10 Natural Spring Cleaning Remedies!
Cleaning is not one of my favorite things to do, but when I do buckle down and have an hour or a day of thorough cleaning then I feel like life seems a bit more fresh and bright! Since spring is now upon us, I thought it would be good to share some of my own natural cleaning methods with you and a few others that I have gathered along the way from other innovative cleaners and one of my favorite magazines REAL Simple.
1. Essential Oils
Extracted from plants, some essential oils can kill bacteria and mold. They’re very strong, so don’t go overboard: One drop of peppermint oil is as potent as 30 cups of peppermint tea.
Price: $14 for 5 milliliters at health-food stores.
Use Them to Clean Your…
Combs and brushes: Fill a container with 1½ cups water, ½ cup distilled white vinegar, and 20 drops tea-tree, lavender, or eucalyptus oil. Soak combs and brushes for 20 minutes. Rinse and air-dry. Scuffed floors: Apply two to four drops of tea-tree oil to the spots. Wipe excess oil with a cloth and rub in distilled white vinegar. Gum-encrusted items: Orange oil is great at removing this sticky offender from various materials. (Don’t worry: It shouldn’t stain fabrics. But do launder immediately.) Apply with a cotton ball. Shower doors: Wipe scum-covered glass doors with a few drops of lemon oil twice a month. It will protect them from grime buildup. Toilets: Add 2 teaspoons tea-tree oil and 2 cups water to a spray bottle. Shake, then spritz along the toilet’s inside rim. Let sit for 30 minutes; scrub. You can also place a few drops of your favorite oil on the inside of the toilet-paper tube. “Every time the paper is used, the scent will be released,” says Siegel-Maier. Windows: Mix 2 ounces water and 10 drops lavender or lemongrass oil to wipe grime off windows. Bonus: These oils may repel flies.
2. Lemons
The acid in lemon juice removes dirt and rust stains. It’s especially effective when mixed with salt, which makes “an excellent scouring paste,” says Karyn Siegel-Maier, author of The Naturally Clean Home ($9, amazon.com).
Price: About 50 cents a lemon.
Use Them to Clean Your…
Countertops: Dip the cut side of a lemon half in baking soda to tackle countertops; wipe with a wet sponge and dry. Don’t use on delicate stone, like marble, or stainless steel (it may discolor). Cutting boards: To remove tough food stains from light wood and plastic cutting boards, slice a lemon in half, squeeze onto the soiled surface, rub, and let sit for 20 minutes before rinsing. Dishes: To increase the grease-cutting power of your dishwashing detergent, add a teaspoon of lemon juice. Faucets: Combat lime scale by rubbing lemon juice onto the taps and letting it sit overnight. Wipe with a damp cloth. Garbage Disposal: Cut a lemon in half, then run both pieces through the disposal. “The lemon cleans it and makes it smell great,” says Linda Mason Hunter, a coauthor of Green Clean ($13.50, amazon.com). Grout: Spilled morning coffee on your tile countertop or backsplash? Here’s how to tackle grout stains: Add lemon juice to 1 or 2 teaspoons cream of tartar (an acidic salt that acts as a natural bleaching agent) to make a paste. Apply with a toothbrush, then rinse. Hands: When you touch raw fish, the smell can linger on your fingers. Rub your hands with lemon juice, which will neutralize the odor. Laundry: To brighten whites, add 1/2 cup lemon juice to the rinse cycle for a normal-size load. Plastic food-storage containers: To bleach stains from tomato soup and other acidic foods on dishwasher-safe items, rub lemon juice on the spots, let dry in a sunny place, then wash as usual.
3. Cooking Oils
Vegetable- and plant-based oils, such as olive and sunflower, dislodge dirt, diminish scratches and imperfections, and hydrate wood that has aged or dried out from exposure to the sun.
Price: About $7 a pint at supermarkets.
Use Them to Clean Your…
Cast-iron pans: Make a scrubbing paste with vegetable oil and a teaspoon of coarse salt to combat cooked-on debris, then rinse with hot water. Hands: To get paint off your skin, rub with vegetable oil, then wash thoroughly with soap. Leather shoes: Wipe away dirt with a damp sponge, then apply a drop of vegetable oil to a soft cloth and rub the surface to remove scuff marks. Buff the shoes with a chamois to a shine. Rattan and wicker furniture: To prevent rattan and wicker from drying or cracking, lightly brush them with vegetable or sunflower oil and gently rub in with a cloth. Warm the oil on the stove first to thin it and make it easier to apply. Stainless-steel surfaces: For extra sparkle, pour olive oil onto a cloth and buff. Wood furniture: Make your own polish by mixing 2 cups olive or vegetable oil with the juice of 1 lemon; work it in with a soft cloth. To smooth out scratches in light-colored wood, rub them with a solution of equal parts olive or vegetable oil and lemon juice.
4. Borax
When added to a laundry wash, borax makes detergents even more effective. It’s also “quite alkaline, so it kills mold and fungus and softens water,” says Robert Wolke, Ph.D., author of What Einstein Told His Cook: Kitchen Science Explained ($11, amazon.com).
Price: About $5 for 4 pounds at supermarkets and amazon.com.
Use It to Clean Your…
Baseboards, countertops, and walls: Dissolve ½ cup borax in 1 gallon hot water and pour the solution into a spray bottle (which you can store for later use). Spritz generously, wipe down with a damp cloth, and let air-dry. China (including hand painted): Soak china in a dishpan filled with warm water and ½ cup borax; rinse well. Dishwasher: If the machine is smelling like last night’s chicken cacciatore, sprinkle borax in the bottom, let it sit overnight, then wipe down with a damp sponge. No need to rinse; just run the next load. Pots and pans: Rub borax into cookware with a damp sponge; rinse well. Toilet: Pour borax in the bowl and let it sit overnight, says Annie Bond, author of Better Basics for the Home ($13, amazon.com). Swish the bowl a few times with a toilet brush and flush the next day. “Borax really gets rid of rust stains,” she says.
5. Vinegar
This acidic wonder can wipe out tarnish, soap scum, mineral deposits, and more. Among natural cleaners, it’s the clear champ. Distilled white vinegar creates an environment that inhibits the growth of mold, mildew, and some bacteria, such as E. coli and salmonella, says Jeffrey Hollender, author of Naturally Clean ($18, amazon.com).
Price: About $1.80 for a quart at supermarkets.
Use It to Clean Your…
Coffeemaker: Pour equal parts vinegar and water into the machine’s water chamber, then switch on the brew cycle. Halfway through, turn off the coffeemaker and let the solution sit for about an hour. Turn it on again to complete the cycle, then run several cycles with clean water. Dishwasher: To disinfect the interior of the machine, pour ½ cup vinegar into the reservoir and run an empty cycle, says Hunter. Or place a small bowl filled with vinegar on the bottom rack and run an empty cycle. Drains: Clean drains―and the pipes they’re attached to―by pouring vinegar down them. After 30 minutes, flush with cold water. Floors: Add ¼ cup vinegar to a bucket of warm water to clean almost any type of floor except marble (vinegar can scratch it) or wood (vinegar can strip it). Glassware: For spotless hand-washed glasses, add 1 cup vinegar to the rinse water. Moldy walls: Spray vinegar on the affected areas. After about 15 minutes, rinse and let dry thoroughly. Showerheads: To combat mineral deposits, pour vinegar into a plastic grocery bag and knot the handles over the neck of the showerhead, securing with rubber bands. Let soak overnight. Rinse with water in the morning. Steam iron: To get rid of mineral deposits, fill the iron with equal parts vinegar and water; press the steam button. Turn off, let cool, empty, and rinse. Windows: Mix ¼ cup vinegar, 2 cups water, and a squirt of liquid Castile soap in a spray bottle. Spritz windows and wipe with a sheet of newspaper.
6. Baking & Washing Soda
Baking soda (a.k.a. sodium bicarbonate) and its close cousin, washing soda (sodium carbonate), both absorb odors. But unlike baking soda, slightly stronger washing soda can’t be ingested; wear rubber gloves when handling it. Price: About $1.08 for a pound of baking soda; $7 for 4 pounds of washing soda; both available at supermarkets.
Use Them to Clean Your…
Can opener: Dip a toothbrush in a paste of 2 tablespoons baking soda and 1 teaspoon water and use it to dislodge gunk.
Garage floors (and other concrete surfaces): Pour washing soda generously on oil and grease spots and sprinkle with water until a paste forms. Let stand overnight. The next day, scrub with a damp brush, hose down, and wipe clean.
Garden tools: Dip a moist stiff-bristled brush in washing soda to scrub trimmers, clippers, and more. Rinse, then place in a sunny area to dry. (Don’t use washing soda on aluminum tools.)
Grills and barbecue utensils: To combat tough grease stains, dip a moist stiff- bristled brush in washing soda and scrub away.
Stove burner grates: In a dishpan, soak them in 1 gallon warm water and ½ cup washing soda for 30 minutes. Rinse and dry.
Stained teacups and coffee mugs: Fill with 1 part baking soda and 2 parts water and soak overnight; rub with a sponge and rinse.
Upholstered furniture: To remove odors, sprinkle baking soda on the fabric, then vacuum.
Scuffed walls: Erase crayon marks by applying a baking- soda paste (equal parts baking soda and water) to white painted walls (baking soda may dull colored walls). Let dry before brushing it off with a clean cloth.
7. Toothpaste
The combination of a mild abrasive, a surfactant (detergent), and an antibacterial agent makes toothpaste a potent stain-fighter. “Stick with standard paste, not gel, and steer clear of formulas designed for tartar control and whitening,” says Siegel-Maier. “These often contain chemicals and additional abrasives that can damage items such as fine silver.”
Price: About $3.65 for a tube.
Use It to Clean Your…
Acrylic accessories (such as desktop organizers): Squeeze toothpaste onto a toothbrush and work it into scratches until they diminish. Wipe residue off with a cloth. Chrome fixtures: To polish faucets and taps in the kitchen or bathroom, smear a dime-size amount of toothpaste onto them, then buff with a soft cloth until they shine. Scuffed linoleum: Reduce marks by scrubbing them with toothpaste and a dry cloth until no toothpaste residue remains. Piano keys: Rub each key carefully with a damp cotton swab and a dollop of toothpaste. Wipe dry and buff with a clean cloth. Tarnished silverware: Put a dab of toothpaste on a soft cloth, rub it onto the tarnish, then rinse with water and dry with a clean cloth. Steam iron: Mineral deposits can stain an iron’s soleplate. Apply a dab of toothpaste and work it into the plate. Use a clean cloth to remove residue.
8. Salt
Salt’s granular texture makes it perfectly suited for scouring. Table salt, sea salt, and kosher salt can all be used, but table salt is the cheapest choice.
Price: About 69 cents a pound.
Use It to Clean Your…
Artificial flowers: Place the fake blooms inside a paper bag and pour in salt. Close the bag and shake vigorously. The salt will dislodge accumulated dust and dirt. Glassware: Salt won’t scratch the way a scouring pad can. To get out stubborn stains, add some salt for extra abrasion and scrub. Greasy pots and pans: Sprinkle salt on cookware to absorb excess grease. Dump out the salt before washing as usual. (Not recommended for nonstick cookware.) Spills in the oven: If that casserole bubbles over as you take it out of the oven, pour salt on the spill to soak it up. When the oven is cool, wipe with a damp sponge. Stained teacups and coffee mugs: Sprinkle salt on the outside of a lemon peel; rub the affected area till clean. Wooden counters and tables: Cover grease splatters with salt to absorb as much as possible. Wait an hour, then brush away the salt.
9. Hydrogen Peroxide
Hydrogen Peroxide is an essential for your home not only because it can help with a first aid kit, but it can also clean in ways other product cannot.
Price: About $1.00 per bottle.
Use It to Clean Your...
Tile Surfaces: Spray hydrogen peroxide directly onto tile surfaces to loosen dirt and clean.
Grout: Mix hydrogen peroxide with white flour to create a thick paste. Apply to grout and cover with plastic wrap overnight. The next day, simply rinse with water for whiter grout.
Tub Scum: Spray hydrogen peroxide on soap scum and stains in the tub, but make sure to let it sit for about 30 minutes before rinsing it off.
Mold & Mildew: Pour hydrogen peroxide into a spray bottle and spray on areas of mold or mildew to stop fungal growth or remove discoloration of the surfaces.
Toilet Bowl: Pour half a cup of hydrogen peroxide into toilet bowl and let is soak for 30 minutes before cleaning it with toilet bowl brush. It will leave it sparkling!
10. Apple Cider Vinegar
Apple Cider Vinegar is not only delicious on salads and with food, but it's also an amazing cure-all for safely and naturally cleaning your home. Here are just a few of the endless remedies that my cousin shared with me about Apple Cider Vinegar and that I also gleaned from OneGreenPlanet.org.
Price: About $5.00 at a local grocery store.
Use It to Clean Your...
Digital devices: Let’s start right here where you’re reading this. Be it your smart phone, tablet or computer, you can wipe them down with vinegar to de-germ them and get them shiny again.
Unstick scissors: Don’t use water, which can lead to rust. Wipe down sticky scissors with ACV instead.
Remove candle wax: Heat that pile of wax up with a hair dryer and soak up as much of it as you can with a rag. Then use a 1:1 mixture of vinegar and water to remove the rest.
Remove ink stains from walls and floors: Use full-strength vinegar on this one. Apply to cloth and wipe until gone.
Unclog drains: Here’s where baking soda and vinegar work together. Mix ½ cup baking soda with 1 cup vinegar and pour into your drain for a volcano effect. More effective and way less harsh than the chemical cleaners.
De-mildew your bathtub: Give heavy mildew full-strength attention and for lighter stains use a 1:1 mixture diluted with water. You might want to add essential oils to the mix too for a fresh scent. A few drops of lavender or eucalyptus.
De-mildew your shower curtain: Toss it into your washing machine with 1 cup vinegar for the rinse cycle and add ½ cup baking soda to the detergent load.
Clean the washing machine: After de-gunking your shower curtain, give your washing machine a good cleaning with 2 cups of vinegar poured into the machine (minus any clothes) and running a full cycle.
Remove yellow clothing stains: Ring around the collar can ruin a good shirt. Eliminate it with a 12:1 ratio of warm water to vinegar. Let soak overnight before washing.
De-wrinkle clothes without an iron: Fill a spray bottle containing a 3:1 ratio of water to vinegar and spritz the wrinkles. Let the clothes hang dry.
Clean your iron: But if you’re still a fan of ironing, keep it clean by filling the reservoir with vinegar, turning it onto steam and letting sit upright for ten minutes. Follow with water and let sit again on steam for 10 minutes.
Clean the toilet, tub and sink with full strength vinegar on porcelain surfaces: For hard water stains in sinks, fill with hot water and 2 cups of vinegar. Let soak 20 minutes to 2 hours depending on the stain.
Degrease your kitchen: stoves, countertops, etc with a 1:1 vinegar water solution.
Clean window blinds.
Remove water stains from furniture: Use full-strength vinegar to remove the stains.
Carpets: Wash carpets with vinegar to remove odors and liven tread. Worn down stinky rugs are pretty depressing. Revive rugs by spritzing with a vinegar water mix letting sit for an hour before vacuuming.
