fragrance sucks...

For some reason I am revolted by perfumed consumer products and it irritates the hell out of me that I can't find any cleaning or personal hygiene products that aren't overloaded with synthetic fragrances. Now I try to make my own semi-homemade cleaning products using scent-free ingredients.

Isopropyl alcohol and ammonia solution are the best cleaners in the world, used separately or in combination. A mixture of roughly equal parts isopropanol, ammonia, and water produces the perfect surface cleaner which leaves no residue and cleans glass better than Windex only with no blue dye or cheap industrial perfume and a whole lot cheaper. Alter the three ingredients to taste, even a very dilute solution is useful to wipe dust off teevee equipment. The combination with less ammonia and more alcohol or just alcohol can be used to clean your skin when bathing isn't possible. Fill a spray bottle with the alcohol and water with just as much (clear!) ammonia you can stand, spray on a clean paper or cloth towel, then wipe your face, underarms, or whatever is oily and smelly. It also makes a good surface sanitizing spray because no bacteria or virus could withstand the combination and because it also evaporates away completely leaving no residue.

Then there's glycerin. I've become addicted to unscented glycerin soap, and liquid glycerin is also good to add to regular liquid dish soap because it created more substantial lather. Glycerin seems to act as a lubricant between surface and dirt and lets the dirt be washed away. Glycerin soap dissolved in hot water makes a wonderful bubblebath solution, and adding extra glycerine creates the most luxurious hypoallergenic skin soaks imaginable.

I'm going to plug Kirk's coconut oil soap because it is awesome and cleans so thoroughly that after I come out of the shower even my farts are odorless. Add some glycerine soap to the lather and it moisturizes your skin and hair and everything rinses away so clean.

For laundry it is whatever fragrance-free brand like All or Purex or Tide Free, along with lots and lots and lots of borax and baking soda, and varying amounts of oxygen powder bleach. Chlorine has been banished since it gives me a sore throat.

For mopping floors an incredible floor-cleaning solution can be made by mixing unscented laundry detergent with Pine-Sol and ammonia. I know the Pine-Sol is scented, but I like it and if you don't then the laundry detergent is still great and cheap and it requires no rinsing because it isn't slippery like dish soap.

Baking soda is also useful for brushing teeth, though I always add some Tom's toothpaste to make it more palatable. Oh, and don't forget the hydrogen peroxide rinse before brushing, letting it fizz between your teeth for a few minutes before sandblasting them with the baking soda. Baking soda also is good for cleaning silver jewelry, rubbing it over the metal with your fingers to remove soil and polish at the same time.

So far I haven't found a satisfactory unscented dish soap. I've always used Ajax because it mixes with ammonia and alcohol and because the lemon scent isn't offensive to me, but I do wish it came in a fragrance-free version.

Reply to
#1 Fan
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Not all scents are synthetic. Many products have natural scents that can be equally revolting.

The scent in Pine-Sol is primarily alpha-pinene, which comes from one of it's major ingrediants, pine oil.

Orange-type cleaners are strongly scented by one of their major ingrediants, orange oil, which contains d-limonene. Both alpha-pinene and d-limonene are cyclic terpenes which provide a non-toxic solvent action which is responsible for much of the cleaning effectiveness of these products.

Many people who claim to have sensitivity to synthetic chemicals will react strongly to these, even though they are not at all synthetic. Alpha-pinene is a by-product of the wood products industry, and d-limonene is a by-product of the orange juice industry (it is extracted from orange peels). Both compounds occur naturally in the raw material, and are not at all chemically modified.

After many years of brushing with pure baking soda, I switched to Tom's on the advice of my dentist, who said that baking soda is abrasive and will attack tooth enamel. I much prefer baking soda, especially because of the strong flavor in Tom's, which I believe comes from peppermint oil.

Reply to
Mark Thorson

and if you wanted to smell poo, come into my works toilet.

Reply to
Oddsman

Look Online; lots of non-synthetic products out there. I can't tolerate any petroleum based products. I buy Aubrey Organics shampoos, lotions, and face soaps. For just regular soap, I use Ivory, but some people are allergic to the lanolin it contains.

Baking soda and white vinegar are my cleaning products of choice. Best of all, these are MUCH less expensive than conventional products.

Tom's makes some great toothpaste. Baking soda works, but use it carefully. It can wear down the enamel of your teeth.

I have found a few tolerable ones. Look for unscented, dye-free dish soaps. Ivory has a good one, but there are others out there.

Good luck!

Medusa

Reply to
Medusa

I dislike fragrances too. There are a few stores that have cosmetics near the front door. I avoid these stores.

Alcohol is a good cleaner for glass. I use it to spot clean too and great for removing hydrocarbon chemicals.

I prefer white fragrance-free Dial soap for body washing and unscented shampoo. If I wanted to smell lavender I'll go to my herb garden; if I wanted to smell roses I'll go to the rose garden.

I use Tide Free with small amounts of bleach for whites. A cold water rinse and dryer should get rid of most chlorine smell. Vinegar in the rinse will help remove (or at least neutralize) many odors, but the preferred method is hanging fabrics outdoors in the sun. UV rays often destroy fragile aromatic compounds.

A cup of household ammonia in a bucket of water is my favorite for cleaning floors. The smell is short-lived. I have many large pine trees creating a natural fresh smell.

If you have odor on your hands, put a couple tablespoons of baking soda in your hands and pour in 1/8 c. vinegar. Rub the foam over your hands for a minute then rinse--odor is gone.

Reply to
Phisherman

Your list of cleaning materials is very instructive. I would think that the magic eraser would fall into the category of this discussion. I had ignored them thinking they were just another cleaning gimmick to be avoided. But because so many people were singing its praises, I decided to try it and became an instant believer. I now buy them by the dozens and find them indispensable in the bathrooms and kitchen. The ease with which this sponge-like material cleans simply by wetting it and without powders or pails of solutions is amazing.

Stern

Reply to
B. Stern

I don't like Ivory because it doesn't lather well. Kirk's rinses away clean, though I think it is the glycerine they add to it that helps. I'm not a fanatic about organic stuff; I have no problem with synthetic chemicals as long as they don't smell.

Reply to
Mister Superstar

Not so wonderful. Soap is more irritating than most bath foams for a given amount of foam, and it may require a tremendous amount in some waters.

Reply to
robgood

But Ivory soap doesn't contain lanolin!

Reply to
robgood

Dial doesn't make a fragrance free soap. Their white is scented.

Reply to
robgood

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