When our homes are dirty and in need of cleaning, we often turn to products that we’ve seen advertised on the television to help us get the place spick and span again, and usually because they proclaim to be the best at removing tough stains and grime. Many of these branded products are great at getting rid of dirt and regular use of them will help to keep your home hygienic, but should we really be buying chemically based cleaning products that are harmful not only to our personal health, but to the health of the environment, too?
If I don’t use branded, chemical based cleaning products, what else can I use?
There are in fact, a whole host of products not containing harsh chemicals that make fantastic cleaning solutions to a wide range of problems in the home, such as lime scale build up, grubby surfaces, mildew, smelly dishwashers and grease coated ovens. They are all bio degradable and most are cheap and commonly found on the shelves of every supermarket.
One of the most popular natural items that many people turn to when trying to avoid using chemical products, is vinegar:
- Vinegar
Soak a rag/cloth in vinegar and leave it draped over your faucets for a few minutes; you’ll soon have sparkling faucets with no soap or lime deposits. Cleaning windows or any glass item, such as a mirror or shower door/partition, with vinegar will make them gleam, removing any dirty marks without leaving streaks behind. Use newspaper to help make the glass look even cleaner.
Vinegar can also be used in conjunction with baking soda:
- Vinegar and baking soda
Bunged up drains can be cleaned and unblocked by tipping a generous amount of baking soda (it’s cheap and many of us have it in the home as a store cupboard essential) down the drain and then pouring in a good glug of vinegar. As soon as the vinegar and the baking soda begin to fizz, pop the plug in and wait until the fizzing stops, then pour boiling water down and your drain should be clear of any blockages and build ups of grease.
This can also be repeated for cleaning toilet bowls. Baking soda can be used alone to help keep sinks and bath tubs gleaming, too.
Another tried and tested favorite among those who prefer to clean their homes the natural way, is ammonia:
- Ammonia
Some people may be deterred by the smell of ammonia – which few will say is particularly pleasant – but it’s the undisputed champion when it comes to removing cooking grease from surfaces. Vinegar is a great cleaner, as mentioned, but it’s an acid, meaning that it will strip certain grime, but will not be as useful as the alkaline solution of ammonia for things like tough grease.
If you really can’t abide the smell of ammonia, you can combine it with two other natural products to create a cleaning solution that’s more pleasing to your nose:
- Ammonia, vinegar and baking soda
Combine half a cup of ammonia, with a quarter cup of vinegar and a good handful of baking soda in warm water; this solution makes a fantastic all round cleaner that can be used to remove dirt and grime from almost anything within the home.
Add the juice of fresh lemons to your cleaning solutions to help make your home smell just as fresh as it should look, once you’ve cleaned it the natural way.