 The
basics ingredients of many all-natural
cleaners are: baking soda, borax, cornstarch, lemon juice,
pure
soap, salt, washing soda and white vinegar. Buy these to have on hand
and you'll be able to make many natural cleaners when needed.
Baking
Soda -
Baking soda cleans,
deodorizes, scours, polishes and removes stains.
Borax - It
deodorizes, removes stains and boosts the cleaning power of soap. It
also prevents mold and odors.
 Cornstarch -
cleans and deodorizes carpets and rugs, and can be used in place of
baby powder.
Lemon
juice -
whitening items and removing grease and stains.
Pure
Soap -
cleans almost anything and is mild.
Salt
-
regular table salt makes an abrasive, but gentle, scouring
powder.
Washing
Soda
- Cuts grease and disinfects. (Washing soda or calcium
carbonate
can also be purchased from pool supply stores as ph-increaser or ph-up
for less cost)
White
Vinegar
- great for whitening, cleaning hard surfaces and windows, and shining
metal surfaces. Also removes mildew, stains, grease and wax buildup.
|
| Air
Fresheners |
Leave opened box of baking soda in room.
Add cloves & cinnamon to boiling water and let simmer.
Use fresh flowers and herbs, especially fresh lilac. |
| Carpet
Cleaners,
soaking up spills |
dump cornmeal on the spill;
after 5-15 minutes,sweep into a dustpan, then vacuum. |
Carpet,
Deodorizing
|
Sprinkle baking soda and/or
cornstarch
on carpet, using about 1 cup per medium sized room. Vacuum
after
30 minutes.
Mix two parts cornmeal with one part borax; sprinkle
liberally,
leave for one hour, then vacuum. |
| Carpet,
spot cleaning |
Put 1/4 cup liquid soap or
detergent in the blender
with 1/3 cup water. Blend until foamy. Use this to clean
spots on
the
carpet, then rinse with vinegar. |
| Copper
Cleaner |
Pour
vinegar and salt over copper and rub |
Counter
Tops
|
Mix
3 tablespoons of washing soda into one quart warm
water.
For
stained areas,
use paste of baking soda and water, let set a while, then
scrub
off.
|
Dishwasher,
automatic
|
Combine
4 parts boric acid (Borax) with 1 part citric acid
-or-
Mix 1 tablespoon of borax with 3 tablespoons baking soda in wash
compartment. Put vinegar in rinse compartment.
(Note: no all-natural cleaner will leave glasses as spotless as a
commercial detergent with added chemicals, but these chemicals change
the nature of water and are very bad for you and you are better off
with streaky but otherwise clean glasses than eating the residues of
chemicals that make water not function like water in your body.)
|
| Disinfectant |
2 cups water
3 tablespoons liquid soap
25 drops tea tree oil
Mix well, put in spray bottle
|
Drain Opener
(Tip:
Prevent
drains clogging by using drain strainer.) |
Pour
1/2 cup washing
soda into
drain followed by 2 cups boiling water.
Flush
drain
weekly with boiling water for prevention.
Pour
1/4 cup baking soda down the drain. Follow with 1/2 cup
vinegar
and
cover drain tightly until finished fizzing. Flush with one
gallon
boiling water.
|
| Dusting
knickknacks |
Put old
fuzzy cotton sock on hand,
pick up item and roll around. |
Egg,
whole egg dropped on
floor
|
Cover
with salt and then egg can be picked up with a spatula (slice).
|
| Furniture
Polish |
Mix
3 parts olive oil with
1 part
vinegar. Use a soft cloth.
Mix 2
parts olive
oil to 1 part lemon juice. Use a soft cloth.
|
| Glass
and Window Cleaner |
Mix:
2 tablespoons
cornstarch, 1 cup
white vinegar, 1 gallon warm water in a bucket and use to scrub
windows.
|
Ink
stains
|
Drench
in hairspray, blot and spray,blot and spray until gone.
|
Laundry Detergent (gel, using bar soap)
[Frugal
Tip: Dry all laundry on a clothesline or rack. Outdoors if you can,
indoors if not. In the old days, they used to hang up a bar across the
ceiling to hang clothes from.]
|
Ingredients:
large bar of soap, shaved
or grated
((Fels Naptha, Ivory or castille bar soap))
1 cup washing soda
1 cup borax powder
water
Grate soap. Put 6
cups of water in a large pot, add the soap chips. Turn on heat. When
the soap has melted, add the washing soda, borax, and four cups of hot
water. Now add 1 gallon plus 6 cups of water and stir. Let the soap sit
for a day or two and it will gel.
Use 1/2 cup per load of laundry. |
| Laundry
soap (dry, using soap flakes)
|
Ingredients:
5 cups soap flakes,
7 cups of Borax
3 cups of washing soda
Mix
and shake well so that all ingredients are mixed together evenly. You
can store this in an old laundry detergent box or a plastic
container.
Use 1/2 cup per load of laundry.
|
Laundry
detergent
(gel, using
bar
soap)
|
Ingredients:
1/2 bar grated soap (Fels
Naptha,
Ivory or castille bar soap)
2 cups borax
1/2 cup of washing soda
Fill a 1 gallon plastic container with pour spout 1/4 full with water.
Add grated soap and soak overnight
Add washing soda and borax
Add water to fill container; shake well.
Use 3/4 cup per load, add 1/2 cup of washing soda to borax
mixture) |
| Linoleum Floor
Cleaner / Wax |
Mop
with 1 cup white vinegar in 2 gallons water
Polish with club soda.
Adding sour milk or skim milk to rinse water will shine the
floor
without polishing. |
Magic
marker
|
rubbing
alcohol, nail polish remover or pure lemon extract. (Find the lemon
extract in the grocery store in the spice aisle. ) |
| Metal
polish |
1
tablespoon flour
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon white vinegar
Combine
salt and flour in small bowl and stir until blended. Add the
vinegar
and mix into paste. Smear on the paste with a damp sponge or cloth
and
rub gently. Let the polish dry for about an hour. Rinse well with warm
water, buff dry with a soft cloth.
(DO
NOT use on silver, silver plate or jewelry. See Silver
below.) |
| Microwave
Cleaner |
Heat
1 cup of vinegar in a microwave-safe bowl for 1-2 minutes
(should
steam and loosen food inside of the microwave).
Wipe out with a washcloth and warm soapy water. |
Mold
|
Mix 1
part food grade hydrogen peroxide with 4 parts water.
Spray and then let sit for 5-10 minutes.
Spray with distilled white vinegar and let sit until completely dry.
Repeat .
|
Chlorine
bleach is a dangerous poison. If you have to use bleach to kill mold,
open all the doors in the house so it is well ventilated while you are
using it, and drink a glass of water with 2 drops of iodine in it
before and after using bleach to counteract the poisons. It is
preferable to use hydrogen peroxide for anything that needs bleach.
|
Mosquito
Repellent
|
Citronella
candles
Plant sweet basil around home
|
Multi-purpose
cleaner
|
Ingredients:
1/4 cup baking soda
1 cup white vinegar
1 gallon warm
water
Mix and store in tightly-capped container. |
| Oil
stain on clothes |
Rub
cornstarch into oil stain for awhile, let dry, then soak in dish
detergent |
| Oily
clothes |
1 cup
baking soda in water, soak for an hour |
Oven
(Tip: Use oven liners (trays) to catch drips.)
|
Sprinkle
salt on spills when they are warm and scrub
3 tablespoons of washing soda
1 quart warm water.
Rub gently with steel wool. |
Shoe
polish
|
Rub
with inside of a banana peel and then buff.
|
Silver
|
Combine
aluminum foil,
baking soda and salt in very hot water in a clean kitchen sink. Put
your tarnished silver and silver-plated items into the sink and let sit
for 10 minutes. The tarnish will disappear from the silver
and
reappear on the foil.
Rub with toothpaste and soft cloth. Rinse with warm water and
dry.
|
Sponges
|
Boil
in 1/2 gallon water and a teaspoon of baking soda
|
Stainless
steel sink
|
Mix
baking soda and salt and scrub |
Stains
|
Mix
1 bottle of hydrogen peroxide, 2 tablespoons of baking soda and 1
tablespoon laundry detergent. Put a spoonful on a stain
and scrub in. Use a washboard, if available.Let set for a few
minutes. Wash article in regular wash. Store remainder of stain remover
in
a tightly closed bottle. |
| Stuck
together pictures |
Get apart
old, stuck together pictures
with a hair dryer |
| Suede | Rub lightly with very fine sandpaper. |
Wine
|
Dry
up as much of the
wine as possible with paper or absorbent cloth, cover stain with salt.
Let salt sit for several hours or overnight. Vacuum when dry.
|
| Wood
Floor Wax / Cleaner |
Oil
and vinegar, half and half. Apply in thin coat and mix well.
|
Wooden
Floor, painted
|
Wash
with 1 teaspoon washing soda mixed in a gallon of hot water. Rinse with
plain, clear water
|
Better
Basics for the Home: Simple Solutions for Less Toxic Living by Annie B.
Bond
|
Physic
Garden
-- Want To Start
A Medicinal