How Natural Cleaning Improved My Health

Why I Trust Natural Products for a Chemical-Free Home

Years ago, I realized that nearly every product in my home—from shampoo to laundry detergent was filled with synthetic chemicals. As someone with MCS (Multiple Chemical Sensitivity), I thought, why am I using all of these when I react to chemicals?

I used to use baking soda for cleaning sinks, bathrooms, and even for brushing my teeth. Then I decided to use it for washing our clothes. What could be more natural, I thought. However, I soon had constant asthma! I was reacting to the baking soda. We had to bag up all of our clothes. Then we had to wash each load five times to remove all the baking soda, so we could wear our clothes again. I researched the issue. Baking soda is considered a natural product; after all, we use it in baking. However, things have changed. Baking soda was once mined, but it is now chemically produced. It is no longer the same product.

Google had this to say about baking sodas: "The chemical reaction used in mass-market production (the Solvay process) can leave residues that differ from natural, water-extracted sodium bicarbonate." It also said other brands can use non caking ingredients.

Bob's Red Mill Baking Soda is still mined and is processed only with water. You can buy it on Amazon or at Sprouts or health foods stores.

Many people use hydrogen peroxide for cleaning. After all, doctors recommend it for treating cuts. It turns out that doctors no longer recommend it for cuts. They say it damages your skin.

I had a reaction to it, so I researched it. Highly concentrated hydrogen peroxide is used as a fuel for jet engines. No more of that for me!

Vinegar is considered a great cleaner; however, I have found that it is very irritating to sensitive lungs.

What could I use to wash dishes, in the shower, for so many cleaning needs that wasn't toxic? I looked for products on EWG (more about this later), but even products with A or 1 scores, all green that were rated the very safest and best, gave me asthma.

So what natural cleaning products could I use that were safe?

That's when I discovered Dr. Bronner's Baby Unscented Pure Castile Soap. It changed everything. I use ONLY their BABY soap, not any other product. I will explain more about this later, also. I love to buy it in the 1 gallon size, there is much less waste. The cartons give me asthma, I think it is petroleum products in the ink, I don't use these.

At the time, I reacted with asthma to every oil I tried. Would Dr. Bronner's work for me? I decided to try it.

No reaction! I was so thrilled!

I ask you to be open-minded about this product because it has made such a difference in my life! I want to explain why. If you are unable to tolerate Dr. Bronner's, I have more ideas about this later, also.

Of course, each of us is so unique so follow what feels right to you, listen to that inner voice.

Why Dr. Bronner's Baby Soap?

The new Dr. Bronner's Baby Soap formula (as of March 2025) has no discernable smell, this is what Keith tells me which is wonderful!

We used Dr. Bronner's Baby Soap all through the COVID crisis and neither Keith or I ever developed COVID. We never used any disinfectants which are very toxic. Traveling we had a bottle of Dr. Bronner's mixed in water to wash our hands.

This soap is truly unique. It has removed so many toxic ingredients from my life. You can research all the ingredients in their product here: https://www.drbronner.com/pages/help?hcUrl=%2Fen-US

Dr. Bronner's Baby Soap contains no added fragrance or essential oils, and cleans beautifully. Despite being made from oils to which I usually react, I've never had a reaction to this soap, This is because of the change in the oils turning into soap, which makes the difference or something about their processing of this soap. I thought the fact that I don't have any reaction to Dr. Bronner's Baby Soap meant they process their oils differently. That is not true; when I bought other products from Dr. Bronner's, they gave me asthma.

I started using it, and my health improved!  I felt such joy.

I love that I can use it for just about every cleaning need:

• Cleaning our home

• Washing our hands and bodies

• Doing dishes

• Shampoo

• Even shaving

I use it for every cleaning need except the ones I list below.

And I love that it's just one non-toxic product for almost everything.

The Hidden Dangers of Fragrance and Essential Oils

Most people associate fragrance with nature, flowers, herbs, citrus. But synthetic fragrance is far from natural. It's a cocktail of between 50 to 300 different chemicals, many of them toxic. When you combine different scented products, they mix into new compounds, making the air even more harmful.

Reactions are common, studies show that around 30% of people experience symptoms immediately, such as headaches, asthma, or congestion. It is now known that they cause many other harmful illnesses. This is a massive issue in our society regarding health. Do an internet search "are fragrances harmful" and this will be clear to you.

It has been proven that fragrances can cause cancer, ADD, ADHD, Autism, Joint Pain and so much much. The link below shows all the scientific evidence of all the damage done by fragrances:

https://www.fragrancefreecoalition.com/

Even essential oils, which are considered "natural," are harmful and make me very ill. Producing a single pound of oil requires hundreds or even thousands of pounds of plant material. This not only concentrates the oils but also the pesticides and toxins that come with them. Our bodies were never meant to handle such intense exposure.

How We Use Dr. Bronner's and Other Natural Products in Our Home for Cleaning

Dr. Bronner's is different since it is very concentrated. It can plug up the squeeze bottle. It does not create bubbles that last in a sink of water, but the benefits of using it are amazing because you can avoid all the endless additives and chemicals found in many cleaning products. Here's how Keith and I use Dr. Bronner's Baby Soap every day:

Hand & Body Wash

We use a foam soap dispenser, which is so fun:

• Mix 1 cup of water with ¼ cup of soap, or follow the directions for your dispenser.

• This works great for me, too, when it comes to shaving.

  
  

Other Care

• Shampoo: Undiluted soap

• Shaving for Keith: Undiluted soap

• Hair Rinse: 1 tablespoon organic white vinegar in 1 cup water - then rinse out the vinegar.

  Leaves hair soft, manageable, and easy to brush.

• If your hair is difficult to brush out, it is likely due to the chemical residue left behind by other shampoos. For example, some shampoos contain silicone. Why would this be needed in a shampoo? Silicone is one of the most toxic ingredients for me. I get severe asthma within minutes from any exposure. The easiest way to identify silicone is to look for words that end in one of these: –cone, –conol, –silane, or –siloxane. Once the chemicals are gone, your hair will be much easier to brush out.    

•  If the bottle plugs up, we scrape the soap from under the top. Dr. Bronner's bottles are great since they have a pointy part to help open the lid.  We reuse these bottles as needed around our home.

• Teeth: I use Bob's Red Mill baking soda.

  I dip my toothbrush in a bowl of baking soda, it works so well! I was just using water and flossing. My dentist and hygienist told me I don't need toothpaste since every brand I've tried gives me severe asthma. But then I noticed my teeth were getting stained, probably because I love to drink green tea every day. Problem solved when I started using Bob's Red Mill baking soda.

  I use OraMD dental floss that I buy from Amazon. I was using Glide but I began to get gaps between my teeth with lots of pain and bleeding. My hygienist said the "gliding" is the problem, it does not do the job. I also looked this product up on Google, it is derived from petroleum! I solved this huge problem by changing to OraMD dental floss.

Showers, Sinks & Tubs

• We use it undiluted with a simple brush, it cleans so well!

Dishes

• I have not been able to find a dishwasher soap that I don't react to. The truth is, your dishes get a lot cleaner when you hand-wash them.

• We hand-wash using our foam soap on a loofah sponge or a brush (see tools below for details) I like to put the foam soap from our dispenser in a bowl and use this to wash dishes.

• Tip: Put a little water on everything before doing the dishes to make everything soft and easy to clean.

Laundry

Outdoor Clothes: To remove fragrances and other toxins from clothes we wear away from our home. This protects our home so much.

We wash three times with Dr. Bronner's Baby Soap. Dr. Bronner's is very good at removing toxins. We use 1/8 cup in our HE washer, for a regular washer use 1/4 cup. Dr. Bronner's dries in the cup which reduces the soap amount so be sure to wash it out after each load of laundry.

Then we test the clothes with our VOC meter to be sure all the toxins have been removed.

Why all this effort? It is extremely difficult to remove fragrances from your clothing. If it isn't removed it will build up.

Indoor Clothes: We have separate clothes that we wear only indoors. (I kept getting asthma from clothes worn to lunches, meetings, other places.)

These can be washed one time with Dr. Bronner's Baby Soap.

Cleaning Our Washing Machine

We use vinegar instead of the toxic chemicals recommended for a tub clean of our washing machine.

We started getting black or gray flakes or spots on our clothes from too much soap which is caused by "scrud", a buildup of soap scum and dirt that accumulates on the out drum eventually breaking off.

To fix this:

• Run a "Tub Clean" or Heavy Duty cycle on the hottest setting with no clothes and 2 - 4 cups organic white vinegar.

• I do use vinegar for some cleaning jobs when it is needed.

• Wipe down the rubber door gasket (seal), detergent dispenser, and under the agitator, as this is where it hides.

• Rewash stained items with 1/2 cup of baking soda.

• Use less soap to prevent this from happening.

Floors & Surfaces

• For mopping, add soap to a bucket of water. I love using the Twist and Shout Mop that I bought on Amazon - no need to spray toxic chemicals on my floor!

• For counters and cabinets, stainless steel, and general cleaning, I wet a washcloth, fold in half, half again, then I use soap from the soap dispenser to clean; I turn the cloth over to wipe the soap off.

• For stainless steel that is difficult to clean, such as the front of a dishwasher, I use pure organic lemon juice. I dip a wet cloth in it, wash the dishwasher with the lemon, and then turn the cloth over to clean off the lemon residue. If needed, you can do more treatments. The results are amazing!  

• For dusting, I use a wet washcloth.

  
  

Check out my videos on cleaning at the bottom of this story.

Windows & Mirrors

• Clean with water and a wet wash cloth. If needed, dry with a dry cloth.

• For tough jobs such as windows outdoors, use organic white vinegar and paper towels.

Deep Cleaning

• For our kitchen sink, our air fryer, or other cleaning that needs more power, we use Bob's Red Mill baking soda.

Tools & Brushes

A Word of Caution About "Green" Products

• For cleaning, we use organic loofah sponges from Etsy. I buy this product because they also sell essential oils: Organic Whole Loofah Sponge – Unprocessed, Non-GMO, Heirloom Then Keith peels it so I stay safe. I buy it from MoonBeamFarmStore.

• We use nothing plastic; many cleaning utensils are toxic. I have had severe reactions to products that claimed to be plant-based, natural, or "green".

• I also buy Bamboo Dish Brush Set,4 Pack Kitchen Palm Pot Brush from Amazon and use them to scrub pots and pans, for difficult cleaning jobs like our sink and air fryer. https://a.co/d/0f37KkFN

• To clean these, I put a little undiluted Dr. Bronner's soap in my hand, rub it on the brush or sponge, and rub vigorously between my fingers; this works so well to clean it. I switch out the brushes to let them dry out.

• To clean my loofah sponge I put Dr. Bronner's on it and rub it between my hands to the count of 60. It works fantastic!

What About Oils?

Surprisingly, I can't tolerate any oils produced in the U.S., even organic ones. A woman who sold CBD oil told me that hexane is used to process oils in the US, regardless of whether they are organic or not. That's not true in Europe.

Now we use Bono olive oil, 100% made in Italy and I do not react at all. It's available on Amazon, and I'm so grateful for it. You can also buy it at Sprouts Farmers Market. Any oil made 100% in Europe should work fine.

Dr. Bronner's Baby Soap Is Good for My Skin Too

For a long time, I avoided washing the backs of my hands to reduce exposure to soap. But they became dry and rough, almost like alligator skin. I began to wash the back of my hands every time with Dr. Bronner's, and soon, the skin on the back of my hands was soft and healthy.  I cannot use any lotions due to my chemical sensitivity, yet my skin is soft and healthy, even living in the desert here in Arizona.  

How To Search For Safe Products:

I only recommend Dr. Bronner's Baby Soap. I have tested three other products with disastrous results so I will not be trying any other products. I am thrilled that my health is so protected by Dr. Bronner's Baby Soap.

I used to go to EWG (Environmental Working Group including Skin Deep) to search for safe products.

However, I often reacted to products they reported as totally safe.

We recently had a crisis caused by a product they reported as green, totally safe and each ingredient was reported as green and safe. It was not.

EWG can give you information on how toxic products are which is valuable but I never rely on what they say is safe.

Ask these two questions on Google

Is there any petroleum in ___________________.

It is also important to ask this question: Are there anything harmful to me in ________.

To test for yourself what is safe, you can use a VOC meter!

We have a VOC meter that we love! This is the name on Amazon: Airthings 2960 View Plus - Battery Powered

Here is the link: hhttps://a.co/d/eJh6o0Q

We are testing it out. You can read what we have learned here: https://www.imagesbytk.com/post/how-a-voc-device-gives-such-powerful-information It takes a week before the numbers are correct. If you use any scented product, you will have very high VOCs and probably be unable to test products.

We have been using it to test things that I needed to buy, but I was afraid I'd react to, such as shoes. We have found that VOCs higher than 250 give me asthma. I found some shoes with VOCs lower than 250!

Final Thoughts

With just one safe, simple product, Dr. Bronner's Baby Unscented Soap, we clean our entire home without synthetic chemicals. I no longer suffer reactions from everyday cleaning tasks. My skin is healthy, my home is clean, and with other changes I have made, my body has healed so much!

If you have health issues or want to work to heal our Earth or protect your health in the future, every action to remove toxic chemicals is the right choice.  

Here are my videos on cleaning

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I am never an affiliate for any product I recommend. I share these recommendations only because they have genuinely helped improve my health, and I hope they can do the same for you.

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Stay Connected

If my story resonated with you, I'd be grateful if you could give it a heart at the end of my blog. Your support means the world to me. I also always love to hear from you; please leave me a comment below.

I have had miracles happen, so many miracles and I am so thankful. I am working to share with you what I have learned with my blogs, social media posts and YouTube so that you can also heal.

Yet now, I find myself faced with increasing toxins in America that is making it so difficult for me to stay healthy and this is true for each of us and our Earth. 

We need to work together to solve this issue. Our lives and our planet depend on this.

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