This article will guide you with simple & completely natural solutions to keep your homes and workplace clean and healthy!
- Do you often suffer from various skin problems or hair fall?
- Have you ever experienced shortness of breath?
- Do you experience severe migraine headaches or any other health problems?
What if we tell you that the health of your body is not only dependent on the food you eat but on many other things you use in your daily life?
Would you believe us?
You use many other things or products for daily personal and home care. All home care products contain highly toxic and aggressive chemicals, from your laundry wash & dishwasher liquid to toilet cleaner, air purifiers, and surfactants. These chemical-based cleaners may resolve our household difficulties quickly. But, a closer look at their ingredients and manufacturing process will reveal how incredibly hazardous they are to your & environment’s health.
But, Is that really a problem as we only use them on the toilets, clothes, and other hard surfaces & not directly on our bodies?
Yes, it is a major problem even then; They can affect our bodies in many ways. To understand the harmful effects of household cleaners on our bodies, pets, and even the water bodies, Read our Blog, “ The Scary Truth About Cleaning Products”
After reading the post on the effects of Commercial Cleaners, you might be wondering about the ultimate solution.
The solution is BIO ENZYMES!
BIO ENZYME CLEANERS!
What are Bio-Enzymes?
Bio enzymes are an organic solutions which are obtained by fermentation of fruit/vegetable peels, jaggery & water. Basically,
Fresh Citrus Fruit Peels + Water + Jaggery (Microbial Fermentation for 90 days) = BIO ENZYMES
These are perfectly natural cleaning solution to clean your home. They are also called Garbage Enzyme, Fruit Enzyme, Kitchen Waste Enzyme, and Fermented Fruit Juice. Since the process of making the Bio Enzyme is similar to the vinegar-making process, we can also call them natural cleaning vinegar .
So, a bio enzyme is produced by Bacteria 🙂
When you hear the word “BACTERIA,” you would normally think of some kind of disease or danger, but some bacteria are beneficial to human health and are helpful for cleaning. They are everywhere, in the soil, dust particles, and even the human body!
There are two types of bacteria, pathogenic (the harmful bacteria) and non-pathogenic (the good bacteria). Bio-enzymes use good bacteria to digest stains, soils & malodours.
How do the bacteria do that?
Good bacteria, when placed in the right biological environment, like the right temperatures & correct food source, it produces certain enzymes. These enzymes help break down specific molecules into smaller pieces which are ultimately digested by the bacteria. The bacteria will continue building the enzymes as long as the surface is damp or the food source exists & this process can continue for hours or even some days.
How are Bio Enzymes different from other Chemical Cleaners?
- Good for Human Health: Bio enzymes are 100% natural and non-toxic. You don’t have to be careful of its fumes or other ways while using them. They are safe.
- Safer for Environmental Health: Bio enzymes have an amazing capacity to rejuvenate contaminated water. Each time you pour them into your drains, they help purify the water. They also help reduce the number of landfills and hence pollution.
- Residual Cleaning is the major difference between bio enzymes and other chemical cleaners. After the first application, the bio enzymes will keep working until the stains or soil are present and the surface is damp. After the stain is completely gone, the enzymes will either die or go into a dormant state. This benefit of residual cleaning cannot be experienced while using other cleaners. This activity of residual cleaning can continue from a few hours to a few days until the stains are entirely gone.
- Effective: Bio enzymes are more effective as the microbes can penetrate into tiny cracks & crevices and eliminate stains that even chemically strong cleaners cannot.
- Versatile: Bio enzymatic cleaners are highly versatile and work on various surfaces and stains. From handwash to hair wash, dish wash to toilet cleaner, and from automobile care to pet care, you can use it for almost any purpose.
- Economical: You can get it at a very affordable price from online stores and find it even cheaper if you make it at home.
- Diversion of Waste: Producing more and more bio enzymes helps reduce the amount of waste that goes to landfills. Thus most of the waste gets diverted.
- Good Scent: You can scent it as you like by using essential oils or natural herbs:)
- And most importantly, you should use them because they are soft on you & softer on nature:)
How to make Bio Enzymes at Home
The most important thing here is to remember the ratio of 1:3:10 or, to make it better, 15:1:3:10 where
- Fifteen denotes the volume of the container.
- Ten ratio denotes the water
- One ratio denotes the Jaggery
- Three ratios denote the fruit/vegetable peels or your kitchen waste
You can use black or brown jaggery, block jaggery, round jaggery, powdered jaggery, crystalline jaggery, palm jaggery, or country sugar.
First of all, you need an airtight plastic container that can hold 15 parts of water. Add 10 parts of water. For example, if you have 180 grams of peels, you can use 60g of jaggery and 600ml of water.
To the container, add 1 part of Jaggery; it is used in small quantities & helps accelerate the fermentation process. The microbes need it to survive, so you can use any type of jaggery. Make sure you only use jaggery and not white sugar.
Add 3 parts of fresh Kitchen Waste. Mainly use citrus peels if making the enzyme to use as cleaners for the home. If preparing it for home gardening or farming purposes, you can use your fresh kitchen waste, including pulpy fruit peels, watery fruit peels, vegetable peels, leaves & flowers.
Some fruits/vegetable peels can be avoided to make home cleaners, such as onion, garlic, radish, cabbage, and cauliflower, as all of these contain sulfurous compounds that add a pungent flavor to the dishes. After fermentation, their foul smell will enhance & cause discomfort.
Apart from these, pomegranate, beetroot, and raw banana peels should also be avoided due to their staining properties.
Always maintain 5% to 20% free space in the container when starting a new batch. Why maintain this space is explained in “About the Fermentation Process in detail.”
Ferment it for three months in anaerobic conditions. That’s it!
About the Fermentation Process
During the first 30 days
Keep releasing the gases by opening the lid once daily. Recap the lid tightly as and when you open the lid to release the gases. You can also shake the container if possible to mix the contents well. This period is called catalysis, and during catalysis, a combination of complex gases are produced that have to be released into the atmosphere. After releasing the gases during the first 30 days, keep the container in an airtight position for the next 60 days and release the gases if necessary.
During the 60 days
There is no more need to release the gases daily. As the number of gases produced will be very less, you can do it once or twice a week. After the 90th day, you will see a white layer on the surface and the peels settling down, showing that the enzyme is ready to use.
After 90 days
Strain the contents to separate the clear liquid and decomposed peels. The peels can be blended in a blender with little water to make a thick pulp. The strained liquid can be called clear vinegar (clear enzyme), and the thick pulp can be called pulpy vinegar (thick pulpy vinegar). Store both liquids in airtight plastic bottles.
The thick pulp obtained can be used as a starter or culture to start the next batch of bio enzymes. This way, the time the next batch will take to get ready will be half, i.e., 45 days. You can use 5% as a starter for the next batch. The number of gases released now will be generated for 15 days instead of 30 days, and the container can be kept in an airtight position for 30 days instead of 60 days.
How to Find out whether the Bioenzyme has progressed well?
The best way to determine whether the bio enzyme is ready or not is that it should have a white mold or a white layer formed on the surface. This indicates that it is good to use. At the end of 90 days, the peels also settle down.
But, if there’s a black mold on the surface of the contents or maggots found in the enzyme, it indicates that the contents have been affected by bad bacteria, which isn’t suitable for usage. You need not discard the contents. All you need to do is re-add the same jaggery ratio into the contents that were first added during batching of the Bio Enzymes. Keep stirring the contents for a few days (less than 30 days). The black mold would disappear.
If the Bio Enzymes get a pale green mold on the surface, leaving a stench, it indicates that it has gone bad and it is time to dispose of them in a drain or soil. Discarding the contents clean, rinse the container, and restart a fresh batch of Bio Enzymes.
Causes of Fungus in Bio Enzymes
In the case of molds, the container may not have been airtight during the next 60 days, resulting in the contents going bad. It’s better to use plastic bottles or cans with the cap screwed on and release the pressure 2 times a day than to leave the cap unfastened. Just Loosen the cap enough to let all the surplus out, then retighten immediately; like this, you’re not letting any significant amount of oxygen in.
If too much oxygen gets in and the yeast stops fermenting, your nutrient-rich liquid becomes the perfect breeding ground for all bacteria. Yes, you can re-add some amount of jaggery and get rid of the bad bacteria, but the better remedy is to keep the oxygen out in the first place rather than add more sugar.
The Multiple Uses of Bio Enzymes
You will be surprised to learn the number of uses of bio enzymes can be put to!
You can use it anywhere from hair wash to car wash & from home care to pet care
Home care
You can use it as a toilet cleaner, laundry detergent, dishwasher, floor cleaner, kitchen cleaner, and more!
Floor Cleaner
You can dilute 50 ml in 4 liters of water and use the enzyme to clean hard surfaces. It helps dissolve oil and hard water stains, also known as salt scales. You can dampen the mop in the bio enzyme solution and use it for cleaning. It’s best to use a citrus enzyme made of orange, lemon, lime peels, or any other flower enzyme for mopping the floor so that it leaves a fresh scent in the room. You can add some drops of essential oil at the end too.
Toilet Cleaner
Use the thick pulpy vinegar on the surface of the toilet seat and leave it there for half an hour. Brush lightly and then flush for a clean toilet.
Dish Washer
You can also use it as a Dishwasher; if you have oil stains on your dishes, you can use thick pulpy vinegar by adding some wood ash to the soapnut enzyme solution.
They surely won’t make foam like other chemical cleaners you have been using until now, but they leave you with a good cleaning experience:)
Laundry Wash
Another way these wonder cleaners can be used is by washing your laundry; during handwashing, the clothes dilute 50-60 ml enzyme in half a bucket of water and leave it for half an hour. After half an hour, scrub & rinse the clothes. If using a washing machine, empty 200 ml enzyme into the detergent dispenser and run a full load.
Another natural way of washing clothes is using soapnuts. Just add some dry soapnut to socks and tie a knot over it. Drop those socks in the machine and let it run or just add 150-200 ml of soapnut enzyme solution to 5-6kg clothes and wash.
The interesting thing about using bio enzymes for washing clothes is that after the task is done, you can use the same water, also known as grey water, to water your plants. It will be extremely beneficial for them. To make it easy, connect the drain pipe from your washing machine and the kitchen sink to your kitchen garden! But if you are using even a little amount of chemical cleaner while doing any of these chores, then avoid using it for your plants as those detergents have some chemicals that are bad for plants’ & soil health, whereas bio enzyme greywater is 100% safe.
Kitchen Cleaner
Its another main usage of these miracle enzymes. It can be used to clean the kitchen shelves, sink, cabinets, fridge, and other main surfaces where you normally use a toxic spray bottle to clean your kitchen. You can dilute the clear vinegar with water in a 1:1 ratio & store it in a spray bottle. Use it to spray & disinfect all your kitchen surfaces. Spray the solution on the gas stove and leave it for 15 minutes. Later, scrub it down with a soapnut detergent using a natural loofah. Apart from these main uses, the bio enzyme can also be used for many other purposes like a water tank cleaner, jewelry cleaner, hot water tank cleaner & carpet cleaner. It also helps clean greasy walls and unclogs drains.
Other Uses of Bio Enzymes
Auto Care
It can be used for auto care like car wash, bike wash, and maintenance. It can be used to sanitize the car and act as a natural air freshener. Dilute the 50 ml enzyme in a ½ liter spray bottle, and use it to wipe clean the windshield.
Pet Care
The bio enzyme can be used to cure your pet’s skin irritation, clean their ears and get rid of any bad odor. You can also use it as a pet shampoo as other shampoos normally used by humans are too acidic for pets and cause skin irritation.
Personal Care
In personal care, the bio enzyme can be used for almost anything. You can use it in bathing by adding 50-200ml of bio enzyme in a bucket, as it has many skin benefits. It contains amino acids, mineral salts, and many other vitamins that benefit the skin. Avoid using it in hot water; add it to cold or lukewarm water. You can use it as a toner for your face or as a face mask by adding it to earth clay.
Drain Unclogger
To clean the drains, pour some baking soda into the drains. Then pour undiluted bio enzyme in the drain, some hot boiling water, and then leave overnight.
Conclusion
Just imagine!
What if every household uses bio enzyme cleaners and not the chemical cleaners
Our human bodies and water bodies will be rejuvenated in no time!
As we all strongly believe that chemical cleaners are required to clean stains, you might not find the bio enzymes highly effective as soon as you start using them as explained above, they work with the natural bacteria-enzyme relationships. So, you may need to be patient while using them but believe us; it will be worth it in the end. Because what’s the use of such a type of cleaning that takes a toll on your health?
Think about it!
We have the power to change the world around us just by choosing what we buy!!
Ditch the chemical cleaners and choose the bio enzymes
The planet desperately needs you to make this choice 🙂
People reacted to this story.
Thank you for bringing this in-depth information on bio-enzymes. Has all it needs to get one started on making this switch. It’s the least we can do for our planet. I pledge to make this switch.
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