98% Naturally Derived Ingredients... Through Chemical Processing

While throwing away all of my cleaners I was really on the fence about “Murphy Oil Soap”.  Since the label says “98% naturally derived ingredients”, I did some digging on the ingredients.  Well that was a little difficult seeing as how the ingredients are not on the label.  After lots and lots of searching, I came across them….

 Soap - Sodium or potassium salts of long chain fatty acids.  These detergent substances are obtained by boiling natural oils or fats with caustic alkali.  Sodium soaps are harder and are used as topical anti-infective and vehicles in pills and liniments; potassium soaps are soft, used as vehicles for ointments and also as topical antimicrobials

Tall Oil  - An oil derived from wood pulp and used in making soaps or lubricants; A by-product of the sulphate pulping of resinous woods, consisting mainly of resin acids and fatty acids, with smaller amounts of neutral substances. (ummm natural??)

Amine Oxide  - Thickener, foam booster, and a chelating agent

Potassium hydroxide - Colorless solid is a prototypical strong base. It has many industrial and niche applications. Most applications exploit its reactivity toward acids and its corrosive nature

Citrus fragrance - Supposedly a "natural oil," however it does not say what type of “natural oil”

HEDTA - A bonding agent.  (Not much info on this one.)

After reading all of this, I did not feel comfortable using this product on the surfaces my children eat off of and play on.  Not to mention getting it on my skin when I use it.  I came across a natural wood cleaner, good old white vinegar and Olive Oil!  Who would have thunk??  The recipe I used originally called for equal parts.  But after mixing and doing a test spot, I found that it needed a little extra vinegar.  I used a whisk to mix the mixture.  It will also need to be mixed again if sitting for longer than ten minutes.  Use sparingly because a little goes a long way.  I really loved this mixture!  It made my cabinets look amazing and no harsh chemicals were used!  That is what I call Winning!

Recipe-

1\4 Cup Olive Oil

1\2 Cup White Vinegar

 

 The below picture is of the first batch before extra vinegar was added.

 

The below picture is of the same batch with a 1/4 cup of vinegar added.