The wonder of bicarb

Bicarbonate of soda – something of a wonder product. This one product can replace hundreds of plastic bottles on your shelves.

You can use it to

Clean a microwave oven

Remove tarnish from silver

Clean a stainless steel sink

Boost the strength of liquid laundry detergent

Clean a fibreglass bathtub or shower.

Clean bathroom tile

Maintain your septic tank

Deodorize cloth diapers

Clean a refrigerator

Deodorize a dishwasher

Boost the strength of dishwashing liquid

Remove burnt-on food from cookware

Clean and deodorize a cutting board

Deodorize food containers

Clean coffee and teapots

Deodorize kitchen garbage

Deodorize carpet

Deodorize a cat litter box

Soothe poison ivy rash or insect bites

Soothe sunburn, windburn, and prickly heat

Take a refreshing bath

Brush your teeth

Wash your mouth

Neutralize vomit odour

Soothe tired feet

Use as a deodorant

Clean dirt, grime, and scuffmarks from doors, stoves, laminated tabletops, linoleum floors, and tile.

Remove coffee or tea stains from china

Minimize the smell of dirty laundry

Deodorize a closet

Deodorize garment storage bags

Deodorize shoes or training shoes

Remove crayon marks from walls or wallpaper

Clean dirt and grime from hands

Remove conditioner and styling gel build-up from hair

Refresh stuffed animals

Clean high chairs, car seats, strollers, and plastic mattress protectors

Clean baby bottles, nipples, and bottle brushes

Whiten socks and dirty clothes

Clean chrome bumpers and hubcaps

Remove dead insects from a car or truck windshield

Deodorize carpeting in a car

De-grease and clean barbecue grills

For more on the above go to cleaning tips from the virtuowl.

Over in New Zealand they are using it to wash their hair and clean their teeth and here are some more bicarb beauty tips

For the plastic free afficiando it really is a must.

Bicarb is available from Wing Yip Chinese Super Store in Manchester and it comes in paper bags.

Find other plastic free products with the >>>A-Z<<< plastic free index

plastic free sweep

In the beginning, before plastic, there was a natural fibre for every job – from painting to sweeping you could grow it or hunt it. If you dont know your bassine from gumati you might want to check out these websites

The most extensive information about natural fibres is to be found here

Other information can be found here and here

All natural fibre brush with steel and wooden dust pan as found on Huddersfield market and all good old fashioned stores

Find other plastic free products with the >>>A-Z<<< plastic free index

mop and bucket

Last month was a bit sad what with having to accept that sometimes I am going to have to buy plastic wrapped products so this month we are going right back into the world of plastic free.

Seeing as it is spring I thought we might do a bit of cleaning. I am something of an old pro when it comes to scrubbing. In my youth I was the cleaner of casinos. I swabbed down the gaming area, restaurant and croupiers changing rooms. What with the slopped drinks, overflowing urinals, greasy kitchens and industrial strength makeup  spills, theres not a thing I don’t know about  mopping up.

I can tell you that a cotton mop and galvanized mop bucket  are the only things that can take the strain. Plastic tubs and sponge heads are crap (that is a technical term used by cleaners). Only the strength of galvanized steel allows you to get a good squeeze on your mop essential for good scrubbing action.

Cotton mop heads are also replaceable. The old ones can be safely burnt on the bonfire or used to make Guy Fawkes hair – it makes him look really rascally. If you think Guy had the right idea and you don’t want to burn an effigy of him,  put the old mop head on the compost heap. The wooden mop handles last for ever, but should they ever break they too can be burnt or composted.

So give up on plastic mop buckets and sqidgy sponges and get down with the old school charlady look. Its really cool, plastic free, biodegradable and lasts for ever.

Mops and buckets can be bought at all good markets and hardware stalls including of course Huddersfield Queensgate market.

Find other plastic free products with the >>>A-Z<<< plastic free index

Tough Scrubbers

Wonderful though I think my new natural non plastic brushes are, I didn’t really want to have to test them quite so rigorously.
Bits and bobs, here and there – thats what my washing up normally consists of…BUT …disaster has struck. The dishwasher has broken down and for the first time in ages I have had to wash dishes on a regular basis.

The brushes have held up well – I on the other hand have been moaning and blubbing. Thing is I hate it… I hate all house work. Every time I switch on the dishwasher I thank the sweet baby Buddha I wasn’t born in the olden days.

But while we are on the subject of dishwashing let me tell you about my big boy pan scourers.
The brushes do all they are meant to do but even they cant get rid of the really burnt on black stuff ( I told you – home making – not my forte.
But then neither can the dishwasher so my plastic free scourer of choices is the knitted metal pan scrub. These can be bought loose from the hardware sections in grocery shops – Asian
groceries are particularly good for these -
I don’t why that should be but it is true. Also good are hardware shops in covered markets.

I hope the break down has nothing to do with my home made dish washer powder – feel there may be ructions ahead.

Click HERE for more plastic free cleaning products

Biodegrable bottle wash and pan scrub

Well my new natural non plastic brushes have arrived and I let me tell you they are lovely to look at and delightful to hold.  

How strange the twists of fate.   I never thought I would be the kind of woman to get excited about cleaning products – yet here I am reliving the 1950s, beaming about my new kitchen aids;  but they dont just look good, they work well too. 

The bottle brush is ideal for radiators while the pan scrubs – well they scrub. Not quite sure what the tickler on the left is for  but my new Clean n Gleam persona will surely find a use for it.

Even  better once these   scrubbers are past their best then its into the wood bruning stove with them. For a moment they will warm us then their ashes will be scattered on the gooseberry bushes. 

Click  HERE For more info on the brushes – what they are made of  and where to purchase them

Local scrubbers wanted

There I was happily scouring away when I realised it was taking longer than usual to shift the burnt remants at the bottom of the pan. When I checked out my little brush I found was well past its best. Its bristles were all flattened and splayed. Now this is a problem

It used to be that I could just buy a new head for this type of brush but I cant get those any more. ALSO the beasts who made my pot brushes have replaced the organic bristles with plastic. If you look closely you will see my cute little brush is in fact part plastic. I didnt notice till I took it home BUT I WONT BE FOOLED AGAIN.

However that leaves me with a problem

You can brushes and replacement heads  from spiritofnature with natural bristles  but with a £4.50 postal charge for a 1.70 head it hardly seems worth it.  

You can buy the complete brush for 1.70 from  the headcook shop . They also have a fine range of  other Redecker natural bristle brushes

“The materials used are all natural and from sustainable sources, the wood used in the brushes is from domestic replanted forests. This helps reduce transport distances to help protect the environment.” Well thats Ok then

AND the  £2.95 delivery charge is more reasonable.

But if you only want the replacement  head they cant order it for you so that means you have to throw away the handle. Hmmm… and its  still a very expensive dish washing brush.

So heres what I have decided to do – I have gone on a brush buying orgy from the headcook shop  - I done got myself a brush for every occasion and a salt grinder ( been wanting one for ages).  I dont mind paying the postage on a larger order. In the mean time I will be doing more research into replacement heads.

Well my new natural non plastic brushes have arrived and I let me tell you they are lovely to look at and delightful to hold.  

How strange the twists of fate.   I never thought I would be the kind of woman to get excited about cleaning products – yet here I am reliving the 1950s, beaming about my new kitchen aids;  but they dont just look good, they work well too. 

The bottle brush is ideal for radiators while the pan scrubs – well they scrub. Not quite sure what the tickler on the left is for  but my new Clean n Gleam persona will surely find a use for it.

Even  better once these   scrubbers are past their best then its into the wood bruning stove with them. For a moment they will warm us then their ashes will be scattered on the gooseberry bushes. 

While we are on the subject of washing up dont forget you can get your bottles of Ecover washing up liquid – and other ecover cleaning products refilled. Click here for details.

For other plastic free cleaning products click here

Liquid Cleaners

TOILET CLEANER

LAUNDRY LIQUID,
FABRIC SOFTENER,
MULTISURFACE CLEANER,

The above ECOVER products are all available as refills. Simply take your empty bottle to the Green Shop in the Alternative Technology Centre at Hebble End Mill -
telephone number 01422 842121.

So though the bottle is indeed plastic it can be reused many many times.

If you are not local then Ecover have a postcode search on their site to find the nearest refill point:
http://www.uk-marketingdatabase.com/ecover/ECOVER.search.show_parms

Squeezy

Do you remember back in the old days when a squeezy bottle full of cold water and your enemies, the vile Roberts brothers, about to walk past your cunningly concealed ambush, was the height of fun. Obviously arming your troops was of paramount importance and demand for weapons was high. These days of course, the availability of high powered water pistols and the fact that I am actually an adult, has meant I no longer need to stockpile empty, washing-up liquid bottles.

                                         

In fact, as they are of course plastic, they need to be eradicated from my life.

I did try to use soap flakes to wash up. Though I was assured this was possible, I did not find it a pleasant experience. I also tried using soap flakes to make washing up liquid – again not a success.

Then I found that I can get my ECOVER washing up liquid bottle refilled with more of the environmentaly sound good stuff at Half Moon Health Foods 6 Half Moon Street , Huddersfield

So though the bottle is indeed plastic it can be reused many many times.

I now have three bottles on the go – that allows for forgetting to take the empty into town not once not twice but for weeks at a time. But I can proudly say I have thrown away no washing up bottles since.

If you are not local then Ecover have a postcode search on their site to find the nearest refill point:

Brushes I have bought are …

1 x Redecker Natural Bristle Pot Brush

Redecker Plant Fibre Bristle Dish Brush

Redecker Natural Fibre Sink Plug Hole Brush

Redecker Plant Fibre Bristle Dish Brush 4cm

Redecker Natural Fibre Bottle Brush With Cotton Ball Tip

Redecker Natural Fibre Bottle Brush With Wooden Handle

Redecker Natural Bristle Bottle / Flask Brush