Healthy household cleaning on the cheap
Modern cleaning products are so wasteful and overpriced, it’s easy to forget that just a couple of generations ago, our grandmothers were making their own cleaning products out of naturally produced ingredients like water, vinegar and baking soda. With borax, made with boron, a naturally-occuring element, more powerful cleaning products became plentiful. Borax is still used in all sorts of modern products and is just as useful as it was when first used.
So get yourself these handy ingredients, available at nearly all shops or grocery stores:
- white vinegar - usually sold in glass bottles near the cleaning products
- baking soda (aka bicarbonate of soda) - in the baking aisle with birthday candles and flour
- borax - usually sold in cardstock boxes in the cleaning products aisle
- lemon juice - also in the baking aisle
Vinegar is an acid, cuts through grease and is also anti-bacterial. Lemon juice (or lime juice) also cuts through grease, and makes a room smell nice. Baking soda is a mild abrasive. Borax kills mildew. What more do you need?
So here are some proven suggestions for using these items for environmentally-friendly cleaning products.
- Stinky sink drains - put a tablespoon of baking soda down each plug hole, then follow with a cup of white vinegar. Cover the drain with a mug or class to keep all the fizziness in the drainpipe and wait about ten minutes. Pour a kettle of hot water (a couple of quarts or liters) and voila, you’ve gone from manky, smelly sink to nice and clear drains.
- Spills on carpet - sprinkle some baking soda on it, then vacuum up when dry
- Windows and kitchen counters - water mixed with vinegar is great for cleaning hard surfaces like windows and countertops, plus it’s anti-bacterial…just don’t use on marble surfaces, or mix it too strong as the acid in the vinegar may eat away your tile grout
- Stainless steel and chrome - water with a bit of baking soda will gently scrub away water stains and soap scum
- Wood polish - 2 parts olive oil and 1 part lemon juice makes a fantastic wood and furniture polish
- Deodorize a room or the fridge - an old mug half-filled with baking soda will absorb smells quite effectively, just replace every month or two
- Clothing softener - a half cup of vinegar is apparently an effective clothes softener, and ideal for anyone who’s sensitive to laundry detergent
- Mildew - some folks recommend vinegar/water solutions but others recommend borax in a 1:4 concentration and hot water to kill mildew and get rid of mildew in clothing
- Cleaning cloths - use old towels, shirts or cloth rags (all of which can be washed) to do the cleaning, so you save money on paper towels. In time, you’ll have enough to have handy in the bathroom, garage and kitchen, with a few waiting for laundry day.
Why haven’t I listed bleach? For one, it smells nasty. It’s dangerous to keep around kids and pets, also. When stored and used properly it can definitely get rid of mildew very quickly, though. However, just be wary of claims that it will ‘clean’ tea & coffee stains from cups, or that it ‘cleans’ toilets. It doesn’t actually remove dirt, it just bleaches the color out of the stains. It’s also not the greatest thing to be flushing, untreated, into lakes and rivers. Something to think about.
Hopefully this will help you think about trying out these natural and environmentally friendly cleaning ideas. 
October 24th, 2007 at 8:24 pm
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