Spring is finally here! One of the first things that comes to mind when we think about spring is clean. Spring-cleaning has become a seasonal ritual but keeping a clean house should not be hazardous to your health. Most commercially manufactured cleaning products contain dangerous ingredients that may put your health at risk. The government does not require testing or health studies for chemicals found in chemical cleaners. There are more than 80,000 chemicals used in consumer products and in manufacturing in the United States. Many of these chemicals have not been tested for their effects on human health and the environment. Ingredients in many household products are considered trade secrets and are not revealed in labeling. To find out what ingredients are in commonly used household products and the health risks associated with them you can go to the following website: The Household Products Database of the National Library of Medicine-United States Department of Health & Human Services http://householdproducts.nlm.nih.gov.
Experiencing nausea, dizziness and headache from you’re your cleaning products just isn’t right. Along with the long-term health concerns regarding the use of commercial household products, we also need to be aware of the environmental impact of the manufacturing and disposal process. Green cleaning practices is a great place to begin minimizing our environmental impact as well as creating a healthier home environment. Making your own natural cleaning products is easy and economical. It doesn’t need to complicated and you can get started with just a few simple ingredients.
Basic Ingredients for Natural Household Cleaners
Distilled White Vinegar
Baking Soda
Liquid Castile Soap
Lemon
Borax
Washing Soda
Club Soda
Salt
Cleaning Applications
Vinegar: Cuts grease, removes odor, soap scum, hard water deposits. Use as all-purpose cleaner.
Baking Soda: Cleans, deodorizes, softens water. Mild abrasive action good for scouring.
Soap: Attracts dirt so that it may be rinsed away. Use as all purpose cleaner.
Lemon: Acidic, effective against bacteria. Can be used in all cleaning applications.
Borax: (sodium borate) cleans, deodorizes, disinfects, softens water, removes stains. Good all-purpose cleaner as well as laundry and dish detergent.
Washing Soda:(sodium carbonate decahydrate) stonger than Borax used to clean, deodorize, disinfect, cuts grease, removes stains.
Wearing gloves is recommended. Stronger all purpose cleaning agent for tougher jobs.
Club Soda-Carbonated water: removes stains from fabrics, works well cleaning windows and stainless steel.
Salt: (sodium chloride)
Making natural cleaning products from scratch isn’t difficult. Having the above ingredients on hand will make cleaning a snap. Vinegar and water is a great all purpose cleaner. You can use your own unique blend of ingredients to create cleaning products for specific tasks. By adding a few drops of essential oils to your blend of cleaning agents will provide a fresh scent as well as adding additional cleaning power. Essential Oils recommended for cleaning include: lavender, citrus, thyme, grapefruit seed extract, eucalyptus and tea tree oil. The following website: RN Central ,has a compilation of 30 green cleaning recipes with handy tips to address all of your cleaning needs: http://www.rncentral.com/nursing-library/careplans/30-Easy-Recipes-for-Greener-Cleaning. Happy Cleaning!
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