Getting started with green cleaning is simple and inexpensive. Many of these ingredients you may already have at home!
- baking soda
- white vinegar
- lemon juice
- borax
- castille soap (local health food stores)
- reused spray bottle
Free ingredients:
- Water
- Newspaper
- Elbow Grease
Tub and Tile Cleaner
#1: Mix equal parts of white vinegar and borax to a paste. Wipe on, rinse off
#2: Pour a little vinegar and baking soda on a cloth and scrub. Afterwards, rinse thoroughly.
Toilet Bowls
#1: Try cleaning and deodorizing with 1/2 cup of borax and a gallon of water. Pour a cup of borax into the toilet and leave overnight.
#2: Sprinkle 1/2 cup baking soda into toilet bowl, add 1tsp liquid castille soap or vegetable based soap and 2 drops hydrogen peroxide, scrub with a toilet brush.
#3: Create a paste using borax and lemon juice for cleaning non-septic toilet bowls.
#4: Sprinkle baking soda inside the toilet bowl and add a little liquid castille soap. Scrub in mixture with a toilet bowl brush.
Scouring Powder
Sprinkle Baking Soda on a wet sponge, apply with elbow grease, wait a few minutes, rinse well.
Window and Mirror cleaner
#1: add 2 Tbsp. vinegar to 4 cups water into a spray bottle.
#2: Mix 3 Tbsp. ammonia, 1 cup vinegar and 2/3 cup water in a spray bottle.
#3: Mix 3 Tbsp. vinegar in 2 cups warm water.
#4: Mix 1/4 cup cornstarch, 1/2 cup ammonia, 1/cup vinegar in a jar. This formula will remove rust or lime deposits on windows.
Apply to glass and wipe with old newspaper. Wear gloves since vinegar is a mild acid.
Laundry Detergent
To make inexpensive environmentally friendly and safe detergent, mix 1/3 of a cake of castille (grated) with 1/3 cup of washing soda. Dissolve in hot water in a bucket and top up with water. the mixture will set to a soft gel. Use 2-3 cups per wash.
You should be able to find castille soap in your local health food store. If they don't carry a bar, they can probably order it for you. If you are having trouble finding unscented soap, an unscented bar for babies would be the next best thing. Washing soda should be available in the laundry section of most grocery stores.
Fabric Softener
Just add 1/4 cup of baking soda or white vinegar to the rinse cycle.
Other Laundry Alternatives
Use laundry soap and add a water softener like borax, washing soda, or baking soda to prevent residue.
Soak heavily soiled items in warm water with 1/2 cup of washing soda for thirty minutes.
Drain Opener
Mix 1/2 cup baking soda and 1/2 cup vinegar. Quickly pour down drain and cover, sealing in the carbon dioxide gas bubbles as they agitate the clog. Let sit 15 minutes. Rinse with 2 quarts of boiling water. Follow with a plunger.
Surface Cleaner
Use Baking Soda on a damp cloth to clean countertops, sinks, windows and your refrigerator or freezer surfaces.
All Purpose Cleaner
#1: Add 1/2 cup of Borax to a gallon of water.
#2: Mix vinegar, castille soap and water.
#3: Mix 1 tsp. castille soap, 1 tsp. borax, and a squeeze of lemon in 5 cups warm water. For tough grease, add 1/2 cup ammonia.
Linoleum Floor Cleaner
Mop with a mixture of 1/2 cup vinegar in a bucket of warm water.
Spot and Stain Removers
Coffee cup stains: moist salt
Coffee pot stains: mix ice and salt
Ink spots: cold water, 1 Tbsp cream of tartar, and 1 Tbsp lemon juice
Grease Removal: borax on a damp cloth
Silver Cleaner
#1: Boil silver 3 minutes in a quart (litre) of water containing: 1 tsp. baking soda, 1 tsp. salt, and a piece of aluminum foil.
#2: Mix baking soda and water into a paste. Run on with a soft cloth, rinse and polish dry.
Oven Cleaner
Protect the oven floor from spills with aluminum foil. Mix 2 Tbsp. liquid castille soap with 2 tsp. borax and 2 cups of warm water. Apply this to the oven and let sit for 20 minutes, then scrub. Rub very dirty areas with pumice or a paste of baking soda and water.
Air Fresheners
Open windows for good ventilation or use an exhaust fan.
Sprinkle baking soda in areas where odours originate.
Use flowers, herbs and spices to add a pleasant fragrance indoors.
Stick whole cloves into the outside of an orange in creative designs and enjoy the fragrance and the visual.
If you have a simmering pot, add water, orange peels, clove, vanilla extract, and cinnamon. Play with the spices and amounts to create your own scents.
Carpet Deodorizer
#1: Mix 2 cups cornmeal and 1 cup borax. Sprinkle and leave for 1 hour, then vacuum.
#2: Sprinkle baking soda liberally on dry carpet. Leave at leaset 15 minutes, then vacuum thoroughly.
Upholstery Cleaner
Make a shampoo by mixing 6 Tbsp castille soap flakes, 2 cups boiling water, and 2 Tbsp. borax. Let cool and shake vigourously. Use only the suds. Apply with a soft brush or cloth, wipe soiled suds off with a damp cloth.
Furniture polish
#1: Dust with clothes that gather dust rather than scatter it. Make dust clothes by cutting unwanted clothes and placing in a tin container or jar with a few drops of lemon and olive, mineral or linseed oil inside. Cover tightly and leave overnight. The cloth will absorb enough oil to remove dust and at the same time, polish surfaces.
#2: Mix 1 tbsp. lemon oil and 1 pint mineral oil in a spray bottle.
