What are some good ways to clean without all the chemicals?

Question

I'm looking to go greener with my cleaning. I want to get rid of all the chemical-y cleaners and bleach and stuff. I hear there are more eco-friendly ways to clean, but what are they? I keep hearing something about lemon juice!

uh- mostly I want to go less chemical-y because I have lots of little animals running around my house. For some reason, I don't like the ideas of my kitties and puppies breathing in 409 or bleach or something. I'm just looking for some less toxic alternatives.

Answer 1

Lemon juice, baking soda, borax and vinegar. Lemon juice cuts grease as does vinegar. You can use a half of a lemon with salt on it to clean off wooden cutting boards. A little bowl of lemon juice and water nuked in the microwave until boiling makes cleaning the inside of the micro easy, just wipe off the food particles with a sponge. Lemon juice will also remove little rust stains on clothing, too. Vinegar is a great window cleaner cut with some water. It is also a wonderful laundry additive. I use a cup in a full load for darks to set the dyes and keep them from bleeding on to other clothing. It also eliminates the need for fabric softener in the dryer because it naturally softens the garment fibers. I keep a bottle of vinegar & water in the shower to mist after every shower to cut soap scum and water deposits. Borax is great too. You can use it to remove baby formula stains, blood stains, wine stains, remove odors, clean mattresses and a host of other uses all listed on the side of the box. Baking soda is wonderful to clean out fridges, freshen trash containers and carpeting, remove scuff marks on the floor and with vinegar it is a great drain cleaner.

Answer 2

Try some powdered borax. Sprinkle on a small section of the carpet first and try covering with a towel for a few minutes to stop any chance of the cat licking it (will make him very sick). Then vacuum it up properly. If this isnt something you want to try just get a bucket of warm water and some eucalyptyus oil in it...very little. Get a large sponge and soak it in the water then wring it out so its damp. Rub in one direction over the carpet - this should bring the hair together into a moist clump that can be vacuumed up easily.

Answer 3

take a bowl of water and some lemon juice and baking soda. Take your lemon juice and pour it in the bowl of water, then take a cloth and soak a cloth in the water, and put it in the microwave for 2 minutes, stay close to it so that the cloth doesnt dry up and burn when it is done, put on some gloves and then wring out the moisture and then sprinkle some baking soda on te surface you are going to clean and wipe with the steaming cloth. This is very safe, because Steam is hotter than fire, and you are using no chemicals at all, just water and lemon juie, and there is no bacteria that will live to the temperatures of fire, let alone stains.

Answer 4

Lemon juice, vinegar, bicarb, all that stuff.
vinegar and bicarb work really well together, you sprinkle the bicarb on the dirt, spray on some vinegar and it all fizzes up, then just wipe it off.
The most important thing to use tho is BOILING water - kills germs, and cuts through grease.
Just get a good pair of gloves so you dont burn yourself.

Answer 5

There are many eco-friendly, pet friendly cleaners on the market nowadays. Of course, if you want to concoct something yourself, then you will want to do a search on using baking soda and/or vinegar as cleaners. Most do-it-yourself cleaners contain some mixture of these.

Answer 6

Just go to http://drugstore.com and click on the tab that says 'natural' (it has a leaf next to it)
You can find greener alternatives to almost everything!

Answer 7

you don't need no chemicals shust small stones put in there you go it works the best.or use your tong

Answer 8

In a few instances the "natural" products work better - e.g., lemon oil works a lot better to polish wood furniture than does Pledge.

But in my experience the "green" bathroom cleaners, yes they smell less "chemical-y" but they don't do the job - - oh I'm sure they would if you sat there scrubbing for 3 hours but that's NOT how I'm spending my weekend afternoons! Also, the alternatives are usually still SOMEWHAT "chemical-y" - so 3 hours of somewhat chemical-y versus 10 minutes of chemical-y, I don't know that you're benefiting from a health perspective....

I take everything out of my bathroom except the chinese screens on the walls, and spray the whole effing place with anti-mold, anti-mildew, anti-bateria, anti-soap scum and anti- anything else I can find. And I mean the whole place - bowl, sink, tub, backsplash, floor.

Then I come back a few hours later and wipe it all down with clorox wipes, and mop the floor with

Then I open the window and leave again - usually I clean the bathroom on the same day I do laundry and errands.

Et voila - shiny, **** and span bathroom.

I think I know what's next, I'm harming the birdies and fishies by throwing the wipes out with the regular trash, right?

Ef you, it's not your bathroom.