Cleaning your home is always a big concern especially if you have children. The vast amounts of chemicals used in most of these products are continuously being linked to allergies and other diseases. So here is a list of ways you can clean your home without any nasty chemicals.
1. General Cleaning
Microfiber cloths are great at spills and dust. Microfiber is a type of material that is designed to trap dust and dirt. There are Microfiber Cleaning Kits
2. Oven Cleaner
The oven becomes very dirty with baked on grease, cooked in each time you use the oven. The chemicals used to clean ovens are nothing short of disturbing but we can do it with just a few household ingredients.
Spray vinegar over burnt on areas and leave to soak for a few hours. Once that is done you can wash away with warm water. You can even try mixing vinegar with baking soda and making a thick paste. Smear that on the burnt areas and wash away with warm water. Either way, baking soda and vinegar are the natural cleansers of choice for ovens.
3. All Purpose Cleaner
Well sometimes elbow grease just doesn’t cut it with some tough stains, certainly with kids. We can make our own once again. Mix 1 part vinegar with 1 part water. It is easy and simple. Make sure you wash the area down with warm water afterwards to remove the smell.
or buy some eco friendly ones. I recommend and personally use products from seventh generation and their All Purpose Cleaner
Note: As with all cleaners please test it on a small area first to make sure the vinegar doesn’t have a bad reaction with your furniture or appliances.
4. Floor Cleaning
Floor cleaning can be done without any chemicals for day to day cleaning.
1st Step
If you want to be truly eco friendly then get out your broom and sweep the floors. Or buy renewable energy for your vacuum cleaner.
2nd Step
Some drops of tea tree oil and vinegar in warm water for mopping. Alternatively you can use a steam cleaner
5. Toilet Cleaner
Well who would have guessed. It’s vinegar again. Place a few capfuls of vinegar in the toilet bowl, swish around and scrub well. It should remove all stains. Then flush away.
6. Carpet Cleaner
When a spill occurs do the following
- Use a cloth to remove as much moisture as possible
- Mix 1 part borax with 2 parts of baking soda (mix as much as needed for the stain)
- Sprinkle on area
- Leave for 1 hour
- Vacuum up
If it is a tough stain, and with children it is almost certain you will encounter them
- Add 1 tablespoon of baking soda
- Add 2 tablespoons of vinegar
- Add 1 cup of water
- Mix together and pour on the stain and scrub
- Leave for 5 minutes
- Remove as much moisture with a cloth
- Use the first recipe to finish
7. Air Quality
Air fresheners are used to cover up smells in the home and contain a vast area of chemicals I wouldn’t want to be breathing in. In fact some air freshers or deodorizers actually contain chemicals to dull your sense of smell. Thankfully as always, there are better ways to improve air quality. From carpets, paints, furniture and even clothes various chemicals such as benzene, formaldehyde, trichloroethylene and carbon monoxide are released.
A bamboo palm and/or peace lily are known to filter out these airbourne chemicals. As with any indoor plant there can sometimes be pest problems. Check out neem oil for a natural way to control plant pests.
Also keeping windows open when possible helps keep your air quality high (in most cases, depending on where you live)
8. Dishwashing Liquid
Phosphates and petroleum byproducts are what make most dish washing detergents not environmentally friendly. Some eco friendly dish washing detergents include Seventh Generation : Natural Dish Liquid Soap
Or you can make your own (no vinegar in this one) dishwashing liquid
Vinegar
Because of the heavy use of vinegar in these cleaning products here are some of the reasons why it is so good.
- It contains acetic acid, which kills most germs, viruses, mold and bacteria
- Acetic acid also helps remove those tough stains by dissolving
- It is quite cheap
- Non toxic