When our beloved dog Leo was diagnosed with epilepsy my journey into natural products and healing began. I had previously paid little attention to what products I used other than to advertising which told me which products I needed to buy to make my cleaning life easier. But in researching epilepsy in dogs and the causes, I came across a question and statement which really stuck in my head and made me do an about turn. The question was “What chemicals are on your floors?” and the statement was something like “Our pets have no choice about what they walk and lie on, what gets onto their feet and fur and is then digested when they lick themselves. But we can choose for them.“.
In looking into the house cleaning products I was using at the time there were so many chemicals I couldn’t pronounce; and when I looked them up many of them had links (some proven, some not) to cancers, hormone imbalances and other illnesses, both in humans and animals. And with the realisation that these were potentially getting into Leo’s body (and ours too) and causing harm, I started to investigate alternatives. My go to house cleaning products now are vinegar, citrus (juice and peels) and bicarbonate of soda. Making a citrus infused vinegar is easy (soak peels in vinegar for a few weeks) and leaves a lovely clean scent. Using plain vinegar and water (a rough 1:4 ratio) to mop my floors also leaves everything feeling clean and fresh. I also use vinegar (infused or plain) for cleaning counters, bathrooms, windows and as a softener in our laundry. And bicarbonate of soda mixed with lemon juice or vinegar is terrific for scrubbing if needed.
Today I am consciously aware of every cleaning product we use in our home and know it is good for us, our dog Trapper, and our environment by not putting unneeded chemicals down the drain and subsequently into our waterways.
With love always,
Loretta
P.S. Please don’t fall for the “cleaning vinegar” trick manufacturers are trying to sell (at least here in North America). Plain old vinegar is all you need and cheaper. 