I'm not at all a "green" person by any means. However, in recent months, I've come to realize that many of the harsh cleaning chemicals that I've used for so many years aren't all necessary. Ok, nothing beats bleaching a dirty mess, but there are healthier alternatives for everyday messes. Unlike "green" cleaners, these three actually disinfect, which is a priority to me. I'm not a "germaphobe", but I definitely am very aware of common bacteria and viruses.
Vinegar! Peroxide! Baking soda!
These are my new best friends! I always have these items in my home in large quantities (always purchased at Costco for next to nothing). For example, two 32oz bottles of peroxide cost me less than $5 compared to a 26oz spray bottle of commercial cleaner for almost $6.
Vinegar, peroxide and baking soda, used each on their own, or in various combinations together work as effectively at cleaning many messes and they are much safer to the environment and our bodies. There is a ton of info on the web on how to clean with these three, so start looking and be enlightened!
Vinegar and baking soda:
I always add a cup of each to my laundry to boost the cleaning power and aid with odor removal.
I also use these two for cleaning my kitchen sink. After I rinse the sink clean, I spray it with vinegar, then sprinkle it with baking soda. After is sits about a minute, I scrub with the abrasive side of the sponge. It gets all the grease, grime and funk out and leaves my stainless steel sink looking pretty good (for a 50 year old sink). It is also good for cleaning and deodorizing the drain. Put about 2 tbsps in the drain and pour about half a cup of vinegar inside. You will probably see it foam up. This is good! Let it sit for a few minutes then just run the water to wash it down.
This combination can also be used for cleaning tile grout.
Peroxide:
I often use this in place of bleach wipes. I especially love it to clean and disinfect my son's high chair tray since it doesn't leave a harmful residue of chemicals for him to eat off of. I also use it to clean and disinfect my kitchen countertops after handling raw meats.
You can also use it to disinfect fruits and veggies and help them to last longer. Vinegar will work for this purpose too. I'll either spray peroxide directly on the fruits and veggies or soak them in water with vinegar mixed in. Just be sure to rinse them all before eating.
I also love to use peroxide and vinegar combined in my bathroom around the toilet. I have all boys, so as you can imagine, it can get messy and quite smelly around the toilet. After scrubbing daily with commercial chemicals, I could NOT get rid of the odor so I did some research. If you spray peroxide, then vinegar and let them sit for a few minutes, they will neutralize the odor. No more urine stink in my bathroom!!
I still use commercial cleaning products, especially bleach wipes for some jobs, but its nice to know that there are healthy alternatives available that actually work.
Here are some links I found useful:
51-fantastic-uses-for-baking-soda
using Peroxide
cleaning with peroxide
25-ways-to-clean-with-vinegar
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