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.
we have been moving to natural stuff lately- using up the last bits of chemical etc, we are on a vinegar and castille soap kick now. I always see the bon ami in the supermarket and in carts of older ladies and think maybe they are on to something…..
I’m very intrigued by this giveaway. I also use natural cleaners, and mostly they work very well…except for some rust that gathers around the drain in our bathroom sink. I would love to try the Bon Ami for that!
I grew up with Bon Ami and Comet. I still use the Comet, because I haven’t seen Bon Ami recently. In the land of going more cleaner crunchy, I’ve been making my own soap with which to make my own laundry detergent. Love it.
I remember seeing this at my grandma’s house. I’d love to try it for myself!
I would love to try these products. I have tried many store-bought “Green” cleaners but haven’t tried making my own.
We’ve progressively moved to animal cruelty free to organic to starting to substitute vinegar and baking soda for most everything. I haven’t used fabric softener in the wash more than once or twice a year in the worst of the staticy dry season since my oldest was an infant (he’s now 19). I always find that the bottle has separated when I do try, it’s been so long. I can’t even stand the scent of Bounty now. Steam cleaning has, for the most part, replaced the heavy duty cleaners for things I just can’t get clean any other way.
I love what someone once said to me on this topic “Clean doesn’t smell like anything.” And it’s true. Not bad from something that shouldn’t be there and not scented by whatever you used to clean it up. Just clean.
Yep. There’s a canister of Bon Ami under our sink because there are just some jobs around here that only an abrasive cleanser can handle! Otherwise, almost everything else gets vinegar and/or baking soda.
And we have GREAT luck using ONLY baking soda on rusty jars. Occasionally I must let them soak a while, but usually a simple paste of the soda with a few drops of water does the trick. Try dipping a wet toothbrush into dry soda to scrub the threads of the jar. That system works even on antique jars from which we have had cut the rusted bands. (They’ve been in the family a VERY long time!)
Several of the families that I nannied for (over a 20 yr career) used bon Amni. I love it too. As of late I too have only used Baking soda and vinegar to clean with. Along with a spray bottle of vinegar, castille soap, water and essential oils of tea tree and thieves.
my favorite memory of bon ami was when my son (now 36 yrs old)was a wee toddler. he wandered into the bathroom of our home while i was cleaning up his/our room and found the shaker can of bon ami powder cleanser. he must have really liked the action of shaking it because moments later, i found him smiling up at me covered head to toe with the stuff as well as the sink, toilet, tub, floor and window sill. took awhile to restore sanity, but that had the cleanest that bathroom ever was and my son was not scratched a bit!
I’m always a fan of cleaning products that have less ingredients, even if it takes a little extra work!
I’ve been in the baking soda-vinegar school for a while now, works great!
I have switched to natural cleaning products. I put some ground mint leaves in the baking soda to give it a good smell.
I’ve never even heard Bon Ami, but it sounds like I need it for the same reason you do! Well, not because me sink is rusting everywhere, but because there are some problems that baking soda and vinegar can’t solve. I have made my own cleaning solutions for at least the past year, but we still have Windex, Lysol, etc. on the shelf in the laundry room. One can’t just throw them out, right? And yet when my husband cleans the bathroom, those are inevitably what he reaches for. It’s hard for me to complain when he is, after all, cleaning the bathroom.
A couple of years ago, around the time I started grad school, I switched to more “natural” cleaning products. That meant, for the most part, stuff bought at the co-op or the organics section of Wegmans. I’ve also started using Bon Ami in my kitchen. All of this has happened much to my mother’s chagrin, as she insists that my clothes/dishes/kitchen/bathroom are not as clean as they would be if I used Tide/Dawn/Comet/Scrubbing Bubbles, but I’m happy knowing fewer chemicals are in my home environment (never mind that they’re just as clean).
I love old products! The Bon Ami bar reminds me of something my mom used to use which was similar, but I can’t remember the name.
I’ve been using the Bon Ami cleanser for at least twenty years. My mom made me buy it when I moved into my first apartment and bought copper bottom pots. I have never seen the spray or the bar. I wonder if they are in stores. I’d love to try them.
I would love to try Bon Ami, but currently I use homemade cleaning solutions on just about everything.
I have yet to throw away my chemical cleaners only because I am skeptical that non chemical cleaners can kill bacteria but if I find one that will I would love to become chemical free.
Baking soda & vinegar are great for cleaning but I’d love to try this on a rust stained canning jar.
I have never seen the Bon Ami bar before. It sounds like it would be the perfect cleaner for our old cast iron bathtub, since the finish is fairly worn & also chipped. I don’t make my own laundry soap, but do buy dye & fragrance free, since I have some strange allergies.
I also use vinegar and water on practically everything. But I have a can of Bon Ami that I use on my kitchen sink, nothing works as good. I would love to try some more of their stuff!!
I make my own laundry detergent now, thanks to Carter at The Kitchenette, but I have to say I’m a sucker for the Clorox Green cleansers. I hate that they are still from Clorox – seems like EVERYone is jumping on the “green” bandwagon, but if it’s just for profit, then it seems shady – but it smells so goooooood. Reminds me of something.
I’d love to try the Bon Ami products and plan to pick some up whether I win or not! (But I’d still love to win!) 🙂
I use vinegar and water to clean the windows and I make my own laundry stain spray. I’m currently working on using up all of the non-natural cleaners in my house and replacing them with natural/homemade cleaners. I’d love to try this on our textured -and hard to clean – shower floor.
I have never heard of Bon Ami. Sounds like a great solution the my bathroom sink with the rust. I do make my own laundry soap.
My family has always used Bon Ami, but lately is has become more difficult to find.
I’d love to get this!!! I currently make my own laundry detergent and use vinegar rather than fabric softener. (Best thing about using vinegar…if I forget the wash it doesn’t get that ‘musty’ smell!) I make most of my cleaning products…using vinegar, baking soda, and a few drops of dishwashing soap depending on the use. I’ve got some rust stains in my kitchen sink which I can’t seem to get rid of no matter how much elbow grease I use. I think this might work!!!
I did not know Bon Ami came in bar and liquid form. There was always a can of Bon Amin under the kitchen sink when I was growing up. Now I use baking soda for scrubbing but if something is very rusty or dirty I’m not afraid to bring out something harsh and strong. We have a new tub, toilet and bathroom sink & nothing harsh or abrasive can be used. So Bon Ami seems like a good choice.
We use mostly natural stuff now – because I mostly do the cleaning!
I’m creeping into that same progression of wanting to make my own stuff. Bon Ami sounds pretty swank, though!
i keep hearing about bon ami and now i must check it out! i have experimented with homemade/natural cleaners but have yet to find the right combination for me. perhaps this is it!
I hope to find a successful laundry detergeant recipe. The one I tried left little bits of grated soap in the detergeant dispenser. My “green” cleaning efforts are sometimes thwarted by my DH who thinks if it isn’t blue, it can’t clean the glass.
Maybe this would help with the caked on stuff on the stove top? We usually do boiling water followed by a baking soda paste and what seems like hours of scrubbing.
My husband loathes the smell of vinegar, so I can’t use that to clean, so we love products like Bon Ami!
I’ve always heard Bon Ami is a great product! Pick me!! lol I love your posts, keep up the good work –
I have an unusually sensitive nose AND skin allergies to, well, everything but poison ivy! When I’m pregnant, my sensitivity to smells is even worse. (I can tell when milk is “going to” spoil!) So I switched to cleaners like vinegar & baking soda a looooong time ago, but nothing ever came close to de-greaser for getting that grease off my oven door until I learned this little trick…
…open the oven door & sprinkle with baking soda. Dampen it with a spray bottle of plain water and cover it with plastic wrap. Go to bed & in the morning the grease wiped up like it was water!
You can get those pesky stickers off of hard surfaces by wetting them well with water & covering with plastic wrap for 15 minutes, too!
I use vinegar in my dishwasher.
I make my own laundry detergent, and use vinegar/baking soda to clean with. I would love to try out theses products.
I would love to try these. I already make my own laundry detergent.
LOVE Bon Ami, have used it for years! I’ve never seen it in bar form, would like to try it.
I am all about using as little to no chemicals as possible. When you have asthma, cleaning can kill you! Well, actually anything scented can kill you! VBG.
Bar soap requires less packaging than liquid soap, which contains a lot of water. I’ve always been a bar soap girl!
I remember my mother always had a can of Bon Ami. I didn’t even know they made a bar or a spray so that is great to learn. I have been trying for years to make the things we use and enjoy as much as possible. I know we like croissants, so I taught myself to make them. The same with bread and canned items, etc. I keep searching for a great natural cleanser recipe and haven’t yet landed on a favorite. We use vinegar a lot and I even use baking soda for a shampoo replacement with apple cider vinegar as a rinse for my hair.
I would love to try these products! I use vinegar all the time and am also trying to go natural. Thanks for the chance to win!
I had never heard of Bon Ami! Glad to know they’re out there. I spent five years in Australia until just a couple of years ago, and while there, I took a lot of classes at a local coop to learn more about “green cleaning.” I tend to make most everything on my own but have to admit that I still haven’t banished Windex from my home. I’ve got large dogs who like to put their noseprints on my windows, and I’ve yet to find anything that cleans my windows as well as Windex. I wonder if the Bon Ami powder cleaner is safe for my stainless steel pots? I always use Barkeeper’s Friend for those. I recently took a soapmaking class and found that I react terribly to lye. Ugh. Need to figure out how to make a soap that doesn’t require it!
Wow, I make some of my own cleaners, but the above posts are so inspiring! I have used and like the powdered Bon Ami, but I didn’t know about the bar or spray. I’m curious now…
Oh my, I didn’t even know they had a bar, but I’ve always used the scouring powder. I love it! The smell doesn’t overpower me like some do.
Awesome review and giveaway. I’ve been wanting to try more natural cleansers, for my sensitivity to chemicals and because of my pets. It’s hard to get away from that mindset that unless it smells like a commercial cleanser or comes from a shiny bottle it isn’t clean. I’d love to be able to try Bon Ami!
I’ve gone back and forth with natural and man made cleaners. Surprisingly, my allergic kid does better with the an made cleaners, most of the time. I’ve never used Bon Ami, but would like to give it a try!
I too am a big fan of salt, lemon, baking soda and vinegar, and I have even tried baking soda + honey balls shampoo, though I have since shifted to J.R. Liggetts bar shampoo since I’ve grown my hair long.
I use spray bottles of dilute vinegar for almost everything now. I can’t stand anything scented, so I’ve taken to making my own laundry detergent as well. It’s so cheap, it works, and it doesn’t stink!