Home-made Cleaning Solutions
Exposure to tobacco smoke, structural materials, mould, and even simple household dust call all make us sick. But one of the biggest culprits of indoor pollution may be the actual chemicals we use to clean our homes. Try these “green” alternatives instead:
All Purpose Cleaner:
1 qt. warm water
1 tsp. liquid hand soap
¼ tsp. lemon juice
Works well on floors, countertops, rugs and upholstery
Oven Cleaner:
Cover grime with baking soda. Spray with water until wet, keeping dry for 3-4 hours. Let sit overnight. In the morning wipe clean with clear water.
Furniture Polish:
1 pt. mineral oil
1 tsp. lemon juice
Cleaning doesn’t have to be a chore. Here are some top tips to help you have a better time getting a cleaner home.
LEMON JUICE
Usw lemon juice as a cleaner:
To remove lime scale, soak a paper towel in lemon juice, cover lime scale with it for one hour before rinsing. Repeat as necessary. Do not use on thinly plated surfaces, such as gold taps.
To whiten your whites, soak the fabrics in lemon juice for 15 minutes then wash as usual.
To buff brass or copper, mix juice with coarse salt crystals, dip a soft cloth into the mixture, then rub away the tarnish. Polish up with a dry cloth
VINEGAR
What is Vinegar?
In today’s modern world we still find use for a product which was discovered, by accident over 10,000 years ago. Deriving from the French word ‘vinaigre’ meaning sour wine it’s life started literally from a barrel of ‘gone off’ wine.
Why use Vinegar to clean your home?
Vinegar is an all-natural solution to clean and deodorise throughout your home. Vinegar is great used on laundry, shoes, carpets, floors, wood, linoleum and many others.
Click here to see the many use's of vinegar in your home >>>
Baking Soda (Bicarbonate of Soda)
- Baking soda on a damp sponge removes grease easily from stove, back splash etc.
- Also works great for carpet de-odorising, just sprinkle onto carpet before going to bed and vacuum in the morning.
- Better than any cleaner for cleaning baths and sinks.
- Baking Soda can be used for many jobs around the house, scrubbing sinks, bath tub, stove, refrigerator and laundry. It leaves everything smelling nice and cleans just as good as any cleanser without scratching enamel.
- Also for keeping pipes clean under the sink - pour about one quarter cup of baking soda down the drain with about 1 cup of vinegar, this makes a chemical reaction, then pour some hot water down the drain
- Baking soda is also good for getting rid of unwanted insects, just sprinkle around cabinets and cupboards and other places the insects might run.
- If you burn a saucepan put in some baking soda and believe it or not Avon's Skin So Soft whilst it is still hot and allow to soak. Apparently comes clean.
- To minimise odours in your fridge, remove top from box of baking soda and place it on one of the shelves. From time to time stir contents.
Alka-Seltzer
- 3 tablets down the kitchen sink followed by a cup of white vinegar. Leave for a few minutes then run hot water - cleans pipes.
- 4 tablets in the toilet will bring your bowl up sparkling clean. Leave for an hour and then brush.
- 1 tablet in a cup of warm water. Drop in your jewellery (NOT PEARLS OR OPALS) and leave for a few minutes. Sparkling.
- To freshen up a thermos flask, fill the flask with water, drop in four Alka Seltzer tablets and let soak for an hour (or longer if necessary).
- To remove the stain from the bottom of a glass vase or cruet, fill with water and drop in two Alka-Seltzer tablets.