Today’s focus on sustainability and environmental responsibility has had a two-fold effect on residential cleaning: It’s made commercial cleaning products that contain potentially harmful chemicals relatively obsolete, and it’s brought a clear focus back to natural cleaning products that can be found in most households. “You should always try to clean with natural products such as vinegar, alcohol and baking soda,” says Ernie Andrade, owner of All Bright Maintenance Services in San Jose. “Not only do natural products achieve excellent cleaning results, they can also help you and your pets avoid allergy complications.” Consider the following tips for using the most common natural cleaning products:
Lemon juice
Lemon juice can be used to dissolve soap scum and hard water deposits, clean and shine brass and copper, freshen kitchen drains and more. When mixed with vinegar or baking soda, it makes an excellent paste for cleaning surfaces and removing stains. You can also mix 1/2 cup of lemon juice with 1 cup of olive oil and create a polish to use on hardwood furniture.
Baking soda
Baking soda can be used to scrub surfaces in the same way as commercial abrasive cleansers. It also works well as a deodorizer—place a box in your refrigerator, freezer or anywhere that could benefit from odor absorption.
Washing soda
Sodium carbonate (otherwise known as washing soda) is excellent for cutting grease, removing stains, washing clothes, and disinfecting and softening water. Don’t use washing soda on aluminum, as it may cause discoloration and erosion.
Vinegar
Because it disinfects and deodorizes, vinegar works well as an all-purpose cleaner. Fill a clean spray bottle with one part water and one part vinegar. It’s important to dilute the vinegar, because it can eat away at the surface you’re cleaning. As long as it’s diluted, vinegar is gentle on many different surfaces, including bathroom counters, floors, kitchen counters, appliances, stovetops and toilets. Test a small, hidden area to make sure the surface won’t become discolored or damaged.
Rubbing alcohol
Isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol provides the base for an evaporating cleaner to rival commercial window and glass cleaning solutions. Mix 1 cup of rubbing alcohol, 1 cup of water and 1 tablespoon of white vinegar in a sprayer bottle and use it to clean windows, mirrors, chrome fixtures and hard-surface ceramic tiles.
Eucalyptus oil
Eucalyptus oil is a good disinfectant and deodorizer. It gets rid of some stains (like ink and grease), kills and repels some insects, and even attacks rust.
Pure soap
Pure soap is nontoxic and biodegrades safely and completely. Make sure you use soap without synthetic scents, colors or other additives. Even phosphate-free biodegradable laundry detergent contributes to water pollution.
