It all started with a sticker.
I bought a “new to me” clothes washer last week because my ancient one finally bit the dust. I found it in an online classified ad and brought it home and installed it all by own self because the hubster was half way around the world on a business trip. (Does anyone else suffer from this syndrome? Dad/husband is away….so all hell decides to break loose!?!? Please say it’s not just me!)
Anyway, the washer is a GEM! It has hardly ever been used, works GREAT, and looks like it’s brand new! The only thing that was bothering me about it was a small 2 inch square sticker stuck to the front of it. Something from the manufacturer that was just never taken off. I was lamenting the fact that our bottle of “Goo Be Gone” was…well….gone, when I discovered something under my sink that I didn’t even realize I had!
It’s called Sol-U-Mel and it’s made by EcoSense. I honestly had no idea where it even came from and then I remembered a long time ago someone giving me a box of cleaning products from a line they were selling. I think it was one of my sisters, (I can’t even recall that for sure) and I think my husband just ended up putting it all under our kitchen sink and there it has sat.
Since I needed some sort of “solvent” to get the sticker off...the name “Sol-U-Mel” sounded promising. :-) Sure enough, it took the sticker off in a snap!As a matter of fact, it was SUCH a snap that the wheels inside my brain immediately started spinning……………………..
Several weeks ago I wrote a post about how my “miracle cleaner” had made old cookie sheets of mine that I had long since given up on look like (almost) new again. A LOT of people commented on it and tried it themselves with great success! However, there were a few that lamented it just wasn’t working as well for them and even *I* hadn’t had COMPLETE success because no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t get the REALLY TOUGH STUFF in the corners and on the sides to budge! So I pulled out the cookie sheets that I had worked on before and decided to see what this bottle of stuff I found under my sink could do.
Not bad huh??!! I was pleased as punch at these results and was ready to put all my cleaning supplies away and call it a night when I spied one of my WORST cookie sheets peeking out at me from the cupboard. It was calling out to me! HELP me! lol! OK, not really, but once I noticed it sitting there looking so forlorn and unloved…I just couldn’t help seeing if maybe, just maybe, this Sol-U-Mel could show this pan a little love too. I admit it…I am a bit obsessive when it comes to things like this (OK…a LOT obsessive), but I’ve learned to just go with it. :-) And this time it paid off! Big time!
Point of information: I ended up using steel wool to get the hardest stuff off…and it took a pretty heavy dose of elbow grease to get it to shine like that….but definitely doable!
Also, before I started I checked the ingredients on the bottle to make sure it wasn’t something toxic (I really have been trying to make the switch to natural cleaners in general) and it listed Melaleuca Oil, soap and green tincture. After some research I discovered that another name for Melaleuca Oil is……Tea Tree Oil! One article I read about this product swears that using a combination of Tea Tree Oil and some Dr. Brommer’s Castile Soap will yield the same results! Haven’t personally tested this out yet….but I guarantee I WILL! And then I, of course, will pass it on to all of you. :-) I was just too excited about these results to wait and post this.
I have to say, each time I look at the picture of those shiny pans….I’m a little stunned. I NEVER thought they would come clean…and yet they did…and without harmful chemicals! Very cool……….
I absolutely love Melaleuca products & I too have a love for the many uses of baking soda. It’s easy for the casual observer to confuse Melaleuca with a tradional MLM, but they are NOT. Regardless, not all MLM’s are bad, but most often people get hurt, don’t make very much money or even lose money. There is absolutely no risk in being a preferred customer (get 30-40% off)or a direct customer and using these amazing products.
Solumel is my go to for so many cleaning challenges…nail polish remover/a great mosquitos repellent/salad dressing oil on shirts/etc. There are like over 160 uses for this amazing product. I am saving money by buying my cleaning products at Melaleuca…they are super concentrated and end up being cheaper than even the dollar store.
I have to agree with you on the Melaleuca products. I love them! Especially Sol-U-Mel. I had burns on my hands and knew my hands would be blistered for awhile. It was very painful. I spent the day cleaning the kitchen and bathroom with Sol-U-Mel and when I woke up the next morning, my burns were gone. My hands looked like I didn’t have any burns the day before. I really love this stuff!
I love your tips. I would love to find something to clean my gas stove top, under the burners is bad.
I also was a melaleaca member, products are fantastic. If you have a large family I believe you can save money,BUT it was just me and my husband and there was no way we could use the amount you needed to buy to stay a member. I even supplied my mom with all her cleaning and health products out of my surplus and still had too much on hand.
My husband shot a nail thru his hand twice one day with an pneumatic nail gun, I cleaned area with peroxide and put the pure tea tree oil on his hand…..the next day he said his hand wasn't even sore. Their products are natural and doesn't have the carsinegines ( I hope I spelled that right) in it. If you want to be a member and have a small household I really would recommend that you have a few friends to go in with you and you share the one membership. You can buy as much as you want but you have to buy a certain amount to stay active.
Look into h20 they have clay that oh my stars cleans without scubbing its amazing
Please, please don’t use hydrogen peroxide on a wound. It doesn’t discriminate between healthy and diseased tissue and can really exacerbate the damage by killing good cells. Tea tree is great because it’s antibacterial, but hydrogen peroxide is a bad thing. Soap and water is infinitely better.
Actually, hydrogen peroxide on a wound isn’t harmful. But you are right about soap and water being more helpful. Your blood contains an enzyme called catalase, and when catalase comes in contact with hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), it breaks down into water (H2O) and oxygen (O2). So essentially, all you’re doing with peroxide is flushing it with really pure water. But water doesn’t kill bacteria, so use an antiseptic, or soap! :)
I agree on the peroxide being safe! My uncle cut his leg with a chainsaw waaay back in the day in the redwoods area. He and my Aunt were without any way of getting help so he poured hydrogen peroxide on it over the next few days and it saved his leg!
A “magic eraser” will clean all the stains around my gas stove burners! Just discovered the Magic Eraser last week. It, too, is a miracle, green cleaning tool!
I often wonder what our parents did when we would scribble on the walls or make scuff marks on the floor without having something as awesome as the Magic Eraser. I have used it on EVERYTHING from dingy white shoes to a dirty stove top…. I will also confess to a small group of friends that I have even used it to clean up some hair color on my skin. I would NOT recommend using it on any part of your face…… lol
Surprised to see your comment that you couldn’t use the recommended 35 product points per month of Melaleuca! In our house, it’s just me and my husband and we use well over 75 points every month. Of course, we use a lot of the nutritional and sports products as well, so maybe that’s the difference. We are totally in love with these products!
I have been a Melaleuca member for 15 years and I absolutely love their products! Once you start using them, you won't go back to store bought products. The Melaleuca oil (tea tree oil) is in most of their cleaning products and in many of their first aid products as well. You simply can't go wrong with Melaleuca!!!
Sol-U-Mel is available on ebay! :)
At least 12-15 years ago my little sister out in Texas sold this stuff from Melaluca and I promise you I absolutely covet every last drop in my bottle only using it super sparingly for the magic marker streaks and everything that nothing else works on. I love, love, love it and wish I could get gallons of the stuff. Very, very non-toxic and safe. I would be willing to use an equally effective even DIY version if someone has it. Otherwise, my last drops in my Solumel bottle will be a sad day.
If you need more sol-u-mel let me know I can help you out.
someone asked about getting baked on grease off of pyrex…haven't tried the melaluca route, but I've had good success with PowerSolve (use it all the time on my burner pans, too.) It gets rid of those more recent stains that are still "brown"….for the ones that PowerSolve doesnt take care of, I use oven cleaner. I know, nasty chemicals, and all..but it does work! (PS Do NOT use oven cleaner aluminum…it will get it clean, but will ruin the finish!!)
My husband and I always joke that I do crazy things when he is off on business. Like cancel the cable, rearrange the furniture, and most recently– move. We'd been talking about moving to the next town over, and while he was gone I found a rental below our price range and above our expectations, so with his "okay," I did all the paperwork, packed up our stuff, and we moved the day after he got back. Good thing he loves the new house :) So you are not alone in going crazy when the husband is gone!
I happened upon this site via Pintrest, and was very happy to see the comments on the Melaleuca products. I too have used these products with great success for over 10 years. I would be happy to help anyone obtain these products. You may email me, Deborah Bessom at debbessom@gmail.com
While looking for some online without going through a seller I found this comment:
"Sol-U-Mel is just a light soap solution with Tea Tree Oil added. Seriously, that's all it is. You can replace it by taking a couple drops of Dr Bronners liquid soap or similar and adding a couple drops of tea tree oil (available all over the place, even at Walmart!), then filling the spray bottle. Same stuff. BTW, I do participate in Melaleuca, I have nothing against them. I use a bunch of their products where I'm just not willing to mix my own or whatnot."
Maybe that will help?
Love Melaleuca products!! Cost I pay for an 8 oz bottle of Solumel is $10.99. The one on amazon is selling for an exorbitant price! Just thought I would mention it. blessings, Rachel
Where do you purchase your SolUMel for $10.99?
Ok now I'm hooked and I need to go by some of this stuff and try it on my pans, cause they are whimpering softly in my cupboards to me now!
REbecca,
If you would like to get some Sol-U-Mel, please shoot me a message. Melaleuca is the company that sells this product. It is an American based company. Their whole line of cleaning products are AMAZING, its all I have been using for the last 4 years. My email is usselman dot kara at yahoo dot com. Please put Melaleuca in the subject line.
My parents used to get Melaleuca. I don't know if it's still the same, or if there are different types of accounts, but if they didn't order their points for the month, the company would send them a random assortment of stuff equal to or over the points needed to stay active. It's good stuff, and there were some things that I just loved, but it was pretty expensive to keep up with, even for a large (8 people) household.
I've never bought goo-be-gone. I use facial astringent on anything sticky. It takes price tag sticker residue of stuff, especially glass. But it may take the finish off some things. Like nail polish remover, you'd have to test it first. I wax my own eyebrows and astringent takes extra wax off of everything amazingly well.
My mom buys everything Melaleuca. They are pretty good products. My husband didn't like the smell of the mela gel with melaleuca oil in it but I didn't think it smelled bad. The all purpose spray cleaner is great.
PS- I love your blog and you! Every time I click on something on pinterest that sounds like awesome advice, it always comes from your blog!!
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I am wondering if you just start scrubbing or if you let the Sol-U-Mel soak in first?
This reply is for Julie….The Solumel is very effective…it even takes permanent marker off surfaces like linoleum. I guess it would depend on what you are cleaning with it as to whether or not you let it stand a few minutes or not.
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Love your site & the testimonials for Solumel! I too have great success with Solumel & many other Melaleuca products. If anyone would like the products at wholesale pricing…which is LESS than E-bay as far as what I have seen, feel free to contact me at agreatlife_1@Yahoo.com. in the meantime, there are great recipes & gardening tips at the following website: GardenSpotlight.Blogspot.com. Enjoy everyo.e
wow this is interesting i told my dauhter about it the only thing is i cant find the product in my store
I’d be glad to help you with that Ella. You won’t find the product in your local store. It is only sold through the manufacturer/catalog company. Contact me through my email and I’ll let you know how to get the product at wholesale. agreatlife_1@yahoo.com Have a great day!
Melaleuca products are amazing! There are over 350 basic household products that have no harmful chemicals or toxins and are a better value than shopping elsewhere! I do this as a part time business, work from home , and i am earning a full time salary working 20 hrs a week! It’s not an MLM , i have no inventory and all i do is set up customer shopping accounts for the company! I don’t sell anything! I love what i do!
If you know anyone who is looking to supplement their income or replace an income, please call me asap! i am always looking to help others earn some great residual income! Staci 818-398-3700
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they make castile soap WITH tea tree oil. no need to give into ‘melaluca’ branded products. pyramid scam business!
So thankful someone pointed this out!!!!!!!!
Where can you get the Castile soap, Tina?
Tina,
I know you left this message several months back, but Melaleuca is not a pyramid scam. Please look into it before talking about it. I’ve never sold it a day in my life, and I’ve been a member since 2004. It’s simply a membership. That’s all. Nothing more. Nothing less. It’s no more a pyramid scam than your local gym or golf club is.
Debbie Cross, You can obtain castile soaps on Amazon.
How wonderful, THANKS, it worked.
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bugs don’t like tea tree oil either….. I add it to water and clean almost everything with it and then I don’t have to spray for bugs either…..
Hi, I was hoping someone could help me, I don’t have the ingredients for this cleaner, but I DO have the ingredients for the original post of using baking soda and hydrogen peroxide. I tried making a paste with it, as mentioned in your post, and used a scrubby sponge but found it didn’t do anything. I then took out some steel wool and tried using that along with the paste and after some heavy scrubbing got a little results. Can’t tell if that was just the steel wool working or what. In my opinion, it wasn’t very miraculous.I think I am doing something wrong.Any advice?
http://www.squidoo.com/uses-for-tea-tree-oil
I found this website online that gives a full list of uses for Tea Tree Oil! For cleaning it does show adding 1-2 teaspoons of tea tree oil to 1-2 cups of water to use as a Household Cleaner.
i think melaluca is great to! also the dollar tree has dollar white erasers and those make a lot of problems go away!! try in kitchen the stove, fridge and any thing you want looking great again!!!
AND THE TEST PANEL RESULTS ARE IN: Hydrogen peroxide and baking soda: This doesn’t work.
Look at the photos – there are two different pans here for your example.
I made the recipe and lavished it on a pan. Did not work, so I smothered the pan with the recipe. When the peroxide seemed to have evaporated, I poured on more to liven up the paste. It did foam up, however it only cleaned up about 30% of the stain, and that was after letting it soak for three hours. HOWEVER, the solution did liven up my white formica countertops considerably.
These directions have nothing to do with those ingredients. It is castile soap and tea tree oil
I’ve just come across Quickleen-S which is fantastic for cleaning burnt-on grease like what’s shown in the photos. No fumes, no scrubbing, and no wire wool needed. It’s a powder that you use with a wet cloth or sponge, and it works by breaking down the grease, which is why you don’t need lots of elbow grease. It was originally created for commercial kitchens so is food-safe and non-toxic (which is important to me). I got some from a friend who has a restaurant, but you can buy it from the Quickleen websites – I say “sites” in the plural since it looks like there’s a different website in each country.
I just used scotch brite scrubbing pads one day and they came out looking like this without any chemicals, might take more elbow grease but I need the exercise.
Some other ideas:
For Baked-on, Cooked-on Stains (Cookie Sheets, Stove Drip Pans, Stove Grills, etc):
Good ol Spray-on Oven Cleaner works slick. I know it’s not eco friendly, but it’s fast. I diligently scrubbed tons of baked-on crud off the used Jenn-Aire range I bought for $75 (!) – managed to dull the finish because I scrubbed so hard and so long — and then realized Spray-On Oven Cleaner worked in a snap. A 2nd application for hard-to-remove spots. Steel wool is awesome, as mentioned — it’s cheap at Dollar Tree. Only one grade, but it’s a good one for these things.
For Removing Sticky-Labels:
Goo-Goo-Gone is good, but spend (& evaporates quickly if you don’t get the little lid closed just right . . .)
WD-40 works well too – just be sure what you’re cleaning won’t be stained by the WD-40. (i.e. fabric . . )
And don’t forget just regular Solvent (Paint Thinner). I keep a small container handy for little jobs such as this. Buy it by the gallon at any Hardware Store. The Eco-Friendly one is not as functional for this (but smells better).
Funny! I was doing dishes this morning and while looking at nasty pan I thought to myself I totally pinned something for that so I looked it up and you recommend using SoluMel….I sell Melaleuca and love all their products but I’ve never tried SoluMel on my pans….thanks for giving me another way to use the products I already have in my cupboard :)
Just wondering, can this be used on non-stick cookie sheets? We have one that has definitely seen better days and really could use a nice refresh. Thanks!
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Place a paper towel on the cookie sheet. Pour on some ammonia. Cover or wrap it in plastic wrap sealing in the fumes and let sit over night. The baked on grease will wipe off with an abrasive scouring pad. This also works in an oven overnight.
Melaluca sells Sol-U-Mel. It is a fantastic product. Love their products but they are pricey.
Melaleuca is AMAZING!!! I am amazed at how much money I have saved by becoming a prefered customer!! Haven’t found anything I don’t like!!!
Tea tree oil is most certainly toxic, though I’m sure if you clean it off the pans, they should be safe to use. We’re just lucky because our kidneys can filter the toxicity- and that’s just what’s absorbed through the skin. I know that’s not what this post is about, but please do not use tea tree oil on your pets. Their kidneys cannot process it. I had read on a couple of websites selling it warning to not use it on small pets, but I have a friend that almost lost his 105 lb dog to tea tree oil. He had put it on his dogs skin to treat an issue, by the end if the day, the dog was going into renal failure. It’s very scary, I’ve never forgotten his warning to me and thought I’d pass it along.
I wonder if this would work on my appliances. My Nesco is looking pretty bad.
Thank, Jillee! I sure wish I had read this post before ruining my four half sheet pans from Wlliams Sonoma. I had the “brilliant” idea off praying them with easy off & e along them inside a garbage bag. The result was that the chemicals “ate away” half the metal of the pans no I had to toss them. Live and learn. Thanks!
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I love Melaleuca products , my mom has been selling this product for years. I would never ever use store deodorant again!!! or anything but sol u mel for stains and what not. I can’t wait to try it on my pots and pans!! I never even thought of that. Melaleuca has too many amazing products to even mention!!!!! They are awesome.
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