We all love the feeling of peace and order that a clean home gives. However, it’s not perfect when you have to deal with the smell of chemicals hanging in the air after a thorough spring cleaning.
Luckily, there are several natural cleaning alternatives to consider that work just as well as chemical cleaners.
1. Freshen Up With Baking Soda
Baking soda is a popular choice when it comes to natural cleaning agents, and it should form part of your house cleaning checklist. Also known as sodium bicarbonate, baking soda is a mildly alkaline substance that works as an abrasive, a deodorant, and much more.
A liquid mixture of baking soda and water works well in cleaning greasy surfaces. You can also use it as an all-purpose cleaner. You can also get a thick paste of the substance if you’re dealing with surface rust and see the surface look as good as new.
2. Try White Vinegar
Vinegar, like baking soda, has various applications. White vinegar is mainly useful as a cleaning agent. It’s a tame acetic acid with powerful antibacterial properties, and you can use it in all aspects of home cleaning.
Diluting vinegar in water gives you an excellent stain-removing solution that effectively cleans various textiles. The solution also works as a deodorizer, and you can combine it with many other natural products – like lemon juice – to absorb bad odors in your refrigerator.
You can also simmer vinegar and water on your cooker to prevent strong odors while cooking. The substance can help to remove strong scents that come from fish, garlic, or onion.
3. Polish with lemon
Lemon is one of the most effective and accessible natural cleaning agents. The fruit has powerful antibacterial and antiseptic properties, and its high acidic content makes it a natural deodorizer.
There are several ways to use lemon to clean. You can mix it in baking powder or salt to scour your copper pans and restore their shine. If you want to remove stains quickly from plastic containers, mix lemon juice with baking soda and scrub away. To make your all-purpose cleaner, marinate lemon peels and white vinegar in a jar for a few days, then strain out the skin.
Run a slice of lemon across a surface, such as a chopping board, to disinfect it. You can also mix lemon and vinegar in a small dish to act as a deodorizer.
4. Remove Mold Naturally
Anyone who’s ever cleaned a home knows that mold is the real enemy; not dirt or dust. However, it’s always advisable to resist the urge to break out your harsh chemical sprays whenever you encounter stubborn mold in your bathroom.
Instead, mix some carbonated water with white vinegar to remove it from the grout between your bathroom tiles. This way, the mold doesn’t have anywhere to grow, and the chances of it returning are slim.
5. Clear the Air with Greenery
Cleaning agents aren’t the only eco-friendly way to keep your home in tip-top shape. You could also show your green thumb by filling your home with plants.
Scented candles and aerosol sprays will cover odors for a short time, but plants do much more. Apart from purifying the air through carbon absorption and oxygen creation, they also add subtle, fresh scents to your home.
There are several low-maintenance plants that purify. Lilies, spider plants, ferns, and snake plants are the most popular. For a sweet aroma in your kitchen, combine lemon, thyme, and warm water in a saucepan and simmer away.
6. Recycle Old Stuff
Recycling is at the heart of eco-friendly cleaning. You can declutter your home by repurposing old items, instead of tossing them out.
Convert your plastic bottles and containers into water cans and nursery beds for your garden. You can also place food, vegetables, leaf clippings, and other degradable organic leftovers in your compost bin to produce natural fertilizer. Mix this fertilizer with your soil to provide nutrients for your plants, thus ditching the artificial fertilizers.
You could also donate old items to a charity organization. Recycling saves money, stops impulse buying, and saves the planet.
7. Consider Commercial Eco-Friendly Products
If you’re not comfortable mixing your cleaning agents at home, you’re not alone. That’s why commercial green cleaning agents exist, and they’re still as non-toxic without the added stress of mixing and measuring.
When you clean with DIY products, you’ll have to scrub and scour surfaces thoroughly before you get the desired results. These products are more straightforward, and you can buy a different one for your window, oven, floor, bathroom, and kitchen.
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