Eco Friendly Cleaning: From the Kitchen to the Bathroom and Everywhere in Between

We are in constant contact with cleaning products. They are everywhere. In the kitchen, in the bathroom, on our clothes, on the floor, and even in the air. Most off-the-shelf cleaning products contain chemicals and toxins that are detrimental to our health.

Rather than purchasing cleaning products that might be harmful to you, your family, and the environment, strive to use all natural products that work just as good (sometimes better) and save you money. We’re going to run through some ways that you can clean your house quickly without using harmful cleaning products.

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Let’s first take a look at some serious statistics;

• Thousands of different petrochemicals (chemicals obtained from petroleum or natural gas) are available to purchase as cleaning products.
• In the average American home, around 65 synthetic chemical products can be found, some of these chemicals are carcinogens and have been linked to cancer.
• Indoor air is often be more harmful than outdoor air.
• Each year 5 billion pounds of chemicals are used by the cleaning industry.

Eco Friendly Cleaning Products List

This is the basic list of cleaning product ingredients that you need to set yourself up for a successful cleaning spree. After your initial cleaning, you can keep these ingredients on hand for whenever you need to clean something using one of the recipes from this post:

• Baking soda / sodium bicarbonate
• White vinegar
• Borax
• Lemon
• Olive oil
• Citric acid
• Sodium carbonate
• Castile soap
  

Outside Your Home

Let’s start from the outside of the house before get into the nitty gritty…

Windows

To clean your windows, mix together ¼ cup white vinegar with 3 cups of water. Take a cotton rag and dip it into the mixture. Then wring it out and start cleaning.

The Garden

If the kids or the dog play outside in the garden, then you don’t want to spray your garden with a toxic weed killer—although you also want to get rid of pesky weeds. The best thing to do is mix 1 litre of white vinegar with 1 cup of salt and a dash of liquid dish soap. Pour this mixture into a spray bottle and start spraying those nasty garden weeds.

Inside the Home

Okay, time to talk about how to clean some of the things in your house that are maybe a little past due for cleaning…

Bathroom

Due to the humid air from the steam when you shower, bathrooms can grow mold if you don’t clean them well. So mix together 1 tsp of baking soda with 1 cup of white vinegar and pour it over your toilet, and scrub to clean the toilet. For the shower, bath tub and tiles, use borax on a bamboo brush.

Kitchen

Table Tops

Table tops can get quite dirty and bacteria can begin to grow. The best natural disinfectant is white vinegar because it has 5% acetic acid and antimicrobial properties. Mix together 1 cup warm water with 1 cup white vinegar and if you like a couple of drops of tea tree oil to leave a refreshing smell. Then use a cloth to wipe down surfaces.

Dishes

In the house, the most important thing to keep clean are the dishes and cutlery, as we eat off of these daily. If they are not cleaned properly, grime and bacteria can build up. So make your own natural dishwashing detergent using this recipe from Wellness Mama by combining 1 cup borax, 1 cup washing soda, ½ cup citric acid and ½ cup salt. Mix together and then place 1 tbsp per load.

The Oven

The oven is a tricky spot. The grim and grub from oils and foods can often bake into the walls of the oven. Using a toxic cleaning product on the oven is the worst because the residue can easily be cooked into your next meal. The best way to clean the oven is to sprinkle baking soda onto the sides and then spray with water. Leave overnight and then the next day scrub with steel wool.

Indoor Air

Did you know that oftentimes, the indoor air is much worse for your health than outdoor air? Cleaning products and air fresheners leave chemicals in the air. Even though you might enjoy the sweet smell, 8/10 air fresheners contain the chemical phthalates which can affect the hormones in our bodies. To keep the air in your house chemical free, clean with natural products and open the windows and doors to air out your house. Indoor plants can also help recycle oxygen throughout the house. If you enjoy candles, use soy or natural beeswax candles instead ones with chemicals and artificial scents that can affect air quality.  

Wood Floors, Tiles and Carpet

You don’t want to clean your wood floors with too much water. You want to damp clean them by mixing 1 liter of hot water with ⅓ cup olive oil and ½ cup lemon juice. Just dampen a cloth and wipe down your wood floors using this easy mixture.

For tiles, mix 1 liter of hot water with ¼ cup of borax and you can use a mop or cloth to clean the floor. You should always vacuum carpet of course, but if you would like to remove any odors, then you can sprinkle some baking soda over your carpet, leave it for 30 minutes and then vacuum.  

As you can see based on just these few simple tips, you don’t need to buy off-the-shelf cleaning products that are harmful to your health. Instead you can make your own all natural cleaning products that are just as good… sort of how your grandmother used to clean her house! Happy cleaning :).

Quick Links:

• 8-Step Guide to Going Zero Waste for Beginners
• Step 7: Slowly Switch Over to Natural, Reusable, Toxic Free Products