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Matilda
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| Posted: May 17 2007 at 9:33am | IP Logged
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This has probably been discussed before, but I searched multiple variations of this phrase and couldn't find anything.
After the scare we had the other day involving an impromptu demonstration of chemistry gone bad, I am looking for advice on a better way to clean my toilets.
Let me just say that I am a newcomer to the whole "natural living" idea and while I admire it, I have to be honest and say that...I know ME. If it is too difficult, if it involves too many steps, if it requires me to drive to five different stores to look for the right supplies I won't do it. I'm not lazy. I just have a tendency to think "If I can't do it perfectly, then I won't do it at all!" and odds are that the more complicated a procedure is, the more my brain will focus on the opportunity for imperfection. It's not pretty...but there it is.
Anyway...do you have an easy, babysteps method of "going green" in this particular area? Or maybe you have a better method or order of cleaning that avoids the whole Poison Control step I had to take although it might still involve your regular cleansers.
Thanks! 
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Charlotte (Matilda)
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with bookend boys and a double girl sandwich
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mom2mpr
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| Posted: May 17 2007 at 9:43am | IP Logged
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Hee hee...so far nothing has happened in our potty and we seem to have the same type of routine  but I use Simply Green(diluted, of course)for swishing and scrubbing the bowl with a brush. Then wipes on the outside and lid and seat. I prefer the sponge washing but I just don't have the time right now for the rinsing and soaping, etc. So wipes it is!!
Good luck
Anne
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Fuzzy
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| Posted: May 17 2007 at 9:51am | IP Logged
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I would like to hear about your cleaning ways - chemical or non. Also, any suggestions on stain on the toilet seat? How can I scrub it properly? I think it may be a newspaper stain or something (don't ask me how ) but it is not a normal stain.
Any suggestions???
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Fuzzy
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juststartn
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| Posted: May 17 2007 at 10:10am | IP Logged
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Honestly? I use the brush, scrub around the inside, flush, and then pour in 1c bleach. Swish again, scrub down the outside with a rag/wipe, and wait an hour...then I flush.
Not too "green"...but I'm like you. Plus, my bathrooms ARE my laundry room (I have a bath and a half, but they are connected, and the washer/dryer are in the main bathroom), so the bleach is right there anyway.
Rachel
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Celeste
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| Posted: May 17 2007 at 10:31am | IP Logged
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I keep bleach tablets in the tank and swish and swipe a la Flylady. I know, some say that those tablets aren't good for the toilet. But without them the flappers get slimy and stop working and the toilets run. (Have you ever seen a water bill when a toilet has been running a while? I sure hope not. )
Celeste
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JSchaaf
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Celeste wrote:
I keep bleach tablets in the tank and swish and swipe a la Flylady. I know, some say that those tablets aren't good for the toilet. But without them the flappers get slimy and stop working and the toilets run. (Have you ever seen a water bill when a toilet has been running a while? I sure hope not.)
Celeste |
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I like the bleach tablets in the tank too, but my dh says they eat away at the rubber flapper thing and that's what makes the toilet run!!
Jennifer
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hylabrook1
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| Posted: May 17 2007 at 10:55am | IP Logged
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I put a scoop of Oxyclean into the toilet and let it sit for maybe 15 minutes before scrubbing with the toilet brush. It's pretty much *green* and doesn't threaten the ecosystem in the septic the way that bleach would.
Maybe that newsprint stain would go away if you applied a small amount of bleach to it?
Peace,
Nancy
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Lorri
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| Posted: May 17 2007 at 11:07am | IP Logged
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I use Dr. Bronner's Sal Suds with water in a spray bottle and Jeff Campbell's Speed Cleaning technique. In this order, lift the lid and the seat, spray the rim and under the seat, put the seat down, spray the top of the seat and the bottom of the lid, put the lid down and spray the top. Wipe in the reverse order and don't use the towel for any thing else - right into the wash it goes. A little baking powder works well as a cleanser, as does Borax.
If you're looking to go earth friendly and child safe, I highly recommend Clean House, Clean Planet. I've got my dc doing all sorts of household chores, the toddler "helping" right along with them, using the recipes in this book, knowing they'll all be safe from fumes and pesticides. My toddler can go at the windows with a spray bottle of club soda and even if he tastes it or gets it in his eyes or spills it all on the floor, it's no big deal!
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Lorri
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| Posted: May 17 2007 at 11:09am | IP Logged
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...uh that would be fumes and chemicals. I was thinking about how I used I recipe from the book to kill aphids on my tomatoes.
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Celeste
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| Posted: May 17 2007 at 11:24am | IP Logged
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JSchaaf wrote:
| I like the bleach tablets in the tank too, but my dh says they eat away at the rubber flapper thing and that's what makes the toilet run!! |
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I know, it's supposed to work like that, but my toilets don't run with the tablets, and do run without them. Go figure.
Celeste
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trish
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I use a mixture of water, liquid castile soap, tea tree and peppermint essential oils in a spray bottle. It's a recipe from a book whose title I cannot remember and of course cannot find at this moment . I've been using it for years.
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: May 17 2007 at 12:38pm | IP Logged
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GSE can be used as a disinfectant.. dilute in water and use in a spray bottle..
general disinfectant 3 drops per 2 ounces water
stronger disinfectant 3 drops per 1 ounce water
for the stain that may be ink (newsprint) I highly suggest rubbing alcohol.
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kingvozzo
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| Posted: May 17 2007 at 12:53pm | IP Logged
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I just recently got this book. I'm starting to try some of her ideas (I've bought all the stuff), but I'm going to finish up my cleaners that I have (or maybe Freecycle them?). Anyway, lots of good ideas in the book. But, I'm leaning toward still using my Comet with Bleach in the toilet. I'm game for trying tea tree oil as a disinfectant in lots of places, but not quite there with the toilet   .
I haven't used Bleach tablets in my toilet since my oldest was born. I've been worried that someone will get into the toilet and play. Plus, my cat loves to drink the toilet water  
We just replaced out toilet seat because it was so worn that it didn't look clean, even though I knew it was. A new toilet seat is a happy thing!
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kingvozzo
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JodieLyn wrote:
GSE can be used as a disinfectant.. dilute in water and use in a spray bottle..
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What's GSE?
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Noreen
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mary theresa
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It's Grapefruit Seed Extract. (Right Jodie?)
You can get it at Vitamin Shoppe. it's seriously powerful stuff when not diluted (would burn inside your mouth and other mucous membranes) but it's not toxic. i have a big bottle -- It lasts forever and you can use it for EVERYTHING!
Put it in washing machine with your diapers to disinfect. Drink a couple drops in water for indigestion. Spray it on mold to kill it. Soak your fruit in it before eating to neutralize pesticides/chemical sprays.
oh, and I think I've heard that you can use it for internal parasites/worms or externally for those worms that make a circular rash (hookworms?) -- but don't quote me on that . . .
I didn't know you could clean toilets with it! Makes sense though! it's strong stuff.
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JodieLyn
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Yes exactly Mary Theresa.. it's an antibiotic, antiviral, antifungal.. use it if you have problems with yeast infections (internally - taken in something.. not sure what since you wouldn't want the sugar in juice).. give it to kids when you've been around people who've been coughing and sneezing.. giving it in a citrus or pineapple juice seems to work best.. or anytime you're out in flu season or you've been to a resturant playland..
Use it to clean anything.
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Elizabeth
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| Posted: May 17 2007 at 2:42pm | IP Logged
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To clean my toilets, I use Mrs. Myer's Toilet Bowl Cleaner a couple of times a week. And I use an Oxy Clean soak a couple of times a week. I broke down and got bleach tablets a while ago. Wish I hadn't--if the lid's not down, the dog has been known to drink from the toilet.Poor guy.
(Oh, and raw pumpkin seeds and GSE make for the cure of choice here for pinworms . )
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Elizabeth Foss is no longer a member of this forum. Discussions now reflect the current management & are not necessarily expressions of her book, *Real Learning*, her current work, or her philosophy. (posted by E. Foss, Jan 2011)
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doris
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I use Ecover spray for all over and Ecover toilet cleaner for the inside -- don't know if it's available in the US though.
I seem to remember hearing that one shouldn't be too paranoid about germs in the loo -- if it *looks* clean, it probably is. Obviously if there are, ahem, residues, then it's not -- but that's just a question of physically removing them.
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Anne McD
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| Posted: May 17 2007 at 2:57pm | IP Logged
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Okay, so I'm one of the few still harming the planet and potentially damaging my children's nervous systems, but I use the wipes on and around the toilet, and Clorox toilet scrubber pad thingies in the bowl. Tap off the excess water in the bowl, pitch the pad, run the end of the wand under hot water and throw it under the sink.
I just can't handle having "The Brush" hanging around my bathroom. Someone under 3 always thinks its a hairbrush, or worse . . . ugh.
I'd love to go green, but I can't handle all the steps, or "The Brush" for that matter. Does this mean I keep my bathrooms perfectly clean with this method?? Yeah, right!!
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Maryan
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| Posted: May 17 2007 at 3:23pm | IP Logged
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Ditto Anne's routine - for the same reasons!
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4Real Forums : Tea and Conversation
Topic: How do you clean your toilets?
