With the raising understanding of how mass-market cleaning products impact our health and environment, more and more brands lean towards effective, yet healthy cleaning products. Traditional cleaning products often irritate eyes, skin, nasal passages, and can even make breathing difficult and cause asthma. Natural cleaning products are mostly non-toxic, biodegradable and made from renewable resources. On the other hand, the prices of these products are rather high. And if you can’t afford expensive eco labels, there are plenty of cheap eco-friendly ways to clean your house:
Freshen the air with fruit
Did you know that conventional air fresheners reduce a number of dangerous chemicals in the air? And that some of them are even toxic? Instead, you can use a potpourri, which is quite easy to make. Cut some fruit: apples, lemons, or citrus, add cinnamon, cloves, or any other spices you like, add water and keep it simmering on the stove. You can also use half a cut lemon or freshly squeezed lemon juice. Just leave it in an open air and it will kill even the worst odors.
Clean your stove and oven with baking soda
The combination of baking soda and water is great for cleaning your kitchen equipment, such as a stove and an oven. Put the mixture on dirty surfaces and leave for a while. Then wipe it out gently. Voila, the stove is clean! And all burnt-on mess from the bottom of your oven is gone too!
Use white vinegar to clean… almost anything
The half-and-half solution of water and white vinegar will help you clean almost any type of floors, except for stone, such as slate and granite.
The same mixture will help greatly to clean windows. Just use microfiber cloth for that to avoid streaking.
A 50/50 mixture of white vinegar and water will also come to the rescue, when your kettle is all scaled. Just boil it for several minutes.
Add the equal amount of baking soda to a mixture of water and vinegar and you will receive a solution for dark grouts between bathroom tiles. Put the paste on the grouts and leave it there for 15 minutes. Then scrub it off.
To get rid of mold, mix half a cup of white vinegar with half a cup of Borax (which is sold in the laundry aisle, not the bug-killing one), add a quarter cup of warm water, and spray it on moldy surfaces.
Clean metal surfaces with lemon and salt
To get rid of fingerprints, food residue, and other stains on steel or chrome, take half a lemon, dip it into salt, and rub it on the metal surface in circular motions. Then, rinse it with water. Voila, the surface is shiny again!
Get rid of the carpet smell with baking soda
It might be hard to get rid of nasty carpet odors, such as smoke or pet urine. Sprinkle your carpets with baking soda and leave it there overnight. Then, vacuum the carpets. They will smell like the new ones again!
Rust will be gone with lime juice and some salt
Lime and salt get along with tequila, but are also good with removing the rust. Most traditional rust removers are extremely toxic, and even with them, rust is very hard to scrub away. We recommend making a paste of salt and some lime juice, put it on rusted surface and leave for several hours. After that, it would easily come off. As for a teakettle, just fill it with water and add a cup of lime juice. Leave it overnight and boil in the morning - the rust will be gone!
Clean microwave with a lemon
Are the insides of your microwave scary to look at? Lemon and baking soda come to the rescue… again! Just put lemon wedges in a bowl of water and heat them in a microwave for a couple of minutes. After that, wipe the insides of your microwave with a piece of cloth. If that’s not enough, use a paste made of baking soda and water. It will scrub the dirt right off!
Polish wood surfaces with olive oil and lemon juice
In order to make a non-toxic, yet effective, polish for wooden furniture, mix a teaspoon of olive oil with a quarter cup of lemon juice. It will gently remove the dust and make the surface shiny again!
Use tea tree oil for disinfection
The oil of a tea tree is known for its antiseptic, antibacterial and antivirus effects. Use it for specific extra-germy spots of your house, such as the doorknobs, toilets, etc. Just make a mixture of two cups of hot water, two tablespoons of 20 Mule Team Borax, half a teaspoon of liquid dish soap, and half a teaspoon of tea tree oil. Use a spray bottle for convenience and apply the mixture on everything that needs disinfection in your house.
Clean your sponges with salt
You know that a sponge becomes home for bacteria over time, right? There is no need to change them every time. Just soak all your sponges in cold, very well salted water for a couple of hours. Salt is known to kill the germs very well. This way, you not only reduce your monthly cost for new sponges, but also reduce the waste, which is a very good eco habit!
Of course, getting rid of all conventional ways of cleaning might be difficult and require a lot of time. But if you are ready to try, we are sure the list above will be useful and make the process easier. Your health and your house will be very grateful. Not to mention the money you can save not buying the expensive mass-market products. Definitely worth a try, isn’t it?