Friday, May 29, 2009

Eliminating Odors Naturally

I'm really getting into natural cleaning, now. Seriously, I was addicted to household cleaners. I would try all the latest and greatest, never really finding anything that worked really well that wasn't extremely toxic. Well, having a daughter in the house who loves to put everything in her mouth has made me toss my traditional cleaners and go for some non-toxic alternatives. The natural cleaners I'm using are so cheap, easy to make and they work much better. The latest thing I've tried is a natural cleaner that eliminates odors. It works well on pet and human urine. My husband accidentally broke a one gallon jar of milk inside our pick up and it worked on that as well. It is super easy to make and you probably already have the ingredients. Here it is:
Spray Bottle (I use 32 oz from the Dollar Store)
Fill 1/2 way with distilled white vinegar
Fill the rest of the way with distilled or filtered water
(Optional) add a few drops of tea tree oil (or whatever oil you like the smell of) to help disinfect and give it a more pleasant smell.
Generously spray on area and scrub. Don't worry, the vinegar smell will go away when fully dried. If you can still smell odor, repeat process, this time sprinkling area with baking soda. Scrub, then let dry. Vacuum or scrub away any remaining baking soda residue.
I've used this on my carpet, my couch, mattresses, office chair and vehicles. Never had a spot discolor and it has always taken care of the odor as well as the stains. We also spray this on our carpets before steam cleaning them. It works awesome! Hope it works as well for you.
I'm wondering if would work on clothes, but haven't got brave enough to try it yet. Does anyone know of a natural stain remover for clothes that really works? Right now I'm using Spray 'n Wash and I'd love to find something natural and less expensive that really works.

5 comments:

The Vintage Housewife... said...

wow!!! i am so inspired i have wanted to make my own clothes soap but kitten you have got it all down...love love love it...i am so swingin back by for your newest update on cleaners..i use mrs myers...natural cleaning...i have a post about them...way down my blog...they smell wonderful! i love the scrub...thank you for swingin by my place and leaving such sweet comments...keep the natural cleanin' goodies comming...thank you to hubby for his service...blessings cat

Jen@Scrapingirl said...

I'm gonna have to try that. I'm trying to go to a more organic, clean lifestlye. This will totally help. With two crazy kids running aroud, there are always interesting smells. :) Thanks for stopping by my blog. I will add you guys to my prayer list. God bless.

Jessica said...

I read the comment you left for me...isnt' it funny what each family gets used to, in regards to scheduling and time together/apart? I wore my kids out yesterday, and thankfully 1 slept til 8:45am, 1 til 9:30am----so unbelievable, but I needed that rest so I'm grateful!

Jenn said...

I am doing the same thing in our home. I have tried many homemade cleaners using natural ingredients. I use borax, baking soda, salt and lemonade kool-aid for my dishwasher. I make my own laundry detergent. The only thing I haven't made successfully is a laundry stain remover. I'm still using spray n wash because I can't find anything that will work. It's fun to get on the internet, find these recipes and try them.

Camille said...

I came across your blog because your sister (firefighter's wife~stacie) told me about you. I did a post on natural cleaning and stain removal. You might want to check it out...hope you find something that works for you!
Blessings,
Camille

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