Chemical free living

I've been trying to use less chemicals in my house, it's an ongoing process that I am implementing in baby steps. I can't see the worth of simply throwing out the ones I already had, not good for the purse strings but worse for the environment.

My en suite bathroom has been looking worse for wear, at the moment it's our only shower and each day there are 4 or 5 showers taken. It's on the south side of the house, getting no sun at all and never seems to dry out, having no venting fan doesn't help. As a result mildew sets in on the walls and ceiling. Usually I would do the bleach thing but now that is now a thing of the past.

What I am now trialing is Oil of Cloves, mix quarter teaspoon to 1 litre water in a spray bottle. Spray onto mildewed area and then leave 24 hours. Using a vinegar water mixture, I added a splash of vinegar to a sink of water, wipe area clean. According to Shannon Lush Oil of Cloves is a mould inhibitor.

It has worked quite well, it didn't bleach out stains but there were many that the last time I bleached didn't come out either. It just shows that the room needs painting, it hasn't been done since we moved in and even then only had one coat. I think the stained area is where the paint is wearing. Told my husband that the room has to be repainted in the near future

There was a smell of cloves in the bath room and in the kitchen where I split a little, had comments of the weird smell from both my husband and daughter. After proper cleaning there is now no smell, not like chlorine which lingers for ages both in the room and on the skin no matter how much protection used.