Tub/Shower Scrub
1 cup of baking soda
½ cup castile soap10 drops of lemon essential oil
5 drops of tea tree essential oil
5 drops of peppermint essential oil (or lavender, grapefruit, etc.)
2 Tablespoons of distilled white vinegar
Mix baking soda, castile soap, and essential oils in an old
washed out jam jar. Add vinegar and
watch it fizz! After the fun fizzing settles down, mix the whole thing up
more. The consistency should be that of
frosting. If it’s too runny, add a bit
of baking soda, if it’s too thick, add a bit more vinegar. I find tea tree oil to be an excellent
antibacterial, but a strong smelling one- mixing with other antibacterial
essential oils helps to balance the smell.
To use: moisten a
wash cloth or sponge. Scoop out some paste and mush it about your cloth or
sponge. Scrub, scrub, scrub! Rinse with
water when done scrubbing. For tougher shower/tub jobs: use more
paste and slather it directly to your shower or tub surface. I like to wear rubber gloves for major
cleaning, so for this step, I forego the washcloth and just use my gloved hand
to rub the paste about. Leave on the
surface for a few minutes (longer the grimier your surface is) and then scrub
about using a long handled brush. Wipe
off with a wet sponge/cloth and rinse clean with more water.
“Scrubbing Bubbles,” works great! But, it stinks. It stinks for the environment and literally,
its smell is so over powering that it gives me heartburn, makes my eyes water,
and leaves me light headed. Many friends
and family members feel similarly about “Scrubbing Bubbles”… My sister-in-law warned me many years ago
that commercial household cleaners could cause cancer, and I wouldn’t be one
bit surprised if this one topped the list!
“Scrubbing Bubbles” was one of the harder household cleaners
for me to give up/replace. It just works
so well, and takes so little effort to get the job done. Spray, leave, scrub a bit with a long handled
brush, and then rinse “away.” But the truth
is, I was cleaning my tubs and showers rarely at best. I felt guilty for using the harsh chemical
and the heartburn and light headedness certainly didn’t help motivate me to
clean the tubs and showers either.
Eventually, I realized that I was being dumb, and just needed to bite
the bullet, add a little more elbow grease, and clean the tubs and showers with
a less toxic substance. I could even let
myself out of running, thinking the “extra elbow grease” was a suitable
exercise substitute…
Anyways, I figured I might as well go “all the way” and
experiment with homemade cleaners until I found one that would clean,
disinfect, and spare my body and our environment any negative side
effects. I was surprised to find, how
“easy” it was to find a decently effective recipe! The hard part, for me, was to understand the
role of essential oils and how to put them to the best antibacterial use. Most recipes I found online called for more
essential oil than my nose/stomach could handle. I found myself feeling just as ill from the
smell of essential oils as I did from the chemically smell of “Scrubbing
Bubbles”... that was NO GOOD.
After many days of research, I came to the personal
conclusion, that baking soda and vinegar alone was more than enough to get my
tubs and showers clean. I almost stopped
there, but a nagging feeling in the back of my head at the height of flu season
this year, made me keep at it to find a reasonable way to boost my cleaners’
disinfecting and antibacterial power.
Turns out, there is a lot of conclusive evidence that certain essential
oils are antibacterial/viral powerhouses but not a lot of conclusive evidence
to show how much essential oil you actually need to get the job done. Grrrr…
One reference I found claimed that once you get to less than 4%
essential oil (tea tree was the example), you no longer have enough power to
kill bacteria. Two other sources claimed
that at lower than .25% concentration, you may
not have enough power to kill bacteria… Worse, you can actually help bacteria
grow resistant to the essential oil if you don’t use enough- UGH!
So, I’ve recently come to another personal conclusion: add
just enough essential oil to reach just over .25% of the total volume. Also, mix my essential oils to strike an
olfactory balance that leaves me with a tolerable smell while in a small
bathroom cleaning with the door shut. Most
of the resources I’ve read written by “experts” in essential oils, homeopaths,
and even a dialogue with an herbologist friend seemed to feel that letting your
nose be your guide was sufficient. You
should be able to smell the essential oil, but not so strongly that if you
leave the room, you still smell it or feel it lingers in your nose. I’m happy with this. My research has taught me that well over 90%
of germs are gone with just a good scrub/wipe down with vinegar and water, so
anything else added to boost germ fighting power is bonus. Plus, Vidal helped out with the whole math part
about the .25% and I was able to figure out how to apply this new “rule” to all
my cleaning recipes as well- PHEW!
Math hurts, and often leaves me in tears (seriously). Also, every time I ask Vidal for math help, I
end up with hours of math tutoring… So
you can rest assured that I must REALLY want to get the whole antibacterial
fighting power via essential oils right to do a bunch of math and enlist my
husband’s help with it. If you want to
read how I got around to this math, you will have to convince my husband to tell
you.
My
“herbologist friend” happens to be the awesome Papa of one of my college
roomies J He also happens to be a super cool artist
who’s ever evolving work celebrates the Earth by using only sustainable methods
and materials! Check him out at: http://www.gregpatchart.com,
http://www.gregpatch.blogspot.com, and http://www.greenartstudio.com
To read more about the effectiveness of tea tree oil as a
germ fighting heavyweight, and other essential oils, visit:
http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/australia_innovates/research.php
(scroll down a bit)
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100330210942.htm
No comments:
Post a Comment