TTMA Cleaners While Pregnant

[gratefulgirl]

MH and I have a standing disagreement on household cleaners. He believes in all the chemicals and that nothing else works. I naturally lean toward inexpensive homemade "green" solutions. Our biggest impasse comes because most of those involve vinegar and H cannot stand the smell. I would clean the bathrooms at 9 a.m. and he'd come home at 5:30 and be revolted. I didn't feel like it was fair for the guy to hate coming home, so I stopped using the homemade stuff.

However when I'm pregnant I have a thing about using all our regular cleaners.  It's probably not completely rational due to my PgAL history. In prior pregnancies H has done the cleaning with chemicals, but that results in things going uncleaned for far too long at a time because H is busy with so much else.

Any idea how we can solve our impasse?

[thelorax]

Can you try Method or Seventh Generation cleaners? Vinegar doesn't smell when it's dry could you run the fans in the bathroom post clean?

[twinkie0612]

I don't have a solution, but totally feel you. I have been on couch rest for the last 4 weeks, which means DH is in charge of all household chores. Our house is filthy right now.

[remylove1011]

I've started to wear gloves when I clean and keep things really well ventilated. I've been slowly moving towards using more natural cleaners, but wanted to use up the big stockpile of stuff that I already had.

[gratefulgirl]

Dec 31, 2015 17:20:14 GMT -5 thelorax said:

Can you try Method or Seventh Generation cleaners? Vinegar doesn't smell when it's dry could you run the fans in the bathroom post clean?

I must have done something wrong, because you could smell vinegar hours later in our house when we used it, even if I used paper towels to wipe everything and took them to the outside trash after I was done.

I'm thinking of trying a "green-ish" cleaner. I just looked and I can disinfect our counters with a 1:1 water/rubbing alcohol solution. The bathrooms I'm still trying to figure out.

[ameliabird]

I use Simple Green. It's got a pleasant smell and is suppose to be better

[juliayadda]

I use a lot of Method stuff. The clorox simply green toilet bowl cleaner is nice too. With vinegar I dilute it half with water. Much less smell.

I learned a fun and easy way to clean my shower/bathtub!

I take one of those sponges with a tube handle for washing dishes, fill it with half blue dawn/half vinegar and run it over the shower while I am in it, and squeegee the bubbles away. As the tub is draining I stand it in and run it around the edges and bottom of the tub.
This has changed my life!!

[joy]

I use the same cleaners I always have. ::shrug::

I work with far worse things as a chemist at work. Common sense all around when using anything.

EDIT: Vinegar does have a nasty smell so I feel for your husband! We have concentrated acetic acid (vinegar is very dilute acetic acid) that I have to open in the hood because the vapors burn my eyes and throat. Yikes.

[Rogue]

I have no advice. In my house I am the one who dislikes vinegar smell but all our cleaners are vinegar based and get things clean so I don't care. You water down your vinegar or go full strength?

[gratefulgirl]

Dec 31, 2015 19:58:40 GMT -5 joy said:

I use the same cleaners I always have. ::shrug::

I work with far worse things as a chemist at work. Common sense all around when using anything.

EDIT: Vinegar does have a nasty smell so I feel for your husband! We have concentrated acetic acid (vinegar is very dilute acetic acid) that I have to open in the hood because the vapors burn my eyes and throat. Yikes.

I feel like common sense is with you, but I can't shake stupid PgAL brain on this one.

[gratefulgirl]

Dec 31, 2015 20:05:05 GMT -5 Rogue said:

I have no advice. In my house I am the one who dislikes vinegar smell but all our cleaners are vinegar based and get things clean so I don't care. You water down your vinegar or go full strength?

I did a 50-50 mix water and vinegar. Could not cover up the scent for anything.

[Rogue]

Maybe the act of covering it up made it worse? Like spraying air freshener when the air stinks.

We use different concentrations for different things. The dogs have a foot bath that is the strongest in the house. We keep it sealed up when not in use.

[thepax89]

I second the dawn+vinegar for the shower, but I have it in a spray bottle. I made one with peroxide and rubbing alcohol but it felt super chemically-smelling.

I use lysol wipes if I cook with raw meat. Otherwise I clean my counters with a spray bottle with vinegar + water + a bit of green apple dawn. (My husband is now a convert)

Babyganics makes some non-toxic cleansers as well that I use on my daughter's high chair if the grime is out of control.

[juliayadda]

Dec 31, 2015 20:55:04 GMT -5 thepax89 said:

I second the dawn+vinegar for the shower, but I have it in a spray bottle. I made one with peroxide and rubbing alcohol but it felt super chemically-smelling.

I use lysol wipes if I cook with raw meat. Otherwise I clean my counters with a spray bottle with vinegar + water + a bit of green apple dawn. (My husband is now a convert)

Babyganics makes some non-toxic cleansers as well that I use on my daughter's high chair if the grime is out of control.

Lysol wipes are my jam! 

[dc2london]

Truthfully I just got used to the vinegar smell.
Are you diluting it enough? For cleaning you can use equal parts vinegar and water

[gratefulgirl]

Dec 31, 2015 21:17:56 GMT -5 dc2london said:

Truthfully I just got used to the vinegar smell.
Are you diluting it enough? For cleaning you can use equal parts vinegar and water

Yeah, that's the ratio I used. I wouldn't notice it after about 2 hours, but I have a pretty poor sense of smell. I tried just about every trick on Pinterest but I couldn't get the smell to the point where H could handle it. Unlike me he is super sensitive about stuff like that.

[hrushka]

I use vinegar occasionally, but mostly method and seventh generation products. I also have some Norwex cloths that I use for dusting, Windows, etc.

[shamrockshimmy]

I do a lot of seventh generation as well. I've been debating buying some Norwex products too, several of my coworkers sell them. They are kind of expensive though and I have trouble rationalizing spending the money on that.

[juliayadda]

Jan 1, 2016 12:54:01 GMT -5 shamrockshimmy said:

I do a lot of seventh generation as well. I've been debating buying some Norwex products too, several of my coworkers sell them. They are kind of expensive though and I have trouble rationalizing spending the money on that.

I have many. Once you go Norwex... The classic cloths are my favourite.

[alygohome]

I hired someone to clean and she cleans with this vinager/water/orange peel mixture. It smells like oranges instead of vinager.
I personally use all the chemicals when I clean though.

[kaeguri]

gratefulgirl, I'm lurking bc I'm feeling stalkerish today. I switched to branch basics while pregnant, which is a food safe/vegan/non GMO/non allergenic soap concentrate. You mix it with water and in different dilutions, can be used for bathrooms, laundry, hand soap, body soap, and as an all purpose spray. I add lemon essential oil to make it smell better, otherwise, it has no scent. I am paranoid of my baby one day going in the cabinet and drinking the cleaners, so I purged all our toxic stuff. It works really well too! I used it to clean up cat pee and the smell is gone, something I could only use vinegar for before (and make everything smell).

[cagoldi]

Jan 5, 2016 10:31:10 GMT -5 kaeguri said:

gratefulgirl, I'm lurking bc I'm feeling stalkerish today. I switched to branch basics while pregnant, which is a food safe/vegan/non GMO/non allergenic soap concentrate. You mix it with water and in different dilutions, can be used for bathrooms, laundry, hand soap, body soap, and as an all purpose spray. I add lemon essential oil to make it smell better, otherwise, it has no scent. I am paranoid of my baby one day going in the cabinet and drinking the cleaners, so I purged all our toxic stuff. It works really well too! I used it to clean up cat pee and the smell is gone, something I could only use vinegar for before (and make everything smell).

I'm going to look into Branch Basics.

We use Seventh Generation because I needed something vegan and cruelty-free. My husband hates vinegar and was giving me a hard time since store-bought vegan products can be more pricey. 7th Generation was a compromise because it was the same price as regular cleaners, but much to my surprise, it cleans really well!

We use the bathroom cleaner, toilet gel, an all-purpose cleaner, and I even use the fabric softener. I've been happy with all their stuff so far.

I would think as someone mentioned up thread, you could add some sweet orange essential oil to you vinegar mixture and see if that is enough to tame the scent.

[gratefulgirl]

Jan 5, 2016 13:22:25 GMT -5 cagoldi said:

Jan 5, 2016 10:31:10 GMT -5 kaeguri said:

gratefulgirl , I'm lurking bc I'm feeling stalkerish today. I switched to branch basics while pregnant, which is a food safe/vegan/non GMO/non allergenic soap concentrate. You mix it with water and in different dilutions, can be used for bathrooms, laundry, hand soap, body soap, and as an all purpose spray. I add lemon essential oil to make it smell better, otherwise, it has no scent. I am paranoid of my baby one day going in the cabinet and drinking the cleaners, so I purged all our toxic stuff. It works really well too! I used it to clean up cat pee and the smell is gone, something I could only use vinegar for before (and make everything smell).

I'm going to look into Branch Basics.

We use Seventh Generation because I needed something vegan and cruelty-free. My husband hates vinegar and was giving me a hard time since store-bought vegan products can be more pricey. 7th Generation was a compromise because it was the same price as regular cleaners, but much to my surprise, it cleans really well!

We use the bathroom cleaner, toilet gel, an all-purpose cleaner, and I even use the fabric softener. I've been happy with all their stuff so far.

I would think as someone mentioned up thread, you could add some sweet orange essential oil to you vinegar mixture and see if that is enough to tame the scent.

Wait, wait, 7th Generation is the same price as the other stuff? Need to check this out. Price is going to be a big deal to my husband.

[thelorax]

The nice thing about using green cleaners is that I can let DD (2.5 years old) clean. The girl loves it!

[cagoldi]

Jan 5, 2016 14:42:31 GMT -5 gratefulgirl said:

Jan 5, 2016 13:22:25 GMT -5 cagoldi said:

I'm going to look into Branch Basics.

We use Seventh Generation because I needed something vegan and cruelty-free. My husband hates vinegar and was giving me a hard time since store-bought vegan products can be more pricey. 7th Generation was a compromise because it was the same price as regular cleaners, but much to my surprise, it cleans really well!

We use the bathroom cleaner, toilet gel, an all-purpose cleaner, and I even use the fabric softener. I've been happy with all their stuff so far.

I would think as someone mentioned up thread, you could add some sweet orange essential oil to you vinegar mixture and see if that is enough to tame the scent.

Wait, wait, 7th Generation is the same price as the other stuff? Need to check this out. Price is going to be a big deal to my husband.

They were at Target. : )

My husband complains a lot about "The Vegan Premium Tax," but it's non-negotiable for me. So we were both happy with this find. I think the only thing that is a tad more pricey is the fabric softener. All the regular cleaning items were the exact same price as Lysol, Scrubbing Bubbles, Windex, etc.