How to Make Environmentally Safe Household Cleaners

As more and more Americans are accepting the ecological and environmental dangers of toxins, pollutants and fossil fuels, natural or "green alternatives" are being developed and used. This also applies to household cleaners. Household cleaners are made of chemical compounds that end up washed down sink drains when rags are or sinks are washed or rinsed, or the toilet is cleaned. These poisons can also leave a faint residue on counter tops and other surfaces. There are however, cleaners that can made from safe items. Read on to learn how to make environmentally safe household cleaners.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Vinegar
• Baking soda
• Salt
• Baby oil
• Newspaper

1. You can scrub your sinks, counter tops, and even your pots and pans by sprinkling baking soda on the moist surface areas and scouring with a sponge.

2. Clean your windows and mirrors by mixing 1/4 cup vinegar with 1 quart of water and wipe with a newspaper or paper towel. This mixture will not leave the residue or film sometimes left by chemical window washing fluids on your windows.

3. Your have probably had a clogged drain on one or more occasions. This results in the need for toxic drain openers, many of which contain hydrochloric acid. You can clean your drains to prevent those clogs by pouring one half cup of baking soda down your drain, followed by the vinegar, which causes a chemical reaction. Then simply flush your drains with hot water.

4. Instead of wasting money on buying carpet stain removers to clean your carpets and leaving toxic chemicals behind that your child may crawl or lay down on, and older children may play on, you should consider taking club soda and salt, or a three to one mixture of vinegar and water and pouring the mixture onto the stains. Allow the mixture to bubble then dab dry.

5. Wet mop your floors, wipe down your wooden furniture, and clean wood, tile and linoleum floors using a mixture made from a few drops of vinegar and a cap full of baby oil in a bucket of water. The baby oil helps protect the wood surfaces of your furniture and floors and is non-toxic.

Tips & Warnings

• Vinegar is also excellent for cleaning a coffee pot by pouring directly into the place usually reserved for the water and running it through the apparatus as if making coffee.

[whoodo]

on 10/24/2008 Thanks for the tip from the author

[BeckyBasmadjian]

on 10/10/2008 Be careful when using too much vinegar in your house to clean with. It can cause damage to your air conditioning coils. Your ac system is the lungs of your home. Whatever you use to clean with, such as heavy bleach or vinegar, will come back to your ac system. We have seen many evaporator coils damaged because people store chemical near their air handlers or use heavy cleaning products.