Clean House Clean Planet (Paperback)

by Karen Logan (Author) "Here are couple of things to think about: In 1989, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) came to the conclusion that indoor air carries a higher..." (more)
Key Phrases: effectiveness rating, pure essential lemon oil, scented baking soda, The Amazing Alternatives, Commercial Brand, Sal Suds (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Explains how to make and use environmentally friendly and inexpensive household cleaners out of everyday ingredients, offering advice on how to do everything from cleaning the oven to unclogging the sink.

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Pocket; First Thus edition (April 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671535951
• ISBN-13: 978-0671535957
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (85 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #11,962 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #5 in	Books > Home & Garden > How-to & Home Improvements > Home Repair
  #7 in	Books > Home & Garden > How-to & Home Improvements > Green Housecleaning
  #17 in	Books > Home & Garden > How-to & Home Improvements > Cleaning, Caretaking & Relocating

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

185 of 186 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An honest, positive take on green cleaning, April 18, 2000

By	R. A. Ward "speedbmp" (WV) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Karen Noonan Logan has put together an extremely useful, honest recipe book for green cleaning products.

It is honest in that she rates the effectiveness of each formula provided, and not all of them are 95s or 100s (comparable to commercial cleaners). In fact, there are several in the book that aren't that effective, but at least they don't poison you.

However, the majority of her recipes *are* effective and very easy to make. Logan writes matter-of-factly, but with a positive style. It's not like reading a textbook or cookbook at all; you are entertained as you read.

There is a broad enough range of recipes that you can clean nearly anything, but not so many that you can't figure out which recipe to make for which cleaning job.

In contrast, I found that Annie Berthold-Bond's book "Clean and Green" was too cluttered by a confusing array of recipes, some of which are so specialized many people will probably never use them. Also, her writing style is far too dry to really be enjoyable.

If you really, really need a weird stain out of your clothes and don't want to reach for the bleach or stain stick, you may want to pick up "Clean and Green." But for just cleaning floors, tile, windows, etc. it is *much* easier to use the simple, multi-purpose recipes in "Clean House, Clean Planet."

166 of 172 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Very useful, but redundant, September 29, 2003

By	Alice Fielding "kangarunitarian" (Norman, OK USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

While I recommend buying this book and trying out all the recipes, I don't recommend going wild all at once like I did.

The basic message of the book is this: Clean your windows and mirrors with plain club soda. Clean everything else with one or more of the following: baking soda, vinegar, Dr. Bronner's soap, or distilled water. The trick is to scent your baking soda or vinegar with a few drops of your favorite essential oil.

The cool thing about the book is that it gives detailed recipes for exactly what proportions of these main ingredients (plus a few others) work best to clean each different thing in your house, and it goes into some detail about what spray and squirt bottles work best, too. It's very practical and useful and I learned some new things from reading it (did you know that in the United States, you can't legally say that tea tree oil is a disinfectant?).

Unfortunately, she does repeat herself a lot, and she encourages you to buy more than you really need. WAY more. You won't save any money at all if you buy all the things she suggests you buy! I would say start out with one gallon of vinegar, one or two boxes of baking soda, one or two essential oils, some distilled water if you don't already have it, and maybe some Dr. Bronner's if you can afford it (you can use regular hand dishwashing liquid for most of these recipes). Spray bottles are nice, too, but I had a hard time finding the right size.

Back to the merits and un-merits of the book: The Table of Contents and the Index are well organized, but the book itself isn't quite so much. It would help so much if the topic headings on each page pointed to what was actually on that page instead of giving a general chapter name. If you're trying to look up a particular recipe, it can take a long time to find.

In conclusion, this is a good book that I definitely recommend buying. I love being able to clean nontoxically and this book is a huge help. I just wish I had bought a lot less stuff at the outset.

60 of 61 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful find, February 15, 2005

By	K. Elder (Sandy, UT) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I stumbled upon this book when I was searching for recipes for homemade cleansers that were also inexpensive. Truthfully, the whole toxicity issue didn't even cross my mind until I took a closer look at the book and reviews. I don't have children, but I do have a very curious dog who tracks in all sorts of dirt and loves to smell and (usually) lick everything he explores. It's very comforting to know that the cleaners I am now using are non-toxic. I also often wondered, "if *I* think this stuff smells strong and nasty, imagine what my dog and his superior sense of smell thinks of it!"

The book was fun and interesting to read. It's amazing that commercial cleansers don't have to list all of their ingredients. I also appreciated the author's honesty--pointing out things that are suspected and not proven, and even rating how well her cleaners work when compared to those you buy at the store. I agree with other reviewers that the recipes could have been laid out differently and can be hard to go back and find.

The recipes are very easy to put together and use ingredients that are easy to find. They also work!! Who knew that vinegar and water in a spray bottle would make cleaning the bathroom floors a million times easier and more pleasant. Or that baking soda would make my sinks sparkle. I've truly enjoyed reading the book and using the author's recipes.

Update (1/28/07): It's been nearly two years since I wrote my original review and I wanted to add that I'm still using the recipies, and love them more than ever!