Un-Scary Cleaning Solutions
What’s spookier than the ghosts, goblins, and witches visiting your house this Halloween? The “cleaning” products under your sink. Standard household cleaners contain toxic chems that can cause myriad problems in the human body and the environment.
All you need to completely clean and sanitize everything in your home are a few products, most of which are basic and ultra-inexpensive.
All you need to completely clean and sanitize everything in your home are a few products, most of which are basic and ultra-inexpensive.
What You’ll Need:
- Baking soda
- White vinegar
- Lemon juice
- Vegetable oil
- GSE (Grapefruit Seed Extract): This amazing natural disinfectant has over 180 personal and household uses and is
proven to be 10 times more effective than chlorine bleach.
- Soap Nuts: Laundry soap that grows on trees. Soap nuts are the dried fruit of the Chinese Soapberry tree. They contain
saponin, a natural cleanser used for thousands of years to clean clothes.
All-Purpose Cleaner: For regular strength, mix 1/2 teaspoon of GSE with 1/2 gallon of water; for super strength, use 1 teaspoon of GSE. Whitens and disinfects sinks, toilets, and tubs. Use on floors and carpets, too.
Furniture Polish: Mix 1 teaspoon of lemon juice in a pint of vegetable oil. Apply a small amount to a clean cotton cloth and wipe wooden parts of furniture.
Oven Cleaner: To loosen grime, sprinkle a cup or more of baking soda over the bottom of the oven and cover it with enough water to make a thick paste. Let it set overnight, then wipe it up the next day. Remove any remaining mess with GSE all-purpose cleaner.
Scrubbing Paste: Mix three-parts baking soda with one-part water.
Window Cleaner: Mix one-part white vinegar with four-parts warm water. Spray onto a window or mirror. Wipe clean with newspaper or off-brand paper towel (off-brands leave behind fewer filaments than the triple-plies).
Rug Deodorizer: Sprinkle carpets liberally with baking soda. Wait 15 minutes or more, then vacuum. To clean and disinfect carpets, steam clean them using a solution of 15-40 drops of GSE per gallon of hot water.
Drain Cleaner: Pour 1/2 - 1 cup of baking soda down the drain, then slowly pour an equal amount of vinegar in after it. Cover the drain and let it set for 15 minutes. (You may see some bubbling action, which just means it’s working.) Then flush with a gallon of boiling water. For tougher clogs, use a plumber’s snake. To prevent future clogs, use a drain screen to catch hair and food, and periodically pour boiling water down the drain.
Laundry Detergent: Use biodegradable, hypoallergenic Soap Nuts to thoroughly clean, brighten, and soften clothes. Works on all types of fabrics. To sanitize laundry, add 20+ drops of GSE for a small load; 40+ drops for a large load.
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