HOME: Daddy Van's Furniture Polish

A few weeks ago, I noticed a victorian set of end tables in the back of our large item garbage pickup truck. I was really tempted to chase him down and ask for the tables. It's amazing how many wonderful pieces of wood furniture end up in the landfill every year simply because the wood starts to dull. You see, when wood is shiny and new from the factory, it has usually been sealed with a highly toxic varnish coat that helps it retain moisture and color. Through exposure to sunlight, elements, or even just general use over time, the clear coat wears off and the wood starts to experience decay and damage. When this happens, most people either decide to get rid of the furniture altogether or apply a new coat of varnish. The problem is that both of these common solutions involve unnecessary pollution - both in the landfill or in offgassing toxic fumes into your home for months or years to come. In the case of damaged wood furniture, why not take the item apart and repurpose the undamaged parts for new projects? Donate them to a local children's scout troop for crafts? Or donate the piece to an organization in great need (remember, one person's trash can be another person's treasure)?

However, in many cases that don't involve physical damage beyond color and moisture loss, beauty to wood furniture can be restored quickly, easily, and safely through the use of a natural wood polish product such as Daddy Van's All Natural Furniture Polish. We decided to put this polish to the test on oak cabinets which had been neglected (read: no polish) for nearly two decades. With UV damage to the clear coat, the wood has dried out and the color has dulled. We were not expecting a miracle, but we definitely wanted to add some moisture back into the cabinets. To be fair, we tested one set of cabinets with an olive oil based polish and another set with Daddy Van's All Natural Furniture Polish, which is beeswax based. The olive oil polish soaked in and begged for more, the wood was very thirsty. We soon realized that the olive oil polish would prove to be an expensive and time-consumptive process. The beeswax polish required only a single coat (applied with an old cotton sock, you know, the ones we've been begging you to repurpose into rags) and provided immediate aesthetic improvement!

Being the dedicated testers we are, we wanted to see how much area you could cover with one small container of Daddy Van's Furniture Polish. At first, it took a bit more to saturate the sock with beeswax, but after a few cabinet doors, the sock was primed and it only took very little for each subsequent cabinet. And so we worked and worked on the tester's kitchen long into the night, the next day we went back to work on adjacent baseboards and window sills....yet still there was much more left in the tin. And so, our answer for your inevitable question, "How long does one container last?" is that you can easily do a large kitchen full of cabinets and only use half of one tin. You can easily do all your baseboards in your house with one tin. If you are using this for all of your wood furniture in your house for occassional polishing, you might need one container annually. Thus, this is an absolutely wonderful value compared to vegetable oil based polishes, which require substantially more applications and amount over time. Below you can see the results of our oak cabinet polishing (notice the flash is bouncing off of the left cabinet and it is still dull, but the flash doesn't even hit the right cabinet and it is glossy from the polish - it looks like new):

Daddy Van's is on a mission to create superior products that are non-toxic, safe, and healthful for people and the planet, using ingredients that are as close to nature as possible and that are sourced responsibly and ethically. The beeswax comes from Texas and Colorado beekeepers and is unrefined, meaning that the only processing it goes through is filtering out the debris from the hive (read: no commerical contamination concerns of byproducts from manufacturing). It is then packaged up in Evergreen, Colorado and shipped to customers. That's right, this is a Made in the USA product!

Daddy Van's is a member of the Natural Products Association and has been awarded the Green America Business Seal of Approval. Their products are certified cruelty free by Leaping Bunny and a portion of their profits are donated to Healthy Child Healthy World.

Shop DADDY VAN'S FURNITURE POLISH

Cleaners: ecodiscoveries

Home of the world's tiniest yet most effective cleaners!

Nursery Description: This natural plant based formula is gentle enough for your baby and strong enough to clean cribs, changing tables, toys, and more. Defend your nursery against petroleum residues and still be dazzling clean.


Tub and Tile Description: The organic salts in Tub and Tile scrub away build-up with ease. You’ll be safe from soap scum and chlorine cleaners forever. Safe has a tough side. Biodegradable. Fragrance-free. Non-toxic.

Nursery Ingredients: filtered water, coconut based surfactants, naturally derived citric acid, sodium citrate


Tub and Tile Ingredients: filtered water, coconut based surfactants, organic salts



Price: $9.95 US per 2 refill concentrate bottles = 64 oz of cleaner

WOW! This is one little bottle that packs a huge punch in not only cleaning effectiveness, but in conservation of space, materials, and transportation costs! 


PRACTICAL: I have to admit that upon opening the package, I was hugely impressed by the teeny tiny size of this refill bottle. Here is a photo below of it standing next to a standard 32oz cleaner bottle. It is cheaper to produce, cheaper to ship, and being made of #1 PETE plastic means it is the easiest plastic to readily recycle! Win-Win-Win for the packaging and design!!!


PORTABILITY: If you're a neurotic germaphob like me who likes to clean the hotel room when you arrive, this little 2 oz concentrate bottle can be stored in your carry-on luggage and poured into an empty sprayer at your destination, add some water, and you're set to clean to your heart's content!


EFFECTIVE: These have quickly become one of the few cleaners I trust when cleaning areas in my house where I know the evil bacteria is certain to lurk...the kitchen, the bathroom, and the nursery! All of these places have itty-bitty germs spreading around day-after-day regardless of how clean we try to be, so it's really important to have a cleaner that is going to destroy bacteria without hurting our family.


SAFE: One thing I always look for in any cleaning product for our home is the worst case scenario...that is, I look for the warning label section on the bottle. If it says to call poison control, the product does not get purchased! ecodiscoveries warning label reads: "Eye and skin irritant. Keep out of reach of children and pets. In case of eye contact, flush with water for 15 minutes. In case of skin contact, wash with soap and water. If swallowed, drink water to dilute. If irritation persists, contact a physician." That last little bit is my golden key...DILUTE WITH WATER...that's right, folks, it is non-toxic so just dilute it and keep an eye on your child, they won't be dead within minutes like with any cleaning products that contain bleach or other harmful chemicals. I cannot stress this point enough as so many children die each year from severe chemical burns in their throats and stomachs that cannot be treated from curiously licking their fingers after touching cleaners just for a brief moment. Please prevent these dangers by buying responsibly; ecodiscoveries is one very wise choice for effective yet safe cleaners!

Cleaners: Nothing But Soap's Lemon Scrub

If you face the challenge of having hard water just like we do, the soap scum leftover from using real soap can take its toll on your sinks and tub! But with so many toxic cleaners out there, we must be careful in choosing what we use in our attempts to maintain a clean home.

Nothing But Soap offers a delightful lemon cleaning scrub ($10 US) that takes the place of traditional cleaners of nitty-gritty and grime! Scented using only essential oils, a little bit of this cleaner goes a long way in clearing your sink, tub, and toilets of mineral deposits and build-up.

Ingredients:

sodium bicarbonate sodium borate, lemon juice, vinegar, and lemon essential oil

Visit the NOTHING BUT SOAP shop

Cleaning: Better Life Starter Kit

Okay, so we all know that there are a lot of cleaners out there that claim to be "green" and then you read the label, gasping in shock and dismay. But this company, Better Life, is different!

They aim to do just what their name implies...provide YOU with a better life through more effective, non-toxic cleaning products that make your life simpler, healthier, and ultimately, happier! What you won't find in their products will impress you...Impress me, you say? How's this for starters (and yes, they have the proof to back this all up - we checked on it):

• 
  Proven to remove more bacteria on surfaces than leading natural AND conventional brands! (what-EVER! spray)
• 
  Better at removing soap scum and hard water stains! (what-EVER! spray)
• 
  Proven to biodegrade 2-3x faster!
• 
  NO petrochemicals (...nothing good is ever to come of dead dinosaurs after a million years ;-)
• 
  NO VOCs (easily vaporize into the air you breathe, causing respiratory problems)
• 
  NO ethyloxylates (endocrine disruptor; linked to cancer and sterility)
• 
  NO parabens (endocrine disruptor; linked to cancer and biocumulative)
• 
  NO sls or sles (solvents; toxic to marine life when rinsed down the drain and linked to various skin and lung conditions in humans)
• 
  NO synthetic dyes or fragrances (linked to disorders of the nervous system, cancer, respiratory problems, skin and easily degrades into more dangerous chemical compounds)

• All bottles are 100% recyclable, post-consumer content in all packaging, water-based inks and recyclable film for labeling, and NO dyes or color pigments used in any products, bottles, sprayers, or caps!
• 
  
  NON-GMO ingredients(not genetically modified)
  
  
• NO nanoparticles!

...are you convinced yet? These products are pretty awesome on paper...now for the testing phase. Do they work? We jumped at the opportunity to try their entire product line and test it out on a house full of little boys...could their products handle our all-consuming vortex of daily crud? Here's what our experience was with each product.

What-EVER! All Purpose Cleaner ($6.99) cleans, well you guessed it, whatever hard surfaces you've got on your to-do list for today! Countertops, toilet seats, tables, chairs, sinks, showers, and even the walls...if it's a hard surface and you can wash it, you can spray it with this cleaner. It is available in scent-
free or clary sage/citrus.

This cleaner worked well on everything we triedit on, and we tried it on just about everything! It left our toilets sparkling, my countertops have never felt so smooth and clean (it leaves absolutely no residue or stickiness behind), and handled clean-ups quickly and without effort. The essential oils used to scent the clary sage/citrus really help to perk up your day; a known aromatherapeutic effect of clary sage. So I'm not really sure if it was the single swipe cleaning on every surface or the pleasant aromatherapy treatment I received while mopping up our everyday messes - but using this cleaner made a big difference in my daily routine!

Ingredients: purified water, coconut surfactant, vegetable-based surfactant (corn), natural amino acid surfactant, clary sage essential oil, lemon essential oil, preservative (.08%)

Even The Kitchen Sink Gentle Scrubber ($6.99 US) is an odorless, scratch-free polishing cleaner that works well on stainless steel, tile, bathtubs, glass, porcelain, and stone. I decided to test it out on our stovetop, the one that has had oodles of noodles overflow on it, caking starch to the surface repeatedly, and simply put - I've been trying to clean it off for actually 3 months now with bottle cleaners - nothing has worked (and I've been refusing to yank out the elbow grease and spend an afternoon on it with a homemade paste - just not enough hours in the day lately).

Alas, this gentle scrubber was put to work, hard work, cleaning my sticky stovetop. I was so excited about how this would turn out that I took photos of the process...yes, I know, I'm goofy - but you can thank me later when you discover the magic of these effective products for yourself! ;-) The end result was amazing...the caked-on mess that every other cleaner had failed to clear for months was wiped off with very little scrubbing effort within seconds! It was pretty darn amazing.

Ingredients: purified water, calcium carbonate, corn-based surfactant, coconut oil surfactant, coconut oil, vegetable wax, xanthan gum, preservative (.01%)

Simply Floored Floor Cleaner ($7.29 US) is a ready-to-use, no rinsing required formula that leaves your floors super shiny and squeaky clean! It works on any hard flooring you have (given that it's washable obviously)....vinyl, tile, marble, bamboo, hardwood, laminate. Despite having a crawling infant, as long as the ingredients are safe and it removes the gunk, I'm good with it...alas, I've given this one the green light! The slight spearmint scent that lingers around the house after cleaning with this also makes it rather soothing!

Ingredients: purified water, coconut and corn-based surfactant blend, vegetable glycerin, spearmint essential oil, grapefruit essential oil, bergamot essential oil, preservative (.08%)

I Can See Clearly, WOW! Glass Cleaner ($6.99 US) is unscented and a little bit goes a long way! It wasn't as effective of a cleaner as what-EVER! all purpose cleaner in our testing, so if you have toothpaste bits on the kids' bathroom mirror, I would recommend a quick spritz of what-EVER! first and then following up with this glass cleaner to polish it up to a streak-free shine! Other than that, it will leave your windows and glass absolutely sparkling.

Did youknow that you can reduce your energy bills by angling your blinds for the sunlight to shine into your house on the floor during the day? But if even the tiniest dust particles or residue are on the windows, it will reflect the light back out and you lose that heating advantage and energy savings. Yet another awesome reason, beyond aesthetics, to clean your windows regularly with a streak-free cleaner like this one!

Ingredients: purified water, coconut surfactant, vegetable-based surfactant (palm and corn), preservative (.08%)

2am Miracle Nursery Cleaner ($6.99 US) is a multi-purpose, multi-surface cleaner that's specially designed to clean cribs, toys, changing tables, car seats, highchairs, diaper pails, and nursery walls/floors. It can also be used as a deodorizer and on clothing as a stain pre-treatment! Perhaps, most importantly, this cleaner has been proven to remove more germs and bacteria off surfaces than conventional disinfectants!

As a parent, I cannot stress enough the importance to have anursery cleaner on hand at all times in your house (or if you have room, take it with you in the diaper bag - changing stations in public restrooms are disgusting, having your cleaner on hand will allow you to change the baby without covering them in all sorts of nasty germs). Actually, I wish they made this nursery cleaner in a travel size for that very purpose (hmmm...time to email product development with my suggestion/request ;-)! And I'm not going to go into details on this one too much, I'll just reference their motto for this product, "3P's: Pee, Poop, Puke. Just spray, wipe, and go back to sleep," and agree -- yep! It does all of that and more!

Ingredients: purified water, natural amino acid surfactant, coconut surfactant, vegetable-based surfactant, botanical extract (undisclosed), lavender essential oil, chamomile essential oil, preservative (.01%)

 SHOP BETTER LIFE PRODUCTS

Want to win your own starter kit? Contest coming soon in February...watch our facebook page for details!

Laundry: EcoNuts

After over 30 washes in 1 week (yes, that's right...we have a large family with a newborn), I can confidently say Eco Nuts work amazingly well to get your clothing clean without using anything else in your washing machine. The photo above shows them just before I tossed them out, and to be honest, they were not even used up when I tossed them out but we were done traveling and I didn't have anywhere to store the wet bag of nuts on our trip home.

First and foremost, I have to say that these nuts removed baby poop, unrinsed, from clothing. They also removed all odors from clothing, even some pretty stinky sweat. However, they did NOT remove the yellow coloring of the baby poop so be sure to grab a bar of pure castile soap to remove the poop stains before throwing in a white onesie stained with newborn poop. Okay....enough about poop (sorry, I'm a mom and that's what I deal in).

These offer an amazing value when compared to traditional or even eco-friendly detergents, in fact, these are cheaper than those cheap petrochemical detergents because this trial size box (which erroroneously states it will last 6-10 loads when indeed the company acknowledges it lasts well over 30 in most cases) is only $4! Most households will only need one trial box per month to handle all of their laundry needs.

How do you know when they've been used up? Just run the bag under water and squeeze, if no bubbles appear at all, then the "soap" is gone and they need to be discarded and replaced!

Eco Nuts has an exclusive partnership to purchase these specific nuts which are larger than any others on the market, which means you receive more washes per nut than any other brand! The photos below show the nuts prior to use.

SHOP ECONUTS

Laundry: Nellie's All Natural Laundry Soda & Oxygen Brightener (dry)

Description: The scent of clean laundry you're used to may be caused by nasty chemicals (what's the deal with that?!). So why not discover the true smell of naturally clean clothes with Nellie's Laundry Soda? It's hypoallergenic, and leaves your clothes soft, fresh, and residue free. It's also super-duper concentrated, so only one tablespoon per wash is needed, even in large loads. 100 loads

Ingredients: Sodium Silicate, Coconut oil based surfactants

Price: $18.99 US

Most of the laundry products we have reviewed are liquid-based, so I was excited to try the Nellie's All-Natural Laundry Soda and Oxygen Brightener. I've read so many reviews stating how well Nellie's cleaned, especially when it came to messy cloth diapers, and it was important that I tested it for myself to see if indeed the claims were true.


This dry detergent cleans quite well and rinses clean, it does not leave any residue behind whatsoever. However, it cleans so well that it brings out the fragrance residues leftover from previous detergent washes, if your clothes have ever been exposed to detergents with fragrance (our testers had). 


It is scent-free, meaning that it will remove body odors from your clothing but will not deposit any new scents. Your clothes will smell like...well, just like wet fabric. If you are looking for a cloth diaper detergent and bleach alternative whitener, definitely consider this brand of products for your needs. 


They also carry "nuggets" which are pre-measured, which may have better suited me because the one complaint I had with this brand is that they do not include a measuring device. The tin cans are reusable and old-fashioned adorable, but beware, UPS is rough on them in transit and both of mine arrived badly damaged - one could barely stand upright. The company quickly offered replacement, but for review purposes, I was still able to take photographs from the front so this wasn't an issue for me. I'm just saying, if you want them for the cute tin boxes, you might want to request extra packaging materials or be prepared to file a claim with UPS.

Shop Nellie's All-Natural Laundry Soda

Cleaning: Skoy - The Reusable, Washable, Paper Towel Alternative

Oh Skoy...you had me at "machine washable"...

Material: cotton, wood cellulose, water-based dyes 

Price:  $6.99 US/4-pack

Use: 1 Skoy = 15 ROLLS of paper towels

Compostable/Biodegradable

                          ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Goodbye single-use paper towels and nasty sponges, you are such a waste! Hello reusable Skoy cloths, you make my house and my heart shine!

In our endless search for eco-friendly products, I stumbled across this nifty little product and thought, well...why not give it a try. Our family goes through rolls and rolls of paper towel, with 3 little boys, you can imagine the messes we clean up from paint to poop to peas...there's a whole lotta "p" around here, in every sense of the word!

Mind you, we do invest in 100% post-consumer recycled paper towel, but even with recycled products, there is manufacturing waste created so we still try to limit ourselves with any single-use household items. And not to be too picky about brown, because I do love natural coloring, but it's really nice to have some color in my cleaning routine and skoy provides just the right amount of colorful cheer to my tasks!

How long does each one last?

We actually started out testing the skoy as an experiment. It outlasted 2 rolls of paper towels and kept going. So we just stopped refilling the paper towel holder and instead stacked skoys under it on the countertop. We had started taking a photo after each run through the washer and dryer, but the number (written in ink) would wash out every time and there was not any noticeable wear and tear on the skoy. We finally emailed the manufacturer because we were wondering if this experiment would last all year, exactly how many times could one of these things last through use, washer, and dryer? Apparently over 300+ uses! Well, we love this product and have been convinced through using it how effective it is (and how much waste and money it saves)!!! I hope everyone will try these out, our family has been officially converted to skoy!

Responsible Manufacturing

"[We] are aware of the responsibility for handling resources carefully. We use renewable raw materials such as cellulose (derived from wood), and cotton to produce our SKOY cloths. Our factory has invested heavily in developing and implementing an integrated environmental recycling and disposal facility in which the economical use of energy and water is first and foremost. Production by-products are purified and recycled as far as possible within the process. Regeneration baths are returned to production by an evaporation process. Wastewater is treated at the site's biological wastewater purification plants. This environmental concept is at the vanguard of operations-related environmental policy and has resulted in our factory becoming a reference company throughout the industry."

Use & Care

I like to keep the skoys stacked on my countertop so they are always within reach when a spill happens in the kitchen! However, if you are using them for cleaning, you can simply wet them with water or any household cleaner, we highly recommend Mountain Green All Purpose Cleaner. 

Once your skoy has been worn out (and trust us, this takes a very long time to accomplish) , it can still be used as an outdoor cleaning rag for quite some time. 

The skoy can be cleaned in your dishwasher OR washer/dryer!! You can also sanitize your skoy by microwaving it for 1-2 minutes while wet daily!

After washing, drying, and all sorts of messy cleanups...the Skoy holds it's own! Actually, it holds up to 15 times it's weight in absorbency!

SKOY website

Cleaner: Lemon/Pine All-Purpose Spray by Anuera

Description: This multipurpose spray uses the penetrating power of essential oils and borax to gently, yet effectively clean from the kitchen to the bathroom. Your spirits will soar from the aromatherapy you can receive while cleaning at the same time!  Doubles as a disinfectant, so if you feel a cold coming on – spray the room around you! Your spirits will soar while cleaning, disinfecting and sanitizing your home the natural way with NO harsh chemicals, added dyes or artificial fragrances. 


Available in two blends: Lavender-Tea Tree and Lemon-Pine. Both blends offer the perfect combination of fragrant oils to neutralize bad odors, kill germs and help prevent infections. These essential oils kill the germs that cause tuberculosis, staph infections, diphtheria, typhoid, pneumonia, strep and other ailments. Vegan. 24 oz

Ingredients:  Distilled water, borax (natural mineral), essential oil blend, organic & fair-trade vegetable-based cleanser


Recommended for: windows, carpet, bare floors, counters, cupboards, air deodorizer


Price:  $4.50 US  + FREE SHIPPING (limited time only)!


                                              ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


We received a bottle of the Anuera All-Purpose Cleaner in Lemon-Pine to test around the house for review. Since our house is a virtually endless string of messes, we've had ample opportunities to try it out on just about every surface imaginable in the past month!


The scent, which is strictly from the essential oils added for their anti-microbial properties, is a refreshing and clean fragrance of lemony pine. It reminds me of traditional cleaners, but without all the toxic fumes.


We found that it works absolutely the best for bathrooms. With three little boys, our bathrooms can get really nasty really quickly despite mommy's best efforts. I found that the Anuera All-Purpose Cleaner not only cleaned every surface in the bathroom, leaving it shiny and fresh, but also made me feel great! No more headaches from toxic cleaner fumes...give this small green company a chance and try out their cleaners today!

Anuera Website

Laundry Detergent: Mountain Green

Mountain Green is a healthier clean for your family, your clothes, and the world!



I've been using this all natural, vegetable based laundry detergent for nearly 3 years now and I LOVE IT! It rinses clean with no build-up every time, even if you add too much, and instead of synthetic fragrances, they use essential oils to scent their products! One of the most notable differences in this company and others is that they produce all of their products in a carbon neutral facility in Arizona, USA! With $6 flat rate shipping and many wonderful household cleaning products to choose from, as well as hand soaps, and fabric softeners - this company is definitely one to try out!

Mountain Green website

Laundry Detergent: Dropps

Convenience & cleanliness without compromise.



I recently received a full-size bag of Dropps Scent & Dye Free laundry detegent to try out. After the first load of soiled cloth diapers came out smelling brand new, I was impressed. After the second load, I was on their website placing an order for more Dropps because I was in LOVE!

Dropps is an all natural vegetable based laundry detergent with no synthetics. Although I was a bit skeptical due to lack of ingredient labeling on their products, I was able to correspond with a company rep who disclosed the ingredients to me and they are completely all natural and safe. After speaking to their very friendly rep, I was also impressed at the heart behind the company, I really feel this company wants to make a difference in this world and so they get bonus points for great customer service and image too!

What's so convenient about Dropps? They are pre-measured little dissolvable bags of detergent that you literally just drop into your load of laundry and leave it be! No more spills, no more guesses, no mistakes in the midst of the sleep deprived newborn phase - just the perfect amount every time! And the cost is actually less per load than chemical laden popular brands of laundry detergent as well as other best selling natural detergents...so this is one product you'll definitely want to try!

Dropps website