Best way for Green living is to use reduce the use of chemical based products that have become the part and parcel our lives and opt for “green” cleaners available in the market. These green cleaners are made up from simple non-toxic and biodegradable ingredients, which can keep your home fresh and clean. But the best cleaner in the world is water. Most germs are killed with hot soapy water.
Below are some of the major ingredients that clean our house without affecting the environment and safe for our health. You can make the cleaners at home using natural ingredients such as baking soda, vinegar, pure soaps, salt, and fresh lemon. This will cost almost nothing and thus will fit your budget. You can refer DIY section for the basic recipes.
- Baking Soda (Sodium bicarbonate) – is naturally occurring mineral with great cleaning properties. It is known fact that people with cancer can now heal by taking baking soda for few days. There are articles on the internet for more details. Apart from that it softens water, remove stains and acts as whitening agent.
- White Vinegar – is also a cleaning agent. It contains acetic acid that cuts through grease and stains. When it is combined with baking soda, it becomes complete household disinfectant.
- Fresh Lemon – contains citric acid that removes stains, disinfects, inhibits molds and deodorize. Thus it can be used for as daily cleaners. It can be mixed along with baking soda to clean sinks, tiles, utensils.
- Pure Soaps – are 100% pure soaps concentrate made up of 100% vegetable oils, lye and purified water. This combined with warm water can act as cleaning agent and with addition of baking soda can be used to clean almost anything.
- Soap nut – also known as Reetha, a tree found in India. The shells contain saponin, which works as a natural surfactant, thus it is natural cleaning agent. Soap nuts can be grounded to make washing powder. Soap nuts are highly-effective and are both ecological and economical when compared to other forms of detergents.
- Salt – is a disinfectant and natural abrasive. It can be used to clean difficult stained utensils. When it is mixed with Baking soda it can cut through grease.
- Washing Soda (Sodium Carbonate) – is strong base than baking soda. Thus it is used for tough stains like grease, and for hard floors and tough fabrics or clothes.
- Pure Essential oils – these are natural plant compounds that works great for adding it to your cleaning agents. Some of the oils have healing properties and are anti-fungal, anti-bacteria thus works great for cleaning products. These are generally safe unless and until people might be allergic to some of it. So please take care while choosing the right one for you.
