Going Green with Your Cleaning Products

Thanks to Al Gore, going green is the hot trendy topic. Everyone from Celebrates to companies like Disney, who announced they started going green with the newest revamped ride " Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage" The ride still uses all eight original submarines, but the engines are now powered by clean and quiet magnetic coils. The fake coral reefs under water are not colored with paint anymore, but with recycled glass sprayed on with an organic epoxy.

So it is time that we start to go green as well, a good way to start is with your cleaning supplies. Instead of going out and buying products, with manufactured fumes, items you have right there in your cupboards work just as well. Items like:

Vinegar
Baking soda
Salt
Cream of tartar
Olive oil
Lemon juice
Aluminum pan
Tree tea oil
Glass jars
Spray bottles

Need your windows clean try mixing 2 tsp. vinegar with 1 qt. warm water. Put mixture in a spray bottle. Spray on windows or glass surfaces and wipe dry with newspaper. You windows will sparkle, just like if you used Windex.

Nothing has harsh fumes like oven cleaner, to avoid using that stuff try putting water in a spray bottle. Spray oven to get it damp. Avoid heating elements and wires. Sprinkle baking soda over oven surfaces and leave overnight. Grease should easily wipe up the next morning. Scrub any stubborn stain with steel wool. This is worth not breathing in the toxic fumes.

Nothing can be more painful the drains especially when clogs. A more eco solution is mixing 1 cup baking soda, 1 cup salt and 1/4 cup cream of tartar. Pour 1/2 cup of the drain cleaner mixture down the drain, followed by 1/2 cup vinegar. Flush drain with 2 quarts boiling water. Goodbye Draino.

The one job I hate is cleaning the shower and the mildew. Most the items have bleach in them, not only does that bother my husband but I cant get on me due to the fact I am allergic to bleach. An alternative that works is mixing two teaspoons of tree tea oil with two cups water in a spray bottle. Shake up and spray on mold infected area. No need to rinse off. Use on carpets, furniture, ceilings, shower curtains or any other area in your home.

Polish your furniture using a mixture of 1/2 teaspoon olive oil, 1/4 cup vinegar or lemon juice. Mix all ingredients together and store in a glass jar. To polish, get the corner of a rag wet with solution and wipe on furniture. This not only polished but the olive oil also preserves the wood.

The last tip is the one thing most woman hate cleaning, the toilet, in all honesty, it would probably be ok to clean if our men would just learn to aim, and you know what I am talking about. But alas, that will probably be a long time before that happens so in the meantime, dump 1/4 cup baking soda into toilet bowl. Slowly pour 1/2 cup vinegar over baking soda and around bowl. Let sit 1/2 hour and scrub. Borax can be used for tough stains. Pour it in the bowl and let it sit before scrubbing.

What is nice if you decide to go green with cleaning, the cost is less on the wallet besides being earth friendly. Thanks to Dollar stores, you can get many of the for less then a dollar, but if your not a dollar store shopper, the price of buying baking soda and vinegar is less the one bottle of commercial cleaner.