Vinegar vs. Bleach

I'm an avid bleach user. I'm aware that it isn't natural, but I love disinfectant it is.  I live on a tropical island that is very humid, were mold is a serious issue.  Bleach gets rid of mold.  So I use bleach. I also enjoy how it makes my "whites whiter."  It's really a cure all in a lot of ways.  My previous post advocated using bleach. 

On a separate note I just got the opportunity to talk to this super smart registered nurse and holistic expert, and she was saying how un-healthy bleach is for the whole body including the lungs.  Obviously I knew this, but somehow bleach wasn't on my radar like all the other cleaners were.  She says she uses vinegar, so I thought I would google it to see what I could come up with.

"Bleach is as much of a toxin as it is a cleaner. Here are some of the hazards:

• Respiratory issues
• Skin burns
• Damage to nervous system
• Exacerbates Asthma
• Headaches
• Vomiting
• Accidents that cause the skin to come into direct contact with bleach or people ingesting it (as many as 700 adults per year)
• Linked to cancer

Many sources say that chlorine by itself is not hazardous and will break down before it reaches the environment, which may be true (but it sounds a little too good to be true). The real hazard of bleach is that it can’t be mixed with ammonia, vinegar or other acids, and even organic matter (and what would you normally clean up with bleach? Organic matter, of course.). Each of these compounds causes a reaction with bleach that emits toxic, potentially carcinogenic fumes."
This was taken from: Food for Thought: Why is Bleach Bad for Me? (September 14th, 2009) retrieved from kitchenstewardship.com

Is there actually a substitute for bleach, and is vinegar a good substitute?

So after some research I found that vinegar is a good substitute, but used in conjunction with Hydrogen peroxide, which has shown to be more effective in killing e-coli and salmonella than bleach. So it would look something like this.  When you have the basic everyday wipe downs to do, you can use a spray bottle and a simple solution of 1/4 cup vinegar and the rest water.  That's it.  Very healthy can be digested in the human body, very effective at getting rid of grease on stoves and sinks, as well as cleaning mirrors (try using a newspaper on mirrors with vinegar instead of paper towels.)  The next spray bottle will have the mixture of half hydrogen peroxide and the other half water.  This needs to be kept in the dark, or in a dark bottle.  And last but not least baking soda.  These three items are all that is needed to clean and disinfect you whole house.  Vinegar does not leave a vinegar smell in your home for very long, so don't fear the smell. 

Notice in this picture the baking soda is in a re-purposed Parmesan cheese container! Great idea.

Here is the deal and this is the same with bleach as well. The chemicals don't disinfect until they are dry.  When you bleach a surface it's not until it dries that is starts working.  To clean with vinegar you might do something like spray the counter with vinegar and wipe everything down. Wait for vinegar to dry, then spray with hydrogen peroxide solution.  That's it! The baking soda is used on any part of your home that you want scrubbed.  The perfect places would be around your sinks where that icky stuff builds up, or in your toilet with a scrub brush..

Tip! Make sure to have your cleaning rags different than the ones you use on your body, duh!

Also consider these two tips as well..

Clean with vinegar for the basic bathroom wipe-downs, on things like spills, toothpaste and makeup.

Take a baby-wipe container and a pack of white re-usable towels, cut towel into baby wipe size, but doubled so they can be folded over if you want them thicker,if not just cut into baby wipe size.  Pour vinegar solution over rags and wa-la! Safe disinfectant towels, even your kids can use! 

You can put a small waste bin in your bathroom for the dirty home-aid counter towels, then just put them straight into the wash when the bin gets full.

In our kitchen and bathroom we use castile soap in peppermint and lavender.  I put about 1/4 cup of castile soap in a water bottle and the rest water and wa-la, again, you have another safe household cleaner.  All of these are safe to inhale, and safe for children.

Pure castile soap can also be used as soap in the shower and as a mopping agent!

Of course I don't like tchotchke's (chachki's) so I'll pass on these, but there cute and look easy to make!

I don't want to turn this into a green living blog, but cleaning with the above mentioned products not only is better for your health, but it also minimizes having fifty-thousand cleaning bottles in every cubard of your houses!

Awesome.  Soooo, if your not feeling the bleach you now have different options!

~Love...Monique