Please help me get my cleaner to better household items.

[dreama]

At the moment I keep finding items that can be found on the BUAV's 'heavily soiled' list which I'm not happy about so I've decided to thow them out but I need to replace them with more environmentally friendly items that are NOT tested on animals.

It's just my cleaner isn't used to using vegan cleaning items and I'm used to having help in cleaning so I would very much appreaciate advice as to what I should replace the nasty products that I've thrown out with?

At the moment I've just got washing up liquid and laundry liquid which is vegan. What do I replace toilet cleaner and strong detergence with? What do other Vegan's use for these things?

I know this must sound really dumb but as I said I do get help with cleaner and am trying to sort this problem out so all my household goods are better while not losing my cleaner.

[Evilfluffbunny]

I highly recommend Bio-D products. As far as I know, the entire range is vegan, non-animal tested and environmentally friendly: http://www.biodegradable.biz/

Here's what they say:

Bio-D is an independent, family-owned, ethically motivated company, dedicated to promoting the use of hypoallergenic, environmentally responsible detergents that have a minimum impact on the ecosystem both in their use and in their manufacturing process. Where possible, all raw materials are plant-derived and are obtained from renewable sources.

We operate a strict policy whereby none of our raw materials or finished products are tested on animals. All raw materials are free from genetically modified ingredients; animal by-products and we are subject to scrutiny and approval by The Vegan Society, Naturewatch Trust and The World Wildlife Foundation.

All bottles, containers and packaging contain optimum levels of re-cycled materials and are themselves re-cyclable.

There's a range of different things here too (all vegan but I don't know how natural they all are): http://www.veganstore.co.uk/household_index.html

You might want to check out Little Green Shop too.

[Evilfluffbunny]

You can make a nice neutralising air freshner by mixing water, lemon juice, bicarb and any essential oils you want into a plant skoosh. It's especially good for moistening the air if you have heating on.

[DianeVegan]

If you go to Ask Jeeves and type in "How to make homemade cleaners" you will get some great websites.

I personally don't like the smell of vinegar but it's especially good as a glass cleaner. You can add tea tree oil as a disinfectant (and for the smell if you like it) in the bathroom. I use borax for the toilet (you can find it with the laundry supplies). With any homemade cleaners you can add whatever essential oils you like to make them smell nice.

My favorite all-purpose cleaner is : 2 cups water, 1 Tablespoon ammonia, 1 Tablespoon laundry detergent (liquid).

Baking soda plain or with vinegar cleans almost anything baked on in the kitchen, stainless steel sinks, etc. It's the same as SoftScrub.

Check out the websites. Most generic ingredients are (hopefully) cruelty-free at this point if purchased in their original form.

[Seaside]

I found a good book called "Clean & Green" by Annie Berthold-Bond. It is full of recipes for making your own household cleaning stuff. It isn't totally vegan- the author suggests uses for beeswax, lanolin, and shellac (just ignore these formulas) - but there are lots of plant based, non-toxic formulas and a good resource section in the back.

The trouble is that many of these formulas require more "elbow grease", and if your cleaner doesn't want to increase physical effort while cleaning, you might have to look for someone more sympathetic.

[kriz]

I've used Melaleuca and their products are very effective. www.melaleuca.com

[tails4wagging]

Sainsburys own products say suitable for vegetarians and vegans and not tested on animals.
I have their household cleaners ie loo stuff.
I also have a cleaner in at times and they never ask, I buy the products.

[dreama]

Thanks everyone for responding.

Evilfluffybunny: I tried your link to big D products. Only it's all in graphic print making it inaccessable for me. Do they have a phone number and email address so I can contact them. Also do you have the vegan online store's phone number?

It's useful to know Sainsbury's own brands are not tested on animals. Also BUAV say co op are ok. I'll try them tommorrow. Jilli Knows how to get to the co op but I'm afraid of not being sold their own homebrands and dodgy commercial brands. Maybe If I specified CO Op brands only?

Diane: could you link me to some of those sites as I don't know about Ask Jesiah. Also where can one buy borex from?

[tails4wagging]

Dreama, Co-ops own brands are ok and state not tested and endorsed by the BUAV.

[St George]

Dreama, Co-ops own brands are ok and state not tested and endorsed by the BUAV.

Yes. i always go to co-op for my cleaning and toiletries stuff.. The fact that they are so good at clearly labelling products deserves support in my opinion.
Sainsbury's,from what i have seen,state that the products have not been tested on animals and that theyfund research into alternatives,but i dont see any of their products that clearly state that there are no animal ingredients in them.Co-op are the only ones i know of that do that.

[Evilfluffbunny]

Dreama ~

Bio-D's phone number is 01482 229950. Their email address is bio-d@ecodet.karoo.co.uk

Veganstore's phone number is 01273 302979. Their email is sales@veganstore.co.uk.

[SophieFP]

Dreama, it sounds like you need products that work to convince your cleaner. That counts Ecover out (though they are the only source if dishwasher rinse aid that I've found).

Here are what we find works best, are eco-friendly and do not contain or get tested on animals:
Eco Lino for toilet, washing powder, dishwasher powder and washing up liquid.
Bio D for multisurface cleaner.
Astonish for amazing specialist cleaning products, like oven or carpet.
Earth Friendly Products for glass cleaner, stain remover and furniture polish.

Where to get them:
your local wholefood or fair trade shop may be able to get them depending on their suppliers.
Vegan Store (already mentioned by someone) can do a fair few of them.
John Lewis and other mainstream retailers sometimes stock Astonish.
Bulk order direct from Infinity Foods or another similar wholesaler - usually a large minimum order, but if you have lots of storage space and want bulk long life foods (eg soya milk) too it can save you a lot.

[gibby]

Astonish range is non tested & no animal ingredients and they work very well too

if you search the net there is loads of stuff on how bad these products are and what they contain

last time I was in tesco I was acosted by one of their staff promoting some p&g cleaners. I asked if the lady had pets and she told me she had 2 cats.
I asked if she thought cats should have theor throats cuts to test these products and she said "god no"
so i told her many died every week on having their throats cut whilst concious and she freaked out and got one of the mangers who denied they sold any products that were tested on animals.
i asked about splenda/sucralose and he told me the press had got it wrong

the more we nag the more they will change

gibby

[dreama]

Thanks everyone for being so helpful. I did go to Co op and SPECIFICALLY ASKED for Co op products. I even had it written down on paper that I did not want comercial animal tested brands. It's a good thing I double checked as I'd been Given "Flash" the first time round. Isn't that one of P and G's? Anyway eventually I Did get the Co op brands I wanted.

BUAV gave me the Astonish web page so I can buy their products online.

[SophieFP]

Dreama, please could you post the astonish website here?

thanks!

[dreama]

Ok. It's: http://www.astonishcleaners.co.uk/store.asp