Cleaning products vary in composition – some of them are brand names, others are compounds who have been around for thousands of years used by our ancestors and even today. They are safer and much preferred by environmentally-conscious people and companies around the world because of their negligible impact on nature around us. We have prepared some tips on what you can use around the house when it comes to green cleaning opportunities:
1-The Basics
These are products we have all seen, used and sometimes even eaten. Although they are not completely safe they can still be used in a much wider fashion than regular cleaners.
- Baking soda (scrubber)
- Borax (disinfectant, whitener)
- White vinegar (disinfectant)
- Lemon juice (disinfectant, degreaser)
- Olive oil (polisher)
- Washing soda (caustic cleaner)
- Castile soap (foaming cleaner)
All of these can be used as scrubbers, disinfectants, polishing alternatives and washing replacements within reasonable limits.
2-Commercial cleaning products
Today there are plenty of companies who are slowly learning the benefits of green cleaning and they are becoming more and more responsible for the products they let out on the market. A lot of them are held accountable for their actions and that has prompted them to look for alternatives to their heavy-duty petroleum-based cleaning offers. Now we have more and more products labeled “green” who aim at being eco-friendly and better for the environment.
3-Unclogging drains
One of the easiest ways to keep drains free of debris and hair is to have a strainer protecting the opening. This may affect the draining speed, but it will make cleaning it less necessary in time and the maintenance will be reduced overtime. If you cook with lots of oils and fats then you’ll need to flush boiling water down the drain once in a while to loosen it up. In the worst case scenario you can clear them up by using a combination of baking soda and white vinegar pored separately in this order. You should cover the drain to let the pressure from the chemical reaction work its magic.
4-Wooden surface cleaning
Mostly using oil and vinegar you can easily clean and polish the majority of the wooden surfaces out there. You can mix about a quarter of a cup of each of those together with about a gallon of water to make a cleaner and about the same quantities without the water for a polishing agent.
5-Window cleaning
Adding about a quarter of a cup of vinegar to 3 cups of water makes a great window cleaner which is capable of dealing with the task just as efficiently as any commercial cleaner. Just remember not to wash any windows in direct sunlight so you can avoid the streaks that might appear.
6-Oven cleaner
You can do this by sprinkling baking soda all over the lower surface of the oven, spraying some water over it and then leaving it for about 24 hours. This should have the soda harden on top of any debris and you’ll have an easier time cleaning it up. Check out for commercial green oven cleaners as well as companies come up with new alternatives as much as they can.
