Greener Cleaners

The recipes below can be used to make cleaning products that work almost as well as the stuff you buy at the store, but are much safer for us and for the environment!

Gentle-but-Effective Scrub

  • ½ cup baking soda = sodium bicarbonate; an alkaline salt that cuts grease and neutralizes many stains and odors. Also serves as a mild abrasive.
  • Enough liquid soap or biodegradable detergent to make a paste = cleansing and wetting agents that cut grease and lift dirt.
  • 5 to 10 drops of essential oils for scent (optional)
  • Elbow grease (scrub, scrub and rub, rub!)

Place the baking soda in a bowl; slowly pour in the liquid soap, stirring all the while until the cleaner has a frosting-like consistency. If you choose to scent with essential oils, be sure to add them last and keep out of children’s reach. This scrub is effective on Formica countertops, sinks, bathtubs, and shower stalls.

Magic Window Wash

  • ¼ cup white distilled vinegar = acetic acid; a weak acid that serves as an effective disinfectant, dissolves scale, pulls dirt from wood, and neutralizes many stains and odors.
  • ½ teaspoon liquid soap or biodegradable detergent
  • 2 cups warm water + a few drops of essential oils for scent (optional)
  • Elbow grease (scrub, scrub and rub, rub!)

Combine the ingredients in a spray bottle and shake to blend. Spray on surface, then remove with squeegee, paper towel or newspaper. Makes 2¼ cups.

Baking Soda Oven Cleaner

  • 1 small- to medium-sized box of baking soda
  • Water
  • Elbow grease (scrub, scrub and rub, rub!)

Sprinkle the bottom of the oven with baking soda to cover. Spray with water until very damp, and keep moist by spraying every few hours. Let set overnight. In the morning, simply scoop out the baking soda – all the grime will be loosened – and rinse the oven well. Baking soda needs a lot of rinsing, but it is well worth the effort because it produces no toxic fumes. For really tough jobs, substitute washing soda for half the baking soda. Wear gloves because washing soda is slightly caustic.

Toilet Bowl Tidy-Up

  • ¼ cup white distilled vinegar
  • 2 cups water
  • Elbow grease (scrub, scrub, rub, rub!)

Combine the ingredients in a spray bottle, shake and spray along the inside rim of the toilet. Leave on for 15 minutes and then scrub with a toilet brush. Makes 2¼ cups.

Text modified from from Better Basics for the Home by Annie Berthold-Bond. Visit www.greenseal.org for recommendations on safe commercial cleaning products.