I'm very excited to announce the launch of our new magazine - Clean Green Living!

You can see it here:

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Rockin' the Laundry with Kim from Rockin' Green Soap

Kim Webb

Today on Clean Green Talk Radio, we had the founder and CEO of Rockin' Green Soap on our show.  She is a mom of three kids AND is running a very successful company. Kim says she felt deep the inspiration when her son, Jackson, was born. She began blogging and opened her own retail store that sold cloth diapers. She became a cloth-diapering fanatic, owning more than 200 cloth diapers
herself! However, Kim had trouble keeping her cloth diapers stink- and residue-free as she suffered from hard water. Minerals would build-up on her diapers and render them useless. It also caused her diapers to give off awful odors. She found that other moms were experiencing the same problems and were becoming fed up with washing cloth diapers....


Listen below to our interview and all the things we learned about laundry soap.  And we even learned what "Cloth Diaper Mom's" call their smelly diapers...  You'll have to listen to find out!

How To Clean Your Dryer Lint Screen

A simple solution that will remove the oils that build up on the dryer lint screen.

Nuts & Lavender For Your Laundry

I just wrote a new article for eHow.com about using bags of nuts and lavender to clean your clothes! Yep, that's right, NUTS! Once the article is posted, I'll add the link here so you can read it. One of the questions I know your going to ask is "where do I get these nuts", so I thought I'd let you know that you can purchase these totally organic soap nuts right at my store. The brand I especially like are Yore Organics. They are packaged  right here in New England by a mom who was trying to solve a family problem and ended up creating a business. http://www.backdoorvac.com/yore-organics-organic-laundry-soap-soap-nuts-1744.html

The other item I talk about in the article is using lavender in a muslin bag to scent your laundry. You do this by putting the lavender bag in the dryer. It makes the entire laundry room smell wonderful while the clothes are drying AND the clothes smell just as nice when they come out! All this and you are avoiding toxic chemicals in those dryer sheets. http://www.backdoorvac.com/just-bee-dryer-bags2.html

A Review Of My Book By The Healthful Truth

Here is a review of my book by the Healthful Truth. Thanks Lily!

The Joy of Green Cleaning

Posted on December 2, 2012

I have a dream…that one day my home will be completely free of harsh chemicals! I was raised to use these toxic chemicals. My mother says “If you’re not using Clorox, it’s not clean!”. My mother even uses it in her dish water especially when someone gets sick in the home. I thought this was how it was done! (Sorry Mom!) Now I cringe when I smell bleach. Lysol All Purpose Cleaner gives me a raging headache.

What is my “why” when it comes to green cleaning? I didn’t actually start to make green, non-toxic changes until I became pregnant and started thinking about my daughter’s health. I thought about how she would be crawling on the floors absorbing toxic chemicals through her skin and mouth. They would be present on her clothes and inhaling these chemicals that kill brain cells, cause cancer, and irritate your skin. If you have kids you know that their skin is very sensitive and their guts are very permeable and these chemicals would quickly get in to her blood stream and wreck havoc. Not only did I think about the cleaners but also the baby products like shampoos and lotions. Another reason

why, is that we over do it when it comes to anti-bacterial products. We have been raised to think that killing all bacteria is good for us…WRONG. Most people don’t realize that there are good bacteria and bad bacteria. Antibacterial cleaners kill everything leaving the strongest bacterias to survive and get stronger. This results in the creation of super bacteria that become resistant to the antibacterial agents you use to kill them. You may actually be doing more harm to yourself by using these harsh chemicals to kill them then what the bad bacteria you are trying to kill may do to you.

So all this non-toxic talk brings me to my latest blog post which is really a book review of The Joy of Green Cleaning.  I absolutely love this recipe book! It’s a great handy resource book for green cleaning.  It was written by Leslie Reichert aka Green Cleaning Coach whose mission is to teach and encourage others in the art of home-keeping and green cleaning. In her book, Leslie explains what is the big deal about greening your cleaning. She says that most regular cleaning can be done without any toxic chemicals. It is true that you can clean with non-toxic items already in your pantry such as baking soda, vinegar, sea salt, lemon juice, and hydrogen peroxide.

Read more here...

Making Your Own Laundry Soap Is Easy And Frugal

You've heard about making your own laundry soap, but it really seems like a lot of work. I'm going to show you how easy it is in this video below

With just four simple ingredients you can make enough for 80 loads of laundry. And the price? I'm guessing that it really only costs 3.00 for the entire batch. Watch the video and if you decide you really don't want to do it yourself, you can purchase this beautiful Ball Jar container filled with the recipe here: http://www.backdoorvac.com/great-grandma39s-laundry-so39.html

Stop Those Stains - Simple Solutions To Those Unfortunate Mishaps!

Stains can be so daunting, especially if they are on a light colored fabric or surface, but here are some more simple solutions to common problems. The best part is you can find most of these ingredients in your home.

• Makeup can be removed from clothing with a bit of castile soap and rubbing alcohol. Mix the two together and put them on a white cloth so that the color of the cloth doesn't rub off onto the fabric. Blot the stain until the cloth stays white afterwards. The soap and alcohol work together to break down the makeup so that when you do wash the garment, the makeup with disappear. This is for those of you who are either active in show business or have children in shows. Makeup on a white color or dress is simply an occupational hazard.
• If an unfortunate accident at an evening party left you with a red wine stain on your clothes or on your favorite rug, simply relax and grab a drink...literally. You can either use white wine or a combination of club soda and a bit of borax to remove that spot. Simply pour the wine or the club soda mixture onto a white cloth and blot at the spot until it disappears.
• Coffee stains can be removed with an eyedropper of white vinegar or lemon juice.
• That mustard from the cookout doesn't have to be a permanent fixture on your husband's shirt. Just use white vinegar to work out the stain, flush the air with water, and then wash the garment with a bit of dish soap.
• Stains from ball point pens can be removed with a bit of rubbing alcohol. Dip a white cloth into the alcohol and touch the stain with the cloth until the cloth comes up clean

Here is something to keep in mind when you are removing stains from furniture or carpeting. The last thing you want to do is to replace that stain with a bigger water ring, which happens when the fabric takes on the treatment and leaves a ring where any liquid solution was applied. To avoid this, always use a damp cloth to work the stain, work the stain in towards the center so that it doesn't expand outwards, and continue to work until the cloth comes up without a stain. If you keep this is mind and you will be well prepared to conquer any stains that find their way into your home.

Time to "Clean" the Closet

When the weather changes, it is time to "change the closet." Now those of you who live up in the northern parts of the country probably know exactly what I mean and precisely how much it entails. It's that special time of year when you kiss all of your sweaters goodbye and start rummaging in your spare drawers and those boxes in the attic for that clothing you put away because it was too cold. You have to pack away your winter wardrobe and refresh your spring/summer style, and your clothes don't smell any better for being stuck in storage for the last few months. So to help you take just one more step to getting your home ready for spring, I'm going to give you the recipe to my Great Grandma's Laundry soap featured in my book, The Joy of Green Cleaning. This recipe will not only make your clothing clean and fresh but  is perfect for those with sensitive skin who are prone to breakouts.
Start by compiling your ingredients. First you will need 2 cups of soap flakes. You can either order them or you can create your own by grating a dry ivory soap bar. Next you will need 1 cup of baking soda, 1 cup washing soda, 1 cup Borax, and 15 drops of any essential oil for scent.
To make the detergent, simply mix all of these ingredients and store them in an air-tight container. For front loading machines, you can use 1-2 tablespoons of detergent or 1/4 cup for top loading. If you prefer a liquid detergent to a powder, just mix the soap with very hot water before putting it in the washing machine. Mixing these ingredients hardly takes any time and you will be sure to come out with a well washed wardrobe that is better for the skin of you and your family. Once those piles of laundry are cleaned and organized, your home will feel more spacious and you will have the peace of mind of knowing that when the weather changes, you will have precisely what you need.

Tide - A Reminder of the Benefits of Green Cleaning

Some recent news has once again reminded us of why green cleaning is so attractive. When using green products or creating your own home cleaning products, you have the power not only to monitor exactly what is going into your home and coming in contact with your skin and lungs but also to eliminate anything that is deemed harmful or dangerous. There is no mystery when you combine all the ingredients by hand to make your own laundry detergent or when you use simple baking soda to get your cups white.

Recently it has been discovered that Tide Free and Gentle contains a chemical called 1,4 dioxane that has been linked to cancer. Not only is this chemical harmful but it also wasn't included on the label leaving the consumer oblivious. Tide isn't the only company who don't list all of their ingredients. If you're curious about the products you use, you can check out http://www.womensvoices.org/science/fact-sheets/dirty-secrets/ It's just a reminder that no matter how many strides commercial products take to promote themselves as safer and gentler, there is nothing more sure than the cleaner you make on your own.

How to Hand Wash

How grateful we are for the luxury of modern appliances. We rely on them for just about everything. Our plates come out of the dishwasher sparkling, leftovers can be reheated in the microwave with just a few presses of a button, and most of all our clothes come out smelling fresh and clean after simply loading the soap into the machine. But what about those few times when modern appliances simply won’t do the trick, when you read those seemingly troublesome words “hand wash only?”

Now this one simple phrase may have you thinking of the dark ages when women brought baskets full of soiled clothes to the stream or perhaps you might remember that washing board you saw in the antique mall, but hand washing does not need to be an ordeal. With a few simple tricks you can keep the process not only simple but green. First you should make sure your sink is clean, or designate a separate tub for hand-washing. The last thing you want is for your clothes to come out smelling like the remainder of the carrots you peeled into the disposal. Also you will want to stick with a cold or lukewarm temperature, never hot. Don’t mix your colors. Just like in a washing machine, the colors can bleed, so if you happen to have washed that one red shirt first, you’ll want to consider draining the sink and getting a new batch of water.

Next you want to ad the soap to the water before you put in the clothing. This way the soap gets distributed equally through the garment. When hand-washing, I use soap flakes. There are no enzymes, bleaches, or perfumes and it is created from palm and coconut oil, making it all around natural and gentle, perfect not only for sensitive skin but for those delicate garments that can’t be trusted in a washing machine. If you want to go with something closer to a laundry detergent, there are some options that I have in my book The Joy of Green Cleaning.

If your clothes are particularly dirty, you may want to leave them soaking overnight. You can treat any stains by going old-school and rubbing soap into the stain with a small brush, even on both sides if the fabric has the strength to take it. This combined with the soaking should eliminate most problems you may have.

So to finish the process you want to dry the clothes in the gentlest manner possible. Since wringing will only disfigure the garment beyond all recognition, and hanging will stretch out the fabric, the best thing to do is to lay it flat on either a white towel or netted drying rack. For those sweaters that hold on to a lot of water, you can first role up the sweater in a towel, get rid of the extra water, and then lay it flat. In the end you’ll have the joy of wearing that special garment once again without worrying about the fit.

Thanksgiving Accident

After everyone has left and you have a few days to breathe - is when you find the little accidents that happened during your Thanksgiving celebration. I got a desperate call from Sally in the Berkshires, who found a large grease stain on her fabric chair.

 

Sally: "I tried some baking soda and white vinegar, but the stain is still there. What can I do?"

Me: "Let's start with one simple secret ingredient that cuts through grease. It will take some patience, but we'll see if we can remove it with this first."

What's the secret ingredient? It's rubbing alcohol! Alcohol breaks down the grease. You can try it on clothes and furniture. I even suggested it to a mom with a crayon stain on her couch. Just make sure you try it in a hidden place in case it may change the color of the fabric.

Sally called back after two applications: "It seems to be working, but I can still see the stain."
Me: "If it's working, lets keep going. You'll have to be patient, but it should come out."

The next day I got a very happy phone call from Sally:  "It worked! The stain is gone!"

Simple things can work! It just takes some patience.

A Simple "Cocktail" That Removes Ink

The other day I put on my favorite "skinny" jeans - at least that's what they called them at the store - and went off to work. On my way down the steps my daughter asked "what's that on your butt?" Oh course I thought she was being cute and ignored the question. "No, really mom, what's on your butt?" It was a huge ink spot from a pen I had left in my pocket! Usually this would mean the jeans are now going to be a rag - but I thought I'd try out my new Stain Lifter and a few green tricks and see if I could get the stain out. I knew this was going to be crazy as I had wash AND dryed the ink into the jeans.
I knew that the "secret" ingredient in hair spray and Dawn dishwashing detergent is alcohol which break down ink. But I didn't have any rubbing alcohol so I used the next best thing - VODKA!

 

I used the stain lifter with the vodka and worked them into the jeans in a circular motion. I left the stain lifter on the pants overnight. The next day I worked more of the stain lifter into the jeans and rinsed them. I let them air dry - which would keep the stain from setting even more than it had.

When I came back the large stain was totally gone and the small stain was so faint that you don't see it unless you know it's there. Simple old fashioned soap and vodka did the trick!

 

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Scary Stains From Halloween

I don't know about you, but I deal with some pretty scary stains after halloween. My kids come home and dump their candy all over my family room carpet. And every year "someone" gets chocolate on the carpet. Here is a sure fire plan that will help you should your little "goblins" get chocolate on your family room carpet!

1  Rub an ice cube over the stain so that the chocolate becomes hard and won’t smear into the surrounding fabric. Once it is hard scrape as much chocolate off as you can. Use a vacuum to lift the flaked chocolate off the carpet.
2. Wait until the chocolate warms back up to room temperature, and blot it with warm/hot water and a wet cloth. Continue to blot the stain until nothing comes off on the cloth.

3. Mix up 1 tablespoon borax, 1 tablespoon baking soda and add some club soda together until you have a thin paste and rub it from the outside of the stain to the center. Don’t smear the stain around or work in a circle – just blot and wipe towards the center of the stain.

4. Using a damp white cloth, blot the stain and continue the above process until nothing more comes off onto the white cloth.

5. If the stain is still visible you can use some old fashioned laundry soap and work it into the area.

6. You can also dilute some of the laundry soap in hot water and add a few teaspoons of rubbing alcohol and place over the stain.

7. Continue to blot the stain until it is removed.

8. An enzyme based spot remover such as Unique, which will “eat” the chocolate as long as it remains wet. Place the stain remover directly on the stain and place a wet paper towel over the area. The longer you keep it wet, the longer it will continue to work on the stain.

Removing Mold From Colored Fabric

Here's a question from one of my presentations. I love your questions, keep them coming!

"I enjoyed your presentation very much. I bought your package with the book and there are some great tips that I will be sure to use.


I have one problem that I could not find and I am wondering if you have a solution to getting mildew spots out of a cotton shower curtain. Unfortunately, it has blue, green and white stripes so I cannot just try bleach. Any helpful tip you have I would really appreciate."

Thanks for the question. I think you should try working some old fashioned soap into the stain with a small brush. You could use Ivory if you have some and a small gentle brush. I've made some "stain lifters" that will soon be available on my site and you can see a picture of the brush I'm referring to. After brushing with the soap in a circular motion,  use the brush and dip it into (or pour) some hydrogen peroxide onto the area. Keep brushing in a circle. Rinse and see how the stain is coming. Keep repeating until the stain is lifted. You can also let the mixture sit over night. Wash the curtain in the washing machine but don't put it into the dryer until you KNOW the stain is gone. The heat from the dryer will set the stain.

Opps I Did It Again....

While I was doing a book signing at the Whole Foods in Medford, I decided to splurge and get a Starbucks coffee. I don't do this often as I drink decaf and they usually don't have any brewed, which means I have to wait and I don't do that very ofter either!  But luck for me they actually had some brewed, so I took my Grande and went out in the parking lot and

OPPS!

Tripped over my own feet and spilled the thing right down my white capri's.

Doggonnit.

I love these pants and but figured by the time I got home to work on the stain, it would be too late.

But wait!

Since I was doing a demo at Whole Foods I had a huge box of Borax in the back of my van! I got my water bottle and went to the back and sprinkled some of that magic white powder on my pants. The old lady parked next to me must have thought I was doing something very strange with my white powder and water bottle.....

As I rubbed it in I could see it starting to work -but could still see the coffee stain. There wasn't much else to do but drive home and hope for the best. Of course the entire ride,  my pants were in the direct sunlight and I figured the sun and the heat would surely set the stain. I drove in the driveway an hour later and ran straight to the bathroom, stripped off my pants and threw them into the wash. When they came out - no more coffee stain.

I love that magic white powder (BORAX).

You can find it at your local grocery store. Just look in the laundry section - up on the top shelf or way down on the bottom shelf. If your store doesn't carry it- ask them to start. It's so good for SO many different cleaning jobs!

Something Old, Something New - When It Comes To Laundry

Everyone has some little trick to make laundry easier. Here's one I heard this week that I really questioned worked. So I came home and gave it a try. Here is the tip:
Place your wet clothes outside on a sunny day right on top of the snow and it will remove spots and if their white - makes them really white.

That's it! Such a simple tip. Seemed to good to be true so I gave it the ultimate test. My husbands old white bathrobe that should have been thrown out years ago. It's been turning yellow and has spots all over it. So I put it into my front loading washer with just a 1/2 cup of hydrogen peroxide and let it go through the wash and rinse cycle. Then I put it outside on the snow in the sunniest spot in the yard and left for work. When I came home it was frozen solid. I brought it in and put it in the clothes dryer. When it came out it was "hotel white"!  Not being totally convinced that it had worked - I took it up and put it next to my new white robe and you really can't tell the difference. I don't know the science behind why it works - I just know it works. You've got to try it and let me know if it works for you!

Smelly Front Loading Washer?

Are you dealing with a smelly front loading washing machine? I've been getting lots of questions about the smell coming from these new washers. One of my clients actually had me come over and see if I could help. Lets take a look at what's happening:

This is the inside of her washer. It's about 2 years old, and look at the black mold around the edges of the seal. Also, the water has stained the rubber so that is has a red tint to it. This may be causing some of the smell....

But look what happens when we pull the seal out! There is a slime and soap build up all inside this area. And look at the bubbles and moisture that is there. She said she hadn't run the washer in 24 hours, yet the seal is still soaking wet inside! This is where the smell is coming from. We need to clean this out and then make sure we leave the washer door open all the time.

We scrubbed the seal with a mixture of table salt, baking soda and borax. This mixture is safe to clean with and won't hurt the clothes if we don't get it totally rinsed off. Notice how the stain is starting to come off the rubber seal. But the black mold has permanently stained the rubber.
We wiped the entire drum with a microfiber cloth, which absorbed the remaining moisture and the rest of the cleaner.

Here you can see that the "green scrub" started to remove the stains on the rubber, but the black mold has stained the seal and it's not going to come off. There are a few things you can do to prevent this.

1. Keep the washer door ajar whenever it's not being used

2. Use a laundry soap the rinses totally out of your washer.

3. Wipe the inside of the seal on a regular basis with a microfiber cloth.

4. I advised my friend to schedule her repair man to come and replace the seal on her washer. Once it's been replaced she'll know how to keep this from happening again.

Thanksgiving Laundry

That's really an oxymoron- Giving thanks for laundry! Never! But this year we have found some great green laundry detergents to help keep the laundry clean and green. Here are some of the new detergents now available.

Charlie's Soap

Charlie's Soap comes in a powder and a liquid. You only use a teaspoon for an entire load. This bag does 80 loads of laundry! The other neat thing is that you don't see a lot of bubbles. I know this can really make you feel like it's not cleaning, but it does a great job and rinses totally out of you clothes. It's great for people with skin allergies and sensitivities. This bag retails for $14.99

Mrs. Meyers

Mrs. Meyers Laundry Soap is nice if you like a scent. This bottle does 64 loads in an HE machine. I personally like the smell of the Lemon, but they tell me the Basil is the best selling scent. Another great green alternative. This bottle is also $14.99

Persil

This box of Persil is very familiar to anyone that lives in Europe. Persil is the European choice for front-loading washing machines. This box does 80 loads and I love the way it leaves your clothes smelling fresh and clean. This box retails around $65.00

Soap Flakes

These soap flakes are the main ingredient in my Great-Grandmother's laundry soap recipe. If you want to try to make your own laundry soap just go to my book site for the free recipe and then buy a bag of this soap. You will be very surprised how well it works- and to make it a liquid, all you need to do is add some boiling water. This bag is only $9.95

Halloween Clean-up - tips for removing chocolate stains

Now that all your little goblins are home and rummaging through their sacks of candy, you better get ready for the Halloween Clean-up. Here are some things you need to have on hand to get out the chocolate stains.

1. Fels Napha Bar Soap*

2. Dawn dish washing detergent (foaming)*

3. Soap Flakes

4. Ivory Soap Bar

When your little one gets a chocolate stain on their cloths, try using the Soap Flakes or Ivory Soap first. It is gentler on the clothes and the water system. My grandmother always kept a bar a Fels Napha next to her old soap stone laundry sink. Whenever she saw a stain, she would just rub it away with that bar of soap. My mother in turn used the Ivory Soap bar and it seemed to work for her. The Dawn dish soap works well because it contains alcohol and cuts through the grease and oil in the chocolate. Make sure when you are trying to remove stains that you don't use hot water and don't put the clothing through the dryer until it's totally gone. The heat from the dryer will permanently set the stain.

*The ingredients in these are not what I would consider "green". I would consider using them for special spots and restricted usage.

Look what came in the mail today!!

The company (Fresh Wave) that makes the Stinky Dorm Kit just sent me a free kit to give away to you. Sign up on our give away site - all you have to do is sign up to follow my give away site and give me a comment on your kids "stinky room" story. And it doesn't have to be a dorm room. I know we all have one kid (or more) that just can't keep their room clean.....