Natural Cleaners

Jaime said…
“Where are those comments about the natural cleaners? I have heard of these but have yet to use them. Let me know!!!!!!”

I wanted to answer your questions. There are many sites out there that help you create your own natural (toxic-free) cleaners but here is what I’m currently using:

For cleaning surfaces and tiles (non-wood surfaces)
Mix 1 cup of white vinegar with 1 cup of water, and put into a spray bottle. Label that bottle “all purpose cleaner”.

For polishing wood surfaces and furniture
Mix 1 cup of olive oil with 1/2 cup of lemon juice. Keep in a sealed container, labeled “furniture polish”.

For cleaning the toilets
Fill a spray bottle with undiluted white vinegar, and label it “toilet bowl cleaner”.

For cleaning sinks and tubs
Use baking soda as a scouring powder. For hard to clean sinks and tubs, add a little bit of water to some baking soda, to form a paste. Paint the paste onto the area you need to clean, and let sit for a half hour, then scrub it off, and re-scour with dry baking soda.

For cleaning mirrors, TV/computer screens, and glass
Mix together 1 cup of rubbing alcohol, 1 cup of water, and 1 tablespoon of white vinegar. Pour into a spray bottle, and label it “glass cleaner”.

For scrubbing hard floors
Fill mop bucket with steaming hot water, and add some liquid bleach. Read the dilution instructions on your bottle of bleach, to find out how much bleach to put into the bucket. (When you mop, open a few windows, to limit bleach fumes.)

For spot-cleaning carpets
Pour some undiluted rubbing alcohol on the spot, and rub with a wash cloth.

Dishwasher Detergent
INGREDIENTS

- 1 cup borax

- 1 cup baking soda

- 1 cup Cascade (optional, but cleans the dishes SO much better for adding so little)

HOW TO MAKE IT

1. In a small container, mix together the borax and baking soda and Cascade.

That’s it!

I keep a table spoon inside the container with my mixture, and when I run my dishwasher (which is twice a day) I put in 3 tablespoons of the homemade detergent.

Once every week or two I fill the rinse aid receptacle with vinegar.

How to Make Powdered Laundry Detergent
INGREDIENTS

- 1 bar of Ivory soap (Fels-Naptha is preferred)

- 1 1/2 cups baking soda (Washing Soda is preferred)

- 1/2 cup borax

- 1/2 – 1 cup oxy clean (optional)

HOW TO MAKE IT:

1. Shred the bar of soap. If you use Ivory, you’ll find that it likely shreds easier than cheese, and only takes a minute to shred the whole bar. I suggest you use a very large plastic container. I got mine from Wal-Mart.

2. Pour in the baking soda, and mix.

3. Pour in the borax, and mix.

4. Pour in the oxy clean, and mix. (this step is optional. you can use 1/2 cup but 1 cup may give your detergent a better boost!)

5. All done. You’ll probably need to shake your detergent before each use to mix it up. Also, keep a measuring spoon with your container, and use this to measure and pour the detergent into your laundry loads. I tend to use 3 tablespoons for most loads. For extra soiled loads, I’ll use 4 tablespoons.

Using just the above, you now have all the cleaning solutions you need, to clean your whole house.

I obtained all these instructions from http://www.keepingthehome.com/. She has some really wonderful and useful tools I plan on trying to use at home. I have all my cleaners and detergents already made up (courtesy of my dear friend Shelley, she made all of these for me for my upcoming birthday!) and I will start using the on Monday. I can’t wait!!! Shelley says they work beautifully, if you can get past the vinegar smell!

Happy Cleaning!