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Alternative Cleaners
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ANY OF THE CLEANERS WE USE EVERY DAY CONTAIN INGREDIENTS THAT
ARE HARMFUL TO HUMAN HEALTH AND DAMAGING TO THE ENVIRON-
ment. In fact, cleaning products are among the most toxic substances
that can be found in the average home. Household by household, this adds up to
a major problem. It’s estimated that Canadians pour 3 million pounds of household cleaners down the drain every day — more than a billion pounds a year.
This fact sheet gives recipes and instructions for alternative household cleaners.
These homemade cleaners are simple, and
often at least as effective as commercial
brands. They cost very little because you
don’t have to pay for advertising or unnecessary packaging — and you don’t need a
different product for every task.
The recipes we list here have all been used
successfully by staff of Peterborough GreenUp (as well as many others). Remember, as
with any cleaner, you’ll get the best results if
you clean as you go: the faster you attend to
a spill or stain the easier the job will be.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Baking soda
Borax
Corn starch
Hydrogen peroxide
Lemon juice
Liquid soap
Newspaper
Peterborough
Green-Up
(705) 745-3238
www.greenup.on.ca
R E E N
Olive oil
Salt
Soda water
Steel wool
Vegetable oil
Washing soda
White vinegar
To save time and reduce packaging, buy
your ingredients in bulk and keep a supply of
basic cleaners on hand. Label them, and keep
them out of reach of children. Although
these cleaners are natural, some can still be
harmful if swallowed. Some are also skin irritants, so wear gloves when you clean.
Three All Purpose Cleaners
A. Apply a 1:1 solution of VINEGAR and
WATER. (No rinsing necessary.)
B. Dissolve 3T (45 ML) WASHING SODA in 4
CUPS (1L) WARM WATER. Apply and rinse.
C. Add 1T (5 ML) BORAX and 2T (30 ML)
VINEGAR to 2 CUPS (500 M L) VERY HOT
WATER. Apply and rinse.
Glass Cleaner
Mix 1 part VINEGAR to 5 parts WATER. Spray
onto glass. Wipe off with NEWSPAPER.
t = teaspoon
T = tablespoon
mL = millilitre
L = litre
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Disinfectant
Deodorizers
Fabric Softener
Mix 1/2 CUP (125 ML) BORAX in 1
GALLON (4L) WARM WATER.
Sprinkling some BAKING SODA or
B O R A X in the bottom of your
garbage can will get rid of most
odours.
For other common household
odours use NATURAL SCENTS from
fresh cedar, pine needles, lilacs,
lavender, lemon balm, mint, thyme
or other strongly scented plants.
Simmering these materials in
WATER spreads the scent faster.
For paint odours, put VINEGAR in
a small bowl and let it stand
overnight.
To soften natural fibres, add 1 CUP
VINEGAR to your final rinse cycle.
Mold/Mildew Remover
Apply some B A K I N G S O DA and
VINEGAR to an old moist toothbrush
and scrub the stained area.
Spills and Stains
Towel soak with
SODA WATER.
BAKING SODA
and
Kettle Descaler
Mix 1 part VINEGAR to 2 parts
WATER. Boil in kettle and rinse well.
Silver Polish
For silverware, put a piece of
ALUMINUM FOIL in a pot and cover it
with two or three inches of WATER.
Add 1T (15ML) SALT and 1T BAKING
SODA. Boil, and add the silverware,
making sure it is covered. Boil 2 or
3 minutes, remove, rinse and dry.
For small jewelry, fill a small jar
half full of strips of ALUMINUM FOIL.
Add 1T (15ML) SALT and fill the jar
with COLD WATER . To use, drop
small items in the jar for a few
minutes. Remove, rinse and dry.
Laundry Detergent
Use plain
LIQUID SOAP
or 1
CUP
SOAP FLAKES.
Add 1/4 CUP WASHING
SODA or BORAX if desired.
When you wash in cold water
you may want to mix this powder
in a small amount of HOT WATER
before adding it to the machine.
Alternative Bleach
For general use, mix 1 part BORAX
or WASHING SODA or HYDROGEN
PEROXIDE to 8 parts WATER.
To whiten laundry, add 1/2 CUP
(125 ML) WHITE VINEGAR or WASHING SODA or BORAX to the wash
water before adding the clothes.
Furniture/Floor Polish
Mix 1 part
to 2 parts
OLIVE OR VEGETABLE OIL, or 1 part
VINEGAR to 3 parts OLIVE OR VEG ETABLE OIL. Rub in with a soft cloth.
LEMON JUICE
Oven Cleaners
A. Use a 1:1 mixture of BAKING
SODA and warm WATER, making
a paste. Apply to oven and let
stand for two hours, overnight
for tougher stains. Scrub off.
B. Mix 2T (30 M L) LIQUID SOAP
and 2T (30 M L) BORAX in a
spray bottle full of WA R M
WATER. Spray on oven and leave
for 20 minutes. Scrub off.
(Note: Sprinkle large oven spills
immediately with SALT. Brush off
and wipe the oven when cool.)
Microwave Cleaner
Mix 2T (30
or
LEMON JUICE and 1 CUP WATER in a
large, microwave-safe bowl. Boil
until steam condenses on the sides
of the oven (about 5 minutes).
Wipe with a clean cloth.
M L) BAKING SODA
Do you have other favourite non-toxic cleaning recipes? Please share them with us! Call our office at 745-3238.
Printed on 100% post-consumer recycled paper E Design: Ben Wolfe · Revised April 2000