Alternative, natural household cleaners like soda and vinegar will make your house sparkle like never before.
Most homes contain dozens of different cleaning supplies most or all of which contain dangerous chemicals. There are safer ways to clean your house and you probably have most of the supplies already in your home. For instance, the acid in cola is great for cleaning everything from commodes to dirty dishpans. Let the soda sit for a few minutes in the commode or overnight in a pan. The stains will practically rinse away. Another easy way to clean the toilet is to drop in a couple of Alka-Seltzers and allow to fizz for about 20 minutes. Swish quickly with a toilet brush and your porcelain will sparkle.
Alka-Seltzers also clean old dirt and grime from inside vases. Simply fill vase with water, drop in two tablets and rinse vase in 15 minutes. The same technique works for cleaning thermoses too. Clogged sink? Drop in 3 Alka-Seltzer tablets and a cup of white vinegar. Wait 5 minutes before running hot water.
Baking soda not only prevents unpleasant odors from invading foods in the refrigerator it is also a mild abrasive that cleans sinks and other porcelain surfaces. For the fridge simply open a box and place inside. To scour sinks sprinkle the powder around and use a sponge to work it in. Rinse well. Use baking soda water to rinse off surfaces where onions have been cut to eliminate the odors.
Use vinegar to clean mirrors and glass. Wipe the panes well with the vinegar then use newspapers to dry them off. The glass will sparkle.
Wipe televisions down with a dryer sheet to not only remove dust but leave them static-free. Dryer sheets also remove soap scum from shower tiles and doors. Simply dampen the sheet and wipe the surfaces. Also use dryer sheets to remove pet hair from furniture. The cloths naturally allow the pet fur to cling. Wiping blinds with dryer sheets cleans and prevents future build up of dust. Dryer sheets can also be used to give fragrance to dresser drawers, trashcans, sneakers and closets.
Vinegar is inexpensive and cleans floors well. It also can be mixed with salt to make a paste for cleaning jewelry. Put a cup of vinegar in the rinse water when doing dishes to get them rinsed free of soap residue. Remove spots from carpeting, clean out the coffee maker, deodorize pet cages, remove water stains from leather and take oven cleaner smells out of recently cleaned ovens simply by using a little vinegar.
Lemon juice is a great deodorizer for cutting boards, microwaves or counter tops. Use it to clean brass, copper and stainless steel fixtures. Sometimes lemon juice can even remove ink from clothing. While the ink is still wet dip the area in lemon juice several times then wash in cold water and mild detergent. Lemon juice also dissolves soap scum, cleans dishes and surfaces and makes a fabulous furniture polish. For polish mix one cup of olive oil with a half-cup of lemon juice, spray on and wipe off.
