One of the best ways to ensure the health and wellbeing of your family is to make your own household cleaners foregoing all the harmful chemicals present in the conventional cleaners. Below, you will find recipes for any and every cleaner necessary to keep your home sparkling clean.
What you will need:
Baking soda—speeds up cleaning time by reacting with water, vinegar and lemon with fizzing and providing grit for scrubbing
Borax—disinfects, bleaches and deodorizes
White vinegar—breaks up dirt and deodorizes
Hydrogen peroxide—good for disinfecting and bleaching
Lemons—excellent to remove grease
Olive oil—removes dust and dirt and polishes wood
All-purpose Cleaner
Mix ½ cup borax with 1 gallon hot water (or for smaller amounts 1/8 cup borax with 1 quart of hot water) until all the borax is dissolved. Use fro removing dirt with a clean rag or cloth.
Floor Cleaner
Wood—mix 1/4 cup white vinegar with 1 gallon warm water; mop as usual.
Linoleum—mix 1 cup white vinegar and 2 gallons warm water.
Bathroom Cleaners
Toilet Bowl—to clean and deodorize, dust with baking soda, add white vinegar and scrub with a toilet brush.
Tub, Shower, Tile—put half of lemon into borax to make a sort of scrubber. Clean the dirty areas; rinse and dry afterward.
Kitchen Cleaners
Countertops—scrub with half a lemon dipped in borax. Follow with a glass cleaner (below) and wipe dry.
Oven—sprinkle with baking soda and spray with water; leave on overnight or for a few hours; wipe clean with a cloth.
Glass Cleaner
Mix ¼ cup vinegar or 1 Tbsp of lemon juice with 2 cups of water in a spray bottle.
Drain
Add baking soda and vinegar to a pot of boiling water, pour the mixture down the drain and flush.
Furniture Polish
Mix ½ cup vinegar with 1 teaspoon olive oil (inexpensive brand will do the job as well) and wipe with a clean rag. Reduce the amount of oil if the furniture is too oily.
Metal Polish
Stainless Steel—apply baking soda with a damp cloth; use the vinegar to remove spots
Copper & Brass—mix 2 Tbsp of salt with vinegar until you create paste; add some flour to reduce abrasiveness. Apply with a soft rag.
Laundry
As a great natural bleach alternative, use ½ cup of hydrogen peroxide per load of laundry.
If you need more information on eco-friendly cleaning solution, go to “The Best Natural Cleaning Agents” and “The Many Uses of Vinegar”.
