Have you ever looked at the ingredients list in your favorite household cleaner? While some ingredients are nothing to be concerned with, some are, and I’m not sure you’d want it in your house… or around your kids.
For example, lauramine oxide is “highly toxic, may be fatal if inhaled, swallowed or absorbed through the skin”.
Hmm…
An article by Kathryn Sukalich inspired us to try using the all natural cleaners, lemon, vinegar and baking soda to clean our houses and we found that it’s VERY effective!
You need three ingredients, and most likely you already have them lying around your house!
- White vinegar
- Lemon
- Baking soda
As a disclaimer…just in case… make sure you test surfaces!
Vinegar
Mix together equal parts of both water (1/2 cup) and vinegar (1/2 cup). Put it in a spray bottle.
Clean the entire bathroom with this mixture!
- Tub
- Sink
- Toilet
- Counters
- Floors
In the Kitchen, the solution works great on stovetops, counters and floors.
And that coffee maker? It gets gross, so run through a cycle with this half and half mixture of water and vinegar. Halfway through the cycle, pause it, let it sit for an hour, then complete the process.
You can also put ½ cup of vinegar in the bottom of the dishwasher before you run a cycle and clear up those cloudy glasses!
Baking Soda
Burnt food on the bottom of pans? Sprinkle some baking soda, pour water, let sit overnight and scrub the next day.
You can polish silverware by making a paste! Three parts baking soda, one part water. Rub. Rinse.
Lemons
In the kitchen, if you have stains on storage containers, squeeze lemon in the container, add baking soda. Rub and let it sit for a while if you need to!
Commenter DD suggested that grapefruit wiped on a cutting board kills the bacteria from raw chicken in 20 minutes.
You can also:
- Put lemon in a bowl, microwave it for a minute and easily wipe away that gross stuff in the microwave!
- Rub fixtures with the lemon to get grime and lime scale off.
- Put lemon juice mixed with cream of tartar on clothes stains and rub them away.
- On marble, rub the lemon in salt. Rub the stain on the marble. Just don’t do it all the time since it’s acidic…
What are YOU doing to make cleaning easier and healthier? Leave a comment below!
For great ideas on recycling check out the following articles and guides:
- Earth911 Recycling Guides
- Browse all articles on recycling
- Find out where to recycle stuff in your area
Past Episodes:
- Recycling & Rechargeable Batteries
- #SmallSteps: Homegrown with Hydroponics
- #SmallSteps: From Farm to Fork
- #SmallSteps: Paper & The Digital Revolution
- #SmallSteps: Do More with Wrapping Paper!