Laundry liquid and general cleaning

Buying laundry and cleaning products can become quite an expensive part of grocery shopping, but it doesn't need to be. They are easy to make using ingredients from the supermarket. All these cleaners suit a simple home because they contain a tiny portion of the chemicals found in the commonly used expensive products.  I've included a couple of recipes below for you to try but first we'll start with one of my favourite cleaning processes - soaking.

Soaking and stain removal

I often look for ways to do my day-to-day chores without using any, or very few, cleaning products. I remember when I was growing up, my mum used to soak clothes before washing them. Sometimes she put them into a big copper boiler and boiled them while moving them around with a wooden stick. The washing took hours to do and often she did it on a Friday night after she finished her paid job.

I soak cotton, linen and poly-blend clothes too although I don't do it the way my mum did. If I have something that is badly stained, I fill a large container up with very hot water from the tap, add Disan, an oxy-bleach, dissolve the Disan with my laundry stick and drop the clothes in. BTW, my laundry stick is a spurtle - a scottish stick for stirring porridge. If you want to do something similar, a piece of dowel would work well. Many stains can be removed using this method. You can also whiten your greying whites this way as well.

Another way to remove a stain is to wet the fabric and then rub laundry bar soap or laundry liquid on the stain, roll it up and leave it for an hour or so. You roll it up so it doesn't dry out. Then pop it in with the normal wash and the stain will probably go. If you have a top loading washing machine, fill it for your normal wash, apply soap or laundry liquid to any stains you notice, put the stained clothing in the filled washing machine and let it soak, overnight if possible. The following morning, do your normal wash. Generally all stains will be removed by the soaking.

Soaking is one of those gentle, old-fashioned methods you very rarely hear about now because often it doesn't use a product that someone is trying to push. This type of clothes care is particularly good for perspiration stains under arms, collar grime, whitening whites and general stains. Soaking works really well with overnight soaking in plain water but if the stain is a stubborn one, add some oxy-bleach or rub with soap.

Caring for Leather

You’d think that caring for leather would be pretty straightforward; leather has been used for hundreds if not thousands of years. But no, everyone has their own method, and if you look on the internet, as many claims are made for one method as against it.

There are products that clean and condition at the same time but I prefer the two-stage method because leather usually just needs cleaning. To clean leather clothing, hats or couches, check the seams first and if they’re dusty, put the upholstery head on the vacuum cleaner and go over them. Then add half a teaspoon of Dr Bronner’s liquid castile soap, or a gentle liquid soap, to one cup of warm water and moisten a soft cloth – don’t make it too wet. Clean a small area at a time, and finish by rubbing the leather with a clean soft cloth, making sure everything is dry. Every three months or so you can apply a leather conditioner – the products available at car care or equestrian shops seem to be better than those from the supermarket.

For spot-cleaning, deal with the problem as soon as possible. Clean with the liquid soap as above and then nourish the area with a leather conditioner.

Wicker baskets

I have several wicker baskets and they’re all workhorses, used to store everything from potatoes to wool. If you have a dirty basket, brush the wicker with a little liquid soap, not detergent, on a soft wet brush. When you’ve given it a good clean, take the basket outside and hose it down. This sounds harsh, but it tightens up the wicker and pulls it back into shape. Dry the basket in the sun and open air before using it again. If you have fragile baskets, simply brush them over with a dry bristle brush and rub a moist cloth over the wicker, then dry in the shade.

Straw hats

Straw hats can be maintained with a soft-bristle brush (I use a soft-bristle paintbrush), all over, as often as you feel like doing it. To clean a dirty hat, mix half a teaspoon of Dr Bronner’s liquid castile soap with one cup of warm water. Dip a soft cloth into the warm soapy water and clean small areas of the hat at a time. Make sure you don’t wet the hat too much, because it will weaken the straw.

For oily stains, sprinkle the area with cornflour or talcum powder and gently rub it into the straw. Leave it for a couple of hours, then either vacuum or brush off. Repeat if necessary. When not being worn, straw hats should be stored away from the sun, either in a box or on a hook resting on the sweatband, not the straw. Cover with a soft cloth to protect it from dust.

Stuffed toys

Read the care label and if the toy can be washed, wait for a dry, sunny day, place the toy in a pillowcase and close with a rubber band. Add laundry liquid or powder and a teaspoon of either lemon myrtle or tea-tree essential oil and wash in cold water on the eco or fast setting. Hang the toy on the line in the sun, using an ear or tag to peg it to the line. Depending on the weather, it may need a couple of drying days.

If the toy can’t be machine-washed, place it in a pillowcase and add 2 tablespoons of bicarb soda. Close the top of the pillowcase with a rubber band and shake it. Try to rub the toy all over through the fabric to make sure every part is covered with bicarb. Leave it for a few hours, then take it out of the pillowcase. Finish off by shaking it outside and then vacuuming the toy with the small upholstery head attached to your vacuum cleaner.

Laundry cleaning products to make at home

This is an important part of cleaning, because if you learn how to make your products at home, then customise them to suit your own taste for scent, you’ll do three important things: you’ll make a significant cutback in the chemicals you have in your home, you'll stop adding the phosphates and salt in commercial cleaners to our waterways and you’ll save a lot of money.

These homemade products work well, they don’t take a lot of time to make and they won’t make your skin itchy and red. Many of these products can be used for multiple purposes. For instance, the laundry liquid will clean your clothes and remove spot stains, but with a couple of simple additions, it can also be made into cleaning paste.

Most of all, you’ll know what’s in the products you’re using. You’ll buy only a few natural chemicals– borax, washing soda, vinegar and soap – to make cleaners yourself. There are some questions about borax, I still use it because it was commonly used in homes when I was growing up (even as an eyewash) but if it worries you, leave it out. You'll still get a very good wash result. If you bought the commercial cleaners and laundry products recommended for the modern home, you’d be using hundreds of chemicals. I think living with fewer chemicals is better for our health and if you've got small children, family members with skin sensitivities, general allergies or a compromised immune system due to age or failing health, these cleaners will serve you well.

Laundry liquid

Makes 10 litres/quarts

Add about quarter of a cup of this liquid to your machine. It’s fine in a cold-water wash and in front or top loaders. You can find borax and washing soda in the supermarket.

• 1 cup grated soap or Lux soap flakes
• ½ cup washing soda
• ½ cup borax  - optional
• 1½ L /qt of water 

1. Add the ingredients to a saucepan and heat the mixture on the stove. Stir until all the ingredients are completely dissolved and remove from the heat. 
2. Pour the hot soapy mixture into a bucket or tub that holds at least 10 L/qt, add warm tap water until the bucket is about three-quarters full, and stir. When the mixture is thoroughly combined, fill the bucket to the 10 L/qt mark and stir. You can add essential oils for fragrance at this point if you want to. 
3. To store the laundry liquid, gather some containers (clean plastic milk bottles serve the purpose well) and pour the liquid in, leaving enough room in the containers to allow you to shake them well before use. As the mixture cools, you’ll see two layers: a gel layer at the top and a liquid layer at the bottom. That is as it should be. The gel gets quite thick but combines well with a good shake. Alternatively, you can use your stick blender to emulsify the mix.

Stain remover

The laundry liquid above makes an excellent stain remover. Just cover the stain with some laundry liquid and rub it in. Wait for 15 minutes before adding the items to the regular wash.

Laundry liquid cleaning paste

You can use the laundry liquid in other ways as well. Just add ½ cup of bicarb to ½ cup of laundry liquid and mix together to form a thick paste, adjusting the consistency by adding more liquid or more bicarb. This mix can be used for cleaning baths and stainless steel sinks, or for any difficult-to-remove grime on benchtops or around light switches. Store it in a small container with a lid. It will dry out within a couple of months, so make a smaller amount if you need to.

Stainless steel pegs

I have a recommendation for those of you who have problems with clothes pegs. We live in a sub-tropical climate here and when we use plastic pegs they break easily after a month or two of use and if we use wooden pegs, they go mouldy.  Then I discovered stainless steel pegs and I love them. I got mine from Biome in Brisbane. They have a very strong grip and, of course, they neither go mouldy nor crumble. These will last a lifetime. :- )

I hope you're all well and happy. I'll be back later in the week to share our news with you.

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