Most people use chemical-laden products to clean their house. Apart from being more expensive than natural cleaning agents, they are bad for your skin and your health. Yet, with some ingredients from your kitchen pantry, anyone can make natural cleaning products in just a few minutes!
The products are also more pet- and eco-friendly than chemical-based substances. There’s no toxic run-off into the sewerage and waterways and oceans, so environmental impacts will be minimal with these natural cleaning products.
7 DIY Natural Cleaning Products | Simple Home Solutions
Some staples include lemon juice, white vinegar, bicarbonate soda, salt, hydrogen peroxide, castille soap and olive oil. The combinations of these ingredients cause chemical reactions between acidic and basic elements to create powerful yet harmless compounds for cleaning.
The textures are also important – baking soda powder mixed with water creates a paste, plus smooth soft soap and rough grains of salt creates a scrub. While most of these substances are commonly known for cooking, they can also be used for several beauty products.
Here we show you quick, easy and inexpensive ways to make your own cleaning products for everyday use in the house. If you prefer different scents than lemon or the strong, tart vinegar smell, add a dash of essential oil – mint, bergamot, jasmine or lavender – just to name some favorites.
Mildew and Mold Remover
Combine baking soda, tea tree oil and water together in a spray-bottle and use it directly on the surface with an old toothbrush to get rid of grime, mold and mildew. The baking soda’s texture creates a paste to help scrub in between difficult crooks and crannies.
This is extremely effective for cleaning corners in your shower. It also did a pretty good job cleaning the caulking in my shower, which I’ve found to be extremely difficult.
Recipe: Real Simple
Deodorizer
Simply place a small jar or plastic container of baking soda in the fridge and freezer to absorb bad odors, or in your garbage disposal, or bathroom, or even in kitty litter.
General Cleaning Scouring Scrub
All you’ll need is castille soap, kitchen salt, baking soda and white vinegar for rinsing. This hard-core scrub will rid stains, rust, and grease from your oven, benchtops, and stoves.
Combine the soap, baking soda and salt with a little water to create a paste. Smother it inside your oven and leave it for a few hours, then use a scrubbing brush and water to wash it clean. Rinse with vinegar afterwards to remove the residue.
Make sure you don’t combine the vinegar to the scouring scrub, it’ll turn it a messy paste that is no good for cleaning.
Star ingredient: Baking soda
More commonly known as a leavening agent to make cakes and bread rise (hence its name), baking soda is an enormously versatile cleaning ingredient. It generally keeps a pH level of around 8, with 7 being neutral, even when combined with acidic substances.
Therefore, it neutralizes bad smells rather than masking them, and is used in commercial bath salt and deodorant powder products. Baking soda is used for cleaning as its alkaline nature mixes with fats in dirt and grease to form a soap-like substance that can then be dissolved with water and washed away. Apart from being non-toxic, it is readily available in any supermarket, cheap and needs no extra preparation to use. It is a must have for many natural cleaning products!
Glass Cleaner
Mix lemon juice and water together and put it in a spray bottle. You can add white vinegar and rubbing alcohol if you want a stronger solution. Use newspaper to scrub the glass without leaving streaks once the cleaner has been applied.
Glass Cleaner from Earth 911
Star ingredient: Lemon juice
High in citric acid, lemon juice makes a great cleaner for removing dirt, making surfaces shine, with an added bonus of fresh lemon scent. Acidic elements like lemon juice and vinegar react with alkaline and dissipate them, making them very effective at eliminating scum but heavier substances are required to get rid of grease.
Alkaline products are needed for that instead. Lemon juice does work very well on oxidized metal surfaces however, although repeated use may corrode them. Keep in mind that while lemon juice can clean dirt, and is a natural bleach, it is not a proven disinfectant.
Shower and Toilet Cleaner
It’s simply a matter of mixing vinegar and water – that’s it! The vinegar’s acidity removes the stains and grime, leaving it shiny and without the chalky residue from chemical cream cleansers.
I love a natural #cleaner that also smells amazing! Try making one yourself: http://t.co/DOgrtCTEJY #DIY pic.twitter.com/M0AarZS2JG
— Homesteading (@HomesteadingUSA) September 2, 2015
Coffee Machine Cleaner
Run the same ratio of vinegar and water through your coffee machine to get rid of limescale. Let it sit for an hour midway through the cycle and then let it finish.
Drain Declogger
If you’re having issues flushing water down the toilet, or water isn’t draining well, use a mix of baking soda and vinegar to rinse out the residue. Pour in the baking soda first, then the vinegar. It will bubble a little – that’s the sound of it doing its job! – and after it stops, rinse through with warm water.
Original recipe: Crunch Betty
Star ingredient: White vinegar
Vinegar can be made from any fruit, or in fact, any food or substance that contains sugar. Yeast causes fermentation, catalyzing the sugars (carbohydrates) to be processed into alcohol.
Acetobacter, a microorganism, then turns the alcohol into acetic acid. Added with Vitamin B-1, mineral salts and riboflavin, the substance becomes vinegar. There are various flavours – balsamic, apple cider and rice vinegar – but for cleaning purposes, your standard white vinegar will be fine.
The acidity in vinegar erodes grease and grime, and limits the production of new bacteria and mold. While not a disinfectant, it can kill salmonella and E. coli bacteria.
That’s it! I hope you enjoyed learning about 7 DIY natural cleaning products!
Author Bio:
Megan is a DIY health & beauty addict. She’s committed to making her itsy-bitsy apartment chemical free and her diet as unprocessed as possible. You can find her work at Gold Mountain Beauty where she is responsible for the blog, Instagram and Pinterest.
Still need a cleaning guide? Then watch this video from holistichabits!
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[…] essentials like lemon, baking soda, vinegar, salt, olive oil, and castile soap make effective natural cleaning solutions. You can use them to remove stains, eliminate odors, scrub your sink, and countertops. Stock up on […]