8 Cleaning Resolutions for the New Year

For a positive impact!

1) Small jobs done regularly

Cut cleaning down to small jobs you can squeeze in here and there. These changes to your routine will keep help to keep your home clean and orderly throughout the year.
For example you’re spraying and wiping for after dinner clean up anyway, so also pop into the bathroom, spray, walk away to let the product do its work, then come back and wipe down surfaces (with your bathroom cloth) for a cleaner start to the morning.

2) Make beds every single morning

A made bed makes a bedroom look tidy, instantly and it doesn’t take much more than a minute to do. It’s much nicer to sleep in that night as well. Get the kids in the habit of making their beds every morning too.

Lavender Laundry Liquid is perfect for bed linen.

3) Put clothes/shoes away

Always put your clothes and shoes back in their place or in the laundry basket at the end of the day. It takes less time to do this than it does to deal with a mountain of clothes over a chair by the end of the week, or the time it takes to run around in the morning frantically trying to find a garment or the other sock to a pair. Not even mentioning unnecessary frustration.

4) Let your cleaning products do the work

Choose your cleaning products wisely. If you have a big job that involves cleaning grease, oil, soap fat in the shower – then use Orange Power Cleaner undiluted to take away the elbow grease or scrubbing.

5) Clean the bathroom weekly

Cleaning the bathroom weekly is much better than letting it become a daunting job. Regular cleaning means mould, bacteria, soap residue is kept under control.

6) Spray, walk away, then wipe

Some products need a little time to do their work for you, check the instructions. You’ll find those products more economical when being used correctly also. For instance Bathroom Cleaner needs a little time, walk away and do something else for a while, then come back to wiping.

Toilet Cleaner, with cedar and citronella, is particularly good at adhering to the loo bowl. Squeeze it under the rim and leave it to work overnight. Then just a quick scrub in the morning is all that’s required.

Use Multi-Surface and Glass Cleaner, with lavender and lemongrass or diluted Orange Power Cleaner or diluted All Purpose Cleanser in a trigger bottle for a quick after dinner clean, remember to spray, walk away then come back and wipe, because you’re letting your products do the work.

7) Cleaning products you actually like to use

Cleaning is much more enjoyable when you use products that smell lovely when you’re using them and leave nature’s aromatics behind as well. Natural and organic essential oils, as opposed to synthetic chemical fragrances, which are just pollutants.

8) Begin the New Year organised

This is a great time of year to tackle rooms, one by one, and clear the clutter, which means it’s quicker and easier to clean during the year. Put your favourite music on and if there’s kids about get them involved too. Have 3 drop off points: rubbish, recycle, donate.

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8 Dishwasher TIPS for great results

1. Firstly remove the dishwasher filter and give it a really good clean and return it. You’ll find it under the lower spray mechanism.
2. Put 1 cup of white vinegar in the dishwasher and run it without any dishes. This gives your dishwasher a good clean of any build up.
3. May sound obvious but don’t put dishes in the dishwasher with food leftovers still attached.
4. Use the correct cycle, for instance, no quick cycle after a roast dinner.
5. The optimum dishwasher temperature is 50 degrees Celsius.
6. Don’t overcrowd your dishwasher, you just won’t get a good result.
7. Use Clear Rinse 500ml also available in 10 litre with sulphated castor oil, alcohol, and sugar surfactants which reduce the surface tension of water, enabling the water of the final washing cycle to drip off the crockery more easily.
8. Hard water just makes getting dishes clean harder. An integral part of every dishwashing machine is an ion exchanger which traps the calcium and magnesium ions which cause hard water and feeds soft water into the machine. This prevents the development of limescale on glasses and cutlery. If the ion exchanger becomes saturated with calcium and magnesium ions, its absorptivity must be restored by regeneration. Sonett Regenerating Salt causes the exchange of the hardness ions and ensures optimal rinsing results.

Dishwasher Tablets 

The main active ingredients of the Sonett Tablets for Dishwashers are sodium carbonate, silicates and sulphated castor oil. They make food left-overs swell, emulsify and dissolve fats and oils. Bleaching oxygen (sodium percarbonate) serves for removing tea and coffee residues from cups.

Dishwasher Detergent 1kg, 3kg and 10kg

Despite being free from enzymes and aggressive bleaching agents it cleans even stubborn dirt with exceptional ease.

Clean dishes, eco friendly, free from phosphates and other nasty chemicals, 100% biodegradable. Clean using clean ingredients.

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12 TIPS to Detox Your Home

Indoor air can be more polluted than outdoor air, simply because of conventional common household fragrance and cleaning products, skin care, hair care and body care products. These are being found to have negative health effects on nervous, immune, reproductive, endocrine and respiratory systems.

Many conventional cleaning products are full of synthetic chemicals that aren’t even listed on the ingredients label, same with personal care products.

Here’s a few things you can do to reduce toxin exposure in your home

1. Open windows and doors when you can and allow the fresh air in.
2. No shoes in the house.
3. Ditch conventional chemical cleaners, same with skin care, perfumes, body care, make-up and personal care. We recommend using high quality, rapidly 100% biodegradable, Sonett for household and laundry cleaning, Dr. Hauschka, NATRUE certified natural and organic (biodynamic and wild harvested) for premium skin care and make-up, SPEICK Men Care and Cosmos certified SPEICK MEN ACTIVE for superb natural shaving, skin, hair and body care, Less is More for organic haircare, and for babies and kids, Organic Babies.
4. No conventional air fresheners, they’re just home pollutants, as are many fragrant candles, use natural beeswax candles and pure essential oils instead. Baking Soda neutralises odours. Place a small dish with a couple of teaspoons Baking Soda anywhere around the home, fridge, car, a sprinkle in the rubbish bin.
5. Always use a moist cloth for dusting that you can put in the laundry afterwards. Dry dusting just moves dust particles around in the air.
6. Be really stringent about cleaning where mould has a tendency to grow.
7. Think about getting a shower filter and a tap filter.
8. Use natural wool carpets instead of synthetic, and cotton rugs
9. VOCs (volatile organic compounds) are chemicals that have a high vapour pressure at ordinary room temperature. Typical indoor VOC sources include paint, cleaning products, sofas, beds, glues, permanent markers and printing equipment. Levels can be particularly high when there is limited ventilation. Use low VOC, low odour latex water based paint, think about latex and organic cotton mattresses, and check out alternatives for sofas.
10. Be wary of plastics and avoid BPA plastics all together and microwaving food in plastic containers. Choose glass or BPA free plastic for baby bottles.
11. Avoid non-stick cookware, use stainless steel or cast iron instead. Lodge, America’s oldest family-owned cookware manufacturer, refers to its cookware as ‘natural non-stick’. Cast iron is extremely durable and can be pre-heated to temperatures, on oven top or in the oven, well above what is considered safe for non-stick pans. Both are also extremely long lasting, as opposed to ending up in landfill very quickly.

Why I chose to avoid non stick cookware

What’s the deal with non-stick cookware? Is it safe?

12. Use plants to help detox your home. According to the NASA Clean Air Study some of the very best plants for air filtering are:

• Peace Lily (Spathiphyllum ‘Mauna Loa’) filters benzene, formaldehyde, trichloroethylene, xylene & toluene, ammonia.
• Mother-in-law’s Tongue (Sansevieria trifasciata ‘Laurentii’) filters benzene, formaldehyde, trichloroethylene, xylene & toluene.
• English Ivy (Headera helix) filters benzene, formaldehyde, trichloroethylene.
• Florist’s chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum morifolium) filters benzene, formaldehyde, trichloroethylene, xylene & toluene, ammonia.
• Red-edged dracaena (Dracaena marginata) filters benzene, formaldehyde, xylene & toluene.

All of the above are toxic to dogs and cats.

• Bamboo Palm (Chamaedorea seifrizii) filters formaldehyde, xylene & toluene.
• Dwarf Date Palm (Phoenix roebelenii) filters formaldehyde, xylene and toluene.
• Areca Palm (Dypsis lutescens) filters formaldehyde, xylene and toluene.

The above are non-toxic to dogs and cats.

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Do you have a fragrance sensitivity?

I can’t walk down the cleaning isle in the supermarket without getting an instant headache, so I avoid that isle all together. I hold my breath in the perfume area of department stores. I offered to bring in a girlfriend’s washing to find the basket of laundry completely overpowering in residue fragrance from fabric softener. Like many, I have a sensitivity and an aversion to synthetic chemical fragrance.

Fragrance sensitivity can be defined as an irritation or an adverse reaction to chemicals in a perfume or other scented products such as air fresheners, laundry and cleaning products, scented candles, perfume, deodorants, cologne and cosmetics.

People with asthma or other respiratory illness may be more susceptible to fragrance allergies.

Common Symptoms of Fragrance Allergy

• mild to severe headache
• sneezing, coughing and runny nose
• breathing difficulties, dizziness, and fatigue
• loss of concentration
• skin irritation, itching, and rashes
• muscle aches
• watery, red, and itchy eyes
• wheezing
• swelling
• nausea and vomiting
• Strong fragrances from perfumes or colognes can even trigger a migraine

Secondhand Fragrance

In a public place people are sharing what is now being called ‘secondhand fragrance’. This is the combination of harmful chemicals being released into the public air space from air fresheners, cleaning products, scented candles, plus all the products people are wearing (hairstyling products, shampoo and conditioner, deodorant, perfume etc). Everyone is involuntarily breathing contaminated air even if they choose to not wear fragranced products.

Dogs have 20 times more scent receptor cells than humans, and the scent-processing section of their brains is much larger than ours. They don’t need synthetic fragrance in their environment either.

Fragrance sensitivity at the workplace

Some employers are becoming aware of this issue, and are accommodating fragrance sensitive people. Some companies have stopped using air fresheners, and use fragrance-free cleaning products in order to minimise fragrance chemicals in indoor environments.

Baking Soda is an odour neutraliser.

Synthetic Chemical Fragrance

Up to 95% of synthetic chemicals used to make fragrance recipes are derived from petrochemicals. To make matters worse for the unsuspecting public, many products labeled as ‘unscented’ are actually the fragranced product with the addition of another masking fragrance. Products with the ingredient ‘fragrance’ contain endocrine disruptors called phthalates.

If we think of natural and organic essential oils, Lavender for example, it contains a myriad of natural chemical constituents, around 100, and one of those is linalool. In the entirety of a natural and organic essential oil this constituent isn’t usually a problem. However there is also synthetic chemical linalool, an isolated man-made ingredient, which is much more likely to result in a sensitivity.

Sure makes it difficult for consumers!

Do your homework, look for certifications and ethical brands that can be trusted. An ethical brand, is also transparent with their complete ingredient list, and will assist you with any ingredient questions.

Natural and organic essential oils of lemon and lemongrass in Sonett’s laboratory

Sonett products are free from enzymes, petrochemical surfactants, synthetic chemical fragrances, dyes and preservatives, bleaching agents, optical brighteners, genetic engineering and nanotechnology.

Sonett has a neutral range which is even free from natural and organic essential oils. There are those who are sensitive to nature’s essential oils as well.

The complete range of Sonett products has been independently certified according to the criteria of Ecogarantie, the premium label for ecological washing and cleaning products.

Correct dosage for Laundry Liquid Lavender (using natural and essential oils only) with Sonett Measuring Ball.

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10 Ironing Tips

1) Iron Temperature

Progress from garments needing the lowest temperature to those requiring the highest.

2) Ironing in the Bedroom

Ensures you’re handy to drawers, closet and hangers. Items on the bed helps with easy selection for lowest iron temperature garments to highest temperature garments.

Tip: Hang up or fold your garments immediately after ironing them.

3) Clothing Care

Always read your clothing labels for care. Turn your garment inside out, if it isn’t already, because ideally they should be inside out for washing machine and line drying process. Iron fabrics inside out to protect them from becoming shiny.

4) Pressing Cloth

Iron delicate fabrics with a pressing cloth — a clean cotton cloth or pillowslip will do just as well.

5) Ironing Board Cover & Soleplate

Keep your ironing board cover/pad clean and in good condition. Damage to the pad may transfer to your garments. Ensure the soleplate is clean.

6) Direction

Always iron in back and forth movement, not circular, which can stretch out clothes.

7) Regularly Clean Water Reservoir

Remove mineral deposits from the water reservoir when the steam action begins to decrease. In an unplugged cold iron pour 100ml Sonett Decalcifier into the water reservoir. Plug in the iron and heat, let it steam for about 15 minutes. Unplug the iron, and position it, soleplate down, on a small glass dish that has been placed in a larger shallow pan. Allow the water to drain from the vents for about an hour. Drain away any remaining solution, and flush the reservoir with filtered clear water before using the iron again.

Tips:

• Using filtered water in your water reservoir helps with less build up.
• When you’re finished ironing, empty the water from your iron while the iron is hot. This will reduce the moisture that remains in the water compartment. Allow the iron to cool before you put it away.

8) Cut your ironing time in half

Place, foil, shiny side up, under your ironing cover of your ironing board. The heat reflects, meaning while you’re ironing one side of the garment you shouldn’t need to iron the other side.

9) Sonett Starch Spray & Ironing Aid

Starches, smoothes, and cares for all textiles made from cotton, linen and fabric blends. It makes ironing easier, even with dry and crumpled laundry. Your garments stay free from creases, are dirt-repellent, and retain their shape for a longer period of time.

• Organically grown Rose Geranium and Lavender – aromas that definitely help with the ironing job!
• No need to use steam when using Sonett Starch Spray & Ironing Aid.
• Spray about 20cm away from clothing.
• Don’t get spray on the floor or it may cause a slippery floor.
• Unlike conventional ironing starches, Sonett Starch Spray & Ironing Aid does not contain petrochemical silicone as friction-impeding ironing aid. We use purely plant ingredients, mostly from organic cultivation. Has to be a better choice for you, your family, your skin, the air you breathe and your clothes.
• Also comes in economical 1 litre refill.

10) Many garments can be hung on hangers to dry, especially those from a delicates wash and not require ironing at all.  Hang other items as soon as possible after bringing in the laundry anyway, it’s better than having items crumpling and creasing in the ironing pile, and making more work.

Use Sonett Laundry Rinse in the final rinse of the wash cycle, to make garments easier to iron, as it smoothes fibres and softens fabrics.

Sonett Laundry Rinse
Suitable for all types of fabrics and washing programmes. Add to the final rinsing water. Sonett Laundry Rinse helps to rinse out any laundry liquid or powder residue and neutralises the rinsing water (important for allergy-prone people). It brightens up colours, smoothes fibres and softens fabrics.

Laundry Rinse also comes in bulk 10 litre.

 

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