Top 3 Natural Cleaning Products You Need

Who wants to live in a dirty home? Nobody, that’s who. These days, almost everything in your house is cleanable with the help of various cleaning products. But you don’t have to use chemicals to achieve clean results. In fact, there are top 3 natural cleaning products are much better for you and for your family as well.

I want to share my top 3 natural cleaning products because I truly think they can make a tremendous difference in your home.

What are Natural Products?

We made natural cleaners from ingredients that can be found in nature or in our kitchen cabinets. Some of the most commonly used natural cleaning products include baking soda, vinegar, hydrogen peroxide, lemon juice, salt, lavender oil, lemon peels, and essential oils.

Vinegar

Vinegar can be used for so many things. It’s honestly amazing. If you’re looking for a good, all-purpose cleaner, vinegar is something that you should always have in your house. Since vinegar is acidic, it works great to remove rust. It also does a great job of breaking down grease and cutting through soap residue. If you have a hard time getting rid of stains on your carpet or in your clothes, vinegar can help you remove them.

The best thing about vinegar is that it doesn’t have any negative side effects like the other products on this list do. It’s safe to use around children and pets, but it can still get the job done if you need to clean up after them too!

Olive Oil

I have been using olive oil as a natural cleaning product for several years now. I first learned about it when I read The Wholesome Cookbook. Olive oil is wonderful to use because we can use it in so many ways. Here are some of how I use it:

Cleaning Produce and Fruit:

I use a little olive oil to clean off produce like apples and potatoes before eating them. It makes the fruit taste so much fresher! Just rub a little olive oil on your hands, then rub the produce along with your hands. Then just wash your hands as you normally would.

Cleaning metal and glass:

I use the end of a paper towel to apply olive oil to my stainless steel sink, then wipe it down with another paper towel. This will leave your sink shiny and fingerprint-free! You can also use this method of metal silverware and glass cookware.

Baking Soda

Baking soda is one of the most popular natural cleaning products you can use in your home. There are so many ways you can use it. You can clean your refrigerator, oven, microwave, flooring, and much more with baking soda. This ingredient is very cheap and an all-natural way to get rid of all the nasty things in your house. These are three significant reasons you should start using baking soda as one of your primary cleaning products today.

Conclusion:

No matter what type of house you have, you can reduce the number of toxic chemicals in your home. And by using natural cleaning products, you will not only be reducing the harmful chemicals and toxins in your home but also money spent on cleaning products too.

10 Unusual Ways You Can Use Baking Soda

There are many items in your kitchen that can be used for multiple purposes. But one that stands out above the rest is baking soda. Yes, thatís right, simple, every day, right out of your pantry baking soda.

Here are ten ways you can use baking soda that goes beyond simply adding it to your favorite baked goods recipe:

Did you know that you can use baking soda as earth-friendly alternative to unclog your drain? You sure can! Itís simple to do, less expensive than the store bought product, and just as effective.

You'll be amazed how effective this combination works. The drains will be clean and you wonít have added anything toxic to the drain system.

Here's what you do:
Pour one cup of regular table salt, one cup of baking soda, and half a cup of plain white vinegar down the drain. Leave it alone for 15 minutes and then pour two quarts of boiling water into the sink. Follow this by running the hot water into the sink for at least one minute.

Baking soda, when mixed with salt, is also an effective stain remover and scouring powder. Mix one cup of baking powder with one cup of salt. Then use this mixture the same way you would any other scouring powder. Again, an effective mixture that is less harmful to the environment.

Sprinkle some baking soda on your carpet and let it sit for 10 minutes. When the time is up, vacuum away any stale odors that may have settled in your carpet.

Add a little baking soda to your dishwasher the next time youíre loading it. The baking soda will give your cleaner an extra boost to get your dishes sparkling clean.

Make a poultice of baking soda and water then put it on a bee sting. This will ease the pain in no time.

Have you ever had a small grease fire on the stove when cooking? Sprinkle baking soda on the fire can safely put it out.

Does your catís box smell? Thoroughly clean the litter box, let dry in the sun, and then sprinkle enough baking soda in the bottom to cover. Now add your litter. The baking soda will help absorb the odors.

Making an equal mixture of baking soda and laundry detergent will stretch your detergent and make your laundry smell fresh.

And, if your refrigerator has a sour odor, place an open box of baking soda in it to absorb those odors. Donít forget to change the box once a month to keep your refrigerator odor free.

Baking soda is truly a multi-purpose item. The applications extend way beyond just using it to make your biscuits light and fluffy.

Which Is Better: Natural or Store Bought Disinfectants?

You need to disinfect your home; so, you want the best product for the job, right? Thatís understandable. However, do you have to run to the store and pick up the first chemically-loaded disinfectant that you come across, or are there alternatives that are natural and safe for your home and family?

When most people think of a common disinfectant, they probably think of CloroxÆ or LysolÆ. Are they the best choices to use? What about the natural products available online? Or can you make your own? How do they compare in availability, price, and effectiveness?

While CloroxÆ and LysolÆ are available at almost any retailer that sells cleaning products; there are natural products that you can purchase online. You can also make your own disinfectant spray.

Clorox Bleach has been available commercially since 1913. They have created numerous cleaning products in the ensuing years. Their products range from plain CloroxÆ Bleach to aid in whitening clothes to cloths to help clean and disinfect hard surfaces around your home and a disinfecting floor and surface cleaner.

While CloroxÆ is well known for disinfecting, the products are not entirely safe if not used exactly as indicated. Two hazardous ingredients in many of the CloroxÆ are didecyl dimethyl ammonium chloride and n-alkyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride. The packaging says to avoid skin contact and that you should use protective eye wear and gloves while using it.

The LysolÆ products have been in production a year longer than CloroxÆ Bleach. However theyíre not any less hazardous. LysolÆ also lists dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride 0.08% and dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride 0.02% in their ingredients.

So, if you want to disinfect your home, but donít want to subject your family to the chemicals in these well-known products, what options do you have? Watkins, a familiar name since 1868, found that pine oil is a natural disinfectant. This naturally-occurring disinfectant may just be what youíre looking for.

Pine oil (a phenolic disinfectant) is an essential oil used in cleaning products such as Pine Sol and similar products. You can use Pine Sol (which is a CloroxÆ product), but you can also purchase pine oil from various sources online as well as many local health food stores. By doing this, you are able to control the ingredients in your cleaner and disinfectant.

Other eco-friendly essential oils you can use to disinfect are tea tree oil and thyme. These essential oils are interchangeable when used in homemade all-purpose cleaners or disinfectants.

To make this homemade recipe, combine two tablespoons of borax (easily found in the laundry aisle of any grocery store) and one-fourth cup of lemon juice and two cups of hot water in a spray bottle. Cover the bottle and shake until the borax is dissolved. Add twenty drops of either tea tree oil or thyme essential oil. Shake again and then use as you would any commercial product.

Another homemade recipe, especially good for disinfecting toilets is a combination of vinegar and essential oils. Mix two cups of white distilled vinegar with three drops of tea tree, thyme, eucalyptus, or pine essential oils. Spray in the toilet then clean as usual. When making homemade cleaning products, please make sure to label the bottles.

While it may be easier to find commercially made cleaners and disinfectants, homemade cleaners and disinfectants can be made for pennies on the dollar. You can pronounce all of the ingredients that you add to them, and you can rest assured that what you use wonít be hazardous to your family.