Green Cleaning How homemade cleaning products are greener for the environment and your wallet
Glass Cleaner
• 2 cups water • 1/2 cup white or cider vinegar • 1/4 cup rubbing alcohol (70 percent concentration) • 1 to 2 drops of orange essential oil, which gives the solution a lovely smell (optional)
WR I T T E N B Y A NG E L A S I LVA
Great for: Windows and mirrors How to use: Combine ingredients
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rom carpet and upholstery to dishes and laundry, nearly every surface of your home can be cleaned safely, effectively and inexpensively with homemade cleaning products. Many people have turned to making their own cleaners to avoid the toxins and harsh chemicals found in commercial cleaning products. Asthma, allergies, chemical burns, and poisonings are among some of the concerns associated with the chemicals in cleaning products as evaluated by a group of researchers known as the Environmental Working Group. Making your own cleaning products is not only safer for your health and the environment, but will save you money. Some initial concerns many people have when presented with the idea of making their own cleaning products are the availability of the ingredients and the difficulty of making the cleaners. As it turns out, you probably already have a lot of the ingredients needed to make these homemade cleaning concoctions in your home. Simple, inexpensive household items such as vinegar, baking soda, and hydrogen peroxide can be used for a variety of cleaning tasks. Vinegar can be used either in solution or undiluted to tackle dirt, soap scum, hard water deposits, and even as a general disinfectant. The natural deodorizing properties of baking soda along with its slight abrasiveness make it useful as a scrub for grime or water deposits. Hydrogen peroxide can be used for window cleaning and even removing stains from clothing or upholstery. One of the most regularly purchased but most expensive cleaning products is laundry detergent, but you can even make that yourself, too. Here is a simple recipe for powdered laundry detergent that costs about $0.05 per load. All of the required ingredients are available at local merchandise or hardware stores.
32 HEALTHY UTAH APRIL 2014
and store in a spray bottle. Spray some solution on a paper towel or soft cloth first, then on the glass. To get smudge-free glass, rub vertically on one side and horizontally on the other. Hint: Don’t clean windows on a hot, sunny day, because the solution will dry too quickly and leave lots of streaks.
Homemade Powdered Laundry Detergent Ingredients
›› 1 bar of Fels-Naptha soap (under $2 per bar) ›› 2 cups of Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda (under $3.50 for 55 ounces) ›› 2 cups of Borax (under $4 for 76 ounces)
Scrub
• Half a lemon • 1/2 cup borax (a laundry booster; find it in the detergent aisle)
Blender or food processor
Great for: Rust stains on porcelain or enamel sinks and tubs
Instructions
How to use: Dip lemon into borax
Cut the bar of soap into the smallest pieces possible so they are manageable to the blender or food processor. Add the washing soda and borax to the cut-up soap pieces, and blend thoroughly. Transfer the soap into a large jar or storage container of your choice. Use 1/8 of a cup for normal loads of laundry and ¼ of a cup for heavily soiled loads of laundry. This recipe makes enough soap for 48 loads of laundry.
and scrub surface; rinse. (Not safe for marble or granite.)
Grease Cleaner
• 1/2 cup sudsy ammonia mixed with enough water to fill a one-gallon container. (Sudsy ammonia, which has detergent in it, helps remove tough grime.)
Great for: Oven hoods, grills How to use: Dip sponge or mop in solution and wipe over surface, then rinse area with clear water.
Healthy-Utah.com