Ramblings-n-Writings

What products do you use to clean your home with? I’m interested in things like dusting, kitchen counters, bathroom etc. Have you tried “natural” cleaners – those that don’t have chemicals?

Besides eating semi-organically, I’ve started paying attention to what I use in my home. In recent years, my allergies have made a turn for the worse, compliments of my thyroid, and one thing that I noticed gave me a stuffy nose on a regular basis was a lot of my cleaners and air fresheners. I began doing some online reading and decided to not replace my usual cleaners once they ran out.

For centuries, women did not use store-bought cleaners or those that contained harsh chemicals. (By the way, have you ever read the warning label on some cleaners? Makes you wonder if you need a haz-mat suit while using it!) Yet, I imagine that homes for the last few centuries weren’t exactly filthy.

Here’s what I have started using last month and absolutely love…

For daily cleaning of my kitchen counters, I use 1 part vinegar and 3 parts water. Vinegar appears to dissolve within seconds just about anything that gets stuck on the counter. The vinegar solution is also great in the bathroom for dissolving soap scum or cleaning the faucets. Plus it can be used on certain kinds of floors.

Every couple of days I also use a bleach and water solution on the kitchen counters. I’m not sure of the ratio, but it’s probably close to the same as vinegar. This might be a little strong on the bleach for some. This solution is my main cleaner in the bathroom.

My oven was looking quite disastrous as well as smelling like burnt food, so I decided to tackle that since the oven isn’t self-cleaning. A little water and baking soda worked wonders! In fact, I think it’s the cleanest I’ve seen the oven in 3 years. Baking soda makes a great scrubber for other things and can be mixed with vinegar for extra power.

For those concerned about the odors, the vinegar smell dissipates as soon as it dries. Bleach lasts a little longer, but to me it smells clean and fresh.

The only product I allowed myself to buy was something to clean our bathtub with. We have a horrible problem with water deposits and none of the above worked.

Some extra benefits I found with these natural cleaners is that the bleach solution is excellent for killing various cat viruses and the vinegar solution seems to deter our younger cats from getting on the counters. While we can’t smell the vinegar after it dries, I have to wonder if they can. Our little cats are still in training about counters, so this has been a wonderful help!

Does anyone have a suggestion for a natural dusting mixture? I’ve read about various ones, but am curious to know if anyone has had any success.

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