The Basics and Essentials of Natural Cleaning Solutions
A few household ingredients provide a sparkling-clean home
Many commercial home cleaning products emit harmful chemicals into the air or leave residues that pose various health risks identified by the Environmental Protection Agency. Savvy shoppers can pay more attention to labels and buy more environmentally friendly products, but you can also create your own nontoxic cleaning products with a handful of common household items. Distilled white vinegar, baking soda, coconut oil cooking spray, rubbing alcohol, Castile soap and essential oils are practically all you need to clean your home. Here are a few solutions to assist in your most common household cleaning jobs.
If your windows are especially dirty or grimy, let the spray sit on the surface for a minute. Respray and wipe away the grime.
You can use this multipurpose cleaner all over your home to clean windowsills and woodwork, bathtubs, tiled showers and floors, and walls and to spot-clean wood floors. Just make sure to keep it away from granite, marble and quartz countertops, as well as your stone floors.
Marble, Granite and Quartz
Marble is a beautiful, ever-popular countertop choice, but it is a soft stone made of calcium carbonate, and it can easily be stained and scratched. You don’t want to leave anything acidic sitting on marble. Vinegar, lemon and tomato sauce are all enemies of marble. Spills should be attended to immediately before they soak into the marble’s surface. The easiest cleaning solution for marble is just plain old soap and water.
Marble is a beautiful, ever-popular countertop choice, but it is a soft stone made of calcium carbonate, and it can easily be stained and scratched. You don’t want to leave anything acidic sitting on marble. Vinegar, lemon and tomato sauce are all enemies of marble. Spills should be attended to immediately before they soak into the marble’s surface. The easiest cleaning solution for marble is just plain old soap and water.
For a stronger cleaning option, fill a 24- to 32-ounce spray bottle with water, leaving some room at the top. Add 4 to 5 ounces of rubbing alcohol, six drops of Castile soap and several drops of your favorite essential oil. Tea tree, peppermint, rosemary, eucalyptus, lavender and lemon essential oils are all excellent cleaning oils with antibacterial properties.
Use the same alcohol cleaning solution for granite and quartz countertops. Like marble, granite and quartz are susceptible to damage from vinegar, so make sure to label your cleaners. I use a simple label maker to label my bottles with the cleaning recipe for each, which makes refilling quick and easy.
Find housekeeping and cleaning tools
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Stainless Steel
Commercial stainless steel cleaners are often full of harmful chemicals, have a pungent odor and can leave a slick, oily residue on your appliances and the floor beneath them.
Commercial stainless steel cleaners are often full of harmful chemicals, have a pungent odor and can leave a slick, oily residue on your appliances and the floor beneath them.
First, clean the surface of the stainless appliance with the distilled white vinegar and water cleaner. Next, spray lightly with coconut oil cooking spray. Yes, the same cooking spray that helps to create a nonstick surface for your pans will give your stainless appliances a beautifully clean and shiny surface. With a clean dish towel or paper towel, rub it into the full surface of the appliance in a circular motion.
Buff the appliance with a clean dish towel or paper towel and you will have a clean finish for a week or two. Anytime you catch a fingerprint, take a clean cloth and buff it right off in a circular motion. Don’t worry if you’re not a fan of coconut — the smell dissipates quickly.
Buff the appliance with a clean dish towel or paper towel and you will have a clean finish for a week or two. Anytime you catch a fingerprint, take a clean cloth and buff it right off in a circular motion. Don’t worry if you’re not a fan of coconut — the smell dissipates quickly.
Sinks
Coat your entire sink in baking soda and spray with the multipurpose vinegar-and-water spray we used on the windows earlier. Allow the combination to bubble a bit. With a bristled scrub brush, scrub your sink with the mildly abrasive mixture, paying extra attention to the drain, as this area gets especially grimy. Rinse with water after scrubbing.
You could also follow with the alcohol cleaning spray for additional germ killing. This method works for all sink types: stainless, vitreous china, enameled cast iron, tempered glass, and so on.
Coat your entire sink in baking soda and spray with the multipurpose vinegar-and-water spray we used on the windows earlier. Allow the combination to bubble a bit. With a bristled scrub brush, scrub your sink with the mildly abrasive mixture, paying extra attention to the drain, as this area gets especially grimy. Rinse with water after scrubbing.
You could also follow with the alcohol cleaning spray for additional germ killing. This method works for all sink types: stainless, vitreous china, enameled cast iron, tempered glass, and so on.
Toilets
For everyday cleaning, mix a 1:1 solution of Castile soap and baking soda, then add a few drops of water to form a paste. Add your preferred essential oils for aroma and to help fight bacteria. Scrub the paste throughout the bowl with a toilet brush and allow to sit for 10 to 15 minutes. Scrub a bit more and flush.
For everyday cleaning, mix a 1:1 solution of Castile soap and baking soda, then add a few drops of water to form a paste. Add your preferred essential oils for aroma and to help fight bacteria. Scrub the paste throughout the bowl with a toilet brush and allow to sit for 10 to 15 minutes. Scrub a bit more and flush.
Personally, I enjoy cleaning my own home, but I would consider paying someone just to clean all of our toilets. It is a dirty job and, with two small children, often requires a hazmat suit. I use my DIY solution 90 percent of the time, but toilets may require some extra cleaning help once in a while. I keep a bottle of nonchlorine bleach on hand for the toughest stains.
Hardwood Floors
I typically wash my hardwood floors with warm water and a microfiber mop, but when they need extra cleaning, I add a half teaspoon of Castile soap to a gallon bucket of warm water and get to work.
I typically wash my hardwood floors with warm water and a microfiber mop, but when they need extra cleaning, I add a half teaspoon of Castile soap to a gallon bucket of warm water and get to work.
These are just a few of the solutions I’ve found useful for cleaning my own home over the years. Through trial and error with myriad recipes and combinations, I have found what works best for my home.
Hopefully, some of these will save you some time, research and trial and error of your own. There are definitely concessions to be made when ridding your home of chemical-laden products. Finding the proper DIY cleaning solutions for your specific needs may require time and research.
You could also check out the EPA’s Safer Choice program or the Environmental Working Group’s Guide to Healthy Cleaning section to assist you in purchasing the safest products found in grocery stores.
Your turn: Have a go-to DIY green cleaning solution? Post it in the Comments.
More: Read more about cleaning in the Housekeeping section
Hopefully, some of these will save you some time, research and trial and error of your own. There are definitely concessions to be made when ridding your home of chemical-laden products. Finding the proper DIY cleaning solutions for your specific needs may require time and research.
You could also check out the EPA’s Safer Choice program or the Environmental Working Group’s Guide to Healthy Cleaning section to assist you in purchasing the safest products found in grocery stores.
Your turn: Have a go-to DIY green cleaning solution? Post it in the Comments.
More: Read more about cleaning in the Housekeeping section
After the birth of my son five years ago, I began a quest to remove as many potentially harmful chemicals from our home as possible, primarily through our household cleaning routine. By the time our daughter arrived almost three years later, I had countless hours of research and trials with different recipes under my belt. I have since passed many of these ideas on to clients and friends.
For crystal-clear windows and mirrors, you’ll need only two ingredients: distilled white vinegar and water.
Fill a spray bottle with a mixture of vinegar and water at a 1:1 ratio and use a microfiber cloth to clean. Keep a separate cloth handy to wipe dry for a streak-free finish. Keep this solution on hand. It’s a terrific multipurpose cleaner.