Mrs Meyer's Wipes in Baby Blossom

I think I am moving away from using disposable wipes, even in the bathroom, but I've really loved them in the past. Mrs Meyer's are my favorite, as they don't leave too much soapy residue behind (thus trapping more dirt, ultimately). I ordered their new Baby Blossom wipes, even though I don't have any babies hanging around in my apartment. The scent sounded great for spring cleaning: "spring wildflowers, butterfly violets & honeysuckle with a teeny bit of apple, lemon & mint".

Okay, so my nose can't really identify even half of those notes when I'm cleaning, but I do smell a sweet floral. Not bad. It doesn't beat the lavender or lemon-verbena scent for me, but it's pleasant. (Still waiting to try that Basil!) Mrs. M's site claims this line of products is especially safe for use around small children. Also nice for me, as I have sensitive skin. ;)

My bathroom, particularly around my toilet, is now actually clean thanks to these. My absence from this blog has been indicative of a workload that's kept me from cleaning as thoroughly as usual too.

I just got Bon Ami powder yesterday so I'll be testing that soon too.

Method, Bi-o-kleen, etc.

Hello! My apologies for being absent so long, my fellow green-cleaning fans. School has been a bit crazy. I have made the time to eyeball Method's new products and packaging design though! (Check out their great new website!) They launched kids' products and more bathroom cleaning goodies (I want to try "Le Scrub!) I am curious to know if any of you have tried them, and if so, what you think! This is my favorite new page on their website. What droolworthy design!

I like that they have hand soap refills now (good for me, as I have glass soap dispensers I just pour soap into and that'll be cheaper and more eco-friendly). Alas, the magic self-foaming soap won't work in my dispenser. (Their having hand soap in "eucalyptus mint" now makes up for it... although their soap tends not to be super moisturizing. I'll sneak in here that I like EO's hand soap better than method's, and EO's comes in gallon jug refills!)

Right now I also want to try Biokleen's "Bac-Out" (scroll down on their site a bit). It can be sprayed on surfaces or poured. Apparently you can use it to take odors out of your garbage disposal, kitchen trash, and toilet bowl, among its myriad functions. I have odors in all three consistently despite my rabid cleaning, so I need some anti-stank remover. Biokleen's products have been very effective so far. I have hope for the Bac-Out!

Method Eucalyptus Mint Flushable Wipes

I was surprised a couple of weeks ago to find Method products at my nearby Whole Foods! Until recently, Whole Foods seemed to take the attitude that Method wasn't natural enough to stock. This particular store's move to carry Method came at a good time; I had just run out of bathroom wipes and was despairing of finding anything at Whole Foods (my closest one stocks Mrs Meyers products in general, but not the disposable wipes.)

I don't know what it is but I seem to keep gravitating towards Method's Eucalyptus Mint Flushable Wipes. In the past I've used them and lamented how soapy they are. They seem to leave a bit of a film on everything. I have to use a really light touch when wiping with them, or I wind up having to go over the area I've just swiped with water. Still, I love that Eucalyptus Mint smell.

So I bought a new pack despite my memories of soapiness, and basically reaffirmed my opinion. I just need to remember not to re-buy these next time; they're just too soggy. There's also something about the way they're seated in my resealable pack that's a bit difficult as well. I pull on the topmost cloth and wind up in a tug of war, finally extracting about 20 sheets. I can never seem to get them back into the pack the way they were either.

Sure, they're flushable, but I'd rather drop them in my trash bin given the chance. I don't want to flush my toilet more than I need to. I think I've made a good environmental calculation there . Sometimes it's a wee hard to tell.

I'm a big fan of disposable wipes for bathroom surfaces (except the mirrors. Microfiber all the way there.) I can clean in little spurts as I see messes appear and avoid dealing with a big job / gross bathroom.

I think in order to get my EM scent fix I may try the new aroma pill instead. It comes in gingerbread spice, sweet water, vanilla apple, grapefruit pear, and, of course, eucalyptus mint.

Oooh, new mop head

You know you're a cleaning nerd when this sort of thing excites you. My trusty Casabella Flex-Neck Scrubber, which I use to scrub my shower stall (glass walls, tile walls, and plastic floor) and my tub (plastic?) now has a new replacement head available for it. The heads last forever, and the sponge can be removed to let it dry out.

Anyway, the new head is called the "TNT" head because it's extra scrubby and claims "The abrasive synthetic fibers work well on mildew."

Can I hear an "Ooooooh!" ;) ?

$14.99 for a two-pack. I like to get them at Bed, Bath, and Beyond or Whole Foods.

Mrs Meyer's Surface Wipes

I am still using up my gingerbread Mrs Meyer's products from last Christmas (I overstocked), but if you haven't tried them they're on 50% off clearance on Mrs Meyer's site!

Anyway, this is about the surface wipes, which sadly are no longer stocked by my Whole Foods. I guess they're trying to encourage people not to use disposable wipes, which is admirable. For me, they're a bathroom product. I know I could simply clean with water and microfiber cloths in the b-room but my current microfiber cloths seem to leave more lint and dirt behind than they pick up. That's a problem for another entry. They might be ready to be replaced. :)

Anyway, while I have often found Method's disposable wipes to be too soapy, Mrs Meyer's have just the right amount of cleaning-product-to-wipe ratio. They work equally well on my laminate bathroom countertops and the toilet seat. I've been known to wipe up messes on the floor with them as well. The wipes come in Lemon Verbena (I like this one), Geranium (so-so) and Lavender (when I am going through a lavender phase). Alas, the seasonal gingerbread and honeysuckle offerings haven't made it to disposable wipe form.

I know someone with a young kid who used to keep these in the glove compartment of her car. She used them to clean all sorts of car messes up, because they don't leave sticky residue behind.

I think of disposable wipes as the lazy-person's cleaning product, and I am definitely inclined to be lazy when I clean if I can.

These are made with essential oils, but I don't know if they're biodegradable like Method's claim to be. They aren't flushable like the Method bathroom wipes, but I really don't mind. Aprox. $4.99 for 24 in a resealable pack that really does keep them moist.

Bathroom scrubbies and laundry whites

There's a new-to-me product I really want to try: Bon Ami's 1886 Formula Cleaning Powder. I want to use it in my bathroom, on the tub and tiles and grout. As an avid bath-taker, my tub needs to be clean. I kind of admire the Japanese custom of rinsing and cleaning before climbing into the bath. I don't like the idea of sitting in dirty water, in other words. A product that's been around this long may just have something going for it. Anyone tried it?

Today was a day for doing a load of laundry whites. I wasn't feeling particularly well, and was looking for mindless chores to do instead of getting academic work done. Among the culprits was my husband's bathrobe, which looked pretty scary before I tossed it in.

I have a habit that I picked up from ... somewhere? of using borax in loads of white. I'll combine something like 1/4 cup of borax and white vinegar plus 10 drops of lemon essential oil with loads of whites, and it brightens them up nicely. I wish the lemon scent really stuck around, but citrus oils are great for brightening so it's worth keeping them in the mix.

Heather's Concentrated Oxygen Bleach Cleanser

Before leaving our last apartment, I really wanted to try to tackle some of the stains we'd created that I hadn't been able to remove with my arsenal of products. Nothing took them out, and I didn't want to resort to buying Clorox or Soft Scrub. After buying and returning a couple of products, I saw a slim canister tucked among the offerings at my local Whole Foods. "Heather's Concentrated Oxygen Bleach Cleanser" it said on the label, and promised to be chlorine-free, natural (oh that vague term), and "safer around kids, pets, and the environment." I nabbed the can and rushed home to try it.

First was the kitchen counter- my husband's iron teapot had left stains on it that wouldn't budge. I dampened the spots and sprinkled the powder onto them ("Comet" style), and then ran upstairs to do the same for the bath tub stains (too many fancy bath bombs, not enough prompt cleaning.) By the time I came back down to the kitchen to wipe away the cleaner, it had worked! Goodbye stains! Perhaps I used a bit too much in both cases, but I didn't care. The bath tub was a little more difficult, but the stains at least faded.

In my new apartment I have used this stuff on the stall shower floor. I wait until post-shower so the floor is damp, and then go to town. I have noticed the floor is whiter after I apply this stuff, but I think nothing can help that shower floor (god I hate it. My bathrooms need to be pristine or I get severely grossed out.)

Um, my nuttiness aside, this is a great product. It doesn't remove everything, but it tackles plenty of stains that other eco-friendly products don't even make a dent in.
I want to try the Basin, Tub & Tile Cleaner, and they offer a "trial size" pack so you can sample their product offerings without a big commitment.

Method Tub + Tile Spray

The Tub + Tile spray is in Method's Eucalyptus Mint scent, which I typically like. However, I honestly don't think this stuff gives off much of an odor beyond "soap". I used this to tackle the green stains left behind by my Enviro-Magic Grout Cleaner. I appreciate that you don't need to rinse after using this stuff, but I almost found myself doing it anyway in hopes that it'd help. I'd say this particular product does an okay job of dealing with cleaning tile, and general bathroom surfaces. Grout, not so much. It's never really been great at removing the soap-scum my Lush baths can leave behind in the tub.

I know many eco-nerds are wary of method. It's sold in Target, and many drugstores. Most complaints are about the vagueness of the ingredients list, and honestly, I've found this to be the case on many eco-cleaning products. The "corn/coconut-derived and biodegradable surfactant blend" is probably SLS/SLES (sodium lauryl/laureth sulfate), which should be ok if you don't let it sit on your skin forever. Method leans towards fragrance, rather than essential oils as well, which doesn't particularly bother me, but makes me feel less romantic about the products.