Household cleaning products can be expensive and highly toxic for the environment. Everything that you use to clean sinks and toilets and floors eventually ends up in the water treatment facilities and landfills. Fortunately, there are many common household ingredients that can be used as effective cleaning solutions. Thinking outside of the heavily marketed, commercial cleaning solutions for household cleaning can save you money and do some good for the environment.
Natural alternatives to commercial cleaners are inexpensive and safe to use in both an environmental sense and when it comes to personal health. Here are a few ordinary household items that can be used either by themselves or in combination with other things to clean your house as well as any commercial cleaning product.
Five Non-Toxic Household Cleaners:
White Vinegar
This is probably one of the most common and versatile cleaning solutions available. Vinegar can remove odors, stains, cut through grease, mildew, and wax. You can also combine vinegar with water or baking soda for a variety of cleaning solutions for many applications from a general all-purpose cleaner to a carpet cleaner.
Baking Soda
Another highly versatile household ingredient, baking soda can also be used in combination with many other household products to create a powerful cleaning solution. Baking soda deodorizes, softens water, scours, and makes a great base for dishwashing soap and air fresheners. The best part is that baking soda is cheap, and combine this with a bottle of white vinegar and you can have an all-purpose cleaning solution for half the cost of a commercial one.
Lemon
You may have never considered the potential lemon has as a cleaning solution, but it can be quite effective. Lemon is a very strong food acid that can serve as a mild disinfectant. Use lemon to clean cutting boards or chopping blocks by rubbing a slice of lemon across the surface or squeezing lemon juice on the surface and letting it sit for five to ten minutes. For larger surface areas, you may want to consider a vinegar based solution.
Olive Oil
This can be a great product to clean wood floors. When used with some lemon juice, olive oil can clean and shine unvarnished wood floors. Olive oil can also be used as a shoe polish with the same lemon juice combination. Of course, olive oil can be expensive so you probably want to use it sparingly as a household cleaner.
If mixing and working with these raw ingredients to clean your house is getting tiring, there are still plenty of non-toxic, natural, commercial cleaning products. From all purpose cleaner to laundry solutions to degreasers, if you don’t mind spending a little extra there are many options for natural cleaning products. Here are a few:
CitraSolv Multi-Purpose Cleaner
Made from orange peel and limonene, this all purpose cleaner can be used to break up stains and disinfect any surface from wood, porcelain, steel, aluminum, or tile. The solution is made from natural ingredients and emits a pleasant orange scent.
KitchenStone Cleaning Block
This is a cleaning block made entirely from recycled materials for an easy, non-toxic way to clean surfaces and kitchenware. The block is pumice-like and is effective at scrubbing dirt and grime off pots, glassware, ceramics, and even ovens.
Nellie’s All Natural Laundry Soda
For people with allergies and sensitive skin, this laundry soda is hypoallergenic and completely biodegradable. Made from sodium silicate and coconut oil surfactants, this laundry solution is environmentally friendly and completely natural.