Do It Yourself Household Cleaners

 

The healthiest, least-toxic cleaners you can find are the ones you make yourself. They're effective too: According to a study at Virginia Tech, spraying hydrogen peroxide and vinegar right after one another is just as effective at killing germs as lung-irritating, stream-polluting chlorine bleach.

 

EIGHT ESSENTIALS

These eight items make up the basic ingredients for nearly every do-it-yourself cleaning recipe.

Baking soda: provides grit for scrubbing and reacts with water, vinegar or lemon by fizzing, which speeds up cleaning times

Borax: disinfects, bleaches and deodorizes; very handy in laundry mixes

Distilled white vinegar: disinfects and breaks up dirt; choose white vinegar over apple cider or red vinegars, as these might stain surfaces

Hydrogen Peroxide: disinfects and bleaches

Lemons: cut grease; bottled lemon juice also works well, although you might need to use bit more to get the same results

Olive oil: picks up dirt and polishes wood; cheaper grades work well

Vegetable based (liquid castile) soap: non-petroleum all-purpose cleaners

Washing soda: stain remover, general cleaner, helps unblock pipes; should be handled with gloves due to its caustic nature. Washing soda is usually found in the laundry aisle of grocery and drug stores.

 

Don't forget to pick up an empty spray bottle at the hardware store, and keep those old rags and used toothbrushes for wiping up and scrubbing.

 

All-Purpose Cleaner For The Whole House
1/2 cup borax
1 gallon hot water

Mix in pail (or use smaller amounts in a spray bottle: 1/8 cup borax to 1 quart of hot water) dissolving the borax completely; wipe clean with rag.

 

Floors

Wood
1/4 cup white vinegar
1 gallon warm water

 

Linoleum
1 cup white vinegar
2 gallons warm water

Mix in mop bucket, rinse afterwards.

 

Furniture Polish
1/2 cup white vinegar
1 teaspoon olive oil

Mix and apply with a clean rag to dust and polish. Reduce the olive oil if wood looks too oily.

 

Metal Polish

Copper and Brass
2 Tbsps salt
White vinegar

Add vinegar to salt until you've created a paste. Adding flour will reduce abrasiveness. Apply with a rag and rub clean.

 

Stainless Steel
Baking soda
White vinegar

Apply baking soda with a damp cloth, using the vinegar to eliminate spots.

 

BATHROOM

 

Toilet Bowl
Baking soda
White vinegar

To clean and deodorize, sprinkle toilet bowl with baking soda, add white vinegar and scrub with a toilet brush.

 

Tub and Tile
1/2 lemon
Borax

Dip the face of the lemon half in borax to create a hand-held scrubber for dirty areas. Rinse and dry the surface afterwards.

 

KITCHEN

Countertops
Marble: Mix one Tbsp castile soap with a quart of warm water, rinse well, then dry with a warm cloth.

Other surfaces: half a lemon and dip the face in baking soda to scrub off residues. Follow up by spraying with glass cleaner mix (below).

 

Drains
1 cup baking soda
1 cup vinegar

Add baking soda and vinegar to a pot of boiled water and pour down the drain, then flush with tap water. For more stubborn clogs, use a "snake" plumbing tool to manually remove blockage, or try suction removal with a plunger. To prevent clogs, install inexpensive mesh screen, available at home improvement and hardware stores.

 

Glass
1/4 cup vinegar or 1 Tbsp lemon juice
2+ cups water

Fill a clean spray bottle with water and either white vinegar or lemon juice; wipe with a rag or old newspaper.

 

Oven
Baking soda
Water

Sprinkle baking soda on surfaces, spray water, then let soak several hours or overnight. Rinse with water.

Stovetop and Oven Grease Remover
1/2 tsp washing soda   (wear gloves)
1/4 tsp liquid soap
2 cups hot water

Add washing soda and soap to hot water in spray bottle. Since washing soda is caustic, wear gloves.

 

LAUNDRY ROOM
Bleach alternative:
1/2 cup hydrogen peroxide

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Why It Matters

In 2005, cleaning products were responsible for 9 percent of all exposures reported to U.S. Poison Control Centers.  And, after bubbly cleaning liquids disappear down our drains, they are treated along with sewage and other wastewater at municipal treatment plants. However, wastewater treatment plants don't remove some of these chemicals completely, discharging them into nearby waterways where they threaten water quality, fish and other wildlife.

Chemicals of Concern

Conventional all-purpose cleaners are full of ingredients that pose both health and environmental hazards, without getting your home any cleaner. Steer clear of cleaners containing surfactants such as alkylphenol ethoxylates (APEs), DEA and TEA; nerve-damaging butyl cellosolve; chlorine; ammonia; fragrances containing phthalates; the antibacterial triclosan; and petroleum-based ingredients. 

Misleading Claims

Not only are ingredients protected as trade secrets, the claims on cleaning products usually don't have any verifiable meaning. "Organic," for instance, refers to foods grown without synthetic pesticides in the grocery store, but in cleaners, it refers to chemicals that are carbon-based, including some volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that release harmful fumes and may cause brain damage or cancer. The USDA's National Organic Program doesn't yet regulate household cleaning products.