Most of us use a great deal of chemicals when cleaning our homes, but there are alternatives. Our environmentally friendly cleaning products page gives information on what to look out for when buying cleaning products, but here we have listed a few natural cleaning products. By natural cleaning products we mean those which you can find in your kitchen cupboards!
There are four main natural cleaning products which will allow you to do pretty much all your cleaning jobs. These are vinegar, lemon juice, olive oil and bicarbonate of soda (or baking powder). In terms of being natural cleaning products, lemons are probably the most natural! Lemons can be used for a number of jobs including cleaning soap scum and scale, and polishing brass and copper. Lemon juice can also be combined with olive oil to make an excellent hardwood polish or with bicarbonate of soda. In this case the bicarbonate of soda can be sprinkled on the cut half of a lemon and used to scrub stains from surfaces and dishes.
Vinegar also has many uses as a natural cleaning product. It is a natural disinfectant and deodorizer which is safe on most surfaces except marble (although it is wise to test on an inconspicuous area first). White distilled vinegar is usually the cheapest and, unlike malt vinegar, will not smell once dry. It can be used mixed with water (half and half) to clean bathrooms, kitchens, windows (2-3 tablespoons in 3 litres of warm water then scrubbed dry with crumpled newspaper) and as a fabric softener.
Bicarbonate of soda is the final of our natural cleaning products and is also a great deodorizer. It can be used neat to scrub stains or mixed with water or vinegar for general cleaning.
For lots of suggestions for cleaning with natural cleaning products visit the Channel 4 Eco Cleaning webpage.
