Green
Cleaning: Make Your Own Natural Cleaners
Environmental awareness is more and more common these
days, and people everywhere are looking for ways to
“go green”. One approach is to make your
own green cleaning products, which will help in a number
of ways: you’ll save money on costly commercial
products, use fewer harsh and toxic chemicals in your
home, and your green cleaning efforts will not just
be helping you and your family, you’ll be having
a positive impact on the environment. So let’s
get started!
|
Green Cleaning Essentials
You probably already have at least a few of the ingredients
you’ll need to make your own green cleaners. Here’s
some information on the basics: baking soda can eliminate
odors, remove stains and be used as scouring powder;
white vinegar is a terrific all-purpose cleaner that
also kills germs and bacteria; club soda is a natural
stain remover and polisher; olive oil is also a great
green cleaning furniture polish; hydrogen peroxide can
be used as a disinfectant and non-toxic bleach and stain
remover; borax is a natural bleach alternative that
helps eliminate odors, remove dirt and also disinfects
and deodorizes. Put a few drops of natural essential
oils in your home grown green cleaning products for
a pleasant household fragrance – with the added
bonus that some, like lavender, cinnamon, eucalyptus
and tea tree oil, also have natural antiseptic and disinfectant
properties. One important thing to remember: while these
items are natural and non-toxic, they should still be
kept out of reach by children, as ingesting them could
be harmful.
Clean Green – and Clear –
With Vinegar
Unless they’re making a salad, many people don’t
consider vinegar a “must have” item –
but when it comes to green cleaning, it should be at
the top of your list. Here are just a few ways to use
vinegar in your green cleaning. Put a bowl with 1/4
cup of vinegar and 1 cup of water in the microwave and
set it to boil to loosen any splattered food and deodorize
the microwave. Fill a spray bottle with vinegar and
use this to remove stubborn toilet bowl stains. You
can also deodorize the toilet by pouring in several
cups of vinegar; let them sit for about half an hour,
then flush. When you wash clothes, add 1 cup of vinegar
to the final rinse. This helps break down soapy residue,
and your clothes will be fresh and soft. Be sure to
use distilled white vinegar for cleaning, since apple
cider or other vinegars might stain surfaces and undo
all your hard work!
Recipes for Green Cleaning
Get started with an all-purpose cleaning scrub made
from baking soda, water and a few drops of gentle vegetable-based
liquid soap. Put some essential oil in the mix, especially
when cleaning your bathroom, for added freshness. To
clean just about any surface in the house, combine 2
tablespoons vinegar and 1 teaspoon borax in a spray
bottle with hot water. Shake until the borax is dissolved,
add some non-toxic liquid soap and you’re ready
for some heavy duty green cleaning. For sparkling clean,
streak-free windows, combine equal parts of vinegar
and warm water, rub the windows clean (believe it or
not, you can use newspaper for this), then dry with
a soft cloth. And here’s a green clean method
for oven cleaning: during the day sprinkle enough baking
soda on the oven floor to cover it, then spray with
water. Spray again every few hours, then leave this
to set overnight. Remove the baking soda the next day,
and all that baked-on dirt and grime should easily come
off – with your homemade green cleaning scrub!
|
