7 day chemical detox challenge

A sponsored post for Finish Power & Pure

If you’ve been reading my blog for any length of time you would know the passion that I feel for cleanliness. Tidiness is just a given round here, but nothing pleases me much more than a deep cleanse. It can be of the kitchen, washing up, mopping the floors or getting well and truly stuck into the bathroom. I do believe that it all started when my Mum used to get me to clean the bathroom sinks before we had visitors arriving and gave me a scourer and a good cream cleanser to go crazy with. I’m sure the love started there and then: the clean surfaces, the shiny taps and of course the smell of clean!

It’s a bit of a family joke now the way I take to cleaning surfaces with sprays and the like. Watch out – she has spray in her hands – is usually the joke and they laugh until I squirt them in the face and shut them up with the smell of the spray doing it’s magical thing. You see, for me, something isn’t clean unless it SMELLS clean. I never said I was sane. The washing up is not done until the benches are sprayed, all detergent suds from washing up are wiped away and of course the obligatory mood lighting (above the range hood or by bench lamp) is on. I NEED to smell the clean. I don’t know why, I just do. We all have our crosses to bear.

I reckon I take to the spray under the sink on benches or table tops and floors around 4 times a day. I do! Post breakfast, lunch and dinner and of course the odd snack thrown in as well. As for the dishes – there is washing up liquid used on the pots and pans and of course there are the gazillion dishwasher loads that I do each and every day that no doubt leave residue on what we eat and drink out of. I KNOW that the chemicals are not good for me. Or the benches. Or the kids. Or the plates and glasses. Or my hands (is peeling skin normal?) Or the septic tank that it all washes into, but that sure as hell isn’t going to stop me. My sister in law has tried to get me into cleaning products that require a special kind of cloth and water…that’s IT. But I can’t take to it. My Mum won’t stop hassling me about the fact that all I need is vinegar and a spray bottle. I DON’T THINK SO MUM. This is what my under the sink situation looks like now:

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What? I told you I had a cupboard management problem. All those cautions…they must mean something….

But I’m going to have a crack. I am!

Finish has a new range of dishwashing tablets: Power & Pure (to the rescue!) The Power bit is meant to be a new formula of boosted active oxygen and the Pure bit is meant to be that it uses less chemicals as the new formula has no added phosphonate and less dyes and allergens.

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They have set me a challenge: to do a 7 day detox of chemicals in my house. And for me, this is a bit of an issue given my penchant for the odd cleaning chemical. I have to cut down on the chemicals that I use in the household for one week. This could cover the food we eat and what I drink, the beauty products I use, the exercise that I do…and for me which is the biggest challenge: cutting down on my beloved chemicals. Of course this means I can use these bad boys in the dishwasher each day…I’m sorry but washing in hot water without any detergent is not going to cut it!

Can I become THIS PERSON?

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My Mum is going to be so proud!

Over the 7 day chemical detox I am going to:

• Watch what we eat – try for organic everything (especially fruit & veg)
• Lay off any booze for a week (there must be chemicals in there somewhere)
• Not use ANY cleaning sprays that I normally use and that I am very partial to – I will create something from google that I suspect will include bi carb soda and vinegar.
• Use the Finish power & pure tablets with reduced chemicals for cleaning dishes in the dishwasher
• Up the exercise output from my normal 4 times to 6 times
• Try and drink more water (I am HOPELESS at this)

Finish are also encouraging readers to undertake their own 7 day detox so are running a competition for you guys with some great prizes:

1st prize: 1 years supply of Finish Power & Pure and $1,500 worth of Breville products
2nd prize: 1 years supply of Finish Power and Pure and $500 worth of Breville products
3rd prize: 1 years supply of Finish Power and Pure

In order to enter the competition you just need to try out Finish Power & Pure for yourself as part of your own 7 day home detox, come back to the blog and tell me about it in the comments. To get your free sample of Finish Power & Pure (there are 100) and take part in the competition then just email [email protected] with your name, address, email and a contact number so we contact the winners!

I’ll be letting you know how I go on the challenge…anyone who is keen to join me please do so!
Do you use chemical free or reduced chemical cleaning products in your home?
Got any suggestions for me?
How can I learn to love the smell of vinegar and hot water?

All the competition T&C’s can be found over here.

Comments

  1. I think you will really warm to bicarb and vinegar once you get into it, the fizzing is quite therapeutic – it really looks like it’s doing something, and you don’t feel like you are killing baby seals and compromising your children’s future fertility because you really need that bath clean 🙂

  2. Just add some essential oils – eucalyptus or tea tree . And if you’re using lemon and mint it should be lovely anyway. Earlier this year we gave up paper towel. It’s all recyclable washcloths and napkins and tea towels now.

  3. Erin @ Eat Play Bond says

    I have been using bosistos eucalyptus oil to clean every surface of our house for years and pretty successfully too until I bought some gel bleach to clean the bathrooms. I tell you there was some kind of magical awakening at the smell of the bleach invading my nostrils. That smell just tells me that stuff is CLEAN. I felt a new level of house proud every time I caught that smell for the rest of the day. But my 17 month old has decided he likes to investigate cupboards and brightly coloured bottles so I am looking for gentler products so that I have a better chance of him making it to his 2nd birthday. Looking forward to seeing everyone’s suggestions!

    • Interesting Erin – what made you switch back? There’s nothing like bleach to say CLEAN is there?!

      • Erin @ Eat Play Bond says

        I think I got immune to the smell of the eucalyptus and somehow that made it seem less effective. Plus, I am a total sucker for all the fancy packaging telling me I will just have to have this sensational product in the cupboard and my home will never be dirty again. Or something. Damn those marketing geniuses!

  4. Alright. I’m in!

    The cleaning lady came yesterday so I’ve got a good base to start with.

    Let’s go!

  5. Washing soda. It is the best degreaser.
    You know those filters in the stove exhaust thing (over the stove top), how they get greasy and dusty. Just dissolve some washing soda in the bath, lay those greasy filter things submerged in the water, leave for an hour, you’ll see when they are degreased, give a good rinse, put in the sun to dry and voila! A really satisfying chemical free (sort of) clean.
    I also dissolve some washing soda in the sink and wipe down the greasy parts in the kitchen (make sure you wear gloves) Yeah, washing soda is good! Enjoy!

    • Washing soda? Do you just get it in the supermarket in the cleaning section?

      • I think its in the section between the house washing and clothes washing stuff. A 1kg plastic bag, easy to walk past, simply labelled washing soda (its sodium carbonate) Very cheap, has some instructions on it. Meant to clean jewellery too!

  6. Go you! We are already chemical free in the cleaning department at our house, and many other areas (not completely with food but nearly). We have a worm farm septic system so need to be extra vigilant or the worms will die. Vinegar and water are your friend for cleaning AND it smells good so should tick your boxes! Cant do your challenge as we don’t have a dishwasher but looking forward to your results. And booze? Plenty of organic wines around 😉

    • My friend has one of those worm septics…amazing things! That would force me to do it…and yes you are right. Organic wines!

  7. Dannielle says

    I really dislike the smell of vinegar. It just doesn’t excite me.
    I am a big BIG BIG fan of method cleaning products.
    Check them out, they are awesome, smell great and actually work.

  8. You’re like me! If I’m in the kitchen at nighttime, I HAVE to have the rangehood light on for ambient lighting. It’s essential! My housemates think I’m crazy and that I’m wasting electricity. Pfft. It makes cooking and cleaning so much better!

  9. Good on you Beth! I’M proud of you!! I’m with Bree on the essential oils. Lavender in a sheet wash is divine! Shannon Lush has some great tips, maybe check her out?? And do take Alli’s suggestion about organic wine-you still have to live girl!! Good luck!

  10. Bicarb and vinegar is phenomenal, and has always been my go to, lemon and bicarb on the chopping boards. But with less time than I used to have, I admit Jif gets used frequently now. Bicarb and vinegar shower clean, followed by a water and clove oil combo used to the standard and, by gosh, was it not the cleanest, longest lasting clean you could get! But clove oil is no good in pregnancy, so Jif became the standard and has remained that way! I definitely recommend microfibre cleaning cloths though, there’s nothing like them! I’ve had my 3 for 4-5 years and they’re still going strong, just cheap ones from Bunnings!

  11. Beth, just a suggestion. Perhaps your addiction to the smell of clean, is not real? You seem to be addicted to the smell of clean produced by the cleaning products you are using. All fake. All chemical.

    Essential oils, fresh air, water, vinegar will produce a natural clean. Burn some essential oils if you want something to sniff, but get the good ones. Cheap supermarket or $2 shop stuff is chemical too. Neroli is ;lovely wafting through the house or mandarine. Lavender and eucalyptus are great for cleaning.

    • Thanks Jan – I burn a few oils now and then but hadn’t heard of those ones – thanks for the tip 🙂

    • I think Shannon Lush has a recipe for something you boil up on the stove – lemon and mint, I think – to make the whole house smell clean and fresh. Some of those smelly candles can be pretty toxic, too.

  12. Margaret Elvis says

    The first thing I noticed on that ‘under the sink’ photo was the word CAUTION!! We (or I should say out cleaning lady) use very few chemical cleaners. Carb soda is great for stainless steel and if you have any teapsoons that are off colour carb soda bring them up like new.
    You have the same problem as Phil….he detests drinking water and, being diabetic, should drink more of it. He says it has to either go through a brewery or a teapot to be worth drinking. He doesn’t drink beer these days (just a glass of red win each evening) so his water goes through a teapot or into a mug of instant coffee.
    Not having a dishwasher (nor have I ever wanted one) I can’t enter the competition but I wish everyone else all the best and yourself with this challenge you’ve set yourself.

  13. This sounds great Beth! I am a big fan of Chemical free cleaning products. Bicarb, vinegar, lavender oil etc all work a treat.

  14. Great post and extra unreal comments with all the tips n tricks!!
    I um shuffle
    You know sometimes all vinegar n bi card and I google cool cleaning recipes and then I…. Buy pine o cleen wipes by the box full and bleach and window cleaner and paper towel like loo rolls haha
    Actually I have pretend clean n real clean days
    But I think it’s really no chemical clean and chemical overload clean : /
    It’s hard not to love things that don’t require elbow grease lol
    And if I don’t shuffle I get bored and housework is bores me a little too much
    Maybe pretty clothes and mitts may help?!
    Good luck- May the natural force be with u 😉

  15. I haven’t used fabric softener in our machine for YEARS as I was told it ruins your washing machine – why make them with fabric softener dispensers then?? Anyway to refluff my towels after a hot wash, I throw some white vinegar into the dispenser. AND because I work in the childcare industry and my husband works for Disablilty Support Qld and my daughter goes to school where there germs and snotty kidlets, I ALWAYS put a shot of water soluable Tea Tree oil in the dispenser too. It’s a natural disinfectant.

  16. We use all natural cleaning products around here but laying off the wine? At the end of the school year with 150 reports to write…I’ll give it a go.

  17. We are all eco around here…but I must admit I have a bottle of bleach stored under the sink for real cleaning emergencies…things like a turd in the tub!

  18. I should really work for this crowd as I “toot their horn” all the time.
    ENJO ladies – just a cloth and water is all that touches my benches, windows, tiles, showers, leather couches, car and floors and has done for about 10 years. They also have a paste which is like a Jif but natural and lasts for a couple of years. There is no chemical residue left on any surface and they Shine like crazy.
    Men love the Car Kit as well – nothing better and easier. I wash the shower and tiles while I’m in there myself having a wash. It’s a bit of an expense to get your kit started but it is SO worth it!!
    For a nice smell around the house I just burn candles or sometimes incense.
    I’m amazed I didn’t read any other comments about ENJO.

    • Sing it sister! You sound like my sister in law!

    • Me too! I also should work for ENJO. Honestly, Beth, you would be hooked. No chemicals needed at all. Everything stays clean longer – once you get rid of the chemical residue left from years of build-up, and no elbow grease required either – just repetition. I clean as I go, too. An extra couple of seconds – and it IS just seconds – to wipe over the shower when I get out (or while I’m still in there) and it’s done. Everything is shiny and clean (apparently, it’s been scientifically proven that all those chemical products don’t actually kill any germs – it’s the ‘rubbing’ that does it and you can do that with cold water). I just squeeze lemon juice/drop vanilla essence around the place and it smells divine. I’m surprised, with your readership, and the things you write about, that ENJO haven’t approached you. Missed opportunity on their part, I think.

    • I am a Enjo user. A fibre, water and a cloth to wipe dry is all I use. I also use the method products for the dishes and the washing machine which can be purchased through Enjo. They also have a marble paste you can use on your sinks etc and they come out lovely and shiny….. It does cost $49 but it last years, I’ve had mine for as long as I can remember and have given it to other to test it out. I burn soy candles which make the house smell lovely.

  19. Omg i sooo agree…must SMELL clean to be clean!. From dishwashing to clothes washing and everything in between…

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