Use Natural Household Cleaners for a Greener, Safer Home(A green home can also be a clean home)Natural household cleaners provide a good safe alternative to chemical cleaners for a clean, greener home. Using natural household cleaners can be an effective addition to your green living strategies.
More and more people are adversely affected by the chemicals in their home environment. Using non-toxic, natural cleaners reduces the burden. Using non-toxic cleaning products is not really chemical-free cleaning. But the chemicals used in these environmentally-safe cleaning products have fewer effects on our health. Please see the bottom of the page for links to different kinds of natural household cleaners. AdvertisementsOur modern homes are full of chemicals!They are in the building materials used, the furniture and fittings and even everyday objects around the house such as the television and magazine covers. Some are harmless or inert and others are really quite toxic.
After all, who wants to live without a TV? Or a sofa? Not very many people. (Modern sofas are treated with flame retardants.) But there are ways we can reduce the number of toxic chemicals around us. The first thing to do is to look at the products we use to clean our homes. We can certainly control which ones we buy!
How do chemical cleaning products affect us?Many modern cleaning products contain harmful irritants and dyes. Some even contain solvents. Oven cleaners for example commonly contain toxic chemicals. Household bleach is a corrosive irritant and many multi-purpose cleaners contain a cocktail of chemicals, including ones which are thought to act on the central nervous system! Many of these substances can affect anyone who comes into contact with them. People who are allergic or who have other health problems can be severely affected in some cases. Some perfumes may also cause allergic reactions. Fortunately, there are plenty of options for anyone who wants to have a clean, fresh house without the use of toxic products.
What are natural household cleaners?Natural household cleaners are bio-friendly products which do not contain unnecessary chemicals. They are non-toxic or a lot less toxic for us and the environment.The chemical composition of natural household cleaners is usually simple and many of them have been in use for generations. They don’t harm the environment and they don’t harm us! By using non-toxic cleaners we can live in a less toxic home environment. This helps us to be healthier. Most of them break down harmlessly in the water and soil, causing no damage to wildlife and plant life or even humans. The good news is that there are loads of simple, cheap and effective products which can be used for cleaning your home. You can do practically every normal household task using bio-friendly, non-toxic cleaners. You can wash your clothes, wash and polish your floors, clean the windows, disinfect drains, freshen rooms and much more, all without using any really harmful products.
Here are some of the best natural household cleaners Vinegar, and washing soda or sal soda , baking soda (or sodium bicarbonate), borax and the amazing washball or laundry ball for washing clothes. Salt and soapnuts are also useful. Many of these cleaning agents can still be bought in ordinary shops and supermarkets. Others, such as borax, can be found in some chemists and pharmacies. Most of these products will not have been tested on animals (or, to be more correct, they are not currently being tested) because they have been in use for generations already. Start by giving one or two things a try. Vinegar and washing soda are easy to start with – most people already have these in their cupboards – and washballs are stocked by many health food shops. As you use up other cleaners, you can gradually replace the contents of your cleaning cupboard with safer, more bio-friendly products. Below you will find recipes and usage ideas and more details on individual natural household cleaning products. Click the on-page links or use the site map to find what you want. As well as the health benefits for us and the planet, most natural household cleaners are also cheaper!
Lemons are useful natural cleansers. Citric acid and limonene are used in many proprietary brands of eco-friendly cleaners
Natural household cleaners - some recipes and cleaning methods
Take an empty washing-up liquid bottle or similar and fill it about 10th full of washing-up liquid detergent, preferably an environmentally friendly one such as Ecover. Add a similar amount of white distilled vinegar. Fill up the rest of the bottle with plain water. Use this squirted onto a damp cloth for wiping down surfaces. Dilute further if it seems too foamy. This cuts through grease very well and deodorises too. I've used it on sealed wood - such as kitchen cupboard doors and the kitchen table with no problems at all. I'm not sure I'd use it on the best polished mahogany table though! Please see the links below for further ideas.
Homemade detergent for your laundry Soap nuts for a soft, natural wash Steam cleaners for a quite environmentally-friendly house clean Baking soda for cleaning and other household uses More baking soda uses about the house and home Vinegar and bleach and other bleach safety facts and tips The borax information page - all about borax as a cleaner and safety information A natural oven cleaner is easy to make Here's a non-toxic oven cleaner which can be made in seconds. Are there any really safe chemical cleaners? What makes some chemical cleaners unsafe? Cleaning product reviews AdvertisementsFrom Natural household cleaners back to Home page Greenfootsteps.com Didn't quite find what you were after? You can search this web site or the whole world wide web using the Google Search Tool below. Just enter your search term, choose whether you want to search this site or the web by clicking the radio button - and you're away!
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