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Non toxic, natural cleaning products

Some Tips for the Home

Making Homemade Herbal Water

Q: I like to put lavender water in my iron when I am ironing bed linen. However, it costs a fortune (about £8.00 a litre) and I would like to know how to make it myself. Can you help?
A: I am so glad you asked because making herbal infusions-herbs steeped in herbal water- is very easy, satisfying and cheap. Herbal infusions result in herb water, and are a time-honored way of extracting the powerful nutritional and medicinal value of herbs. To make a basic infusion, put a heaping handful of leaves and flowers (about one ounce of herbs, and in your case use lavender) in the bottom of a mason jar, and add boiling water to cover, seal the jar tightly, and let is set overnight or for at least 4 hours. Strain, and discard the herbs.

Brass Cleaners
Q: Hello, I was wondering if you have a formula for cleaning brass?
A: It might be surprising, but ketchup works well for brass cleaning, as does Worcestershire Sauce. Tomato juice works, too, and vinegar... . It is the acid in these ingredients that works to dissolve the tarnish on brass. Some brass has been treated in the factory with a lacquer that has to be eliminated first. To remove it just submerge the brass piece in a NON-aluminum pot of boiling water with two tablespoons of baking soda and washing soda until the lacquer peels off. Once the lacquer has been removed you can clean brass with ketchup, or mix up some salt and lemon juice and rub and buff it on the brass and then rinse, or even simmer the brass in a half and half mixture of milk and water. Milk is an acid, believe it or not, and works for removing tarnish from brass too. Use whatever natural acid is handy and cheap. A good time to clean brass is when you have too many tomatoes in your garden.

Hydrating Mask for Dry Skin
Q: Could you give me a recipe for a good hydrating mask for excessively dry skin? Sarah, TX A: I find that aloe vera gel is about the most hydrating plant you can use on your skin, and it is very healing. Just pat it on. When I first did this, my skin seemed to ask for more and more aloe vera gel for a few days, and then applying it just once a day was sufficient. To make the aloe more lubricating, add about 1/4 the amount of pure vegetable glycerin.

Hard Water Solutions
Q: I live in a hard water part of the country, and we have a big problem with scale and soap scum. Do you have any handy tips for hard water woes? Allison, NY
A: Scale and soap scum are both caused by hard water. Hard water is chalk full of minerals, and their deposits are called scale. Having hard water isn't all bad by any means-it can give you important micro nutrients such as fluoride and magnesium. The secret to getting rid of scale is knowing that it is very alkaline, meaning that it has a high pH. Vinegar, an acidic ingredients, completely dissolves scale. Soak a washcloth in some straight white vinegar and drape the cloth over scale deposits for an hour or so, and then wash away. Or pour vinegar straight onto a sponge or green pad, and scrub bathroom tiles. Vinegar will loosen scale in coffee makers, too. Just add a cup or so of vinegar to a pot of water, and pour through the machine as usual. Rinse a few times with straight water. Soap scum happens when soap reacts to the hard water minerals to form scum. The solution to this problem is to use detergents not soap. Detergents were designed to react less with hard water. Vinegar is the anecdote for a number of hard water problems, including graying laundry. Add 1 cup of white distilled vinegar to the rinse cycle.

Silver Cleaning Tips
Q: Do you have any silver cleaning tips? Thanks. Trish, CO A: Here is a simple, magnetic method for cleaning silver. Fill a pan big enough to hold the silver with water (a corn steamer, for example, for big pieces). Add the silver, baking soda, salt, and aluminum foil. Let the mixture sit for an hour or so. If you stand over it, you will notice a slightly rotten egg smell. The tarnish will magnetically be pulled from the silver onto the aluminum foil. Rinse the silver in hot water and polish dry with a soft cloth. If you have remaining spots and tough-to-clean areas, dab some white supermarket-type toothpaste into your hand. Your natural body oils are part of this formula, so make sure your hands are dry and haven't been washed too recently. Massage the white toothpaste onto the spots. Rub it in until the discoloration is gone. The toothpaste will turn gray and start smelling like metal. A small amount of toothpaste goes a long way when mixed with oils; if you don't want to use your bare hands, add a drop or two of olive oil to the toothpaste. Just plain baking soda will also work for cleaning silver. And to keep silver from tarnishing, store silver that is not being used out of the light, either wrapped in soft felt or cloth.

If you have questions for Annie about solutions for less-toxic living, email her at: AnnieBBond@aol.com
Annie Berthold-Bond is the author of The Green Kitchen Handbook (HarperCollins, 1997).