Time for Part 2 of Pet Safe Cleaning. If you missed Part 1, check it out here.

There are many, many cleaning products that are not safe for our 4 legged friends on the market. Dogster.com recommended dog owners not use these popular products & be on the lookout for more pet-friendly items:

Floor Cleaners - These include Pine Sol and Mr. Clean. Even if you manage to get all of the residue off the floor, the vapors linger and are dangerous to your pet. Try a non-toxic, pet safe cleaner instead.

Bathroom Cleaners - These include Clorox Bathroom Cleaner and Scrubbing Bubbles. Try a product such as Ecover Bathroom Cleaner instead. Never use a continuous toilet bowl cleaner such as Clorox Automatic Toilet Bowl Cleaner. It is very dangerous and the temptation to drink out of the toilet is a quirk in many of our pups.

All Purpose Cleaners - For use in the kitchen and around the house, the most common toxic all-purpose cleaners that scream “Danger!” are Mr. Clean Multi-Purpose Spray and Formula 409.

Drain Openers - You may think that since this product is poured down the drain, it can’t be harmful to your pet. But the toxic drain openers give off dangerous fumes long after you’ve emptied them. For a non-toxic, pet safe option, try a product such as Earth Friendly Enzymes Drain Opener.

Glass Cleaner - It may seem that toxic glass cleaners are simpler products and are, therefore, safe but they are not. Instead of something like Windex, try a product such as Nature Clean Window and Glass Cleaner.

Laundry Detergent - It’s easy to assume that choosing a laundry detergent isn’t that important because the rinse cycle rinses it away. But there is residue left behind on clothes and pet blankets that can be harmful to your pet, especially those that chew on their bedding. Avoid detergents with toxic ingredients such as Tide and Cheer…

We have two cats, Scarlet & Mr Darcy, and one puppy, Bertie. They are adorable, follow me everywhere & get into everything; which poses a problem when I am cleaning. Bucket of water? Oh, that must be for me to drink out of! You’re spraying things! That must me I should bat at it!This got me thinking, what products am I using and how bad are they if Scarlet, Mr Darcy, & Bertie get into them?

Scarlet

It turns out, it is worse than I originally thought. I knew some products were going to be bad, bleach for example, has huge warning labels on it, but my stainless steel cleaner, spray for the windows, and what about the floor cleaner…they could all seriously hurt or kill our cats if they are ingested! This was a big wake up call for me. I also started thinking about what I use to deep clean their litter boxes. It  started to become depressing so I started researching.

Mr Darcy

What is safe to use around pets? What, if they happened to get into our cleaning cabinet, wouldn’t hurt them or not hurt them as much? Since Bertie is still potty training (and in chew mode), what is he sleeping on and, inevitably, eating?Most items can be cleaned with white vinegar & the addition of some essential oils. The oils aid in the smell make the solution more antibacterial. Pour some white vinegar into your clean spray bottle & off you go! You do have to be careful with the essential oils around cats. Never, ever use them when the cat will be licking the surface or near by. Essential oils can kill cats. (This is also why you should never ever use a dog shampoo on a cat.)

Bertie

I only wash their (and our) items in our homemade laundry detergent and, for Bertie, I only bathe him in our new dog shampoo. I control what is in those products so I don’t have to worry. For the cats, we hardly ever bathe them – only if they get super dirty somehow. The Suds dog shampoo cannot be used on the cats because of the oils used. Essential oils can kill cats & I love my little fur balls.

In part two of our Keep Fido Safe posts, we’ll talk about some other household products to avoid to keep our fur children safe.

We only have 3 areas in our apartment that require something other than a vacuum cleaner to get them sparkling clean. We’re talking a maybe, maybe 300sqft total. For those of you in New York City, that is a lot of footage, but here, that is small. We put a lot more money and time into choosing a vacuum than we did the mop. Which is how we ended up with a wet jet. You all know what they are, it is had to avoid a commercial about them if you watch tv. I love the ease and I don’t have any buckets to fill but I hate the waste.

In the summer of 2011 I was trying to find different ways to reuse or make our apartment even more eco-friendly when I came across Detroit Knitter on esty. She has come up with one of my favorite etsy purchases – a fabric wet jet reusable pad! When I saw the posting and I immediately purchased the pack of 3. I figured if we could use each one enough times to not have to purchase at least one refill pad kit, we would have saved money, time and that many less pads would be in the landfill.

I was amazed with them when they came in the mail. They are a little bigger than the head of the wet jet mop but that works extremely well for us, especially when we are trying to clean around the litter box. The terry cloth works extremely well at moping the floor, too. To clean them, I just throw them in with my regular wash. We’ve hand the reusable pads for almost a year now. I am estimating, but I believe we have saved at least two boxes of refill pads by now.

I highly recommend grabbing several of the reusable pads the next time you are running low on your refills for your wet jet. A bonus is, she also includes a make at home recipe for the cleaning solution too! As a side note, I purchased all the products mentioned in the post and was not compensated in any way to write this.

I discovered a great product: Dryer Balls

Dryer Balls

Then, I discovered a great product: Dryer Balls. Dryer balls are super easy to use, are made of wool, and are felted. As they move in the dryer they help reduce static cling and soften clothes naturally. they do make a little extra noise rolling around in the dryer but it is worth it for the results.

Please do not use the plastic dryer balls

Please do not use the plastic dryer balls. If you are taking the time to remove chemicals from your laundry, don’t add them back in with plastic dryer, steam balls, or tennis balls. You can make your own dryer balls out of 100% wool yarn (it is very important that it is 100% wool or they won’t felt) or you can find many, many options on etsy. If you’d like a great tutorial on how to make your own, check out Good Mama’s post. We use between 3-5 balls per load; depending on how large the load is and what we are drying. So, that is one of my tricks for naturally softer laundry. I hope this helps you get softer laundry that is static free!

Last year, at the West End Farmers Market, we started featuring dish washing detergent. I LOVE homemade dish detergent and so did those who picked up a sample. I started making detergent  because our dishes started coming out of the dishwasher looking dirty.

After some research, I found out that  in 2010 the ban on Phosphates took affect. Phosphates keep dishes crystal clear, but at a huge price; killing fish & hurting the environment. My homemade dish detergent, though, leaves your dishes spotless! Our simple glasses do not look frosted and our red plates don’t have a white film causing them to look muted. The best endorsement I have gotten for the detergent is from my husband who does the dishes – yes, he does all the dishes!

There is one problem with out original batches because of a chemical reaction when you mix two of the natural elements together. They clump. This isn’t exactly the reaction that someone who is purchasing a bag of our detergent wants to see. The clumping isn’t bad for the detergent or for the cleanliness of your dishes, it is just not user friendly. So, we are reformulating from our jar of dish detergent to be more user friendly!  It has been a slow process, trying to get the right amount of clumping action, but so far we are on target to debut our new revamped dish detergent in time for Earth Day in April. Here is a pic of one test batch!

Test Dish Detergent Batch

With today’s machines’s laundry can appear to be so simple. Drop the clothes in, some soap, and off you go – hopefully, putting the clothes out to dry as soon as the wash cycle is over. According to Joey Green’s Cleaning Magic people have a lot of bad habits like using too much soap, overloading washing machines, ignoring stains, and not separating colors and fabrics. What can you do to have better, cleaner & less dingy laundry? Try these 5 tips:

Add Your Soap First

Adding your soap, especially powered, before you add your laundry gives the soap time to dissolve and disperse in the water. With our soap, you only need between 1-3 tablespoons of soap to fully clean a load of laundry! This takes a bit of getting use to but it is imperative that you don’t over soap or you will end up with a residue on your clothing – you don’t want that on your traditional DC black clothing!

Use that Measuring Spoon

Just like adding your soap first is important, just as important is not using too much! Make sure you are using the correct amount for your soap. In many cases, especially for liquid soap, you can even use less than the manufacture recommends. Test a smaller amount of soap on a load and see if you notice a difference. You may find there is less residue and less dingy clothes! Remember that more is not always better.

Don’t Over Load

Putting too much into your machine can mean clothes don’t have the opportunity to get clean. Weighing your clothes is the best way to determine how full to “stuff” the machine. Since most of us do not have scales for that, fill the machine about 3/4th the way up the drum. Any fuller and the machine will have trouble agitating the laundry.

Clean Your Machine

It actually isn’t hard to clean your machine at all. It takes a measuring cup and some white vinegar. That’s it. Run an empty load of with just water and one cup of white vinegar. The vinegar will help remove any soap residue – this is especially important for the chronic soap over user. White vinegar also helps with any smells from laundry that was left wet in the machine for too long.

Treat that Stain

Treat stains while they are wet. This will help prevent the stain from setting. Soak the garment first; then use stain remover. It you used Suds’ laundry detergent you can

Suds will have our new products and some special promotions just for the conference! As more information becomes available about the conference, we will add it to our calendar on our Hear From Us page. Plus, we’ll also add some teasers about our expo only products, too. We can’t wait to see you there!

Last week, we had fun playing around with some soap while in the winter. We are starting to slowly restock our soap pantry for the upcoming show season. It is looking like our first big show will be in April, so we are starting our stick blenders! This is a simple 2lb batch of pure; natural soap. No essential oils or colors were used.

The measuring of a few more oils. Gotta use that scale to make sure your recipe is made correctly!

And finally, into the mold it goes after a few minutes with the stick blender! It stays like this for at least 24 hours before it’s removed and cut into bars. This soap will be made into our Free & Clear laundry detergent – after its aged. Just like good cheese, it takes a little bit of air and love for soap to reach perfection.

Although not the best pictures, this is how we make our soap at OTS!

Old Town Suds has some large things in the work for next season, so be sure to stay tuned! We have several new events where we will be exhibiting in the Washington, DC area. One is open to the public and only features eco-friendly vendors! You won’t want to miss it. You’ll also not want to miss our booth at the West End Farmers Market in Alexandria, VA. The market is scheduled to open in May and is next to Cameron Station. If you are a dog person, the West End market is a must for you!

Want to purchase OTS products during the winter season? Visitour Etsy store to see what is available. If you live in Alexandria, VA be sure to send us a message first to save on shipping.

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