HOUSEHOLD: Five Basics for Nontoxic Cleaning (TIPS, HINTS, OILS)

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The Five Basics for Nontoxic Cleaning - More Cleaning Solutions

by Annie Berthold-Bond, Care2.com Producer, Green Living Channels

 

Learning to clean from scratch - making home-made recipes - can truly

work if you take time to understand a bit about the chemistry behind how

the materials work. Here are the five ingredients that I find to be the

safest, most effective, and useful for cleaning.

 

Baking Soda

A commonly available mineral full of many cleaning attributes, baking

soda is made from soda ash, and is slightly alkaline (it’s pH is around

8.1; 7 is neutral). It neutralizes acid-based odors in water, and

adsorbs odors from the air. Sprinkled on a damp sponge or cloth, baking

soda can be used as a gentle nonabrasive cleanser for kitchen counter

tops, sinks, bathtubs, ovens, and fiberglass. It will eliminate

perspiration odors and even neutralize the smell of many chemicals if

you add up to a cup per load to the laundry. It is a useful air

freshener, and a fine carpet deodorizer.

 

Washing Soda

A chemical neighbor of baking soda, washing soda (sodium carbonate) is

much more strongly alkaline, with a pH around 11. It releases no harmful

fumes and is far safer than a commercial solvent formula, but you should

wear gloves when using it because it is caustic. Washing soda cuts

grease, cleans petroleum oil, removes wax or lipstick, and neutralizes

odors in the same way that baking soda does. Don’t use it on fiberglass,

aluminum or waxed floors - unless you intend to remove the wax.

 

White Vinegar and Lemon Juice

White vinegar and lemon juice are acidic - they neutralize alkaline

substances such as scale from hard water. Acids dissolve gummy buildup,

eat away tarnish, and remove dirt from wood surfaces.

 

Liquid Soaps and Detergent

Liquid soaps and detergents are necessary for cutting grease, and they

are not the same thing. Soap is made from fats and lye. Detergents are

synthetic materials discovered and synthesized early in this century.

Unlike soap, detergents are designed specifically so that they don’t

react with hard water minerals and cause soap scum. If you have hard

water buy a biodegradable detergent without perfumes; if you have soft

water you can use liquid soap (both are available in health food stores).

 

Mold Killers and Disinfectants

For a substance to be registered by the EPA as a disinfectant it must go

through extensive and expensive tests. EPA recommends simple soap to use

as a disinfectant. There are many essential oils, such as lavender,

clove, and tea tree oil (an excellent natural fungicide), that are very

antiseptic, as is grapefruit seed extract, even though they aren’t

registered as such. Use one teaspoon of essential oil to 2 cups of water

in a spray bottle (make sure to avoid eyes). A grapefruit seed extract

spray can be made by adding 20 drops of extract to a quart of water.

 

Caution: Make sure to keep all home-made formulas well-labeled, and out

of the reach of children.

 

 

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