Clean Green! Home Cleaning the Safe & Natural Way

Earth Day is tomorrow! Wednesday, April 22

Home Cleaning the Safe & Natural Way
(and cheaper too!)

You probably know that using natural household cleaners is safer for you, your family and the environment. As we become collectively more aware of the environment it is getting harder to ignore the dangers of the products we use in our home every day. But do you really know how dangerous these substances are?

If you're like I was before I started doing research on to make my own natural cleaning products, you probably think these chemicals are necessary for killing germs and bacteria, right? And germs and bacteria are what make us sick, right?

When your body has a high level of toxins, it cannot fight off germs and bacteria. It is not in its natural state and therefore more susceptible to illness. Too many toxins in the body is the cause of illness and disease, not germs & bacteria.

The majority of the cleaners you find on the shelves in the store and used in homes today are made of toxic substances and harmful chemicals. Chemical solutions not only contribute to environmental pollution but can also affect long term health for your family. One in three people suffer from allergies, asthma, sinusitis or bronchitis Common cleaning ingredients may cause asthmatic symptoms or more serious respiratory problem, lung irritation along with
headaches. Phenol and cresol in disinfectants can cause diarrhea, fainting, dizziness, kidney and liver damage.

So now that we are clear on the health hazards of using toxic chemicals in your home, if you’re not scared enough to toss out all your cleaning products just yet, let me fill you in on the environmental hazards. The cleaning industry uses 6 billion pounds of cleaning chemicals a year, according to the EPA. Nearly all of those chemicals are damaging to the environment. The waste from these toxic chemicals disrupts delicate ecosystems when they are disposed of in wastewater. Their packaging wastes non-renewable resources and ends up in shrinking landfill sites. The waste and the fumes from these products pollute the soil, ground water and air around us, produce greenhouse gasses and contribute to global warming.

Most of us don’t realize how little changes can make a huge difference. Did you know that if every American household would replace one bottle of 50-ounce petroleum-based liquid laundry detergent with a natural cleaning product, we could save 280,000 barrels of oil? That is enough to cool and heat 16,000 homes in America each year.

But if you still need a push, consider your pocketbook. Possibly the best benefit of all is the savings. Green cleaning is cheap! The cost of household consumer products can quickly add up. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (2007), in 2005 the average family spent $611 on housekeeping supplies. Families with children and two parents spent well over $800.

By now you may want to throw out all the cleaning products in your home and find "greener" cleaning solutions. You may be thinking that you need to go out and purchase all new “green” or “eco-friendly” cleaning products. But beware - there are many cleaning solutions on the market that claim to be all natural, but don't let the phrases on the bottle's label fool you ("kills
germs", "antibacterial"). Many cleaning products do not list the ingredients on the back of the bottle, leaving the consumer clueless as the contents are. There are many inexpensive, easy-to-use natural cleaning alternatives which can be used safely in place of commercial household cleaning products. In fact, you probably have most of the ingredients you need in your closet. Here are some ordinary, environmentally safe products which can be used alone or in
combination for a wealth of household cleaning applications.

Best of all - when you make your own cleaning products, you put your own energy into the products you use in your home. You can cleanse your home spiritually as you clean environmentally! Most likely, you will feel so good about making the change to green cleaning that you will never go back to buying high priced chemicals that pollute your home. You will not only feel better physically you will get great satisfaction from using your own products and
improving the quality of life for you and your family! You’ll find it gratifying when you can whip up a batch of window cleaner or laundry soap, and you can spray your countertops and refrigerator without contaminating your food.

Here are just a few of my favorite products for safe, natural home cleaning.
You probably have in your home already or can easily purchase at the grocery
store for cheap!

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White Vinegar

Vinegar naturally cleans like an all-purpose cleaner. It cuts grease, removes mildew, odors, some stains and wax build-up. Vinegar is a great natural cleaning product as well as a disinfectant and deodorizer. Always test on an inconspicuous area. It is safe to use on most surfaces and has the added bonus of being incredibly cheap. Improperly diluted vinegar is acidic and can eat away
at tile grout. Never use vinegar on marble surfaces. Don't worry about your home smelling like vinegar. The smell disappears when it dries. Here are some uses for vinegar in your house.

Mix a solution of 1 part water to 1 part vinegar in a new store bought spray bottle and you have a solution that will clean most areas of your home. Add 15 drops Tea Tree Oil for extra disinfectant and Lemon Essential Oil for extra disinfecting and a fresh clean smell. Use it in the…

• Bathroom - Clean the bathtub, toilet, sink, and countertops. Use pure vinegar in the toilet bowl to get rid of rings. Flush the toilet to allow the water level to go down. Pour the undiluted vinegar around the inside of the rim. Scrub down the bowl. Mop the flour in the bathroom with a vinegar/water solution. The substance will also eat away the soap scum and hard water stains on your fixtures and tile. Make sure it is safe to use with your tile.


• Kitchen- Clean the stovetop, appliances, countertops, and floor.
  
• Laundry Room- Mix equal parts of vinegar & cold water to remove tough stains like chocolate and coffee. Use vinegar as a natural fabric softener. This can be especially helpful for families who have sensitive skin. Add ½ cup of vinegar to the rinse cycle in place of store bought fabric softener.
  
• Windows/Mirrors - Straight vinegar in a spray bottle. Add 2-3 drops of lemon essential oil to improve the smell and help it evaporate more quickly.


• Floors - Start with a bucket of hot water, add a 1/2 to 1 cup of vinegar, add 5-10 drops of lemon Essential Oil. Wonderful on hardwood floors (don't let hardwood stay wet for long).

Lemon juice

Lemon juice is another natural substance that can be used to clean your home. Lemon juice can be used to dissolve soap scum and hard water deposits. Lemon is a great substance to clean and shine brass and copper. Lemon juice can be mixed with vinegar and or baking soda to make cleaning pastes. Try these Lemon juice cleaning uses:

• Cut a lemon in half and sprinkle baking soda on the cut section. Use the lemon to scrub dishes, surfaces, and stains.


• Clean your glass shower


• Apply lemon juice to the glass with a sponge. Then, take newspaper an wipe the lemon juice off the glass. It will be clean and sparkle with no scrubbing.


• Mix 1 cup olive oil with ½ cup lemon juice and you have a furniture polish for your hardwood furniture.


• Put a whole lemon peel through the garbage disposal. It freshens the drain and the kitchen. Orange peels can be used with the same results.
  

Baking Soda

Baking soda cleans, deodorizes, softens water, scours. Baking soda can be used to scrub surfaces in much the same way as commercial abrasive cleansers. Baking soda is great as a deodorizer. Put it anywhere you need deodorizing action. Try these three kitchen ingredients as natural cleaning products in your home.

• All Purpose Scouring Powder - You can use baking soda in the same way you would use Comet scouring powder. You can add lemon, tea tree, or peppermint essential oil for a clean scent and added disinfectant. Use to scour bathroom surfaces, sinks, bathtubs, countertops, toilets & carpet freshener.


• Place a box in the refrigerator and freezer to absorb odors.
  
• For deodorizing carpet, add drops of your favorite essential oils. Be sure to mix the oils into the baking soda well. Strive to add essential oils that offer antibacterial and disinfectant properties such as lemon, tea tree, and peppermint, to give the deodorizer an added benefit. Sprinkle the deodorizer onto your carpet. Allow the deodorizer to sit on your carpet for 20 minutes and then vacuum normally.


• Clean a cutting board with 1 tablespoon each of baking soda, salt and water mixed into a paste. Scrub cutting board with paste then rinse thoroughly.


• Add 2 tablespoons of baking soda to dishwashing liquid to cut through grease.


• Add ½ cup of baking soda to laundry to whiten whites and brighten colors.


• Pre-treat laundry stains with a paste made from 4 tablespoons of baking soda mixed with ¼ cup of warm water.


• Polish silver jewelry with a paste made from ¼ cup baking soda and 2 tablespoons water. Apply with a damp sponge, rinse, and then buff dry.

Tea Tree Oil

Tea Tree oil is one of the strongest natural antiseptics. This quality makes it one of the most worthwhile ingredients in homemade cleaning recipes. It’s antiseptic and antibacterial properties are 13 times stronger than carbolic acid and sixty times greater than that of ordinary hand soap. Tea Tree oil is one of the most useful of all essential oils with many household, beauty, and medicinal uses. Take a look at this website to see the multitude of uses for this oil: http://www.teatreeoiluses.com/

For more information on Earth Day, visit the Earth Day Network at http://ww2.earthday.net/