OS cleaning - Throwing a cat among the pigeons

larmy16

This is something I read today in a book I picked up in a charity shop about cleaning.

"Use a disinfectant cleaner approved for use in the kitchen for your routine cleaning and daily cleanup on surfaces....blah blah..

Most homemade cleaners like concoctions made from vinegar or baking soda or environmentally friendly cleaners have no disinfectant properties at all - they merely move germs around."

Now I understood that vinegar had antiseptic qualities????

And what about our beloved Stardrops????

jackieb

larmy16 wrote:

This is something I read today in a book I picked up in a charity shop about cleaning.

I read that as a 'clarty shop'. Here, clarty means minging. I need glasses.

Was the book sponsored by a cleaning company or something?

larmy16

jackieb wrote:

I read that as a 'clarty shop'. Here, clarty means minging. I need glasses.

Was the book sponsored by a cleaning company or something?

No Jackie, it is called Clean it fast, clean it Right. All it says is look for a disinectant product with an Environmental Protection Agency regristration number on the label.

jenniferpa

I'm assuming this is an American book - EPA is a give away. Let us not forget that germs are a (US) national obsession. When I first moved to the states I was astonished to find that failure to rinse my dishes in hot water could result in soap poisoning! Seriously, though, recent research has shown that disinfecting everything in sight can be a) pointless and b) counterproductive. Most germs can't live on dry clean services anyway, and the constant use of heavy duty disinfectants primarily serves to increase the manufacturer's profits.

The most recent product in stores here (and I don't know if it's made it to the U.K.) is a product marketed as a disinfectant so mild that it can be used anywhere (the T.V. ads show a mother spraying round its toddler as it sits eating in its high chair). The mind boggles.

Jennifer

seraphina

Whilst I use vinegar for getting marks off my stainless steel saucepans and keeping glasses clean, I wouldn't rely on it for hygeine cleaning. I wash up in any old detergent (note ALL soap is antibacterial!) and use a diluted bleach spray on floors/kitchen surfaces.

I wouldn't rely on vinegar or bicarb for germ killing.

larmy16

Yep, the book is from the good old US of A!!

Hopefully there will be something of use in it, it is a bit of a tome.

Sweet_Pea_2

I think that the chemicals in some of these anti bacterial cleaners are more dangerous in the long term than a few germs tbh. I would rather take the risk of not disinfectanting (is that a word?) everything that is not nailed down than pollute my home and mine, OH's and childrens bodies with chemicals.
Especially in the kitchen I decided not to use anything to clean with that cannot be eaten, so I use bicarb, lemon juice and vinegar and I have found it to be very effective. However I will report back if we come down with food poisoning at all. (I have only just started using these for cleaning!)
I found that advert with the mum spraying the disinfectant on the highchair tray and then putting the childs food onto it really disturbing.

jenniferpa

No, the child was actually eating WHILE she was spraying! I'll see if I can find a product link.

jenniferpa

Here's a link http://www.clorox.com/innovations_anywhere.php

Slightly disturbing: the last testimonial from Rosanne, CA which talks about how addictive it is!

Pooky

Far to many people are obsessed with germs.

Everything in my kitchen gets a wipe around with a microfibre cloth (changed every couple of days) with either a vinegar and water mix in a spray bottle or hot water with washing up liquid in it.

The bathroom gets a whizz round with the same products - different cloth.

The floors get washed in hotwater with a bit of washing up liquid and a quick going over with some vinegar water as a rinse.

I don't use bleach or any sort of branded cleaner and we don't suffer any ill effects.

Ticklemouse

LOL @ this - and primarily the americans (apologies to americans reading - it's not specific or personal IYKWIM)

This comes from the land where they don't tell new mothers that babies bottles and dummies have to be sterilised My old chil-minder's daughter lives over there and after the birth of her first baby (4 years ago) she went to visit. She was berated by the daughter for giving the colicky baby a sip of cooled boiled water as it's soooo bad for them, but she (daughter) hadn't been told that new-borns bottles needed sterilising - she'd bunged them in the washing up and left them to dry on the side

I also agree - we need some germs. If we go too far, then we'll all be dropping the first time we come into contact with anything.