Clean your house with environment friendly products made from kitchen ingredients!

Natural concoctions for household cleaning

Are you sick and tired of harsh chemical cleaners that leave a funny smell and peeling hands?

If you're looking for a gentler way to clean your house, then check out these amazing, all-natural household cleaners made by ingredients you can find in your pantry!

Use a grapefruit tub scrub

Instead of using a harsh, caustic cleaner to make your bathtub sparkle and smell good, try this grapefruit tub scrub!

Cut a grapefruit in half, sprinkle each half with salt, and squeeze the juice onto your bathtub as you clean it. Then rinse the bathtub and enjoy the great smell it leaves behind!

Make your own deodorizing discs

Here’s an effective and all-natural alternative to getting rid of foul smells: homemade deodorizing discs!

Things that you'll need:
2 cups baking soda 1-2 cups distilled water (or use water that has been boiled for 10 minutes) Lavender or citrus essential oil Silicone mold or muffin pan
What you need to do:
Add 3 to 4 drops of essential oil to approximately 1/2 cup water. Pour the water/oil mixture into the baking soda and mix well. Continue to add water until you have a thick paste. Divide the mixture into your molds or muffin tin cups. Let the discs dry for 24 to 48 hours, until completely hardened. Place at the bottom of your garbage bin, diaper bin or wherever else needs deodorizing — it should last for about a month.

Image Source: onegoodthingbyjillee.com

Get drains unblocked and burnt pans clean — with vinegar and baking soda

Scrub burnt pans clean with 2 ingredients: white vinegar and baking soda!
Fill the bottom of the pan with water Add a cup of vinegar and boil it Remove the pan from the heat and add baking soda Empty and scour as you would normally do

Another great use for vinegar and baking soda is to unclog drains.
Pour ½ cup soda, then ½ cup vinegar down a clogged drain Cover the top of the drain with a wet cloth Wait 5 minutes Uncover it then flush with steaming-hot water

Try this DIY carpet freshener

Here’s a very simple way of refreshing your carpet or rug without chemicals.

You will need: 1 cup baking soda 10-20 drops essential oils of choice (lemon, sweet orange and eucalyptus might be nice options for your home)
What you need to do:
Place all ingredients into a glass jar and shake. Next, scoop the powder into an empty spice shaker or similar container. You can also drill holes into the lid of a jar for the powder to shake out easily). Shake the powder over the carpet. Wait 15 minutes, then vacuum the powder up. Your carpet will smell amazingly fresh right away!

Clean your dishwasher the natural way

Fill a dishwasher-safe bowl with 2 cups of vinegar and set it on the top rack of the dishwasher. Run through on a hot cycle with no other dishes in the dishwasher — this will clean your dishwasher and take away any odour inside it.

Tip taken from: wellnessmama.com

Get great-smelling laundry without softener

Put some lavender water into a spray bottle and give your laundry a quick spritz before throwing it into the washer. Just enough scent will remain after drying to keep it smelling fresh for a long time. If you don’t like the smell of lavender, try your favourite essential oil.

Get rid of mold naturally

To get rid of nasty and unwanted mold, all you need to do is combine 1/2 cup hydrogen peroxide or white vinegar with 1 cup water. Spray on mold and do not rinse.

You could also get rid of mold by spraying it with a solution of 2 teaspoons of tea tree oil and 2 cups of water.

Homemade air freshener without the chemicals

Make your own air freshener spray with just 3 ingredients!

You will need:
1 oz gin, vodka or rubbing alcohol 6 oz filtered water 20- 40 drops of essential oil (peppermint, jasmine, citrus oils)
Simply mix in a spray bottle and spray around for instant freshness. You can even use it on your son’s or husband’s smelly shoes! This mix will keep well for at least a month.

Tip taken from: apartmenttherapy.com

Polish your furniture with olive oil

No more nasty spray on polishes that leave you sneezing because their fumes are so strong, or cause outbreaks of allergies in your family. Just polish your furniture with a few drops of olive oil and a soft cloth. That’s it. So simple!

Clean your showerhead

Want to clean off all that residue off of your showerhead? All you have to do is fill a plastic bag with white vinegar and then tie the bag around the shower head so that the shower head is immersed in the vinegar.

Leave it on for up to 12 hours then remove it carefully. Pour the vinegar down the drain and your shower head should be clean and free of hard water residue.

Make your own multi-purpose cleaner

Make your own multi-purpose cleaner using 2 cheap and simple ingredients.

What you need to do:
Fill a jar with citrus peels (organic if possible) and pour undiluted white vinegar over them. Leave for a few days (up to 2 weeks) and strain out the vinegar to use as a natural cleaner. This works as a window cleaner (dilute with water), for mopping floors, or even for disinfecting surfaces.
Tip taken from: wellnessmama.com

Clean your chopping board the natural way

Clean off your chopping board with a lemon and crystal salt!

What you need to do: Start by cutting the lemon in half. You can use one half per side (if you use both sides of your cutting board and are planning on cleaning both sides). Rub down the cutting board with one half of the lemon (pulp down) and set aside. Next, cover the cutting board with salt and let it sit for 10-15 minutes. Finally, use the previous lemon half and rub the salt into the cutting board. If it starts getting dry, squeeze some juice out of the lemon as you scrub. Rinse with only water (no soap) and dry. Repeat on the other side of the chopping board.

Clean your keyboard with sticky tape

Slide a 2½-inch strip of tape between the rows of your keyboard. The adhesive side will remove all dust and crumbs!

Salt as an iron cleaner

You know that yucky, sticky residue that builds up on the flat side of your iron? Here’s a really simple and all-natural way of getting rid of it: all you need to do is run the hot iron (no steam) over plain paper sprinkled with salt. That’s all. Really!

If you have any insights, questions or comments regarding the topic, please share them in our Comment box below. Like us on Facebook and follow us on Google+ to stay up-to-date on the latest from theAsianparent.com Philippines!

Written by

Nalika Unantenne

DIYEnglish