Green Cleaning Arsenal
• Ammonia – Ammonia is ammonium hydroxide dissolved in water. When it evaporates, it becomes nitrogen gas again. Since nitrogen gas displaces oxygen out of the air, NEVER use ammonia without proper ventilation, you will suffocate to death. The smell alone will be enough to cause you to throw open the nearest window. NEVER mix ammonia with other chemicals, especially chlorine bleach, you will create a toxic gas chamber. A friend of mine did it by mistake and ended up sending seven people to the hospital. Ammonia diluted in water is a powerful grease cutter and straight ammonia is the active ingredient in a lot of household cleaners. Why buy the cleaner emblazoned with the “Now with ammonia” banner when you could just buy the ammonia for ½ or even ¼ of the price?
For periodic cleaning of oven build-up, preheat the oven to 200 degrees, then turn it off. Open a window or turn on a fan. Place 2 cups straight ammonia in a shallow, non-aluminum pan on the middle rack. Close the oven door tight and leave overnight. The hot ammonia gas will attack the grease film and turn it into a soapy sludge while you sleep. In the morning, wipe away the sludge. For multi-taskers: place stained Pyrex dishes in the oven before you go to bed, the ammonia will do double duty and clean your dishes at the same time.
For a Multi-Purpose Deep Cleaner, combine ½ c ammonia, 1/3 c white vinegar, 2 Tbsp baking soda in 1 gallon of warm water. Mix well.
To clean gunky grills and oven racks, place them in a black plastic trash bag. Pour 1 c ammonia into the bag, seal with a twist tie and leave to cook in the sun. Hose with water at the end of the day.
• Baking Soda – Technically called sodium bicarbonate, the very same stuff you add to cakes and breads can also act as a deodorizer and mild abrasive. Since baking soda is slightly alkaline (its pH is 8.1), it neutralizes acid based odors in water and absorbs odors from the air.
Carpet fresheners/deodorizers often tout that they contain baking soda and indeed this is the active, odor absorbing ingredient, so why not use the real thing. For clean smelling carpets, simply sprinkle them with baking soda and leave for as long as possible (overnight is good) then vacuum it up. No smells will be left behind. If you would like a pleasant smell of your own creation, add crushed herbs that you enjoy before sprinkling. An open box of baking soda in the fridge is a time honor trick to absorb all refrigerator odors, even onion. One cup of baking soda added to one load of laundry will leave clothes smelling fresh and chemical free.
Use baking soda as a mild abrasive to clean everything from stove tops to sinks to floors and anything fiberglass. For tougher problems, such as grease on top of the stove, sprinkle it with baking soda then spray on a bit of vinegar or lemon juice. The acid will react with the baking soda. Add a bit of elbow grease and presto . . . a clean stove top! The same combination and method can be used to get a sparkling clean toilet bowl, sink, bathtub and shower. For those with microwaves, baking soda will do the trick there too. Mix 2 Tbsp baking soda and 1 c water in a microwave safe bowl. Nuke for 5 minutes or until the liquid boils and condensation builds up on the inside of the microwave, then just wipe away the residue.
Baking soda unclogs drains too. Pour 1 c baking soda into the drain, follow this with 1 c vinegar or 1 c lemon juice. Pour a pot of boiling water down the drain. Boiling water may need to be repeated twice.
• Bleach – Laundry bleach 5% sodium hypochlorite and it’s a double-edged sword. While it is an incredible oxidizer, germ killer and disinfectant and it plays an important role in stopping the spread of contagious disease, it is also an environmental hazard. When chlorine enters lakes and streams, it combines with organic matter to create methane gas, which then transforms into numerous carcinogenic agents called trichalomethanes. Chlorine bleach is already added to our drinking water, albeit in small amounts, because it is a powerful bacteriostatic, that is to say that it inhibits the growth or reproduction of bacteria but doesn’t kill them. Use bleach only when a very powerful disinfectant is absolutely necessary, don’t use it just to get things like clothes, tubs, or tile grout whiter. Do remember that deadly chlorine gas is created when bleach is mixed with acids or with ammonia. Always open a window or provide more than adequate ventilation when working with bleach.
• Borax – Like bleach, sodium borate borax is a double-edge sword. It does make for a good phosphate-free water softener and is an effective mild abrasive but it contains low levels of arsenic and lead. It also contains boron; the environmental and physiological effects of boron are unknown. Baking soda will do the same job as an abrasive and doesn’t pose the possible risks that borax does.
If you would like to use borax, this recipe makes for a great all purpose cleaner: Combine 1 tsp. borax, ½ tsp washing soda, 2 Tbsp lemon juice with 1 c hot water in a spray bottle and shake.
• Corn Starch – Corn starch is extracted from, surprise…corn and is used in cooking as a thickening agent in gravies, soups, sweet and sour port, etc. As a cleaning agent, corn starch can be used as an extra fine polish that gives surfaces such as glass and wood a mirror-like sheen.
• Essential Oils – Many essential oils, such as lavender, clove, tea tree oil, grapefruit seed extract, etc are antiseptics. Use one teaspoon essential oil per 2 c water in a spray bottle. (for grapefruit seed extract, use 20 d per 1 qt water).
• Lemon – Everything from dish liquid to all-purpose cleaners scream “Lemon Scent”. Well, lemon’s have lemon scent too and what’s more, they have cleaning power. As an acid, lemon eats away gummy build-up and tarnish, neutralizes hard water residue and removes dirt. The active ingredient is citric acid, the same can be found in oranges, grapefruits and other citrus fruits. If you find the smell of vinegar offensive, substitute lemon juice in place of white vinegar in cleaning solutions.
To clean a sink, cut an old lemon in half, wipe down the sink with lemon juice and leave for 10 minutes. Return with a bit of baking soda and a sponge, scrub and revel in your new sparkling sink. For everyday odors and slight stains on sinks and tubs rub directly with a lemon half, the juice will eat away stains and leave your sink sparkling and smelling fresh. To do away with garbage disposal odors, toss in a lemon, orange, lime or grapefruit rind, turn on the disposal and grind away the smell.
As a furniture polish, mix 1 c vegetable or olive oil and ½ c lemon juice in a spray bottle, use as you would Pledge or Endust.
No matter how grimy the tub is (assume you moved into a new place, not that you don’t clean often) the following method will work to get it white and bright. First, wet the surface of the tub, sprinkle it with cream of tartar (found in the spice aisle), then rub with a cut lemon. Apply some elbow grease. You may need to use 1 or 2 lemons and will take about 20 minutes, but you don’t have to do it very often.
• Mineral Oil - Mineral oil, which is available at the drug store, is a refined petroleum product. However its toxicity is low, it is economical and versatile. Its primary function is as a lubricant but it can also be used as a furniture polish. Melt 1 Tbsp carnauba wax into 2 c mineral oil and 1 tsp lemon oil. Apply a light coating with a soft cloth, wipe off excess and polish with a different, clean cloth.
• Salt – Lowly sodium chloride is for much more than making good popcorn. It is a mild antiseptic and mild disinfectant with abrasive qualities. Salt plus lemon juice will do wonders for a stained sink. Salt sprinkled in the bottom of the oven will absorb grease and turn to ash when the oven is on that can be easily swept out.
• Washing Soda – Hydrated sodium carbonate, commonly called washing soda, is a chemical cousin of baking soda but it is much more alkaline (with a pH of 11). It can usually be found in the detergent aisle of the grocery store. While it doesn’t release toxic fumes when used and is much safer than commercial options, it is caustic so do wear gloves when using it. Washing soda cuts through grease and petroleum based stains such as lipstick, wax and crayon. It also neutralizes odor just as baking soda does. It is a mild abrasive, but do not use it on fiberglass, aluminum or wax floors where it will remove the wax.
• White Vinegar – Almost the most natural substance you can find, white vinegar is both cheap and highly effective. The active ingredient is acetic acid. Acids neutralize alkaline substances such as hard water scale and dissolve gummy build up, eat away tarnish and remove dirt from wood surfaces. Vinegar is also a fantastic glass and window cleaner.
My mother cleaned our windows inside and out twice a year using vinegar diluted with water in a spray bottle, now I do too. It is much, much cheaper than Windex and works even better. Vinegar can also be used to get your dishes sparking clean, simply add it to the rinse compartment of your dishwasher or add vinegar to the rinse cycle of your washing machine where it will act as a fabric softener. Spray straight vinegar on a cutting board and leave for at least one half hour then rinse to deodorize the cutting board. You can clean wood floors with vinegar too, just combine even parts white vinegar and vegetable oil and clean as usual. Vinegar will also remove mildew in the shower, dilute 2 Tbsp vinegar in 1 qt warm water, apply with a soft cloth and dry.
We heard that vinegar will also kill poison ivy, but didn’t believe it. We were proven wrong last year. Not only does it work, it works great!
For more ideas about green cleaning and green cleaning products, visit:
Healthy Home -How to Make an Healthy, Environmentally Safe Home
Bio Pac
Seventh Generation
Bi-O-Kleen
Ecover
Better Basics for the Home : Simple Solutions for Less Toxic Living (Amazon.com)Source: Activ8
