Green Ways To Clean

It’s important to look at the labels of household cleaners. Cleaners can contain hazardous ingredients such as organic solvents and petroleum-based chemicals that can release volatile organic compounds (VOCs) into your indoor environment, positing a particular danger for children. The average American household has three to ten hazardous products in the home. Look for nontoxic, vegetable-based, biodegradable cleaners or better yet, make your own green cleaners using any of the recipes below!

To get the most juice from a lemon, it should be allowed to reach room temperature, or microwaved for a few seconds prior to juicing. Using your palm to roll the lemon on a hard surface can also help improve juice yields. If you only need a little juice, some people pierce the end with a fork, squeeze the amount needed, cover the holes with tape and then store in the fridge.

Dishes-A teaspoon of lemon juice added to your dish washing detergent can help boost grease cutting power.

Drains-Hot lemon juice and baking soda is a good drain cleaner that is safe to use in septic systems.

Garbage Disposal-If you have a garbage disposal unit, throw in some lemon peel from time to time while it's working in order to keep it smelling fresh.

Air freshener: An equal amount of lemon juice and water added to an atomizer will create a wonderful synthetic chemical-free green air freshener for your home.

All purpose cleaner: Again, an equal amount of lemon juice and water added to a spray bottle is an effective kitchen and bathroom cleaner and can also be used on walls (spot test first).

A small amount of lemon juice can also be added to vinegar based cleaning solutions to help neutralize the smell of the vinegar.

For bleaching purposes, add 1/2 cup of lemon juice to your washing machine's rinse cycle and hang clothes outside to dry.

A teaspoon of lemon juice thrown into your wash can also help your clothes to smell fresher.

Pest fighter: A teaspoon of white distilled vinegar for each quart bowl of drinking water helps keep your pet free of fleas and ticks. The ratio of one teaspoon to one quart is for a forty-pound animal.

Pet accident: Test the color fastness of the carpet with white distilled vinegar in an inconspicuous place. Then sprinkle distilled vinegar over the fresh pet accident. Wait a few minutes and sponge from the center outward. Blot up with a dry cloth. This procedure may need to be repeated for stubborn stains.

Freshen your lunch box: It is easy to take out the heavy stale smell often found in lunch boxes. Dampen a piece of fresh bread with white distilled vinegar and leave it in the lunch box overnight.

Get Rid of Odor on a Smelly Dog: Wet the dog down with fresh water.  Use a mixture of 1 cup white distilled vinegar and 2 gallons water.  Saturate the dog’s coat with this solution.  Dry the dog off without rinsing the solution.  The smell will be gone!

A drop of rosemary oil conditions your pet's coat.  Add a drop of tea tree because the fleas don’t like it but never use eucalyptus as it cause dermatitis!

Toilet-Mix 1/2 cup borax and a cup of lemon juice for a powerful toilet cleaner that will leave it smelling extra clean!

Unclog steam iron:  Pour equal amounts of white distilled vinegar and water into the iron's water chamber. Turn to steam and leave the iron on for 5 minutes in an upright position. Then unplug and allow to cool. Any loose particles should come out when you empty the water.

Clean a scorched iron plate: Heat equal parts white distilled vinegar and salt in a small pan. Rub solution on the cooled iron surface to remove dark or burned stains.

When doing laundry, most can be washed in cold water, which saves on energy.

Remove fruit or berry stains from your hands by cleaning them with vinegar.

Get rid of cooking smells:  Let simmer a small pot of vinegar and water solution.

Make your coffee taste better. Putting a pot of white vinegar through as if making coffee will decrust your coffeemaker  innards of hard water and coffee residue. Put a pot of water through afterward to rinse the innards out. Soak the coffeepot parts in a basin with 1/2 cup white vinegar to every gallon of water. Rinse thoroughly. I do this once a month.

Rub lemon juice into your wooden chopping board, leave overnight and then rinse. Wood chopping boards appear to have anti-bacterial properties anyway, but the lemon will help kill off any remaining nasties and neutralize odors.

Glass and mirrors-4 tablespoons of lemon juice mixed with half a gallon of water makes an effective window cleaner.

Make your own furniture polish from one part white vinegar and three parts lemon or orange oil.

When you go to wash, are your whites dingy? Soak them in a solution of 1/2 cup of white vinegar to each gallon of water for a couple hours. Rinse. Hang in the sun to dry.

Putting white vinegar in the iron and allowing it to steam out will clean out the hard water residue, but be sure to rinse out thoroughly, and steam out with plain water afterward.

White vinegar removes grease spots from suede. Use an old toothbrush to gently brush it in.

White vinegar is inexpensive, color/dye free, and readily available at any supermarket. It neutralizes odors instead of covering them up, and, once dried, does not leave any odor of its own.

Use one cup  vinegar in a bucket of water for floor cleaning. Safe for all floors, including varnished wood.

Pour a bucket of water in the toilet to get rid of the standing water. Spray straight white vinegar into the toilet. Scrub with a toilet brush. Flush.

For tough soap scum use undiluted white vinegar. Spray generously and scrub. Will not stain or harm grout.

A cup of white vinegar added to the rinse cycle is a great alternative to fabric softener when washing clothes, especially for those allergic to all the perfumes and dyes in commercial fabric softeners. White vinegar dissolves the soap residue and leaves clothes smelling nice and fresh with no perfumes.

Use vinegar as a rinse agent for the dishwasher.

100% white vinegar will eventually dissolve hard water deposits if given time to do so. Overnight is good. A baggie filled with white vinegar and attached to the shower head with a rubber band is a great way to get the lime crusties off the shower head.

Ticks/fleas-Add 1/2 cup fresh or dried rosemary to 1 quart of boiling water.  Boil for 20 minutes, strain and allow solution to cool.  Wash and dry pet thoroughly, then apply rosemary solution with a spray bottle or sponge.  Allow pet to air dry.

Mosquitoes-Avoid dusk and dawn when mosquitoes are most active.  Try rubbing dryer fabric softener sheets on your skin.  Empty containers of standing water.  Put a few drops of olive or corn oil on the surface of small water containers.

Ants:  Mix 1/8 teaspoon Boric Acid powder with 1/2 teaspoon honey for sugar ants (use fish oil or grease for grease ants) and in a soda bottle cap or similar container.  Place on path where ants are seen and away from children and pets.  Discard after ants have fed.

Oil Spray for Insect Control:  Mix 1 tablespoon of mild dish washing liquid or baby shampoo with 1 tablespoon of cooking oil in a quart of water. Spray every 5-7 days as needed.  Water plants the day before you spray.  Do not use on plants with hairy leaves, those with very thin waxy coverings on the leaves, or orchids.  For fungus control add 2 tablespoons of baking soda to the above mixture.  Spray both sides of the leaves thoroughly at the first sign of disease.

Insect Repellent for Vegetables:  Mix 1 tablespoon of liquid hand soap with 1/4 teaspoon of powdered cayenne pepper, onion powder and garlic powder in a spray bottle and fill with water. Spray on infected plants.

Oil spray for insect control-Mix 1 tablespoon of mild dish washing liquid or baby shampoo with 1 tablespoon of cooking oil in a quart of water. Spray every 5-7 days as needed. Water plants the day before you spray. Do not use on plants with hairy leaves, those with very thin waxy coverings on the leaves, or orchids. For fungus control add 2 tablespoons of baking soda to the above mixture. Spray both sides of the leaves thoroughly at the first sign of disease.

Cleaning: Mix 1/2 cup of apple cider vinegar with 1 cup water. You can use this concoction to clean microwaves, bathroom tiles, kitchen surfaces, windows, glasses and mirrors. This mixture also works as a disinfectant.

Flea Reduction: Rub apple cider vinegar onto your pet’s skin. Add a little bit of apple cider vinegar to their water. Spray apple cider vinegar, diluted 50 percent with water, onto your pets and onto your furniture to repel the presence of fleas.

Lice and bed bugs are repelled by apple cider vinegar and when combined with essential oils of tea tree, rosemary, lavender, and peppermint are made into a spay for the hair and bedding.

Paintbrush softener: Soak the paintbrush in hot white distilled vinegar, and then wash out with warm, sudsy water.

Cleaner for Gold Jewelry: Use one cup apple cider vinegar.  Submerge solid gold jewelry item in vinegar for 15 minutes.  Remove and dry with cloth. 

Wine stains: Spots caused by wine can be removed from 100 percent cotton, cotton polyester and permanent press fabrics if done so within 24 hours. To do it, sponge white distilled vinegar directly onto the stain and rub away the spots. Then clean according to the directions on the manufacturer's care tag.

Worn DVDs:  If you have a worn DVD that has begun to stick or suffers from the occasional freeze-frame, wipe it down with white distilled vinegar applied to a soft cloth.  Ensure the DVD is completely dry before re-inserting in the DVD player.  (Note:  This only works on DVDs that are scratched of dirty through normal wear.)

Salt on leather shoes:  Make a solution of one part water to one part white vinegar, and use it sparingly on the shoes. Dip a cloth into the solution, and dab it over the salt-streaked parts of your shoes.
May have to repeat the cleaning a few times before all the salt is removed. Salt actually can damage leather, so it's best to clean shoes as quickly as possible. Don't let the salt stains build up.

Fireplaces Wash fireplaces with a 50/50 ratio of water and vinegar to remove the blackened soot on glass front doors. If the doors have a spring-loaded clip, remove it, then take out the doors.Lay them flat on newspapers, spray with the vinegar/water solution and soak.  Wipe it off with newspaper.

Shoe polish: Pour 1 cup of organic olive oil into a clean glass jar. Add 1/4 teaspoon of organic lemon juice.2.Put the lid on the glass jar and seal it tight. Shake the contents of the jar until the two ingredients are well-blended.3.Apply the organic shoe polish to your shoes with a clean rag. Use a circular motion.4.Allow the shoe polish to sit for 2 to 3 minutes. Rub shoes to a shine in a circular motion, with a clean, dry, lint-free cloth.

Store bedlinen sets inside one of their own pillowcases and there will be no more hunting through piles for a match.

Bread tags make the perfect-sized cord labels. The daily buzz

Coat garden tool blades with a thin layer of olive oil to prevent dirt sticking to them and to help prevent rusting. This works really well!

Remove paint from hair or skin by dabbing a cotton ball dipped in olive oil to the affected area

Use olive oil as an alternative for de-squeaking hinges

Olive oil can help unjam zippers - use a cotton bud to apply

Apply a little olive oil to your shoes to restore their shine

Old leather can be made more supple by rubbing in olive oil (spot test first)

An equal mix of white vinegar and salt will clean copper to a luster, but be careful to rinse thoroughly with water afterward to remove the residue. Dry and polish with a clean soft rag.

Mix half and half in a spray bottle with water and vinegar to create a great glass cleaner. This same vinegar/water mix can be used as a general purpose cleaner on counter tops, in sinks, and on stoves.

Undiluted white vinegar removes the stickies such as price tags, tape, etc. Spray liberally.

Clothes washing magic: Clothes will rinse better if 1 cup of white distilled vinegar is added to the last rinse water. The acid in vinegar is too mild to harm fabrics, but strong enough to dissolve the alkalies in soaps and detergents.

Blanket renewal: Cotton and wool blankets become soft, fluffy and free of soap odor if 2 cups of white distilled vinegar are added to the rinse cycle of the wash.

Keeping colors fast: To hold colors in fabrics, which tend to run, soak them for a few minutes in white distilled vinegar before washing.

An equal mix of white vinegar and salt will clean copper to a luster, but be careful to rinse thoroughly with water afterward to remove the residue. Dry and polish with a clean soft rag.

Freshen baby clothes: The addition of 1 cup of white distilled vinegar to each load of baby clothes during the rinse cycle will naturally break down uric acid and soapy residue leaving the clothes soft and fresh.

Deodorant and antiperspirant stains may be removed from clothing by lightly rubbing with white distilled vinegar and laundering as usual.

Hole removal: After a hem or seam is removed, there are often unsightly holes left in the fabric. These holes can be removed by placing a cloth, moistened with white distilled vinegar, under the fabric and ironing.

To prevent ants and fleas from entering your house, mix 4 oz of a natural soap (I use Dr. Bronner's castile soap) in 1 gallon of water. Spray around your home’s foundation.

Air Freshener: Combine water and a few drops of cinnamon oil in a spray bottle and you've got an instant air freshener that's both economical and all-natural.

Knock the smell out of a stinky microwave by boiling lemon peels in water for a few minutes. Pour the hot mixture into a bowl and seal it up in the microwave for several hours.

Seems simple and it is but open your windows to let fresh air in. When all else fails, bake cookies :)

Looking for even more recipes?  Green Ways to Clean!

Sources-the daily green, women’s voices. yahoo green, fans, friends and family. Hopefully there weren't any repeats but if so that just means they were popular!