How to Clean Naturally - Petr Kratochvil
Tips for using natural products, such as vinegar and citrus to clean the home.
Earth Day doesn’t have to be the only time to use natural cleaning products but it can be a starting point. It will save you money and be better for your family and for God‘s green earth.
How to Use Citrus in Natural Cleaning
- Citrus peelings such as limes, lemons and oranges can be put into the garbage disposal with the cold water running on top of them for a garbage disposal that is cleaner and smells better.
- Save the citrus peelings and put into your wood burning fireplace or stove for a nice smell. These can be saved up all year and then used during the colder months. This is a really nice smell around the holidays.
- Make a hard wood furniture spray cleaner by mixing lemon juice and olive oil together. Just put it into the spray bottle and use by spraying on furniture and then rubbing the furniture clean and dry with a soft cloth.
- For a stain on white clothing simply squeeze some lemon juice onto the stain and let the clothing article sit in the sun so it will bleach out the stain.
- To remove rust stains from white cloth articles such as napkins and table cloths simply mix together lemon juice and salt. Make this into a paste so it can be rubbed into the rust stain and let it sit over night and then launder as usual.
- Clean the bathtub by using a mixture of lemon juice, vinegar and baking soda. Just mix it all together and then scrub the tub until clean. This will take some extra work but once the tub has been cleaned good, it will be easier to keep it cleaning with this natural tub cleaner.
How to Use Vinegar in Homemade Cleaning Products
- Vinegar can be used as a fabric softener in the laundry. No need to be afraid if the vinegar smell, it will evaporate. Just put about ¼ cup in the final rinse water of the laundry and then dry as usual. The vinegar makes the clothing static free without using store purchased dryer sheets.
- Vinegar is a very good toilet bowl cleaner, simply put about ½ cups of vinegar in the toilet bowl and let sit for about 30 minutes, depending on how dirty it is, after sitting take the toilet bowl brush and clean the inside of the toilet bowl very good. This will make it very shiny and clean. The vinegar may need to sit longer in the toilet bowl to get the build up off. This also helps remove the urine smell in the bathroom.
It is healthier and cheaper to clean with natural products than those made from chemicals.
Copyright Angela Billings. Contact the author to obtain permission for republication.
Angela Billings - Angela S. Billings is a Contributing Writer for Suite101.com where she writes about recipes, crafting and homemaking.
