FollowWith all the talk about going green these days I have recently jumped in and joined the crowd. Toxic chemicals are not good for your health and are even worse for a baby to be around. I try to keep my home as chemical free as possible. I have found vinegar and baking soda to be two of the best products on the market when it comes to cleaning and you can use them for a variety of different cleaning chores.
Vinegar has been around for a long time and has been used for lots of cleaning tasks, the more popular chore is cleaning glass. If you clean a window with vinegar and newspaper, it will be streak-free. It also works for mirrors and even in the dishwasher. Use it in place of a rinse agent and it will leave your glasses sparkling. I have also used vinegar to clean my carpets and mop my floors, but make sure you dilute it to half strength for floors and if you use it in a carpet cleaner, use about 1/8c vinegar to 1c water.
If you are training your pet to go out and oops your puppy has an accident on the carpet..vinegar will neutralize the urine smell. It also works for accidents that kids have too and not only potty accidents. If milk gets spilled into the carpet and is left, it will turn to a sour smell, the vinegar will help to get rid of that smell! Other uses for vinegar include using it in your kitchen as a grease remover, it works wonders on your stove top.
More information on the many uses of vinegar and its chemical properties can be found here.
Baking soda is another miracle cleaner/deodorizer. It works wonders in scrubbing the tub,sink and toilet and has deodorizing powers too. If you have a cat you can sprinkle it in the cat litter to eliminate the ammonia odor that comes from a cat box and its pet safe. Baking soda works on eliminating odors from carpets too. Sprinkle some baking soda on the carpet about 30 min before you vacuum. It will help to freshen up the carpet too.
I have covered baking soda and vinegar used separately but what about mixing it together? I’m sure we have all done the volcano experiment in school and know what will happen when these are mixed!…Put that science experiment in your drains and voila! A clean drain! It will unclog simple clogs of grease and food without causing any harmful effects to the pipes the way typical drain opener can. Just pour dry baking soda down your sink drain and follow with vinegar and will clear the grease out and make your drains odor free!.
I hope my tips have helped you to see how easy it is to clean with two of the most common items in your kitchen. They are also very reasonable in price, unlike other chemical household cleaners. There is no toxic fumes, so there is no worry about getting sick for using them.
More information about the chemical properties of baking soda and its many uses can be found here.
Green cleaning the frugal way will help to save you money, is safe around children and pets and is good for the environment as well.
