Spruce (refillable natural cleaners)
Spruce uses natural ingredients, sold in starter kits to ‘create your own cleaner’ with tap water. Then just rinse and use the bottles again.
We don’t recommend the laundry sheets, as most are PLA-based (polyvinyl alcohol) so are not really plastic-free – use Allavare Laundry Powder).
Use with plastic-free sponge or cloths.
For toxic cleaning/laundry products, you can recycle empty bottles with kerbside collections. For bottles with product, dispose of them at your council’s hazardous waste department.
- Never use essential oils for cleaning for pregnancy/nursing and near babies/pets. Citrus oils are toxic to pets (even if rinsed and dried, residue could be licked from paws). For these homes, choose unscented cleaners (or use unscented cleaning vinegar and baking soda).
- Never mix vinegar or lemon juice with any bleach (causes toxic gas). Also read how to clean floors and carpets, naturally.
- Nothing is 100% harmless (that would be water). But these are as good as you get (never pour neat essential oils down sinks or drains, this would harm aquatic life).
You then just buy refill sachets to make up new batches. To avoid overwhelm, there are just few choices:
- Multipurpose Cleaner (geranium) for countertops, tiles, stone, wood and sealed surfaces.
- Bathroom Cleaner (eucalyptus) for tubs, tiles, ceramic, stainless steel & porcelain)
- Floor Cleaner (bergamot, patchouli, geranium).
- Eco sponges (add to your order to avoid plastic sponges)
- Glass & Mirror Set (peppermint) for windows and mirrors.
You can order each item separately or mix-and-match. For instance, you may only wish to buy the multi-purpose and glass cleaner (using the former to clean the bathroom). Each order includes aluminium eternity bottles and paper refill sachets, which you can compost when empty.
Most users say they use up one bottle’s worth of product in around 2 months, with regular cleaning. Obviously this may be more big houses, housekeepers or professional use (offices, restaurants, hotels, public buildings etc).
