Five Natural Cleaners for Your Home

It's important to protect your health and the environment by limiting exposure to toxic chemicals. One way to do this is to only use natural cleaners. Household cleaners make up a large portion of chemical usage in America. Accidental poisoning from household products is a major killer of young children - don't take the risk!

Fortunately, it's easy to make your own natural cleaners at home using simple ingredients.

Natural Cleaner #1: Vinegar

Simple white vinegar can be used to degrease and deoderize almost anything. Add a cup to your laundry if it's musty or you have clothes stained with grease. You can also use it to remove the smell of skunk and urine from anything that's washable. A dish of vinegar sitting in an open room will remove smoke and mildew odors. Use diluted vinegar to clean your windows.

Natural Cleaner #2: Baking Soda

Buy baking soda in extra-large boxes. Add a half-cup to every load of laundry to deoderize and improve your laundry soap's cleaning power. Sprinkle it on carpets, leave for an hour, then vacuum up to remove odors. Keep a small box or bag in the fridge to keep odors down. Use as a scratch-free scrubber on stoneware, countertops, and other surfaces. For especially stubborn, burned-on food in cooking pots, fill partway with water, add baking soda, and bring to a boil. Allow to cool fully - even overnight - and the food will simply lift off effortlessly!

Natural Cleaner #3: Lemons and Lemon Juice

Drop a slice of lemon into your garbage disposer to sweeten it. Dip a lemon wedge into baking soda and use to scour copper pots. Dried lemon peel can be used alone or in conjunction with cedar or lavender to make moth repellents and closet fresheners. Use lemon juice and salt to remove rust stains from clothing and surfaces. Mix a little lemon oil and olive oil together and use to polish and buff wood furniture.

Natural Cleaner #4: Borax

Borax is a naturally-occuring mineral substance. Add half a cup or more to your laundry to "boost" the soap. Remove your pets and sprinkle on carpet. Leave for two or three hours, then vacuum up to control fleas. (Do not put on your pet's fur or use the powder in their bedding.) Use to scrub especially difficult stains on tile, toilet bowls, sinks, and other surfaces (if in doubt, check with your manufacturer or test in an inconspicuous spot)

Natural Cleaner #5: Essential Oils

Some EO's are natural disinfectants and antiseptics. For example, a drop of tea tree oil in vinegar makes an effective general germ-killer. Oregano oil is well-known for its antiseptic properties. A few drops of either in your dish or laundry soap can help kill germs if you're cleaning something especially grimy. Be sure to rinse well! Other essential oils are good for inhibiting insects and rodents, such as pennyroyal, peppermint, and lavender. Add a few drops of eucalyptus to your laundry soap to kill dust mites. Put a few drops of EO in a spray bottle for an excellent air and fabric refresher. Put a few drops of oil on a cotton ball and tuck into your furnace/air vent, your pillow, or anywhere you'd like to freshen.

If you use essential oils for cleaning, you do not need to be as concerned with quality as you would be if they're used for medical purposes. However, be sure you are not buying fragrance oils (they contain chemicals and may damage surfaces and fabrics). Also, be sure that you are buying pure essential oil, not dilute. NEVER ingest essential oils without the advice of a highly-qualified medical professional!! Some can be deadly!

Switching to natural products involves a bit of adjustment - it's harder at first because a little bit more work is involved. I keep a spray bottle of vinegar and a few drops of essential oil already made up and ready for use, and keep a large shaker bottle of baking soda near my kitchen sink. This way, I still have the convenience factor while saving money and limiting exposure to chemicals. Try one or more of these ideas today for better health, a safer home, and a greener environment!