1. Vinegar

This is probably one of the most commonly used natural cleaner, and with so many uses, you’ll want to fill a spray bottle to keep handy as well as keep an extra gallon under the sink, just for cleaning. Use it as you would an all-purpose cleaner by mixing 1 part water to 1 part vinegar and use it to clean most areas of your home. It cleans, disinfects and deodorizes safely and effectively.

In the bathroom it works great in the bathtub, toilet, sink, floor and countertops. Try using pure vinegar in the toilet to get rid of rings. It works great tackling soap scum and hard water stains. For tough jobs, soak a cloth in pure vinegar and apply to the stain for an hour or so, then wipe.

In the kitchen use vinegar for the all the appliances, countertops, and floor. Soak hardened cleaning brushes in vinegar overnight to soften the bristles.

In the laundry room, vinegar works great as a natural fabric softener; just add 1/2 cup of vinegar to the rinse cycle instead of store bought fabric softener. It also breaks down the detergent more effectively, reducing soap spotting. This is a real perk for family members with sensitive skin.

Precautions: Vinegar is an acid and if not diluted effectively can eat away at the grout in your tile. It should also never be used on marble surfaces.

2. Lemon Juice

Lemon juice is also used to dissolve soap scum and mineral deposits from hard water. It does a great job of shining brass and copper. It works well as a disinfectant for a wood cutting board. Simply cut a lemon in half and wipe it on the wood. Combine lemon juice with vinegar and baking soda to make a cleaning paste. Mix 1 cup of olive oil with 1/2 cup lemon juice to make a furniture polish for hardwood.

Take a used lemon peel and put it through the garbage disposal to freshen the drain.

3. Baking Soda

Baking soda works great as a gentle abrasive cleanser that won’t damage delicate or coated surfaces. It is probably most famous for its deodorizing properties – open a box and place it in the refrigerator or freezer to absorb odors. This actually works great anywhere to fight smells including sprinkling on the carpet before you vacuum. It also leaves a nice scent if you mix with lavender flowers.

4. Hot Sauce

Simply rub it on dulled copper, rinse with water and polish with a soft cloth.

Precautions: Ensure you keep your hands away from your eyes, and rinse the object well.

5. Olive Oil

Olive oil has wonderful re-hydrating properties and works great on dried-out wood (as long as it was originally treated with an oil finish). Simply spread a thin coat of oil on the wood and buff.

6. White Wine

Douse a red wine stain with white wine, and blot with a clean cloth to absorb.

7. Salt

Salt also works well to absorb red wine (depends on which is handier, the white wine or the salt). Just sprinkle on the stain, let it dry up and vacuum. Salt is also great for cleaning up grease spills in ovens or burners. While the oven is still warm, sprinkle salt on the spill. If it has completely dried, then moisten with water before applying the salt. Once the oven cools, scrape away the spill and wipe clean.

8. Cornmeal

Cornmeal works well to soak up grease. Simply cover a fresh grease stain with cornmeal, let it sit for a few hours and vacuum.

9. Mayonnaise

This delicious spread can be used for more than tuna sandwiches. The next time you spill water on your wood furniture, leaving a water mark, apply a generous portion of mayonnaise and let it sit for a few hours. Wipe it away and allow to dry.

10. Borax (sodium borate)

Borax is a natural substance that kills mold and bacteria, and makes a great alternative to bleach. It also deodorizes and breaks down detergent to improve its cleaning power. Try soaking old towels or gym clothes in a solution of borax and water to make them smell fresh again.

Precaution: Borax can be toxic to small children and pets, keep well out of reach.

About the Author:

Understanding the dynamics of the Minneapolis condos and lofts market takes expert insight from local REALTORs®. Andy Asbury is a Twin Cities based REALTOR® specializing in Minneapolis real estate and helping others discover the joy of urban living.

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – Ten Natural Cleaners to Make your House Shine

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In order to regularly maintain the cleanliness of our homes, we have to ensure that what we are stepping on is a neat floor free of dust and dirt. In reality, mopping is generally simple to do; all you need is to know the right technique and equipments in doing the job.

First thing to do is to clean the area. Remove clutters and make sure that all your furniture (including tables, throw rugs, and chairs) are removed in order to ensure that the area is free of any obstacles. If you plan to clean your furniture too, you have to clean them first.

This way, all the dirt coming from these things will fall on the floor and you will be able to clean them before you clean and mop your floor. The next thing to do is to sweep the floor. This will ensure that these dirt and dust won’t be pushed all around the place while you clean.

Purchase a cleaner of your choice and place this in a bucket filled with hot water enough to cover the mops’ head completely. One available cleaner out in the market is the natural cleaning product.
These organic products are made with natural ingredients that are safe for use. Be sure to use these cleaning products according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Use only enough cleaner for this purpose.

Dip your mop (with a newly replace mop head) in the solution and allow to absorb the cleaner thoroughly. Squeeze excess cleaner out of the mop. You do not want your mop soggy. It should be damp. Start mopping the corners of the room first. Continue mopping around the area you want cleaned. Make sure to re-dip and re-wring the mop again and move on to the other surface.

If there is persistent dirt on a certain area, mop it twice or thrice if necessary. Be sure to mop a bit wetter than before when removing persistent dirt. Leave it for a couple of minutes while you mop the next area. This will loosen up the dirt and will dissolve the soiled area. Use a dried mop to dry the area.

Continue mopping across the floor. Work backwards toward the door and keep off the areas you have already cleaned. This is to avoid any loose dirt on your shoes or slippers from clinging on to the newly mopped floor. If you accidentally stepped on that area, re-run the mop over that portion to clean up the shoe tracks.

Dry the mopped area completely. Opening up the doors or windows will make this process quick. Generally, you do not need to dry the floor using a rag or dry mop. Let the air do the drying. When you are sure that the area is thoroughly dry, put back the furniture you removed.

Hang your mop to dry. Do not leave this in the bucket as it will likely to rot and smell bad if you did. Hang it upside down and where water won’t damage the floor. Make sure to rinse them first so that residues and cleaners will not sit in the mop all the time.

This may be practical so that you can re-use the mop for future use. Remember to dispose dirty mop water in a toilet so that you won’t have to worry about filthy solid sediments (it can be easily flushed away in the toilet!).

Technorati Tags: clean floors, green cleaning, Natural Cleaners

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Technorati Tags: Natural Cleaners

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Technorati Tags: Natural Cleaners

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Technorati Tags: Natural Cleaners

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Technorati Tags: Natural Cleaners

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Firstly if you can find all natural cleaning products in your price band, you will be on to a winner. The main problem with conventional products is the amount of toxic synthetic chemical concoctions they include. But, beware – not all Eco cleaners are necessarily natural. That is not to say they are not Eco or green cleaning products. Not every synthetic compound made by man is bad or dangerous! Just make sure you know what you want. Then, be prepared to really hunt for it!

This is not an issue unless you specifically want natural products (which many people do). If you are hoping to use all natural ingredients you must expect to pay more, and find it harder to find! Perfumes are particularly likely to be synthetic, as they can be very costly to product naturally. Check the label. If a manufacturer is using all natural ingredients they will tell you. Organic cleaners are a good route to go down, though again you will be likely to pay more for the extra dark green credentials!

Do not forget about packaging either. Although it is now possible to make some plastics which are relatively easy to recycle, it does not make plastic a good option. If you can find a supplier who uses glass, or refills bottles, fantastic. If not, admit it, your all natural cleaning product is relying in part, on the massive polluting power of the petrochemical industry for its packaging. I am not here to judge, just to point out the imperfection of green products in general and Eco cleaners in particular.

Beware too, some of the ingredients in your simple green cleaner may not be as harmless as you think. The natural world contains nasty, dangerous stuff too, remember. For example a very reliable, open and honest green cleaning product manufacturer still put lye in their tub and tile cleaner. Lye is caustic soda, an explosive and corrosive alkaline material able to eat through plastic, wood and skin. Admittedly the conventional alternative is perhaps more dangerous, containing larger amounts of the scary ingredients. I just think it is useful to realise that Eco cleaning is not necessarily perfect!

One way to ensure we make our cleaning Eco friendly is to move away from such a vast array of cleaning products, green or otherwise. We also need to use less product. Even something as non-polluting, gentle and ‘green’ as liquid vegetable oil soap is not and Eco option when so much is used that it takes gallons of water to rinse it away.

We should not just rely on the green bottles being safe. The best simple green cleaner is soap and water plus your elbow power. We need to change our attitudes to cleaning to make it more environmentally friendly. Use less product, and spend more time scrubbing. Use less varieties of Eco cleaners so you reduce the range of packaging, transport and so on.

The way to make cleaning Eco friendly is to find one simple green cleaner and use it for as many cleaning jobs as you can.

About The Author

For more information on making cleaning Eco friendly with one simple green cleaner visit the Eco Green Cleaning Products site.

http://www.eco-green-cleaning-products.com/

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Making your own cleaners at home is the answer! You can create your own versions of the over priced cleaning solutions found in most stores for a fraction of the cost and without all the dangerous agents. No more cleaning in a hurry to avoid the noxious fumes and watching your hard earned money go down the drain. Here are three simple yet effective recipes for natural cleaners anyone can make.

The All Purpose Anti-Bacterial

The bathroom and the kitchen can be the worst rooms to clean. The vast amounts of bacteria and grime that both rooms collect makes the average person squeamish. Skip the over-priced anti-bacterial cleaners at your local store and instead mix up this solution to use.

• 1 cup baking soda
• 1 tablespoon white vinegar
• 2 teaspoons tea tree oil
• 1 teaspoon peppermint oil
• 2 tablespoons liquid soap

In a container with an airtight lid mix the baking soda and soap until it reaches a paste-like consistency. Stir in the tea tree and peppermint oils, then add the vinegar. Stir until evenly mixed. Snap on the lid and store in a cool, dry place. This will last for up to a year as long as it stays sealed between uses.

To clean simply scoop out a small amount of the paste onto the surface you want to clean. Use a simmple sponge to clean the surface with your paste. The oils will naturally kill bacteria while the baking soda and vinegar will clean dirt and grime. Wipe with water and enjoy your clean, safe surface.

Simple And Cheap Window Cleaner

Windows and glass can be annoying to clean. Streaks, smears, and the constant attraction of dirt makes them many people’s least favorite things to clean. Yet this simple, low cost window and glass cleaner makes cleaning windows a breeze. Here is all you need.

• 1 cup water
• 1 cup white vinegar
• 1 empty spray bottle

Mix the water and vinegar into the spray bottle and you are done. You now have a great cleaner for glass and windows that costs next to nothing. If the odor of vinegar bothers you you can still use this formula. Vinegar dries fairly quickly and with it the scent. Spray this mixture onto your glass then gently wipe with a microfiber towel.

Low Cost Furniture polish

We all love beautiful wooden furniture when it shines and radiates, but keeping it in that state can be costly. Luckily you can make your own wood oil that will polish and restore shine to all of your wooden surfaces. And for hardly any cost.

• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup lemon oil
• 1/2 cup white vinegar

Mix the olive oil and the lemon oil together in a small container. keep the vinegar aside, preferably in a small spray bottle.

To clean spritz on a small amount of vinegar and gently buff your wooden furniture. Shake your oils together than apply to a soft polishing cloth. Apply evenly across your furniture, then polish with a dry cloth. The vinegar and lemon oil will clean away any dirt and grime while the olive oil protects and gives wood a beautiful shine.

Technorati Tags: clean home naturally, make your own cleaners, Natural Cleaners, safe cleaners

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