"The solution" all purpose natural plant based liquid soap.


I use this for about everything. For most purposes, it is used at a 3 to one ratio, so it is not as expensive as it seems. I actually found it cheaper than the grocery store brands if you compare oz for oz.

Favorite Uses:
Cleaning counters, sinks, faucets, cabinets, woodwork, doors, floors, bicycles, cars inside and out, trash cans, litter box, shoes and all appliances. I also use it to kill bugs on plants and in the house. I have cleaned jewelry with it and it works great.

It is not so good for soap scum, glass or mirrors. I have also used it for dish soap, laundry soap, and shampoo. At first, I did not like it as a shampoo, but then Granny's shampoo went out of business so I tried 'the solution' again, but full strength this time and now I like it. At first, my hair was dry using it but then I found out that because chemical based shampoos strip the hair of oil. It takes a while for your nature oils to be redeposited onto your hair making it soft again. I did not like it so well on dishes either as it did not wash that many dishes. It is not all that good with grease either. It removes decals (full strength), but the orange oil below works much better.

It is best to spray it on surfaces then wait like 30 seconds. Most of the natural cleaners will work much better if you allow them to remain on the surface before washing away.

Most of the time this stuff is about all I use, but for the more stubborn problems, I then move up to the baking soda.

orange oil


Rub pure orange oil on the decal and let it sit a bit (or overnight) and it should come right off. I have also soaked jars in hot water over night and that removes the label most of the time. Veggie oil also works for decals and also band-aids.

For paint, stain and other oil based wood finishing products, pore some orange oil on the paint brush and rub into bristles, and let it sit a while. Later clean up with soap and water. This will also removepaint or wood stain from your hands.

baking soda
warm water


Sprinkle a little baking soda on the pan and sprinkle some water over this. Or you could make a paste of the baking soda and water and spread on the pan. Let this sit for a bit, longer if it is not coming off, overnight if you are the patient sort. If the food really does not want to come off I use a steel wool pad (not sos pad. You can add your own non toxic soap to plain steel wool at time of use, if needed), but avoid this because this might scratch the stainless steel. Non-stick pans are toxic so toss all those kind of pans out. Even the product label says the non stick coating, when heated will kill your birds!

When washing my stock pot, I usually fill the pot up with hot water from the tap, and squirt a little dish soap in. I let this sit overnight. If I wait long enough, the work is really easy as a little elf (hubby) washes it for me. If the elf does not wash it, I empty the water, and scrub with a damp dish rag with some baking soda sprinkled on it. I prefer the elf method. So much less work.

Hot water is amazing. If I rinse my dishes in water then, place into the dishwasher, the greasy ones often still have grease on them. But if I rinse with very hot water it melts that grease right off. I feel hand washing dishes is much more effective than the dishwasher, but now due to my illness, I just do not seem to see the fact that I have not gotten the dishes completely clean. I really hate getting a dirty dish out of the cabinet. I almost wash the dishes clean before putting them into the dishwasher. The dishwasher is then going to remove anything I just did not see. My eyesight is just not what it used to be. I feel this is because a clogged liver causes poor vision.

lemon juice or white vinegar
salt

or

2 parts salt
1 part flour
white vinegar or lemon juice


make a paste
rub on surface and let dry. rinse with warm water
rub dry with a soft cotton cloth

baking soda and/or white vinegar


Sprinkle baking soda and wet this a little. Wait a while (over night all the better) and wash off the stain. If the stain is really stubborn, I sprinkle a little vinegar over the baking soda. This creates a harmless (as far as I know) chemical reaction that bubbles the stain away.

baking soda
safe dish soap
water


Oven Cleaners are extremely toxic.

updated April 3, 2009

You should also avoid the self clean cycle.

When you use the self clean cycle the oven is heated up to around 850 degrees. This burns the spills into a pile of ash. This smells very bad, and MCS folks do not tolerate burning things very well. Also, from what I have read the insulation used in the walls of the oven heat up to such a degree that birds will die if exposed to the fumes.

If you do choose to use this feature, open the doors and windows, turn it on and run out of the house as fast as you can and stay away as long as you can.

Better solution: sprinkle quite a bit of water over the bottom of the oven. Then cover the entire bottom of the oven with enough baking soda that you can not see the surface. Sprinkle or spray some water over the top as well. Let it sit for hours. You may also put some baking soda on a damp cellulose sponge and rub onto the sides and top of oven. Also let this sit for a long time, overnight is best. When you feel it is time, take an old sponge that you have been wanting to throw away and remove all the baking soda. The burnt on food should come along for the ride. If not, either scrub harder, or re-wet and let it sit some more.

Rinse the baking soda off with safe liquid soap and water on a natural sponge.

baking soda


Sprinkle a little baking soda on a damp natural cellulose sponge and wipe surfaces. Then rinse.

For quick touch ups and less stubborn stains, I use a diluted solution of "the solution" soap.

baking soda
safe dish soap
Borax - optional -


Baking soda and a safe liquid soap (not detergent), to make a creamy paste. If the job requires more oomph, use 1/2 borax to 1/2 baking soda and the soap. This works well on tub, sink and showers. I also add a bit of orange oil to help with the soap scum.

Borax


Sprinkle a little borax in the bowl and scrub with a toilet brush. If you do not like to scrub, add about 1 cup of borax to the bowl and leave it over night, then flush the toilet and wa la!

baking soda
white vinegar
hot water


Make a solution of equal parts of baking soda and vinegar. Place in the drain and let it foam for 15-20 minutes. I usually fill the drain with the baking soda, then pore the vinegar over this. Then rinse with boiling water. It makes quite a bit of noise and fizzes up. It is supposed to!

Messier, but more effective: First put a bucket under the U pipe then remove the U pipe and clean it out with a baby bottle brush (have a brush just for this purpose). I find that if I sprinkle some baking soda on the brush it works better. I put baking soda on an old tooth brush to scrub out the drain.

Supposedly, if you pour a little baking soda down the drain every week, you will not need to do this so often. I read your drains are the biggest source of mold and germs in your bathroom. So, if you are getting all stuffed up and don't know why, try cleaning up the drains.

3% Hydrogen peroxide (H2 O2)


Pour on a little hydrogen peroxide and let it bubble up for a while, then I add more if I feel it is needed.

After the blood is loosened up, I use a safe liquid soap to finish getting the stain out.
Then launder as usual.

I dilute my own food grade H2 O2 as the drug store kind has a preservative. Food grade H2 O2 must be refrigerated or frozen. When pouring the undiluted stuff, please wear gloves. The stuff will bleach your hands and it stings a little.

I do not use H2 O2 much as I did, as I am a bit of a klutz.
I used to rinse my mouth with 3% H2 O2 but it did not agree with me.


Alternative Method

use a damp bar of safe soap and rub the stain.
work the soap in with water as needed
rinse.

repeat if necessary.

I find bar soap to work on most stains and to work better than the liquid soaps.

Wash once with 1 cup of white vinegar
Wash again with 1 cup of baking soda
Wash one more time with a safe laundry soap


If the clothes still smell bad, hang in the sun to air out. This also 'helps' to remove the fragrances that your clothes pick up in the stores (If you still able to go in there!) and when you are around others that still wear this toxic stuff.

corn starch


Sprinkle cornstarch on the damp pages and this absorbs the moisture. Leave it on until the pages are dry, then just brush off.

salt


When I had a fish tank, I scraped the sides of the tank with an ordinary razor blade. But when it really needed a good cleaning, I emptied out all the water and used salt to clean the sides of the tank, rinsing well of course. This cleans the surfaces well, kills germs and the algae, but not the fish.

April 3, 2009

I received an e-mail saying you should never replace all the water in the tank or it will kill all the fish. You should suction out part or the water, especially under the rocks. The fish need some natural bacteria in the water to survive. You should get further advice from an expert and that's not me!

sunshine


Open all the doors and windows for a few hours. Works especially well if water has been spilled and the car smells like mildew.

I have also tried baking soda or zeolite powder sprinkled all over, but the sun is faster and way less messy!

baking soda
white vinegar


I put the plastic thing in a cereal bowl. Then I sprinkle quite a bit of baking soda over the thing, and then cover with white vinegar. Do this in the sink as the bubbles and can get messy. This works much better, right after you are done vacuuming. I so hate scrubbing that thing. This takes away most of the effort. A little brushing with a toothbrush is all that is needed after the bubbles have done their work.

I have no clue what the plastic thingy is called, but if you have a rainbow vacuum cleaner, you will know what I am talking about.

baking soda
water


New metal things have a chemical coating to keep the item looking new in the store. This needs to be removed.

Wet the metal a little and add some baking soda to the surface and scrub.

You could also just add a bit of baking soda to a damp rag, then scrub. You may want to you an old rag since it will turn black.

The first time I used a new crock pot, I put the meat in it and went to bed. At 3 AM I woke a stinky house. It turned out to be from the heating unit the crock goes in. To remove the chemical coating, either, plug the heating unit in outside to let it burn off, or remove with baking soda and water. Sometimes I do both.

Any organic cold pressed veggie oil.


I like macadamia oil.
I find olive oil to be too greasy, plus I am allergic to it
You may also use lard, butter or jojoba oil, any non chemically pressed oils or fats.

I have read that jojoba is not for those with latex allergies.

Personally, I find that my skin does not need moisturizers after I increased my intake of saturated fat. No more chapped lips either.

I guess you either eat the oil or wear it!

Baking soda and/or cornstarch.


Apply as needed. This absorbs odor and wetness, but is not an antiperspirant.

I used to rub cornstarch, on my baby's face for heat rash bumps, and they went away. In retrospect, the rash was probably due to the toxic nature of soy milk! I so hate that I did not know how horrible soy is for human consumption, when I listened to the dumb doctor.

4 cups of filtered or spring water
1 teaspoon of sea salt


heat 1 cup of water to boiling
add 1 cup of hot water to a container or a 4 cup measuring cup
add salt to the hot water
let salt dissolve for a few minutes
add 3 cups of room temperature water to this mixture

You may make only 1 cup by adding 1/4 teaspoon to warm water.

I use this saline to irrigate my nose to get rid of pollen, dirt or whatever is up there. I fill up my nasopure bottle and use at least half a bottle for each nostril. I like to do this after gardening or after coming in from outside, or anytime during pollen or mold season. I will also irrigate my nose after coming home from the dentist, to remove any toxins I may have picked up in public.

The solution feels best if body temp, but I use what ever is left over at room temperature, just because I am lazy. Using 1 cup of hot water to 3 cups of room temp water is about body temp.

baking soda
water


add enough water to some baking soda to get a baking soda slurry.
dab onto itchy skin. I just scoop some up with my fingers, and spread it about.
leave on skin all day and forget about it.

Some of it may flake off, but oh well. I found that the slurry flakes off less than a paste consistency. If you let it dry before putting clothes over it, it will stay on better.

You should have seen me after I got poison oak. I looked like a baking soda monster.

1. Wear layers instead of 1 thick sweater. Air gets trapped between layers is why this works.
2. Wear socks to bed
   
3. Wear a hat to bed - a lot of heat leaves via the head.
   
4. Put oil on your feet or your whole body. This will help keep in heat.
   
5. Rub your feet. This gets blood to come to your feet.
   
6. Move around. Walking around will get blood moving.
   
7. Drink something warm.
   
8. Soak in warm water.
   
9. Eat. A body will get cold when blood sugar is low.
   
10. Eat more meat. Vegetables do not have much warming abilities.
    
11. Go to bed earlier. The body naturally cools down at night, if you are in bed and covered up before this begins to happen, it will be easier to get and stay warm.
    
12. Sit with feet on a heating pad. If your feet and head are warm, the rest of the body will be warmer.

1 part lemon juice 1 part water


pour into ice cube trays
freeze

add 1 cube to a glass of water for sugarless lemon aid.

for stronger lemon aid, add two cubes
for weaker lemon aid, only half fill ice cube slots

This book gives tons of cleaning recipes and lists toxic ingredients of common household cleaners and what horrible thing that particular chemical will do to you. Better Basics for the Home is her latest book.

This book is great. It gives websites and phone numbers of non-toxic products in many categories, such as: furniture, cleaning supplies, bedding, building supplies, clothing, etc. It is the best source of info of this sort I have come across yet. It is kind of the MCS bible.