Cleaning my kitchen with Biome
May 17 2017 1 Comment Tags: cleaning
The new dishdrawer
In particular I was looking for a suitable dishwasher detergent as we had never owned a dishwasher before and I really didn't know where to start. I read some of the ingredients of the supermarket standard dishwasher detergents, even the supposedly "eco"/earth-friendly brands, and I was not impressed with the chemicals. Fortunately KinKin makes a lovely dishwasher detergent Kin Kin Naturals Dishwasher Powder (I also use their Kin Kin Naturals Dishwasher Powder, it smells wonderful, makes washing up more pleasant).
- Rinse aid is really just to help dry the dishes properly, white vinegar is working for us and is a cheaper chemical-free option.
- You can also try making your own dishwashing detergent from baking soda (or washing soda), citric acid and salt, and tailor it to match your water - as we are using rainwater we don't actually need the extra salt, for hardwater you might add more again. I haven't made any yet, but this is the recipe that I intend to try, mainly because I want to have a back-up in case I forget to order from Biome and run out of the KinKin product.
And they sent me a wooden brush, which has been a suprising success - I usually get really dry skin from washing dishes and have to wear gloves, but with this brush you hardly need to put your hands in the water, so I haven't had to wear gloves at all. I'm feeling really good about this as I hadn't found any biodegradable gloves and I hated going through all those plastic gloves (they only last so long before they start leaking!). The long handled Ecostore Dish Scrubber Brush and the Pot scrubbing brush are handy, I also like the biodegradable Safix Coco Fibre Pad.
- I also use homemade tallow soap in a soap shaker - this works great for rainwater, but not for hard-water, as I found out when I stayed in Brisbane. Its gets most things clean and I can save the dishwashing liquid for cleaning up greasy dishes. You can now buy my cleaning soap in my Etsy store with my other soaps, the recipe for the cleaning soap is also back here.
- I just started using Enjo cloths for dishwashing (anything the brush won't remove) and wiping benches etc, they are great and no chemicals required. Biome also have a range of Microfibre cloths, which as very similar to the Enjo cloths.
- I chose a toilet with a very plain profile, I used to hate cleaning the pipe at the back, but this one has a everything hidden in the pedestal, so there is nowhere for dust to gather. Read more about our bathroom design here.
- If you have a septic, you can also get tablets with good bacteria to keep your septic healthy, we use these ones.
(soap nuts) on any loads that are not dirty work clothes (love that they can be composted). Read more about how I use soap nuts here.
Do you have any cleaning tips to share? Anything that makes it quicker and chemical-free! Anyone else love ordering from Biome? :)
1 Comment
Hi Liz and Pete
I have just placed my first order with you, so excited to get your soaps, but I was just wondering where you got the soap shaker from. I have looked on ebay and can only find an old vintage one!
Can you help? I have some old rebatched Turkish pine tar/olive oil soap that i would like to use for dish washing with a shaker. I don’t like the small of pine tar so I thought that using it to wash dishes would be a good way to use it up. Many thanks and LOVE your web page and way of life.
Leave a Comment