Your Money Won’t Go Down the Drain With These Household Cleaners

Household cleaning supplies can be expensive. They can also be toxic. Have you ever started coughing or wheezing while cleaning your house? Do you have allergies or asthma that flare up when someone sprays something in your home? That’s your body’s reaction to the chemicals in those supplies.

Why are we spending hundreds of dollars on products that make our bodies and our environment sick? Most people don’t realize we can throw all those products away and replace them with six basic ingredients that can be purchased at the grocery store for under $10:

Baking soda is a great scouring powder, and unlike those you buy in the store, it doesn’t scratch surfaces. Use it on hard-to-clean casserole dishes and to remove drain build-up.

Salt is a really good stain remover for stove-tops and counters. It’s also effective as a cleaning agent for pots with burnt-on food. Salt can be used with other basic ingredients to create homemade cleaning solutions, as well.

White Vinegar’s high level of acidity makes it ideal for killing most mold, bacteria and germs. Use it alone or in combination with other natural ingredients to clean and deodorize.

Lemon Juice works much like vinegar does, only it smells better. Lemon juice cuts through soap scum and removes water deposits from hard water. It’s also great for shining brass and copper.

Borax can brighten your laundry and works well as a cleaner for floors and toilets. Borax is natural, but it is NOT food safe. It should not be used on stove tops, countertops or other surfaces where food is stored or prepared.

Peroxide is a natural disinfectant. Pour some in a spray bottle and use it to clean counters and table-tops. It can also be used to kill salmonella and other bacteria on cutting boards. Be sure to wash the cutting board with soap first. Always store peroxide in its original brown bottle. It degrades quickly when exposed to light.

Don’t throw your money down the drain with expensive cleaning supplies that could make you sick. Use these ingredients already in your kitchen to clean your home safely and affordably.
Check back next week for specific recipes that combine these ingredients to create cleaners for every room in your home. 

 

**Warning, use safety precautions when mixing cleaners.**