Over the past few years there has been a push toward the creation and use of organic cleaners and household cleaners that are safe for our family, pets, and environment. It may be hard at first to make the shift from chemical cleaners to organic cleaners or homemade cleaners, but it will benefit you in the long run.

With chemical cleaners it does not matter how careful you are, they are still going to seep into the environment. Chemical toilet bowl cleaners are flushed directly into private septic tanks and city sewage lines. Sink cleaners and chemicals designed to unclog sink and shower drains still make their way into the septic and sewage lines too. Chemical cleaners are sprayed directly or indirectly into the air, inhaled by our families and our pets, and sprayed onto surfaces that we eat or drink off of. Chemicals are thrown into the trash, ending up in the dumpsters or the landfills, to leak into the earth and possibly contaminate water supplies.

Instead of making our families or pets sick from all the chemicals, why not try for to accomplish cleaning with every day household supplies. Cleaners that are made from using normal household items can save you money and help protect the surfaces that you are cleaning in your home. There are many organic cleaners out there that work just as good as the chemical cleaners. Those are not listed, the focus here is simple items you may have around the house.



Baking Soda: Baking soda can neutralize odors in carpers, work to remove grease stains from kitchen appliances, and can be used in place of laundry detergent. Baking soda is a great way to remove stains and great for unclogging drains. By letting a half a cup of salt and a full cup of baking soda sit in the drain overnight and in the morning washing the mixture down the drain using two cups of boiling water, your drains will be unclogged and there was no chemical needed.
Vinegar: Vinegar is a great surface cleaner. Vinegar can kill molds and mildew if allowed to soak on the surface for a few hours. Vinegar is great for washing windows and scrubbing ceramic floors. Even though vinegar puts off a very strong smell, it is not harmful.
Olive Oil: Olive Oil, when mixed with a small amount of Vinegar is a great replacement for furniture polish. Olive oil can also be used to polish your kitchen sink.
Lemon Juice: Lemon Juice can be used on those hard to clean bathroom surfaces infected with soap scum and water stains. When combined with baking soda and vinegar, lemon juice can make the perfect cleaner for brass and copper. If you want to make your sink drains smell a little better, just send a lemon peel through the garbage disposal.
Hydrogen Peroxide: Hydrogen Peroxide is great for cleaning out toilet bowls and showers. Adding a bit of Hydrogen Peroxide to the toilet bowl overnight can clean and disinfect. To clean soap scum and mildew from shower walls, all you have to do is simply spray a small amount on the surface.

Having a clean and safe home is a top priority for all of us. Having a clean and safe home without having to use chemicals is not impossible. According to the Environmental Protection Agency and the American Lung Association, chemicals in normal household cleaners can be dangerous. It made be hard to believe, but the very chemicals that were made to make life easier and cleaning a breeze, can actually be making our pets and loved ones sick. By choosing to clean without chemicals you are taking your family out of harms way and making a huge step toward improving the environment.

Eva is a cleaning professional and hardwood floor expert of 20 years. She has been on the forefront of the chemical free, green cleaning movement for 10 years, educating people one by one. For more information about Floor Cleaners, visit: http://www. cleanfloorstore. com

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