Thx,
Sally Keen

I’ve tried using ketchup which works nicely. For something with a lot of tarnish use a sheet of aluminum foil, 1 TB salt & 1 TB Baking Soda all in a bowl and diluted with warm water. Let the silver sit in the solution for about an hour and wipe clean. I’ve cleaned some seriously dirty silverware for my mother with this simple trick.

* 2 TB Distilled white vinegar
* 1 tsp Borax (for greater mold/mildew removal or prevention use 1 TB)
* 10-15 drops tea tree essential oil
* 1/4 c Dr. Bronner’s liquid soap
* Water
*16 oz spray bottle

To begin, dissolve the borax in hot water. Combine with the vinegar, oil, and just enough water where the bottle in almost full. You want to add the soap last so it doesn’t foam, and also because when you mix straight soap (a base) with vinegar (an acid) you get chunks instead of a nice solution. From there I just tip the bottle upside down and back up and you’re good to go!

Tea tree is highly recommended for this because it’s antibacterial, antimicrobial & anti fungal. It helps you eliminate the number of cleaners kept under all the sinks because it’s gentle enough to do a powerful job on simple counters, but it can also kick the crap out of mold and mildew in the bathroom. And if you need an antibacterial solution on hand for the kids it work wonderfully well for that too. I love the smell of tea tree, but not everybody does. If it’s too much for you try essential oil of sandalwood, thyme, eucalyptus, lavender or lemon along with tea tree or in it’s place. These all have amazing cleaning & germ cleaning characteristics, and they’re quite nice on the nose as well.

Besides causing cancer, respiratory problems, etc there’s also detrimental effects on the environment and wildlife. So, they do bad things, they’re not biodegradable, and many aren’t disposable and are stored in fatty tissues to just accumulate more and more. Any idea why so many problems are on the rise? Gee!

Many people think that chemicals really clean because that’s what has been instilled in us since we were born. I had such a hard time believing distilled white vinegar could do much, but the facts spoke otherwise so I tried it out. For me, vinegar, borax, baking soda, salt, lemon juice, etc work SO much better than chemical cleaners. You can spray or sprinkle and then wipe all that gross stuff right off. And it’s wonderful to be able to clean without having to hold my breath to keep from passing out mid-cleaning. My life changing event has even inspired me to start my own green cleaning business so I can positively influence the lives of others. You should all do what you can to keep yourself, family, friends, pets and planet safe by rethinking what has been conventional for so long. We don’t have a lot of time to dink around, and I have my daughter to think of now so I make no action without knowing the consequence. Whether it’s staying away from #3-7 plastics, recycling, or taking the bus or my bike instead of the car, I’m doing everything I can to protect my family and my planet. Such thought might seem like a pain, but I find it VERY empowering. I have the ability to make a difference, and I sure as hell intend to! Power to you all!

This is what I found:
1) Heinz company spokesperson Michael Mullen references numerous studies to show that a straight 5 percent solution of vinegar—the kind you can buy in the supermarket—kills 99 percent of bacteria, 82 percent of mold, and 80 percent of germs (viruses). He noted that Heinz can’t claim on their packaging that vinegar is a disinfectant since the company has not registered it as a pesticide with the Environmental Protection Agency. However, it seems to be common knowledge in the industry that vinegar is powerfully antibacterial. Even the CBS news show “48 Hours” had a special years ago with Heloise reporting on tests from The Good Housekeeping Institute that showed this.

2) Furthermore, Susan Sumner, a food scientist at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, worked out the recipe for a sanitizing combo. All you need is three percent hydrogen peroxide, the same strength available at the drug store for gargling or disinfecting wounds, and plain white or apple cider vinegar, and a pair of brand new clean sprayers, like the kind you use to dampen laundry before ironing.
Spray the hydrogen peroxide and then the vinegar. It doesn’t matter which is sprayed first. The paired sprays work exceptionally well in sanitizing counters and other food preparation surfaces — including wood cutting boards.

In tests run at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, pairing the two mists killed virtually all Salmonella, Shigella, or E. coli bacteria on heavily contaminated food and surfaces when used in this fashion, making this spray combination more effective at killing these potentially lethal bacteria than chlorine bleach or any commercially available kitchen cleaner.

The best results came from using one mist right after the other. It was found to be 10 times more effective than using either spray by itself and more effective than mixing the vinegar and hydrogen peroxide in one sprayer.

Blessings, Nonna Joann