I love making homemade cleaners for around the house. They say homemakers are much more likely to develop cancer simply due to the chemicals they are exposed to in every-day cleansers. So I endeavor to use a more natural approach. Most of the time it is also the cheaper approach.
1) I always buy natural dish soap. This is the only ready-made cleanser which I buy (I make my own laundry soap). My favorite is Seventh Generation, which I buy on Amazon in bulk at a serious discount. It has no harsh chemicals and keeps my exposure to "the icky stuff" way down.
2) For a homemade bathtub scrub, mix liquid soap and baking soda into a paste and use a brush to scrub your tub with it. You can also add a dash of lemon juice to it.
3) Hard water stains on your bathroom fixtures can be removed with lemon juice.
4) Vinegar is my new best friend. It's a natural disinfectant and is incredibly affordable. I use it for everything (add a cup it it to your rinse cycle to ask as a fabric softener, or add as a rinse aid in your dishwasher). It's no surprise it makes the best all-purpose cleanser as well. Add 1 part vinegar and 1 part water to a spray bottle and use to clean practically anything. Remember that the vinegar smell evaporates when it dries, but add some essential oils if you want a nice scent. Note that vinegar shouldn't be used on tile grout or granite.
5) Need to unclog your drains? Using products like Draino can cause you serious issues as it can eat away at the sealants between your pipes. Instead, try this natural solution which works just as well if not better. First, clear our any hair you can get to. Then boil about 2 quarts of water. As the water is boiling, pour about 1/2 cup baking soda into the drain. Wet a wash cloth and have it nearby as you pour about 1 cup of vinegar down the drain. Quickly cover the drain with the wash cloth as the baking soda and vinegar begin to react to one another. Leave drain covered for about 10 minutes. Then uncover the drain and pour the boiling water down. My husband and I do this often and you will be shocked by how clear your drains will be. It is also great for deodorizing kitchen drains.
6) Go to my former post to see the recipe and tutorial for how to make homemade laundry soap.
Feel free to comment with any natural home cleansers you know of:)
Hi! I just made my own laundry soap today! Besides cutting my finger on the grater, things went quite well!! So, for your bathtub, try this:
ReplyDeleteSpray vinegar and water solution on the tub, and then put baking soda on your sponge and scrub away.
also, to keep your drains running well, pour baking soda followed by vinegar. I tried that at the adult family home I worked at back in the day a few times a week(and that sink got EVERYTHING dumped down it), and it never got clogged again!
Oh, whoops you had that one on there. I thought it was different because of the boiling water. I was told NOT to pour boiling water down it after the vinegar/baking soda. But the one I told you is for maintenance, sounds like yours is for if your drains are in trouble!
ReplyDeleteWe use Shaklee at our house. I love their products. Their cleaners come in a concentrated formula, so it really goes a long way! In the end, it ends up being cheaper than the store bought ones. I use the Basic H and the Basic G, as well as their paste. It gets all the yucky stuff off of my oven and also my bathtub.
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