In a world full of toxins, here’s a non toxic way to clean your dishes, laundry and other things around your home using sodium percarbonate or oxygen bleach!
I discovered sodium percarbonate around 5-6 years ago after using washing soda for a while. Washing soda worked well when it was fresh, however, glasses started getting cloudy and complaints started coming in from the head office (read hubby) once the powder began to get old and stale. So I began researching (again) and this time my research led me to reading all the ingredients in ‘eco’ dishwashing powders. I looked up what oxygen bleach was (as they came up pretty often in these powders) – this is pure sodium percarbonate.
Hmmm…so what’s that? It’s a combination of hydrogen peroxide and sodium carbonate (which is washing soda / soda ash). So, basically, I added one more chemical compound to my washing soda and I get a super cleaner. No, I don’t make it myself, but what I’ve upgraded to is just that. It is generally used by brewers to sanitise vats.
So…what are its advantages –
- It is non toxic
- It is water soluble
- It is safe for humans, pets, gardens and septic tanks
- It decomposes into sodium carbonate, water and oxygen
- It doesn’t give off any odours, which is awesome. Now that I use non toxic cleaning products, the cleaning aisles in the supermarkets smell so strong and toxic. My nose knows (!) the toxic from the non toxic.
- Cleans very thoroughly
- Removes stains from dishes and clothes
- Removes grease and caked in food
- It is very cost effective – it costs very little and you use very little to clean (I use around 1.1kg of oxygen bleach per month which converts to less than $10 per month to do laundry, clean dishes, clean toilets / showers and all the rest!!!)
- It can be used for any type of clothing – delicates (use less quantity) or denim
- Colour safe
- Whitens whites and brightens coloured clothes
- It reduces the number of different cleaners you might need for cleaning around the house – you just need the one product! Save under sink space!
Where can you use it –
- In the dishwasher
- For laundry
- To pre soak or whiten clothes
- Easily clean your heavily soiled dishes / clothes
- Cleaning coffee machines
- Descaling kettles
- Cleaning ovens
- Removing stains from the counter top
- Removing stains from carpets
- Clean the toilets and showers
- Unblock clogged drains
- Remove mould
Things to remember –
- You can use only a tablespoon of the sodium percarbonate in your dishwasher and washing machine
- It uses 38°C water to activate it, so wash your dishes and laundry in 40°C + water
- The solution will stay active for around 6 hours maximum, so don’t premake it and keep it to use after 6 hours
- To create a solution for carpets / ovens / showers / toilets, etc. mix in hot water till it dissolves and then either use a spray bottle or pour the solution on the tiles
- You could also create a paste with the sodium percarbonate & water and rub it on the inside of your oven glass door, let it stand for 15 minutes and wipe off with a soft wet cloth
- To clean dirty dishes, put it in the dish, fill the dish with hot water and you can soak it for anywhere from 15 minutes to 6 hours and then clean the dish as normal. Or you could put the dish on the stove, turn it on and let the water boil, turn the stove off and wash the dirty dish as usual.
- To unblock drains, pour some boiling hot water down the drain, add a tablespoon of sodium percarbonate into the drain, pour a 1/4 cup of cleaning vinegar into the drain and wait for 15 – 30 minutes to do its thing. Then pour boiling water down the drain and you’ve got a free flowing, clean drain.
- For added cleaning power for showers, stains on countertops, etc., mix a paste with hot water and a bit of cleaning vinegar
Where to buy it?
I used to buy it on eBay, but have found a cheaper way to buy it – from online brewer suppliers. I buy mine from www.kegking.com.au for $8.50 per 950gms or they sell in bulk in 25kg bags for $199 (as of May 2025). Yes, there is a shipping charge, but you still save so much money, time & space.
So glad I’ve found this product. Where living non tox is so expensive, this eases the pressure a bit. Hope this helps you in your non tox journey as well.