Clean it the Green Way

Wake up Kermit! It's not hard to be green if you take in consideration that nine out of ten breathes you breathe are likely drawn from being inside a building of some kind and 70,000 synthetic chemicals are in production today! Going Green is easy when you weigh your health risks.

When you use alternative products and solutions you improve your health. The only problem I see is our laziness for convenience sake of having an already made compound and believing these products are going to make our home cleaner.

Green cleaning uses products that are environmentally friendly without sacrificing cleanliness. In fact, most likely a hundred years ago, before all these chemical cleaning products existed, many of these solutions below were used.

Here are solutions to your cleaning problems in a green way:

If you have ...

A coffee pot stain - clean it with hot vinegar.

A grease stain - clean it with borax.

A carpet stain or an upholstery stain - use club soda.

An Ink stain - clean it with hair spray.

A problem with ants -use chili powder.

A problem with insects on your plants -use soapy water.

Problems with slugs - scatter onions around or plant marigolds nearby.

A problem with rusty bolts - use carbonated beverages.

A problem with removing a decal - use warm vinegar.

A problem with a wine stain - use salt.

A problem with hard water - use baking soda.

A water mark - use toothpaste.

Dulling brass - use Worcestershire sauce.

A coffee cup stain - use moist salt.

A problem with gnats or flies - have a basil plant nearby.

A problem with pet odors - use cider vinegar.

A scorch mark - use grated onions.

A problem with Roaches - use bay leaves and cucumber skins.

Need an air freshener - use a mixture of simmering cloves and cinnamon.

Need your stainless steel polished - use mineral oil.

With the pressure of inflation creeping up on all of us, one big way you can save on a grocery bill is by making your own cleaning products. Here are some simple and inexpensive green alternatives that you can make yourself.

For a glass cleaner:

1 gallon of water
½ cup of white vinegar
½ teaspoon liquid dish detergent
For an all purpose cleaner:
½ teaspoon sodium carbonate (soda ash)
Dab of liquid soap
2 cups of hot water
Combine it in a spray bottle and shake till it is all dissolved.
Oven Cleaner:
2 tbsp liquid soap
2 tsp borax
Warm water

For a drain cleaner:

Pour ½ cup of baking soda down the drain, followed by ½ cup of vinegar. Cover the drain and allow it to set for 15 minutes. Then flush with 2 quarts of water.
For more recipes and suggestions visit:

EPA TECH INFO FACTS

Now, you see it wasn't that hard to be green, was it? It's just a matter of having the right supplies around your house and putting your efforts forward. Green cleaning is good for humans, animals and the earth. Put it this way, if you knew eliminating these chemicals would extend your life, would you use them? Common sense will give you that answer. So what are you waiting for?

Source: Orange County Environmental Protection Division of Florida