Cleaning ~ Naturally
Playing tackle football on the grass or dining alfresco is great for boosting ones mood, but not so great for your laundry bills.
Grass stains on your khakis, moldy beach towels and dingy tablecloths are dead giveaways of summer fun.
All are side effects and sometimes permanent reminders, of summertime or anytime fun.
But why sacrifice your favorite clothes and linens?
Follow our guide to keeping items clean and mold-free...naturally of course.
Got A Stain in the Neck?
Many stain removers contain unpronounceable and toxic ingredients like perchloroethylene and trichloroethylene.
Scared?
You should be.
Perchloroethylene, a chemical solvent often used in dry cleaning, is classified as a carcinogen by the Environmental Protection Agency.
It's been known to irritate the eyes, nose and throat and has also been linked to cancer.
Trichloroethylene, found in some stain removers, has been connected to a variety of side effects, from skin rashes to liver damage.
If you want to launder your clothes without chemicals, try these stain-removal ideas.
Make a paste out of baking soda and water, apply it to the stain and let it sit for an hour before washing.
Squeeze a lemon.
Lemon juice contains citric acid; its bleaching action works especially well on white fabrics and sweat stains.
Make a paste of lemon juice and baking soda and leave it on the stain for half an hour before washing.
Watered-down hydrogen peroxide, half peroxide, half water, also removes tough stains, even blood, from white fabrics.
(Tip: One hundred percent peroxide is not sold in drugstores; instead it’s sold as a 3% solution – 3% hydrogen peroxide; 97% water.
The 3% solution is what you want to mix equally with water, not the 100% solution.)
This will work on most fabrics, but it's always a good idea to do a test spot first.
Always blot, never rub a stain before trying to remove it. Work from the edges to the center, which will keep the stain from spreading.
And for ketchup, blood, grass, fruit juice, and sweat stains, dab distilled white vinegar right onto the stain.
Let sit for a few minutes before washing.
Oil or grease (e.g. from salad dressing) - Dab on dishwashing liquid and let it sit for 10 to 15 minutes before washing.
Cleaning Grass – Use an old toothbrush to dab whitening toothpaste onto the stain. 
Let sit overnight, then wash.
Cleaning Blood – Make a paste of cool water and meat tenderizer (unseasoned, lol).
Apply to the stain, then let sit 15 to 30 minutes before washing.
Cleaning Ketchup – Soak a fresh stain in cool water for 10 minutes, dab in liquid detergent, then wash.
Cleaning Moldy Towels?
Add a few drops of clove, lemon or eucalyptus essential oil to the rinse cycle. We also recommend soaking the towel in distilled white vinegar, diluted with water for 10 to 20 minutes. Let your nose determine the formula: The nastier the mildew smell, the more vinegar (and less water) you’ll need. Then, machine wash in hot water and line dry. Cleaning A Smelly Swimsuit?
In a perfect world, you'd rinse your swimsuit in cold water immediately after a swim in the ocean or a chlorinated pool, right? But in reality, your suit probably sat in a wet pile and is now stiff and smelly. Try this method for cleaning delicates: Put a dime-size amount of non-toxic laundry liquid (see our product picks below) in a stainless steel bucket, then fill the bucket with warm water. Dip your suit in several times. If the fabric is stained, or the smell is really rank, soak it in the mixture overnight. Don’t wring the suit out; just pat dry with a towel and hang it on a wooden drying rack. If you’re using non-toxic detergent, there’s no need to rinse. To salvage a swimsuit, we recommend a solution of one gallon of water and 1/2 cup white vinegar. Dip your suit in the solution and then rinse in cold water. Soak it for a minute or two in the solution if need be, but if you leave it in longer, the vinegar could damage the suit’s delicate fabric. Laundry List
Follow these quick tips to keep your laundry clean and fresh, no matter how hard you play.
To brighten white linens, add 1/4 cup of lemon juice to the wash cycle, and launder as usual in warm water. For best results, hang them to dry outside: the sun will increase the whitening effect. We also recommend using a cup of vinegar added to the wash can keep colors bright. (Caution: Don’t use vinegar if you are using bleach; the resulting fumes are hazardous.) Aromasize Your Stuff Add a few drops of essential oil to the rinse cycle.
Try fir, spruce, lavender, cedarwood, wintergreen, or rosewood.
Storing your linens in a drawer with homemade cheesecloth sachets filled with crushed dried lavender or your favorite herb is really nice. Soften Things Up
Add a tablespoon of distilled white vinegar to the rinse cycle or 1/4 cup of baking soda to the wash cycle.
Organic and natural cleaning products are competitively priced. But even if you do pay a little more, we believe it’s worth the extra dollar to protect your clothes, your family and the planet.
Newsletter
*** Our Featured Sponsors ***
Need Tickets To An Upcoming Event
Any Ticket ~ Any Time ~ Any Venue We're Never Sold Out!
|
