My Library

You want environment friendly cleaners? Look no farther, as you may have the ingredients right inside your home already. All you need to do is mix them up yourself. The next time you run out of cleaners, it may as well be your chance to test some of these alternatives. Just ensure that you do a test on a small area first if you are not too sure that it’s right for the surface.

Grease Cleaner:

• 1/2 cup ammonia mixed with enough water good enough for a gallon container.

This is good for hoods and grills. Mop or sponge in the solution and wipe over the surface, rinse with warm water.

Glass Cleaner:

• 2 cups water
• 1/4 cup rubbing alcohol (70% concentration)
• 1/2 cup white or cider vinegar
• 1 to 2 drops orange essential oil (this will give the solution a pleasant smell; optional)

This is great for windows as well as mirrors. Combine all the ingredients and store in a spray bottle. Use it the way you normally use a commercial glass cleaner.

Heavy Duty Scrub:

• Half a lemon
• 1/2 cup borax

Great for rusty stain on porcelain and enamel sinks as well as tubs. Dip lemon into borax and scrub surface then rinse. This is not safe for marble and granite.

All purpose cleaner and deodorizer:

• 1 quart warm water
• 4 tbsp. baking soda

For fridge interior, kitchen counters, appliances. Just pour the solution on a clean sponge and wipe.

Marble cleaner:

• warm water
• mild dishwashing liquid

A drop or two of the detergent mixed with two cups of warm water. Sponge it over marble and then rise completely to remove any soap residue. Buff. Do not let the marble air dry.

Dishwasher stain remover:

• 1/4 cup powdered lemon or orange drink

Pour the powder into the detergent cup and then run a regular cycle. Repeat as needed. This will  remove rust from the inside walls. The powder contains citric acid crystals.

Alternative cleaner for Coffee Makers:

• white vinegar
• water

Run a solution of half white vinegar and half water through the coffee maker to dissolve scale.  If build up is heavy the heated solution may have to be run through the unit one or more times. Rinse all parts of the unit thoroughly. Run plain cold water through a cycle to remove all traces.

Tags: cleaning, Ideas

This entry was posted by juliana on Wednesday, November 18th, 2009 at 11:54 pm and is filed under Cleaning Tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.