Home Made Natural Cleaning Products

Earth Friendly Cleaners for the Home

Mar 30, 2009 Patrice Campbell

What could be more environmentally friendly than using natural products to clean the home? Cleaners for every circumstance can be based on just four ingredients.

While green cleaning supplies are increasingly easy to find on the market, homemade products are far more economical. Recycle the container that held the previously used chemical cleaner to store the new batch of green cleaning supplies.

Baking soda, white vinegar, castile soap and water will clean up most household problems without resorting to harsh chemicals. Don’t mix the castile soap with the vinegar. Castile soap and water wash away the grime. For stubborn messes, use baking soda as a scrubber. Rinse it all away before using the vinegar to sanitize and deodorize.

Make a liquid soap by grating castile soap and dissolving it with hot water. Shake before using.

Scrub out stubborn stains by mixing your liquid soap with baking soda to make a paste, and rub until the stain is gone.

Over time, add to your arsenal of green cleaning products to make specialty cleaners optimized for specialized cleaning targets.

Hardwood Floor Cleaner

Instead of paying for specialized products to clean hardwood floors, a safe, natural cleansing with items already around the house will leave the wood shining and smelling fresh.

• 1 gallon water
• ½ cup lemon juice
• ½ cup rubbing alcohol
• ¾ cup olive oil

Mix items in a pail and damp mop your hardwood floors to an eco friendly glow.

Green Living Furniture Polish

No aerosol is needed to tame the dust and bring a shine to wood furniture naturally with this natural household cleaning aide.

• ½ tsp olive oil
• ¼ cup vinegar

Mix in a glass jar. To use, dab the solution onto a soft cloth and wipe into the surface of the furniture. The mixture can be stored, covered, indefinitely.

For a fresher fragrance, substitute the vinegar with fresh lemon juice.

Bathroom Cleaning Products

Kill mold in the bath with a non toxic natural cleaning spray.

• 2 cups of water
• 2 tsp. tea tree oil

Pour into a spray bottle, shake and spray onto shower curtain, tub caulking, window sill, or anywhere else mold and mildew lurk in the bathroom. Do not rinse.

Try these safe eco friendly cleaning tips for tub and tile.

• Wipe down the surface with full strength vinegar
• Scour with baking soda
• Rinse thoroughly for a film free shine

Clean tile grout with a natural cleaning product.

• 3 cups baking soda
• 1 cup of warm water

Make a paste in a medium size bowl and use a toothbrush to make this house cleaning chore a breeze.

Natural Toilet Cleaner

Non toxic cleaning products can battle even the toughest jobs like the toilet bowl. To remove tough stains, scoop out most of the water in the bowl, and make a green cleaner paste with liquid castile soap and baking soda. Scrub with the toilet brush.

Cream of Tartar and a damp cloth will clean porcelain safely.

Healthy homemade natural cleaning products can be personalized with a pleasing scent by adding a drop or two of essential oils to the mix. Choose a scent that will announce to all who enter that the home has been scrubbed clean with environmentally safe products.

The copyright of the article Home Made Natural Cleaning Products in Green/Simple Living is owned by Patrice Campbell. Permission to republish Home Made Natural Cleaning Products in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Green Cleaners

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Comments

Apr 1, 2009 7:39 AM

Guest :

One household product overlooked is hydrogen peroxide. It is an amazing product and works great for cleaning things other than cuts and scrapes.
http://www.infoesource.com/cleaningconsultant

Apr 4, 2009 3:22 PM

Guest :

It's nice to know that there are alternatives to the expensive and caustic chemicals that are easily available on the store shelves. I often wonder how much of these store bought cleaning supplies end up in the water we are drinking and if that is the cause of some of our ailments? Great article, easy to read and easy recipes. Thank you!

Apr 19, 2009 12:12 PM

Guest :

I'm not too sure about that hardwood floor cleaner recipe. I just followed it and ended up with an oily mess that smells like rubbing alcohol that I had to go back and clean up off the floor. Anybody else had good luck/bad luck with that one?

3 Comments