Note: If you just want the formulas scroll down to the bottom of the post.
At first, and in some cases still, we purchased 'eco friendly' cleaning products from the super market and Babies'r'Us. Although these worked and solved the initial concern with harmful ingredients, some stated that they were even safe to drink, we opted to make our own. The reason behind making our own became 2 parted. One was about the hazards and the other was financial. When we laid out all of the numbers, the costs for cleaning supplies were in the hundreds of dollars each year. By making our own we would be saving a few hundred dollars a year.
To start we wanted safe and cheap alternative to Fantastik, which we do love and used all the time, as our hard surface cleaner. What we came up with was our own personal cleaner that we call 'BemonGar' (patent pending :). The cost difference is about 90% with Fantastik costing $2-4 and BemonGar just under $0.30 a bottle. It works just as well as the Fantastik does but with a caveat. With Fantastik, which has a crazy list of chemicals, you were "supposed" to wipe it up after useing it but we never did. With BemonGar you "always" have to wipe it up or you will leave a white residue, otherwise it works the same way as the Fantastik. The first time I tested the BemonGar on something I was very skeptical but was amazed by its cleaning ability. The biggest benefit I saw was the degrease effect on the range hood in the kitchen. After letting it sit for about 5 minutes, and then rubbing down with a sponge, all of the greasy gook was gone. I was blown away.
As a follow up to the Fantastikc we wanted a replacement for Comet. Now if you have never used Comet before then you do not know what you are missing. This stuff is the greatest scrubbing/scouring cleaner ever made and it will work wonders for your bathtub or kitchen sink. But again you need to wear heavy gloves when using it due to its ingredients. So we simply made a new type of Comet with the base of BemonGar. It works the same way as Comet but not in a powder form. BemonGar Paste is a paste not a powder, so you have to smear it instead of fluff the powder around. Again my amazement was chartable with how well it cleaned our stainless steel sink.
On the sanitation side, the BemonGar works well but not as well as something like Clorox Anywhere. Because of the ingredients in BemonGar, and the concentration levels, it does not kill all, but it does kill most. We opted to create our own not due to the chemicals in Clorox Anywhere but due to the cost of what we were buying. Clorox Anywhere uses chlorine bleach to disinfect and we have no problem with that. The alternatives to bleach can be just as tough to work with and have the same precautions, so we just wanted it to be cheaper. So we made Bleach Anywhere (again patent pending :). Bleach Anywhere is Clorox Anywhere almost to a t. There is no difference chemically but with its smell, because Bleach Anywhere smells like the pool and Clorox's version is more like tap water that was over treated. You use it the same way and it will disinfect the same just at 1/1000th the cost of Clorox Anywhere... That's right you read correctly. Clorox Anywhere ranges between $2-3 a bottle, whereas Bleach Anywhere is only .002 a bottle.
The other cleaners that we have yet to test are a after shower product to reduce mildew called VinTile, a wood floor cleaner called LemOil, and another Clorox Anywhere alternative Poxie. All names and formulas are patented and registered.... Not really.
BemonGar -
2 cups water
2 tsp. baking soda (heaping)
1 cup vinegar
3 tbs. lemon juice
Please be careful when mixing the ingredients. The best way to mix is use 2 cups hot water and dissolve in the baking soda. Then very slowly add the vinegar and the lemon juice. Always stir the ingredients in an open container first, do not shake ingredients together to mix. If you move to fast you will have a very large mess.
BemonGar Paste -
2 tbs. baking soda
1 tbs. water
1 tbs. vinegar
dash of lemon juice
Same as with the BemonGar be sure to mix slowly to avoid a mess.
Bleach Anywhere -
1 1/2 teaspoons of bleach
22 oz. water (the old bottle of Clorox Anywhere)
VinTile, after shower milder preventer -
2 cups water
1/2 cup vinegar
This will smell but the smell dissipates quickly from what I have read.
LemOil -
1 cup olive oil
½ cup lemon juice
Poxie Anywhere -
1 cup water
1 cup hydrogen peroxide solution(3%)
I hope you get a chance to try some of these out and have as much fun in the process of saving money and reducing your chemical levels as we did.
John
