h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I use very few conventional cleaning products - I mostly use vinegar and water from a spray bottle. It cleans, shines and kills more bacteria than many expensive purpose-made cleaners. I also use it to clean my cats' food and water bowls, mats, and litter trays. It doesn't leave any harmful chemicals for them to ingest, or any sickly lingering odours.

Vinegar is also very good for getting rid of odours inside (simmer a saucepan of vinegar and water on the hob for a while) and outside (eg. on a patio if dogs or cats have used it as a toilet - wash down with vinegar and hot water). One word of warning - don't use vinegar on pet urine stains on carpets, as it tends to draw the odour into the carpet and pets may be more likely to go there again. For these stains, I use plenty of hot water and a tiny bit of clothes washing liquid (I use Ecover products as they are better for the environment).

I do use a bit of conventional limescale removing cream cleaner for the bathroom as we have quite hard water, and though vinegar gets rid of watermarks it struggles with limescale and tough dirt. Bicarbonate of soda and lemon juice works well on baths and in toilets, and I should use this more, but we're always in a rush to clean (having much better things to do with our time )and I don't use as much environmentally-friendly methods as I should.

Lbclaire

My contribution to the environment is not to clean very often 0

I am a great believer in using things such as vinegar but I just felt I had to share a hilarious incident with you regarding my 16 year old step daughter and bicarbonate of soda!
A couple of weeks ago my daughter came to me sporting a nasty stain on the front of a favourite white top, it had been there a while and so I firstly used white vinegar and then after rinsing daubed it with bicarb which removed the stain and amazed my daughter.
The following day I came home to find the kitchen full of bubbles, a quick glance told me that this was not the product of my daughter using too much laundry liquid so I quickly phoned her to find out what she had put into the washing machine.
Yes, you've guessed it, she had been so amazed she had tryed the bicarb trick on all her whites, putting a FULL tub into the machine and then happily going out!
The result was a lot of lovely white clothes and a lovely clean washing machime and floor - oh - and a very red faced 16 year old!
So, the idea of using bicarb to remove stains from clothing remains aan excellent one - but remember- rinse thoroughly before machine washing.

That's a great story! I've never tried bicarb of soda on stains - does it work on coloured fabrics too? I have an annoying stain on a pink top that I just can't get rid of.

Lbclaire

Yes it does, but please remember to rinse!