I’ve noticed that there something of a natural progression when you start canning, even if it’s on a very small scale. Suddenly you start looking around your home and looking for ways that you can streamline, simplify and make from scratch. Several years ago, I started replacing counter top cleaners with vinegar solutions and powdered bleach scrubs with baking soda. And they were pretty darn good for a variety of basic cleaning.
Thing is, there were a couple things that those more natural cleansers didn’t do particularly well. For instance, the enamel in my bathroom sink is chipped near the drain and it bleeds rust on a daily basis (we haven’t replaced the sink because the whole bathroom must eventually be gutted, but it is still serviceable so we soldier on). It needs aggressive scrubbing with something more potent than baking soda. But after all the energy that went into ridding my home of chemical cleaners that made me light-headed, I didn’t want to invite them back for this one job.
A couple of weeks ago, the answer arrived* in the form of a box of Bon Ami products. Made from feldspar and a gentle soap, it’s an incredibly easy to use and made quick work of my rust stains (it also worked on rust-stained jars). You just rub a web cloth or sponge over the Bon Ami bar and scrub. It’s a fantastic complement to my arsenal of vinegar spray and baking soda (I must say, their spray cleaner is also terrific and has the added bonus of not smelling like pickles).
Now, I realize that I sound a little like an ad here. But truly, I’m a bit smitten with the Bon Ami bar (and the powder too). I’ve always had a weakness for old fashioned ways of doing things (which is probably why I started canning in the first place) and so I get an unnatural amount of satisfaction from using something that my great-grandmother may well have applied to her own sinks and tubs.
You’ll be excited to learn that Bon Ami has given me two more of these cleaning kits to giveaway here. To enter for a chance to win, leave a comment on this post and share a story about cleaning unguents, solutions, powders or soaps (do you make your own cleansers? Did you grow up with Bon Ami? What’s your take on hand soap – bar or liquid?). Comments will close at 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, June 7, 2011. The winner will be chosen at random and will be contacted via email. This giveaway is only open to residents of the United States (my apologies to all you reading from Canada and beyond).
One last thing. Because we’re in the social media age and all, I thought I’d mention that Bon Ami is on Facebook and they’re currently running a contest for a chance to win a green house cleaning. If you feel so moved, you can toss your hat in that ring too.
*I was sent this box of cleaning products at no cost to me. However, my elbow grease and opinions are all my own.
Looks like something I would love to try. I have been using the vinegar/baking soda for awhile and making my own laundry detergent. But like you mentioned still have some pesky things that just haven’t come through yet. My homemade dishwasher detergents have not worked to date…. always looking to try new ideas 🙂
I use vinegar and water throughout the kitchen. I would love to try Bon Ami!
My husband and I are always looking for natural solutions to chemical cleaners. We grow a huge vegetable garden and refuse to use any chemicals on that. We will look for a natural alternative to rid any pests. He grew up on a family farm of generations of doing things to keep everything healthy and happy. I may have grown up in the city, but my parents taught us early about being smart with chemicals. They both grew up with mothers at home and are full of how to clean something without buying an expensive harmful cleanser. Vinegar and water was the popular cleaning solution for many things. And newspaper to clean windows! Living in Wisconsin we discovered if you use rubbing alcohol and spray it on your car windows it removes frost almost instantly. Anyway, always looking for a natural alternative, I would love receiving free bon-ami products. My Dad says my Grandma swore by the cleansing powder.
Haha–I could use these! I love making my own cleaning supplies too, but I’ve been put on probation by my boyfriend after my experiments with homemade shampoo. In his defense, it was pretty gross; a big bottle of distressingly gelatinous, smelly, brown goop really doesn’t scream “clean!”
Ahh, homemade cleaners. I recently made my own floor cleaner (dish soap, vinegar and a drop of tea tree oil). After hand scrubbing my floor and looking lovingly at the long over due site of sparkling wood; the chaos began. First it was my 3 year old sliding into the door on the now slicker than an ice floor, then my 7 year old slide half way across the floor on one foot (which she thought was pretty amazing). After slipping myself I decided to clean the floor again, this time without tea tree oil. It barely made a difference, the next morning nephew took a header after his feet flew out from under him and we are all still slipping three days later. 🙂
I am so excited to try this. I remember it sitting on my grandmothers sink. I am hoping it will work removing wellwater magnesium stains, hope if I don’t win I can find it to purchase.
Right now I use mostly water/vinegar solutions for cleaning in the kitchen/bathroom. I’m looking into using a more natural laundry detergent but I’ve read that they can be bad for your machine and since mine is brand new I’m kind of scared. Although, that could just be propaganda from laundry detergent companies. As for hand soap, I’m still using up a bunch of bottles I got on sale one year from Bath & Body Works but I’ve been reading up on making my own. I keep seeing a post going around the web about turning one bar of soap into two bottles of hand soap.
I love to make my own laundry detergent. Fels Naptha soap, washing soda and Borax plus hot water. I cheap and use other types of soap that smell better sometimes though. Johnson&Johnson’s baby soap in the scrubby thing is a favorite. Very mild. I haven’t given up on commericla cleansers though. Probably because I am a slacker when it comes to cleaning. I do purchase quite a few of the “green” alternatives such as Clorox Greenworks and Seventh Generation.
I’ve been slowly purging my house of harsh cleaners. I have made homemade cleaners for laundry stains (baking soda + vinegar paste gets rid of ring around the collar!) and surface cleaners. I’m generally a vinegar and baking soda girl, but I have some staining and hard-water buildup in the bathroom that just needs something stronger. I would love to try some Bon Ami!
hard-water buildup can be attacked with peroxide and cream of tartar paste and lots of vigorous scrubbing:-)
Here’s to a spray ‘not smelling like pickles’. Even though sometimes I really do like the vinegar smell. Just started reading and I love the blog. Thank you!
I had no idea that Bon Ami came in a form other that the powder in the canister. I’ve used it before and I really liked it so I would be interested in trying the other types. I love the retro packaging and the fact that it doesn’t make my eyes or nose burn when I use it!
Like the commenter above, I have used baking soda, vinegar, and magic erasers for most things. I just graduated college and am moving cross-country to CA, so will have to buy everything new. I will certainly check out this product!! I am so curious.
We use 7th Generation dish soap in our hand soap pump, the eco brand from Costco for laundry, baking soda for the bathroom and Mrs.Meyer’s for our countertops and linoleum floors. I’d love to try Bon Ami. A friend recently told me about it and also gave it a thumbs up but I’m always leery of buying something new, not liking it and then feeling like I have to use it so as not to waste money or create garbage.
Awesome! I’m a kitchen nerd who gets excited by all manner of old-fashioned and simplified things. I switched over to vinegar/water/baking soda about 2 years ago and do sometimes need a bit more. I’m also about to delve into homemade laundry detergent when my eco-friendly, but pricey, stuff is gone. Another multi-tasker is my bar soap from Dr. Brommer’s- I sometimes use it for dish cleaning, too, though I also dilute the liquid stuff and use it in a foamer for hands.
I love Bon Ami, but haven’t tried the bar. I started making my own cleaners after working in the Peruvian desert awhile, during which time I realized that I could use castille soap for almost all of my cleaning needs.
I knew I had seen this brand somewhere before and it took me a few minutes to figure it out. My dad was a long-distance truck driver for many years and I remember he always had a can of Bon Ami glass cleaner rolling around the cab of the truck. When he stopped driving, the cans migrated to his car. Then to a closet. So, in a weird way, I kind grew up with Bon Ami!
I use baking soda too to clean with. It works pretty great!
I did grow up with it and didn’t realize it was still around. My mother kept her pots and pans shining with it. It’s a myriad use cleaner and I’d love to have this kit.
I have also given up the chemical cleaners in lieu of baking soda and vinegar. I also love the magic eraser for stubborn stains. I would love to try Bon ami.
Didn’t grow up with Bon Ami. Definitely bar soap. I buy strong magnets and use expoy to attach them to the bottom of the shelf near or above the sink. I push a beer bottle cap into the bar of soap and stick it to the magnet. My bar soap lasts FOREVER. I have this setup above two sinks and under the tile! shelf in the shower. That bar goes the quickest as I think I set the magnet too far forward and so the bar of soap gets wet and drips a bit from the shower itself.
Otherwise this setup is my cheap version of the fancy european style soap holders. I have a large household and it works amazing. I am a bit thrilled with myself on this one 😀
I love my homemade laundry soap (Fels Naptha soap is great), and my window cleaner. I often use the window cleaner as an all purpose cleaner.
I love Bon Ami. It reminds me of spring cleaning with my mother. My mother used to do as much from scratch as possible to save money. that included cleaning supplies. Being the youngest of 6 on the farm, I always had the jobs that meant I was closer to mom’s watchful eye. Bon Ami brings back a lot of memories for me.
I make my own (the usual vinegar/baking soda based mixed).. but have memories of my grandma using Bon Ami, and would love to try it out!
I have never seen that cleaning bar in the store before but would be willing to give it a try. I do make our own laundry soap and husband makes lye soap as well. We have rid our house of the chemical cleaners as well. I am hoping I get a chance to try Bon Ami! Great review, thanks!
I prefer liquid hand soap. I just can’t wrap my head around the head of a bunch of grimey hands using the same bar of soap. It skiives me out.
I’ve never tried Bon Ami, but would love to! I use vinegar to clean a lot of things, particularly reusable water bottles. I’m also a fan of Seventh Generation and Mrs. Meyer’s products.
wait, it works on rust on jars? sign me up.
handsoap…. i prefer the foaming liquid, which is the antithesis of my other beliefs. i really need to find a better solution to that.
Grapefruit is a great way to clean the bathtub (or a large white enamel sink). Sprinkle the surface with kosher salt and scrub with a half grapefruit. The acid from the grapefruit and the grit from the salt clean really quickly and well. And then in the end everything can go down the drain, no toxicity, and it makes the bathroom smell really good.
I have been using vinegar and baking soda for years and I have never heard of Bon Ami. I would love to check it out.
We’ve recently jumped onto the bar soap bandwagon. I bought some Castile bars out of curiosity, and my husband started talking about them all the time–I guess we’ve switched!
I love using natural cleaners! I’ve been making my own laundry detergent for over a year & I love it! I also make my own deodorant & it is far better than anything I’ve gotten at a store!
I have been using homemade cleaners for many years now, but sometimes I do need something a little stronger, yet safe. Thanks for telling us about this..I will buy some even if I don’t win:).
Bought a house just about a year ago after decades of renting. Deep cleaning was never a real concern (the fixtures weren’t mine, after all). Now, however, I’m much more aware of the scratchiness and harm some cleansers do.
Never tried Bon Ami, always thought powder cleansers were just variants of Comet.
Bar soaps – I’m pretty much addicted to the Lever 2000 soaps – gentle and have a nice fresh aroma. I can wash what little hair I have left, lather up a shave in the shower and I’m done.
I do recall the “and they used Bon Ami” line from the Ghost and Mr Chicken movie, but not any of their advertising – weird, huh?
Oh, I am so glad you put up this post, because I do the vinegar/baking soda cleaning as well, but needed something a bit more. The only other thing I add to my bottle of vinegar and water is a touch of an essential oil blend from Dreamseeds Organics that’s a bit like the “thieves oil” of old (or Living Young oils, which I totally can’t afford to splurge on when I’d rather be trying to preserve food). 🙂
Works as a great silver jewelry cleaner
Oh, pick me! We make our own laundry detergent, fabric softener, glass cleaner, dishwasher detergent and stain treater. I’ve always liked Bon Ami, though, and use it. Thank you.
i love making my own cleaning products! a couple times a year, i’ll get together with a friend and we’ll mix up bottles of toilet cleaner, counter spray, etc. and it is so gratifying to get something clean with just salt and lemon juice or vinegar. 🙂
For some reason I always thought Bon Ami was full of harsh chemicals, probably only because the canister reminded me of some other cleaner we had in the house that really was harsh. So nice to know that it isn’t and that it works on those rust stains…something I could definitely use on my old enamel kitchen sink. Thanks for the giveaway!
I have never used Bon Ami products. Would love to try them
3 products that I love are Fels Naptha bar soap, Bon Ami powdered cleanser and my homemade window washing solution. The Fels Naptha is super for getting out stains and yellowing in the laundry. I use the Bon Ami powdered cleanser on my copper bottom Revereware pots and pans…there’s nothing better to keep them shiny and bright. The window washing solution I got from a professional window tinting company. It is simply water and a small squirt of baby shampoo swirled in a squirt bottle….guaranteed not to streak when used with a squeegee and there’s no need to rinse.
I’d love to try the products that you are giving away – hope I win!
I used vinegar and water throughout the house and I love Bon Ami too! Grandma used it and it is something that continues to work. Why change something that works right?
My school’s craft center offered a soap making class taught by a local woman who makes and sells her own all natural soaps. It was great fun, and educational too! I’m a bar soap all the way kind of person, and it was nice using something I had made.
I love Bon Ami – it’s what I use in my bathroom where the ickiness requires a little more oomph. Otherwise, I’m mostly a vinegar solution or baking soda girl. Those other cleansers were harsh on my brain cells and on my hands.
The only thing that I haven’t been able to switch to more natural products is my dishwasher detergent. I can’t find one that gets my dishes clean. I guess if I have one remaining thing, that one’s okay, since I don’t have to breathe it in and I run an extra rinse to make sure it’s all gone.
How cool! I’ve also been on a “chemical” purge in my household. Ever since I cleaned the shower (a name brand I won’t mention) and the cleaner literally ate holes in my shirt by the next day! I too got sick and tired of the stains and headaches. I also realized how important it is to the environment to use natural products. Thank you for this giveaway!
I have always wanted to try Bon Ami. My Gramma used to use several of their products, and I have been feeling nostalgic since she passed away and I can’t go to her house to learn more about “how things used to be”! I also use vinegar and baking soda to clean everything (except my bathtub) for health reasons and for my parrots. I would love to use your suggestion, as I am in a rental home with a chipped enamel spot on my tub-which also bleeds! I am so happy that you found something that works easily, and would love to win the kit!!
Some days I feel like I am just working my way through everything “natural” because one has to really work….
I always used Bon Ami powder until I found Barkeepers Friend. It’s similar to Bon Ami, but it doesn’t scratch glass. My husband got it to clean his fish bowl and we’ve never looked back. I use vinegar with a drop of dish soap for windows, and castile soap and water for most everything else.
Rust on jars drives me CRAZY! Thank you for the chance to win this… gonna try and be patient to see if I’m lucky. 😉
I’ve never made my own soaps, but I’m very curious about it. And a friend of mine has been recommending Bon Ami recently — I totally wanna try it!
I’ve always been really attracted to Bon Ami at the store. It totally plays towards my love of old things. I’ve never bought it, but I’d love to try it (especially now that you’ve given it such a rave review!). Another thing I’ve been meaning to try are those French laundry flakes, L’Amande Marseilles–mostly because of the adorable retro packaging.