Clean Living with Cristina
DIY Chemical-Free Recipes for Spring Cleaning
Spring is finally here and that means it’s time for lounging in the
grass, barbecuing with friends, and cleaning your place from top to
bottom.
While it might be tempting to spray your whole place with bleach, a lot
of common household cleaning products are actually pretty toxic to our
health. Luckily, there are alternative ways to keep things fresh and
clean.
If you're ready to ditch harsh cleaning products, these natural cleaning
solutions will help get your entire home sparkling—without the
chemicals!
Meet the Star Ingredients
Baking Soda
Baking soda is a pantry staple with proven virus-killing abilities that also effectively cleans, deodorizes, brightens, and cuts through grease and grime.
Use Baking Soda to Clean Your...
Teacups and coffee mugs: Fill with 1 part baking soda
and 2 parts water and soak overnight; rub with a sponge and rinse.
Upholstered furniture: To remove odors, sprinkle baking
soda on the fabric, then vacuum.
Garage floors (and other concrete surfaces): Pour
washing soda generously on oil and grease spots and sprinkle with water
until a paste forms. Let stand overnight. The next day, scrub with a
damp brush, hose down, and wipe clean.
White Vinegar
Thanks to its acidity, vinegar is nothing short of a cleaning
wunderkind—it effectively (and gently!) eliminates grease, soap scum,
and grime.
Distilled white vinegar creates an environment that inhibits the growth
of mold, mildew, and some bacteria, such as E. coli and salmonella, says
Jeffrey Hollender, author of Naturally Clean.
Use White Vinegar to Clean Your...
Dishwasher: To disinfect the interior of the machine,
pour ½ cup vinegar into the reservoir and run an empty cycle, says
Hunter. Or place a small bowl filled with vinegar on the bottom rack and
run an empty cycle.
Floors: Add ¼ cup vinegar to a bucket of warm water to
clean almost any type of floor except marble (vinegar can scratch it) or
wood (vinegar can strip it).
Shower heads: To combat mineral deposits, pour vinegar
into a plastic grocery bag and knot the handles over the neck of the
shower head, securing with rubber bands. Let soak overnight. Rinse with
water in the morning.
Lemon Juice
Natural lemon juice annihilates mildew and mold, cuts through grease, and shines hard surfaces (it also smells awesome).
Use Lemon Juice to Clean Your...
Countertops: Dip the cut side of a lemon half in baking
soda to tackle countertops; wipe with a wet sponge and dry. Don’t use on
delicate stone, like marble, or stainless steel (it may discolor).
Dishes: To increase the grease-cutting power of your
dishwashing detergent, add a teaspoon of lemon juice.
Laundry: To brighten whites, add 1/2 cup lemon juice to
the rinse cycle for a normal-size load.
Essential Oils
Extracted from plants, some essential oils can kill bacteria and mold. They’re very strong, so don’t go overboard: One drop of peppermint oil is as potent as 30 cups of peppermint tea.
Use Essential Oils to Clean Your...
Windows: Mix 2 ounces water and 10 drops lavender or
lemongrass oil to wipe grime off windows. Bonus: These oils may repel
flies.
Shower doors: Wipe scum-covered glass doors with a few
drops of lemon oil twice a month. It will protect them from grime
buildup.
Toilets: Add 2 teaspoons tea-tree oil and 2 cups water
to a spray bottle. Shake, then spritz along the toilet’s inside rim. Let
sit for 30 minutes; scrub.
Not Enough time in the day?
Is your hectic schedule keeping you from mixing up your own cleaning concoctions? Don't sweat it! Mrs. Meyers and Method both offer planet-friendy cleaning products. Check out their websites to learn more!
