Eco Green Tips

Keeping your home clean should not be a battle with the chemicals, most of which are toxic enough to cause some serious damage to your health and the health of your family (especially if you have children). So why reach for these often harmful products when you can have a perfectly clean house with all the natural remedies?

Here are some tips and information about the most potent natural cleaning agents:

• Borax—one of the most powerful cleaning compounds that can be used as a disinfectant, fungicide, preservative and even bug repellent, among other things.

All-purpose cleaner: mix 1 gallon (3-4 liters) of water with a half a cup of borax.
Grease remover: 1 teaspoon of borax with 1 liter (4 cups) of hot water and some lemon juice or vinegar.
Toilet bowl cleaner: pour one cup of borax into the toilet bowl and leave overnight. Scrub or simply flush in the morning for a sparkling effect.

• Vinegar—one of the least expensive natural cleaning agents that can be used for virtually anything, from disinfecting to preserving your fall harvest (for more information about the many uses of vinegar go to “The Many Uses of Vinegar” )

Fabric softener: adding a few drops of vinegar to your load will make the clothes soft and prevent color bleeding. Rubbing some vinegar on the gum stuck to your clothes right before laundry will also help remove it.
Cookware cleaner: a few tablespoons of vinegar mixed with a few teaspoons of salt forms a great mixture for removing stains from your stainless steel or copper pots and pans.
Window cleaner: 1 cup of vinegar mixed with 4 cups of water and a few drops or flakes of soap (optional, depending on how dirty the windows) makes a potent eco-friendly cleaner.

• Baking Soda—another wonder agent that can be used not only in cooking or as a tooth whitening solution but also as a potent cleaner. Its chemical properties make baking soda a great odor neutralizer, gentle dirt, grease and stain remover as well as all-purpose cleaner.

For laundry: for whiter, brighter and odor-free clothes as well as reduced detergent consumption, add a cup of baking soda with the regular detergent (preferably and eco-friendly one).
Deodorizer: pour some baking soda in the trash can to remove the odors; keep an open box of baking soda in the fridge to get rid of the usual fridge smells; and use it anywhere there’s a foul odor you want to eliminate, e.g. shoe closet.
To unclog drains: pour a cup of baking soda and a half a cup of salt down the drain and leave overnight. Flush with two cups of boiling water in the morning.

This entry was posted on Friday, December 5th, 2008 at 9:48 am and is filed under Environment, Products, Tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.