Natural Domestic Cleaning Products – The Right Decision
Nowadays, many people try to live healthily, and we all want to have clean and comfortable homes. Using strong chemicals makes housekeeping easier but poses severe dangers to your family. Apart from the variety of cleaning products available on the market, some people prefer using environmentally friendly products to make their homes spotless. No matter whether it is for general everyday use or after-party cleaning, using green cleaning products is a great solution.
If you are still paying money for toxic products, you should go to the cupboard where you store them, and read the labels carefully. You will notice that the poisonous ingredients they have may cause a headache or make you feel dizzy. For these and many other reasons, people have started using safer green cleaning products. These products are also biodegradable and reduce the risk of allergies. Usually, there is no big difference in the price between the general household products and the green ones, but if you want to live a healthy lifestyle, you should probably consider going green.
Green cleaning products are the safer option for the environment, for your health, and your home as they do not contain any dangerous ingredients. If you replace the regular detergents with natural products, you will feel the difference in the air, and you will feel more relaxed. Consider this – the majority of strong detergents are more harmful than the germs they are supposed to kill! Cleaning products like bleach and ammonia may cause allergies and other health problems. Furthermore, avoiding the use of hazardous chemicals will improve the air quality in the rooms.
Some innovative companies have already begun offering eco-friendly products. You can easily make your own at home – you can find basic ingredients like vinegar (white and regular), baking soda, and lemon juice in every household. 
A Few Interesting Recipes For Green Cleaning Products
Pet shampoo – combine the following in a screw-top jar: 1 cup of water, 1 t soap gel, 1 T aloe vera gel, and 1 t vegetable oil. Shake these together. Apply to a dog that has been doused with warm water. Work to a lather then rinse off. It will be enough to wash a small short-haired dog such as a fox terrier. Double the mixture for a larger dog or a long-haired dog – or increase the amounts necessary for your dog: you will need tons for a St Bernard or Newfoundland!
Shake and vacuum flea powder – use this to treat carpets and rugs. As it is gentle, you can use it as a flea powder on cats and dogs. Mix a cup of baking soda with 10 drops essential oil of pennyroyal. Shake over the carpet and let it sit undisturbed (shut the door, if necessary) before vacuuming. It also puts the crisp scent of pennyroyal through the house – lovely!
Aluminium saucepan polish – if you have aluminium saucepans, get them shining by putting ½ a litre of water in the pan and bringing it to a boil. Add in 1 t of vinegar and 1 cup cream of tartar. Let it boil, and it will scour away the dull outer layer of aluminium from the pan.
General metal polish – combine equal parts of flour, salt, and white vinegar to make a paste. The mixture is good for most metals: copper, bronze, brass, pewter, and stainless steel. Apply it to the metal object (say a door-knocker) and leave it to do its work for an hour (put a notice below the knocker to warn any visitors or they will get an unpleasant surprise). Then rinse off with a soft cloth moistened in warm water.
Brass polish – 1 cup ordinary table salt, vinegar to mix. Combine the salt with enough vinegar to make a stiff paste. Coat the brass with the paste, then leave it to work for about five minutes. Rub off with a soft damp cloth, using a little elbow grease if needed.
Wood polish – for once, this natural cleaning recipe does NOT involve turpentine. Grate about 250 g of beeswax finely, then melt it in a double boiler and add a litre of either linseed oil or olive oil – or any vegetable oil! Stir for three minutes, then remove from the heat and add 2 t of essential oil of your choice. Store in an airtight container.
Rug and carpet cleaner – 6 cups warm water, 1 ½ cups soap gel (make this by melting soap scraps in boiling water then leave it to cool off), 10 drops essential oil of your choice – lavender, lemon, and peppermint are nice and refreshing. Mix, then apply to the carpet with a wet sponge. Scrub the spot thoroughly, making a lather, and then rinse with a fresh clean rag or sponge. Allow the carpet to dry before vacuuming.
Fabric softener – 2 pints of vinegar, 20 drops essential oil of your choice – lavender, lemon, or peppermint. It will make the towels, woollens, and sheets (plus any other clothes) soft and fluffy, as well as smelling great.
Kitchen floor cleaner – a bucket of hot water, 1 cup of liquid soap or home-made soap gel, 20 drops of essential oil – optional but makes the job more fun, as well as leaving a pleasant scent that lingers. Swirl the ingredients together in the bucket with the mop until bubbles form on top. Then mop the floor as usual. The solution cleans lino and other hard floors just as well as ammonia-based cleaning products but without the need to handle everything with rubber gloves plus avoiding foul fumes.
Leather upholstery cleaner – ½ cup olive or some other rich vegetable oil (e.g. peanut, avocado or walnut oil), ¼ cup herbal tea – make your own by steeping about three or four teaspoons of fresh herbs in boiling water or else use an ordinary bit of herbal tea (only use ordinary tea if you have dark-coloured leather upholstery or it will stain); ¼ cup vinegar. Shake all ingredients together in a spray bottle (strain the herbal tea first, especially if you have made your herbal blend). Spray onto the leather upholstery and buff over the leather with a soft cloth.
Dishwashing liquid – 1-pint liquid Castile soap or soap gel, 20 drops essential oil, preferably a citrus-based oil, as citrus oils cut through grease. This formula is best used for washing dishes by hand. If you live in a hard-water area, the items may get a little soap scum on them. If this is the case, then have a handy rinsing bowl filled with warm water to which you add about a cup of vinegar. Dip the dishes into the vinegar rinse to remove soapy residues. Shake together and squirt into warm running water. Hint: if you wash dishes in a bowl, save the soapy water and throw it over your roses to help deter aphids.
General cleaning paste (non-scratching) – 1 cup soap flakes, 2 cups powdered chalk or diatomaceous earth (try a sports shop – chalk is used by gymnasts and diatomaceous earth is used in swimming pool filters), 1 cup bicarbonate of soda (baking soda), 6 T glycerine. Pulverise the soap flakes to powder in a blender or with a pestle and mortar. Mix in the baking soda and chalk, then add in the glycerine to make a thick paste. It won’t look pretty, but it does a great job. Store in a wide screw-top jar to keep it from drying out.
Glass cleaner – 1 cup of vinegar, 1 cup of methylated spirits, isopropyl alcohol or strong spirits (e.g. vodka), 1 t lavender essential oil. Pour all ingredients into a pump-action spray dispenser. Shake together for a minute or so. You can use the mixture straight away, or leave it to sit for a week to allow the essential oil to blend thoroughly with the alcohol and vinegar. Spray onto glass and wipe off with a soft lint-free cloth or scrunched up newspaper. The essential oil will help kill mould spores and germs. You can also use it as a disinfectant – the essential oil and alcohol are strong germ-killers.
Odour-absorbing fridge cleaner – 1 cup baking soda, 10 drops essential oil of your choice (suggested: lemon or grapefruit), water to mix. Combine the baking soda and the essential oil. Add enough water to make a stiff paste. Rub on with a soft cloth, then rinse off with a clean, damp cloth.
Pre-wash soaking treatment – 2 cups of soap flakes, ½ cup glycerine, 2 t essential oil of eucalyptus (in this recipe, you cannot substitute this for another type, as eucalyptus oil has stain-removing properties), hot water (about 1 ½ litre). Add the glycerine and soap flakes to the hot water and stir together. When it cools, it will form a grey-white translucent gel. Add the essential oil once the mixture has cooled. Store in a screw-top jar or bottle. Add about half a cupful to a bucket of lukewarm water (not hot) and soak stained items overnight. Alternatively, rub a tablespoon or so into the stained area and leave it to work for about an hour before washing the item.
Natural Cleaning Products And Their Application At Home – Now We’re Talking!
The following tips will hardly surprise your grandmas – but we have become so dependent on chemically-based detergents for our domestic cleaning that we have forgotten what we have at our disposal in the fridge or kitchen drawers!
If you mix white vinegar, baking soda, and lemon juice into a paste, it will deliver great results around the house. The mixture is an excellent multi-purpose cleaner that you can apply to almost any surface.
Green products are great bathroom cleaners that remove soap, limescale, and germs from the basin, bath, and shower. They are also good for cleaning the toilet bowl. Pouring some vinegar and cleaning it with the brush will remove the dirt.
To clean the kitchen, use vinegar mixed with water and clean the worktop, sink, and hobs with a sponge. Baking soda is a great solution when cleaning the fridge or freezer, the oven or the extractor fan. These appliances usually require more effort, especially the oven, but with the help of the natural cleaners, this process is a bit easier.
Vinegar and lemon juice could be added to a bucket of hot water when washing the floor. This solution not only removes the dirt, but it also disinfects the floor. You should wash the floor at least once a week to keep your home clean and bacteria-free.
Use baking soda to scrub and buff sinks, counter tops, and other household surfaces just as well as abrasive commercial products. It is also a wonderful deodorant for cabinets, pantries, drawers, freezers, and other areas that tend to get stuffy and stale-smelling.
Vinegar is probably the most useful natural cleaning product that you have in your home. It is your equivalent of an all-purpose cleaner – without the harmful chemicals! Mix vinegar and water in a spray bottle and use it to clean surfaces, sinks, floors, counter tops, and pretty much anything in your home (unless you have marble, vinegar is too acidic). The unpleasant vinegar smell will fade as soon as it dries. Even less widely known is vinegar’s properties as a fabric softener.
Use lemon juice to get rid of soap scum, water deposits, and various other stains. Brass and copper will look clean and shiny after being scrubbed with lemon juice, as will dishes and kitchen surfaces.
Apple cider vinegar is less likely to cause allergies than white vinegar. To make an all-purpose cleaner without white vinegar, mix apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, and water. To add an extra fresh scent, add a few drops of essential oil, boiled herbs, or grapefruit seed extract.
For furniture polish, mix olive oil, soap, grapefruit seed extract, and water. This mixture can be used as furniture polish, leather cleaner, and stainless steel polisher. The mixture is also roughly equivalent to a high-end brand car cleaner for use on your vehicle.
