There's two ways to add green to your cleaning routine, save money and save the planet. Get rid of those harsh and expensive chemical cleaners and look at a whole new way of cleaning the house. Start with what's probably the first room that comes to mind, the bathroom. Bathroom cleaners are expensive at nearly $5 a bottle or more.
You've probably guessed that vinegar is a key ingredient in cleaning most everything - my grandmother's been telling me this for years. Clear the clutter of your cleaning supplies and replace it with a bottle of vinegar, baking soda, and a few other kitchen ingredients and you'll have an environmentally friendly, hard working collection of cleaning products all for under $5 total.
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Just to be sure--this is white (clear) vinegar, not the apple cider vinegar--right?
Since the birth of our son I have been using vinegar and baking soda to clean our kitchen and bathrooms. Our friends are surprised when they find out I don't use any harsh or toxic chemicals because our home is really clean, and our family is rarely ever sick. This is a great way to save money and care for your family's health. For anyone interested in learning more, this is a great place to look eartheasy.com/
Thanks for the info. I clean houses for a living and use only vinegar and water for mirrors--none of that Windex stuff because I found out that I had to clean off the Windex (or any other commercial window cleaner) as well as the spots on the mirrors. Now I'll also carry baking soda with me, as well as full strength vinegar. I've used vinegar at home for several different chores for many years. It's great as a weed killer--but it also kills grass, so be careful!!!
Hi glowgirl,
The article is referring to white vinegar, although I have heard about people using apple cider vinegar for many uses as well.
I've been cleaning our shower heads & the kitchen faucet screen with vinegar for years. You don't need to boil them,just soak them ,so this works fine on plastic shower heads too . Put vinegar in a plastic bag & fasten it on with a heavy rubber band like the kind that comes on broccoli or asparagus or take the hand held shower head down & put it in a cottage cheese or margarine tub .Pour vinegar over it to cover .
I use white vinegar diluted with 3/4 water in a
spray bottle to clean the scum off my shower
curtain. I spray it down and wash in the washer,
it comes out clean as new.
How'd you first get past the pungency of vinegar odor? I use it for very few things, but when using it in boilg eggs to keep eggs from cracking, it makes the house smell TERRIBLE. In hairdressing, anything
Editor's Note: Just use it 1 part vinegar to 10 parts water. The scent is much less then and it works very well. It may smell vinegary for an hour but after that it dissipates.
I have not seen that size or bag of Baking Soda
out here in MO, I buy small ones or Generic
WalMart baking soda and white vinegar buy the gallons it works well...
Thanks for this. I have been looking for environmentally friendly and less expensive alternatives. At my last garage sale I gave away most of my store bought cleaning formulas. Seems I was always running out and buying the latest. Now I'll just buy gallons of vinegar. Hope I can find large quantities of Baking Soda as well.
(To meoowmom:)
The 10 lb bags of baking soda (in the photo) are sold at Costco, but the price isn't significantly better than the $0.43 for a box of Wal-Mart store brand.
How does the vinegar and soda stand up as disinfectants?
I've been using vinegar and baking soda to clean with for years, a tip from my beloved great aunt! I also read in Hints from Heloise several years ago that vinegar has most of the same anti-bacterial capabilities as our harsh chemicals. I think we're going to see a big change in cleaning products soon! I don't think we know what we've been inhaling all these years, but I'll bet it's not good!
And you all do realize that baking soda and vinegar are just common chemicals. Many of the cleaning products are no more harmful than these two. And, of course, if you mix baking soda and vinegar, you have neutralized them. Use one or the other, but when you combine them, you have salt water, not some magic elixir with super strength.
I have to disagree with Louise.
Many household cleaning products contain: Alkylphenols, which are endocrine disruptors. Perfluorooactanoic Acid (PFOA), which is associated with increased incidence of breast cancer. Triclosan, which can affect the bodys hormone systems especially thyroid hormones, which regulate metabolism. Use of triclosan may also contribute to bacterial resistance. Perchloroethylene or PERC: Perc is a neurotoxin.
Other ingredients with high toxicity include chlorine bleach and ammonia, which produce fumes that are highly irritating to eyes, nose, throat and lungs, and should not be used by people with asthma or lung or heart problems. These two chemicals pose an added threat in that they can react with each other or other chemicals to form lung-damaging gases.
As far as baking soda and vinegar combined, that is correct, however, is the action of them reacting to each other that can sometimes unblock drains, not the end product of mixing them which will be a harmless salt.
Baking soda is my all time favorite cleanser. I use it more than anything else. If applied properly, you can use it on a porcelain kitchen sink for years without dulling the sink. But, I would like to add a word of caution about its use on certain surfaces.
More and more vanity basins, bath tubs and tub and shower surrounds are being made of resin compounds. On a hardness scale, these fixtures are much softer than porcelain and will scratch easily. Scouring them with baking soda will quickly dull their luster.
If you want to try baking soda on these surfaces, it would be a good idea to spot test in an inconspicuous area first. If baking soda is rubbed onto chrome plated fixtures, it will scratch and dull the finish. If you wanted to use soda and vinegar on chrome fixtures, it would be better to sprinkle the soda on them, then spray vinegar on the soda. Let it do its work and then rinse away with spray water, never rubbing.
Good advice! This is true with the melamine sponges (magic eraser) that are so popular too. They can wear down shiny surfaces if they are not hard enough.
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