Green Cleaning Products

With just a few basic ingredients, it’s possible to clean your home thoroughly, without washing harmful chemicals down the drain.

Vinegar.

This is the king of household cleaners, and can be used for everything from cleaning windows (1 part vinegar to 7 parts water for streak-free glass) to the final rinse of your laundry.

It is an excellent remover of limescale. For example, if your bathroom or kitchen taps are becoming caked, simply soak a cloth for each tap in white vinegar, wrap it around the tap, then cover with a plastic bag and fasten with an elastic band. Leave overnight. In the morning, simply rinse, for sparkling metalware.

White vinegar is the best all rounder to use, as it has the least scent. It is available in trigger bottles or, more economically, on the shelves of the supermarket along with it’s culinary counterpart, malt vinegar.

Washing Soda.

This is another multi-purpose product, which can be used around the house. As the name would suggest, it can also form the basis of home-made detergent for the washing machine, when mixed with equal quantities (by volume) with soap flakes.

If mugs and cups are becoming stained with tea and coffee, almost fill them with water and add a heaped teaspoon of soda. Leave for at least an hour, and then wipe and rinse thoroughly; the tea stains will be gone. And, by tipping the soda solution down the sink, you’re helping to keep the drains fresh and clear, too.

This product is widely available in hardware stores, and can often be found in the supermarket.

Bicarbonate of soda (baking soda).

This is a great deodourant for your home. A small pot (such as a ramekin dish) filled with bicarbonate of soda and placed in the fridge will help to keep it odour-free. A solution of baking soda and hot water is also good for cleaning metals, as it does so without scratching (as with all cleaning, test a small area first).

This product is most likely to be found in small pots in the baking aisle of the supermarket.

Borax

Borax is a natural mineral salt. It should not be used around food, and should be treated with care, but is excellent for boosting laundry products and can be used, in dilution, as a stain remover. This product is harder to find in supermarkets or hardware stores, but can be obtained online.

With a few simple ingredients, therefore, it is possible to keep your home clean and fresh, without inflicting harmful chemicals on yourself, or the environment.

When cleaning, also remember to use old cloths rather than disposable paper towels. These can be obtained from old, worn out clothing. Cleaning cloths may require a hot wash, rather than the recommended thirty degrees for most fabrics, but it is still better to reuse them again and again, rather than throw away single-use products.

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