About Natural Products For Cleaning

Natural cleaning products are inexpensive, easy-to-make and effective for cleaning even the grimiest room in your house. With cheap ingredients you may already have in your kitchen, you can whip up environmentally friendly, nontoxic, completely natural cleaners just like Grandma used to make. Use natural cleaning products in every room to cleanse, disinfect, shine and deodorize without harming the environment or your family.

Green vs. Natural

Manufacturers sell premixed green cleaning products that contain no industrial chemicals or pollutants and are safer for human use than conventional cleaners. The Federal Trade Commission recommends closely reading green product labels to evaluate misleading or vague claims of eco-friendliness. Natural cleaning products, in contrast, use ingredients found in nature and their inherent disinfecting, scouring and deodorizing properties to clean a variety of surfaces.

Basic Ingredients

You may have the basic ingredients for natural cleansers in your home. Baking soda, white vinegar, lemon juice, castile soap, salt, borax and plain water are the most common components in natural cleaning products.

Uses

Baking soda and salt act like scouring pads on grimy surfaces, yet won't scratch or dull material like porcelain. White vinegar and lemon juice, both acids, clean and disinfect while leaving a pleasant shine. Castile soap, when added to a solution of vinegar and water, cuts through grease in the kitchen and other high-traffic areas. Borax, a mineral salt, softens water for laundry and is a versatile cleaner around the home.

Common Recipes

For an all-purpose cleaning product, mix 1 tsp. each of castile soap and borax, a big dash of lemon juice or vinegar and a quart of water. Keep in a spray bottle for quick jobs. For shiny surfaces like windows and mirrors, use a solution of 2 tsp. vinegar in a quart of water, and use newspaper to wipe off dirt without streaks. To scour tough stains, mix a 1/2 cup of baking soda and enough water to form a thick paste. Rub the mix on with a soft cloth and rinse off.

Economic and Health Benefits

Natural cleaners can perform a variety of tasks, from disinfecting a porcelain bathtub to shining a mirror to cleaning up sticky spills in the kitchen. Buy just the basic ingredients, and you'll not only save room under your sink--you'll save money. Because natural cleaners are free of petroleum derivatives, phthalates, chlorine bleach and other chemicals, which have been linked to chronic illnesses, they won't harm the environment or your family.