural products work and what dangers lurk in commercial cleaning products.
I've done a small amount of cleaning with natural products already, and I'm finding that simpler truly is better. You can spend a LOT less money and get a lot MORE bang for your buck.
December 10, 2010
I have skimmed the book so far, by looking at the table of contents. I use dish soap as an all purpose cleaner (p81-82). I heard by word of mouth, dish soaps today contain less Phosphates and toxic chemicals (as shown on the back lable of the products package). The book does not discuss dish soap with bleach alternative already added, since it is a fairly new product. Simply put, a tiny amount of dish soap (with bleach alternative already added) , is mixed with a large amount of water, in a labled spray bottle (p.65-66) Since it can be used as an all purpose cleaner, I use it all over as a sanatizer.
March 24, 2008
This is a great intro for people who want to switch to green cleaners (both environmentally green and economically green).
To be honest, I don't bother using many of them anymore but I do keep club soda for glass and I use diluted vinegar with an essential oil, like grapefruit, for most surfaces. It smells nicer with the grapefruit oil.
There are lots of cleaners for specific uses in there though - even one for the oven. Not that I have time to clean my oven. Baked on food is germ-free. That's good enough ;-)
To be honest, I don't bother using many of them anymore but I do keep club soda for glass and I use diluted vinegar with an essential oil, like grapefruit, for most surfaces. It smells nicer with the grapefruit oil.
There are lots of cleaners for specific uses in there though - even one for the oven. Not that I have time to clean my oven. Baked on food is germ-free. That's good enough ;-)
July 28, 2008
love, love, love this book. I have been using natural cleaners for a long time (vinegar and water was my mother's cleaner of choice growing up), but wanted to learn more since having a baby and embracing my tree-hugging ways. This book is absolutely fantastic. The author really breaks everything down for you, what's in store bought cleaners, how to make her cleaners, and the DRASTIC cost savings.
I am a big fan, and want to give this book to everyone I know.
I am a big fan, and want to give this book to everyone I know.
August 3, 2016
Full of good information but practically worthless as a general reference tool which is what I actually need. I find that I'd rather look up information as I need it rather than absorb everything at once.
Once you do locate a solution though it tends to work well: I use the Merlin's Magic solution on everything (try looking it up in the index though, it's not there). I also just started using the tile cleaner and like it so far.
Once you do locate a solution though it tends to work well: I use the Merlin's Magic solution on everything (try looking it up in the index though, it's not there). I also just started using the tile cleaner and like it so far.
October 13, 2007
I like this book because it offers recipes and practical ideas for creating a less toxic home environment. And the cleanser recipes seem easy, using many of the same few key ingredients. I also learned a lot about the current products I use--made me re-think the baby-proof cabinet lock--maybe I should just get rid of all the nasty stuff instead?!
June 5, 2010
This is an excellent first-time guide, reference manual to combining easy to find, cheap and effective things like white vinegar, baking soda, lemon juice, salt and liquid castille soaps to clean every inch of your house, toilet and cutting boards included.
She repeats the hell out things, but I assume that's because no one in their right mind reads this book cover to cover (like I did).
She repeats the hell out things, but I assume that's because no one in their right mind reads this book cover to cover (like I did).
January 22, 2012
I am LOVING the recipes in this book. The ingredients are cheap, the spray bottles can be refilled and the results are fantastic.
The only thing I did differently is, when making the "Wonder Spray" cleaner, I used citrus-infused castile soap instead of adding essential oil to regular castile soap. It has a subtle scent and everything gets clean.
The only thing I did differently is, when making the "Wonder Spray" cleaner, I used citrus-infused castile soap instead of adding essential oil to regular castile soap. It has a subtle scent and everything gets clean.
January 15, 2016
This book is certainly more of a reference book than a reading book, but I love the cheap, non-toxic recipes for cleaning products. I'm going to sound like the uber-homemaker right now, but finally, something good for the planet that is also cheap!
Certainly a book worth borrowing (and copying recipes from) if you love the planet and/or are somewhat terrified of potent cleaning stuff.
Certainly a book worth borrowing (and copying recipes from) if you love the planet and/or are somewhat terrified of potent cleaning stuff.
July 12, 2016
I love this book! It's filled with effective (and affordable) solutions that don't use any harmful chemicals. I've had a couple of problems with ants and their peppermint spray recipe worked better than anything I'd tried before. Plus, I didn't have to worry about using toxic/harmful chemicals around my pets (and myself).
March 26, 2008
Great little book about how to make your own cleaning products. I've got my collection of home-made cleaning products stocked and have been using them for a few months now. I find that I clean more thoroughly and more often...peppermint/tea tree/eucalyptus oils smell great!
February 9, 2008
A great book on how to make your own cleaning products with mostly non-toxic ingredients. She rates each "product"/recipe in her book with a very accurate rating on its effectiveness. I've mixed up a few of the cleaning products to use at home and I love them so far!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 70 reviews