You might have an allergy, skin sensitivity, or you might just be trying to avoid the chemicals found in most cleaning products. If this is the case, we have a few natural cleaning alternatives we think you will want to know about!
There are do-it-yourself concoctions along with stuff you can just buy at your favourite store. You might even have some already lying around the house!
Baking Soda
Most people have a box of baking soda in their fridge for its deodorizing properties, but this nifty little box might as well say “magic” on it. There are so many useful applications for baking soda that we can’t even list them all here.
But we’re going to try anyway:
- Neutralize fridge odours
- Whiten your laundry
- Clean the sink, oven, and entire kitchen
- Eliminate that smelly garbage
- Remove carpet stains
- Scrub the tub, toilets, and sinks in the bathroom
- Polish silverware
- Kill weeds
- Deodorize shoes
While you will have to do a bit of at-home-alchemy (combining it with lemon, water, etc.), baking soda is one incredible natural substance.
Cornstarch
Do you like glass doors and windows so clean that you need to hang a sign so people don’t walk into them? Good news, there’s a natural cleaning alternative that can help you achieve just that!
Cornstarch can be used to polish windows, pictures, fibreglass doors, and lots of other surfaces too! You can even use it to remove tough stains.
Some additional uses for cornstarch:
- Scrub your tub and sinks by combining it with white vinegar and microwaving it for a few minutes
- Mix with water to shine up your silverware
- Shake dirty gloves, hats, or stuffed animals in a bad with some cornstarch to freshen them up
- Also a good natural deodorizer for shoes and even a smelly dog (avoid the face though)
Rubbing Alcohol
No bacteria can survive the might of rubbing alcohol! If you’re concerned with a surface being really clean, and not just looking clean, rubbing alcohol kills pretty much bacteria it comes in contact with.
A few of the things we like to disinfect:
- Blinds
- Mobile phone
- Computer mouse and keyboard
- Jewelry
- Desk, kitchen table, and other surfaces (especially if you eat there)
- Doorknobs
Check Out Another Blog: CLEANING FOR A REASON: EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW!
Lemon
Lemon is a powerful acid agent that can also help kill bacteria. On top of that, it cuts through grease with ease and who doesn’t love the smell of citrus?
Some of our favourite uses for lemon or lemon juice include:
- Steam up the microwave with water and lemon juice to more easily removed gunk from the walls
- De-stink your cutting board with salt and lemon
- Run some lemon rinds through the garbage disposal to deodorize
- Grate a lemon to make sure your cheese grater is really clean
- Remove hard water buildup on faucets by spraying some lemon juice and letting it sit
- Put a few wedges on the top rack of your dishwasher for even cleaner dishes
Did we miss something? What are your favourite natural cleaning alternatives?
