House cleaning can often be a pain, especially as most cleaning products available today are filled with harsh chemicals, expensive and not very effective. These products are certainly not eco-friendly!
So to help the environment, we gathered the internet’s best, easiest and most eco-friendly cleaning hacks you can do at home. Most of these ingredients can already be found around your house and will not require much spending.
Danger of cleaning products
The chemicals we use in our houses are often harsh and may be unknowingly causing damage to your health. Most of these cleaning products lack detailed information about toxicity and they aren’t all tested for ill effects and chronic health damage.
These chemical cleaning products are linked to cancer, according to several studies. In fact, there are a total of 150 substances found in everyday cleaning products that are linked to cancer. This lead to the study findings that women who work at home have a 55% higher risk of cancer compared to those who work outside the home. So, don’t take any risks with cleaning products!
To keep your family healthy, here’s an eco-friendly cleaning list that you might find helpful:
Eco-friendly cleaning hacks
#1 Vodka
Vodka isn’t only perfect for a party, it’s also a good cleaning agent. It’s a natural disinfectant and can be bought fairly cheap. Fill your spritzer with this drink and use it to clean your porcelain, chrome and glass surfaces and fixtures. Spray it and wipe away with a clean cloth and you’ll be left with a shiny and clean surface.
It can also be used as a laundry deodoriser since it can kill odour-causing bacteria that stays on clothes. So if you’re short on time and need a chemical substitute, spray a little vodka. And don’t worry about your house smelling like liquor, the smell dissipates after it dries.
#2 DIY All purpose cleaner
This one requires some time and a lot of mixing, but it’s worth it since you won’t be using harsh ingredients.
What you’ll need:
- 3 parts filtered water
- 1 part white vinegar
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 6 drops of essential oil
Mix them all together and you now have an all purpose cleaning agent. This cleaning agent can be used on any surface and the essential oil will leave a nice smell around your house. No need for an artificial air freshener anymore!
#3 Orange peel and vinegar cleaner
We aren’t done with all purpose cleaners yet! Do you love the smell of oranges but hate the antiseptic smell of artificially scented cleaners and fresheners? Then, this might just be one of the best DIY cleaners in town. Cheap, powerful and eco-friendly, this cleaner will only need vinegar, orange peels and a mason jar.
Collect your orange peels in a jar, pour in some vinegar and let it sit for two weeks. After two weeks, strain the peels and pour the liquid to a spritzer and use it on any surface.
Vinegar is known to cut grease and remove mildew on any surface.
#4 DIY wood polish
Wooden furniture tends to lose its lacklustre over time. However, this simple furniture polish can bring back some shine. What you will need is olive oil, lemon juice and water. Combine the ingredients in a mixture and it’s ready to use!
Put the liquid polish on a cloth and wipe it all over your wood pieces. It removes the dust and keeps it looking as good as new.
#5 Drain unblocker
Store-bought drain unblocker is far too harsh and pricey. Calling the plumber is even pricier. Instead, create a DIY drain unblocker. Here’s the process:
- Pour 1 cup of baking soda down the blocked drain.
- Follow it with 1 cup of boiling water.
- Pour in another cup of baking soda.
- Follow it with 1 cup of vinegar.
- Let the ~magic~ work.
The baking soda will cut through the grease and gunk down your drain since it’s an alkaline chemical and when the vinegar (which is an acid) follows, it makes the baking soda foam and provide a great push to clean up the blockage.
#6 DIY grout cleaner
Grout stains can be annoying when they start to accumulate in between floor tiles. Usually, a strong bleach solution diluted in water will do the job. However, this isn’t eco- or health-friendly. As an alternative, you can make a grout cleaner out of simple pantry ingredients like vinegar, baking soda, lemon juice and water.
In a bucket, mix the ingredients mentioned above. Apply them to grout stains and leave it to take action for a few minutes or more depending on the intensity of the stains. After leaving it be, use a scrubbing brush to finally remove the stains easily.
#7 DIY fabric conditioner
Laundry can develop an odour from staying unwashed for too long. Sometimes, detergents may be too harsh on clothes, causing them to stay stiff and they become too scratchy to wear. To remedy this, you’d usually use fabric softener or conditioner. These products can be very costly. Thankfully, an easy DIY solution exists!
You’ll need a few litres of white vinegar and 35 drops of an essential oil of your choice. Simply combine both ingredients in one bottle and shake well. When washing small to average loads, you can add half a cup of this conditioner to your rinse cycle. After that, say goodbye to smelly and scratchy clothes.
#8 Carpet stain remover
Carpets are harder to clean than any other part of the house. You can’t wash them daily and you can’t do it by yourself if it’s a large area. You may opt to just vacuum it and remove stains with targeted stain removal products.
You’ll only need 4 basic ingredients for this carpet stain remover:
- 2 cups of warm water
- 1 tbsp of vinegar
- 1 tbsp of baking soda
- 1 tbsp of dish soap
To remove the stain, sprinkle just the right amount of baking soda all over the stain. Wait for 10 minutes while you are mixing together all the remaining ingredients. After that time is up, sponge the mixture into the carpet and blot until the stain is removed.
#9 Air freshener
You’ll only need to collect three ingredients for this air freshener: water, lemon peel and cinnamon powder. Bring a cup of water to simmer and put in the peel and the cinnamon. This will let the aroma spread around your house, eliminating all other odours.
Lemon is one ingredient we always encounter in cleaning products. It makes us think of “fresh” and “clean”, while cinnamon is one ingredient that smells so good! For stubborn smells in the bathroom, add baking soda to the mix as it helps neutralise odours.
#10 Laundry detergents
Again, harsh products may be too abrasive for the skin as well as your clothes. Laundry detergents that are skin-friendly are very hard to find and they are most certainly more expensive.
You can make your own laundry detergent that works the same. The ingredients include:
- 3 coconut-oil based soap bars shaved.
- 6 cups soda crystals.
- Essential oils.
Mix the first two ingredients and add them to a laundry load. You can add a couple of drops of essential oil with each load.
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Cleaning need not be expensive or harsh on the environment and your health. These cleaning hacks are easy and won’t require too much of your time and most of them may even halve the time you spend cleaning, giving you the chance to spend more time doing the things you want to.
Let us know about other cleaning hacks in the comments section.