Make Your Own Household Cleaners

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Dina Goda

SustainLane

Sunday, November 11, 2007

Vinegar? Check. Baking soda? Check. Lime, cornstarch, salt? Check, check, and check.

You don’t need Windex, Lysol, or Drano when everyday items can substitute for conventional cleaners, which often contain toxins that damage your health, as well as the environment. For example, sodium hydrochlorite (commonly known as bleach) is found in Drano, yet the chemical is an unclassifiable carcinogen, at least according to the World Health Organization. So if you use Drano and then flush it down the pipes, its toxins eventually end up in our waterways, the very ones that feed our faucets.

To avoid repeating the cycle, turn to your cupboards or refrigerator. By using their contents, you can create your own household cleaners and know exactly what’s in the spray bottle you’re spritzing to remove carpet stains. Plus, making your own cleaners means you buy fewer packaged products that end up crowding our already bulging landfills.

Here are just a few cleaners to try making on your own:

Household Cleaner	Instructions
All-Purpose Cleaner	1/2 cup vinegar 1/4 cup baking soda 1/2 gallon water Mix ingredients above to store and keep.
Toilet Bowl Cleaner	1/4 cup baking soda 1 cup vinegar Mix ingredients above. Pour into basin and allow to set for three minutes. Scrub with brush and rinse.
Rust Remover	1 lime Salt Sprinkle a little salt on the rust. Squeeze a lime over the salt until it is well soaked. Let the mixture set for two to three hours. Use the leftover rind to scrub the residue.
Glass Cleaner	1/4 cup white vinegar 1 tablespoon cornstarch 1 quart warm water Mix ingredients above. Pour into a spray bottle or apply with a sponge. For lint-free results, wipe dry with crumpled newspaper instead of paper towels. Buff to a shine.
Furniture Polish	1 lemon 1 teaspoon olive oil 1 teaspoon water Extract the juice from the lemon. Mix with oil and water. Apply a thin coat to the wood surface and let set for five minutes. Use a soft cloth to buff to a deep shine.

Learn More

Grandmothers and kindly neighbors may have good ideas about homemade cleaners, but so do city and regional governments. The City of Boulder, Colorado and Metro, a regional governmental body in Oregon, are excellent sources of information on this topic.

Naturally, the naturopathic doctors at Naturodoc.com don’t endorse toxic cleaners and post an article about what else might work.

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