Living in a clean, germ-free atmosphere ensures one’s home is safe, healthy, and tidy. However, many commonly used household cleaners are hazardous and contain deadly substances.
These chemical-based cleansers can cause long-term health problems, and their production and disposal harm the environment. Therefore, opting for safer and eco-friendly alternatives is crucial to maintain a healthy living environment.
One can achieve effective household cleaning using safe and simple ingredients like soap, water, baking soda, vinegar, lemon juice, and a coarse sponge for scrubbing. Creating do-it-yourself cleaning solutions with these basic items can be satisfying while ensuring your home remains spotless.
In this article, you’ll find easy ways to save money on unnecessary professional cleaning products. Also, this article will share simple DIY cleaning recipes to help you keep your home clean without spending too much.
Essential ingredients for homemade cleaners
With just a few natural, common components, you may experience natural cleaning and eliminate all the harmful chemical cleaning solutions. Here are the following:
Vinegar
Cleaning the house with vinegar is a relatively easy task. People may typically mix the cleaning solution and apply it to the appropriate surface because it seldom takes time to activate.
The items will determine the best cleaning equipment. The following materials may be useful for homeowners who intend to use vinegar to clean the bulk of their residence:
- microfiber cloth
- washcloth or small towel
- 1-gallon bucket with a handle
- small mixing bowl
- cleaning gloves
- spray bottle
- squeeze bottle
- grout brush
- toilet brush
Baking soda
You probably don’t know that baking soda was initially utilized by the ancient Egyptians, who obtained sodium bicarbonate from mineral deposits found in nature. It served as a foundation for handmade paintings and a teeth cleanser.
Baking soda is a salt produced naturally by combining carbon, sodium, hydrogen, and oxygen molecules. The substance is a base, which accounts for its versatility and potency as a cleanser. Although harmless, baking soda has a very high hazardous limit.
Apart from dissolving grease, baking soda may eliminate smells and erase stains from tough-to-clean surfaces. When combined with other pure chemicals like vinegar, it becomes an even more potent cleaner.
Lemon juice
Lemon juice has incredible cleaning abilities — it can destroy mold and mildew, cut through oil, and leave surfaces shining with its wonderful scent.
While lemons, lemon juice, and lemon oil are useful in many cleaning projects, it’s essential to note that they are not disinfectants. When it comes to eliminating dangerous bacteria from cooking surfaces, they are unsuitable substitutes for bleach or similar chemicals.
Whether you’re buying lemons to eat or use for cleaning, think about buying organic lemons. The main cause of this is because imazalil and thiabendazole, two chemicals known to disrupt the endocrine system, are present in pesticides in small amounts.
In a research conducted in Switzerland, 38 distinct residues were found in 95% of the 164 citrus fruit samples, including 133 lemon samples that were mostly imported from Spain. Imazalil and thiabendazole were the most often found pesticide residues in citrus fruits.
Essential oils
Essential oils may assist you in creating a non-toxic environment for your family, whether it’s for cooking, cleaning, pet care, or home treatments.
You may achieve your objectives and discover life balance with the aid of essential oils in a natural and efficient method. Moreover, you can choose oils to support your physical, psychological, emotional, and household needs.
Below are some essential oils you may use:
- Lemon
- Orange
- Lime
- Bergamot
- Mandarin
- Tangerine
- Yuzu
- Neroli
- Petitgrain
According to research, several essential oils have strong antibacterial and disinfecting effects. Researchers found that essential oils are thought to be effective against a wide variety of infections. By increasing membrane permeability, causing the leaking of essential intracellular components, and interfering with the targeted pathogens’ cellular metabolism and enzyme kinetics, essential oils may disrupt the cell membrane of the pathogens.
DIY cleaning solutions for different surfaces
Discover some of the best household cleaners that can be made from ingredients already in your pantry. Create your own environmentally friendly and cost-effective DIY cleansers with natural cleaning recipes.
All-purpose cleaner
Your pantry has a number of inexpensive, efficient, and practical DIY all-purpose cleansers (including vinegar and baking soda). So the next time you have a large mess to clean up, consider making this DIY homemade cleaner recipe instead of heading to the store.
Mix orange peel, vinegar, and water in a clean, empty spray bottle at a 1:1 ratio to create a fantastic all-purpose spray cleaner. This works well for quickly cleaning sinks, microwaves, stove tops, and other surfaces typically cleaned with vinegar.
Kitchen and bathroom cleaners
Stains and smells may be safely removed from the item by soaking it in vinegar and water. When washing plastic, homeowners should avoid using hot water since the surface may deform or release hazardous chemicals.
Also, you may use a different cleaning agent for knives and knife blocks since the acid in vinegar might harm the blades or the handle.
Moreover, vinegar may be used to clean showers and bathtubs not built of stone but rather plastic or porcelain. For everyday cleaning and disinfection, it is easy for homeowners to keep a spray bottle in the shower, which they may use to sprinkle the surface after taking a shower, then wipe and let it dry since fixtures respond quite well to vinegar.
Additionally, limescale may be removed more rapidly by soaking a towel in pure white vinegar and wrapping it over the faucet or showerhead for a few minutes. You may temporarily remove the fixture and soak it in vinegar for up to an hour to eliminate layers of hard water buildup.
Refrigerator cleaners
Use 2 tablespoons baking soda and 1 quart of warm water as refrigerator cleaner formula to thoroughly clean the inside of the refrigerator, including the shelves and drawers (do not use soap; it leaves an odor). Dry baking soda can also be used to scrub tough stains.
Floor cleaners
For floor cleaners, add around 8 liters of water to a bucket. Add 1/2 cup vinegar, 1/2 cup rubbing alcohol, and 5 to 7 drops of liquid dishwashing liquid and mix thoroughly. Use it to mop the floor and rinse with fresh water if necessary.
You may clean your floor at home with rubbing alcohol, 70% alcohol, or isopropyl alcohol, which are excellent disinfectants.
Safety and environmental considerations
Keep in mind that less is more. Be cautious and mindful of your cleaning products, and opt for safer alternatives when possible.
Be careful of harmful chemicals
Avoid and be mindful of the following cleaning ingredients around pets and children:
- Phenols: This corrosive chemical can hurt the skin and eyes. If inhaled, phenols can injure the lungs.
- Phthalates: Chemicals used to add fragrance but hazardous when ingested.
- Ammonia-based cleaners: Ammonia mimics the scent of cat urine so that it may encourage inappropriate urination outside the litter box.
- Rubbing alcohol: This can cause low blood sugar, stomach upset, slow heart rate, low blood pressure, and difficulty breathing.
- Certain essential oils: Some essential oils are pet-safe (like lavender and peppermint), but others, like tea tree oil and citrus, are harmful to pets.
- Formaldehyde: This is commonly used in detergents as an antibacterial agent and preservative but can irritate the skin, eyes, nose, and throat. High levels of exposure may cause some types of cancers.
- Chlorine: This may irritate the lungs and are particularly dangerous for people suffering from respiratory problems such as asthma or emphysema and people with heart conditions.
Keep homemade cleaners away from children
For child-safe cleaning, it is recommended to use a steam cleaner with water and no detergent. Avoid cleaning in the presence of children.
It might be tempting to multitask when you’re a stressed-out parent and spray cleaner on the table while your child is eating a snack. However, it is important to utilize home cleansers away from your youngster. Be sure to ventilate the space after cleaning before your child enters the area.
Label and store homemade cleaning solutions properly
When making homemade cleaners, label them and use the appropriate solution for the task at hand. Always include a list of the ingredients within bottles. It’s critical to know the mixture’s components in case of an emergency.
Opt for natural ingredients
In general, eco-friendly items have little to no chemicals. As a side effect, there is less exposure to hazardous chemicals in the house, making them safer for people, pets, and the environment.
In conclusion
By avoiding chemically reactive pollutants, green cleaning methods and solutions are created to protect both human health and the environment.
The nontoxic DIY green cleaners can be easily made using simple components from the kitchen shelf. They also have a significant amount of cleaning power and are affordable.
Transitioning from commercial cleaners to DIY household cleaning products can be a simple, cost-effective, and enjoyable process. So give yourself a try for DIY recipes for a healthier and cleaner environment!
If you would like to see more resources on homemade cleaners, check out the Household Management Science Labs. The lab uses the research of the Institute for Life Management Science to produce courses, certifications, podcasts, videos, and other tools. Visit the Household Management Science Labs today.
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