Homemade Household Cleaners

Cleaning the Old-Fashioned Way
A good guideline is that if you wouldn’t want it in your mouth, don’t use it to clean. Whenever you use products with toxic ingredients, some of those toxins will likely end up in your body through skin contact and inhalation anyway. In many cases, a bucket of warm, soapy water and a little elbow grease are all you need to clean and disinfect most of your home. However, there are a few other effective products you can use as well.

Baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) is extremely versatile, and has been used for generations as a natural way to clean. It effectively dissolves dirt and grime, eliminates soap scum, cuts through grease, and unclogs drains. Use it anywhere you would use scouring powders or odor-eliminating sprays. This natural deodorizer has so many uses, you may want to buy it in bulk.

White distilled vinegar is perfect for dissolving soap scum, cleaning windows and mirrors, disinfecting surfaces, and can even serve as fabric softener (but be careful never to use bleach and vinegar in the same load — toxic fumes can result). The strong smell will dissipate as soon as the vinegar dries, and while the fumes don’t smell very sweet, they certainly won’t do you any harm. Avoid apple cider or wine vinegars because they can leave stains.

Lemon juice has mild bleaching properties that make it a great stain remover and whitener. It can be used to polish brass and copper or remove hard water stains. If you use fresh-squeezed lemon juice, try putting the peels down the garbage disposal to make the whole kitchen smell fresher. Or put lemon slices in your dishwater to enhance the grease-cutting power of natural soaps.

Water is a universal solvent, and won’t leave lingering VOCs behind for you and your family to inhale. If you find that warm water isn’t enough to get the job done, think about investing in a steam cleaner. They are available in larger sizes for carpet cleaning, or in hand-held sizes for smaller jobs. You’ll find both are very powerful, non-toxic alternatives to cleaning with chemicals, as long as you don’t use the carpet shampoo they often come with.

Grandma’s Cleaning Recipes
Next time you clean house, try one of these natural cleaning recipes:

Window Cleaner: Add 3 cups of water, plus ¼ cup of white vinegar and 1½ tablespoons of lemon juice. Try wiping this mixture off of windows with crumpled newspaper instead of paper towels to avoid leaving lint on the surface. If the glass appears streaky or has residue on it afterwards, it’s probably buildup left from those synthetic blue window cleaners you’ve been using for years. Try washing with vinegar a few more times and the residue should come right off.

Drain Cleaner: Pour half a cup of baking soda down the drain, followed by half a cup of white vinegar. Wait a few minutes, then pour a pot of boiling water down the drain to flush out any remaining clogs caused by food particles, soap, and grease.

Stainless Steel Polisher: Use baking soda and a soft-sided sponge. Toothpaste works, too.

Carpet Stain Remover: Baking soda combined with water or club soda.

Heavy-duty Cleaning (for large jobs): Add 1 teaspoon baking soda and 2 teaspoons liquid soap to 1 gallon of hot water. If it’s a particularly stubborn project, add 1 or 2 tablespoons of borax.

Toilet Bowl Cleaner: Flush the toilet to remove as much water as possible, then pour 1 cup vinegar around the inside of the rim and scrub to remove buildup. Repeat if needed.

Refrigerator Cleaner and Deodorizer: Mix a few teaspoons of salt with two cups of soda water to clean your fridge without getting synthetic chemicals close to your food.