 So you want to dump the toxins (responsibly, of course) and start using green cleaning products at home? With a few basic ingredients, you can make your own cleaning products at a lesser cost to yourself and your world.
The main ingredients include the following:
- baking soda
- vinegar
- oils
- natural soaps or detergents
To make your own cleaning products with a “Green Cleaning Kit”, buy a few large containers for mixing, and several spray bottles with attached nozzles, and you’re on your way.
In addition, there are a few other elements that can work well for getting the grit out of the corners of your home. Some, for example, use sea salt to scrub surfaces. Others rely on a mix of the above items and a little elbow-grease.
Vinegar is an all-purpose cleaner: many green cleaners use it on surfaces and appliances, often diluted with water. It’s also useful for furniture polish, or on mirrors and other bathroom surfaces.
For aromatic products, home cleaner makers use a range of essential oils, from citrus and lavender to sage, wintergreen, or pine. Tea Tree Oil is said to work wonders on tough cleaning jobs, especially on moldy, musty surfaces or items, and as an air freshener, when mixed with other less potent solutions.
For furniture and carpet stains, club soda and salt have been known for amazing results. The same mixture can be useful as an over cleaner.
Lots more green solutions offer easier, cheaper and healthier ways to get every room of your home sparkling without resorting to buying the traditional mass-manufactured products containing all of the potentially harmful chemicals that yesterday’s cleaners thought were vital to every-day home maintenance. Find your own effective recipes and share them with the growing community of people who are saying no to old-school toxic cleaning supplies and yes to a greener future.
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