Household Cleaning Tips: Clean Your
House Naturally

Did you know that over 150 household cleaners have been linked to such health problems as allergies, cancer, birth defects, eye and skin irritants, liver damage and lung disease? Cleaning your house can be potentially hazardous to your health. So what can we do? Clean your house the natural way. Substitute chemically based household cleaners with natural products that are environmentally friendly and pose no health risks to your family.

Things such as car supplies, moth balls, paint, varnish, drain cleaner, nail polish, glass cleaner, shoe polish, aerosols, pet supplies, insect repellent, pool chemicals, rodent killer, detergent, gas stoves and even smoke detectors can make our homes hazardous to our health. This list goes on and on.

Household cleaners often contain acids. Acid can cause a variety of problems, including nose and throat irritation, dermatitis, chest pains and pulmonary edema. These symptoms may not appear immediately. Hours later we are in distress. We never think that these symptoms could have been caused by chemicals that we used earlier in the day. We just don’t connect the problem to the source.

Some chemicals are restricted by the government. However, thousands of others are not properly tested. These products are not only toxic to humans, but to wildlife, fish, plants and the environment in general.

Fortunately, we have a choice of the products we use to clean our home. Remember, our ancestors didn’t have access to all the cleaners that are available to us today. Still, they kept their homes clean by using natural ingredients. I’d like to share a few non-toxic household-cleaning recipes with you.

For tubs, tile and general cleaning, use this recipe. It disinfects and helps to control mold.
1/4 cup borax
½ teaspoon of lemon oil
Vegetable based liquid soap

In a small container, mix borax and soap to make a paste. Add lemon oil and mix well. Put the paste on a sponge, clean surface and rinse. Presto! The job is done easily without using harmful chemicals.

For streak-free glass cleaner use 1/4 cup of white vinegar in a gallon of water. Wash windows or mirrors and dry with a crumpled newspaper.

Berry stains come out easily by pouring boiling water on the spot until it is completely gone.

Some people think that blood is hard to remove from clothing. However, if you put meat tenderizer on the stain and add cold water, the stain will be gone in approximately 15 minutes. At that time, sponge off the tenderizer. If you find ants crawling in your kitchen looking for those left over crumbs, mix boric acid with white sugar. Soak cotton balls in mixture and place in the ant’s path.

Drain cleaner is full of toxic chemicals. Try this recipe and use it once a week to keep drains flowing.
1 cup baking soda
1 cup of salt
1/4 cup of cream of tartar

Place ingredients in an airtight container. Shake well. Pour 1/4 of the mixture down the drain slowly. Add 2 cups of boiling water immediately. Wait 5 minutes and flush the drain with cool water from the tap.

Kids sometimes make quite a mess. Take crayon off walls with a paste of baking soda and water. Get play dough out of the carpet with a vegetable based dish detergent. Disinfect toys by putting them into a sink or tub with a mixture of water, baking soda and vinegar. Rinse and allow to air dry.

Sprinkle baking soda on upholstery and carpets to neutralize odors. Leave for one hour and vacuum. Baking soda will eliminate pet odors.

If you hate cleaning your oven as much as I do, there is a simple formula. Sprinkle water on all oven surfaces. Add baking soda until your oven surfaces are covered with a white paste. Sprinkle with more water and leave for approximately 12 hours. Wipe off excess grease and use a mixture of vegetable-based dish detergent to clean the rest. You will be amazed at how easy it is and you won’t have to breathe the toxic fumes of commercial oven cleaners.

Tea tree oil is a great mold killer. Add 2 teaspoons of tea tree oil to 2 cups water. Shake well in airtight container. Put mixture on problem area. Let stand. Do NOT rinse.

Rust remover is one of the most toxic cleaners we can have in our home. To remove rust without dangerous toxins, sprinkle salt on the surface and then squeeze a generous amount of limejuice onto the salt. Let the salt and lime do their work for approximately 4 hours. Scrub clean.

Are your shoes looking dingy? Use the inside of a banana peel to rub the surface. Buff with a soft cloth, such a flannel. You’ll be able to see your reflection.

To easily clean floors, mix 2 gallons of hot water, 1 cup of white vinegar, 1/4 cup of borax and 1 teaspoon of vegetable based dish detergent. This cuts grease and dirt. Smells great.

There are literally hundreds of natural products that will allow you to clean your house naturally. These products are safe and much less expensive than chemical based cleaners. Keep your family safe. Clean naturally.