By Caitlin Castelaz
There’s no better time than spring to give your home some serious deep cleaning. It’s finally warm enough to wash your windows without freezing them shut, and now that the snow has melted, it’s a good time to give your siding a thorough scrub. But before you fill your cabinets with expensive heavy-duty cleansers, check out our guide to cleaning naturally with products you probably have on hand. These cleaning solutions are safer for kids, pets, and the environment, and they’ll leave your home sparkling and beautiful.
Window Washing
Save yourself the time and expense of trying every “streak-free” window cleaner on the market. Instead, mix one part vinegar to two parts water in a spray bottle. Wipe off using black-and-white newspaper or a lint-free towel.
Streak-Free Stainless Steel
Natural cleaners are best for stainless steel because abrasive bleaches and cleansers can cause damage. Treat tough stains with a baking soda–and–water paste. Keep your surfaces streak-free by polishing with olive oil.
Polishing Metal
You can make metal shine by treating it with a paste of salt and lemon juice. Apply to copper, brass, or steel with an old toothbrush, and you’ll remove tarnish or rust in no time. It also works on food-stained plastic dishes!
A Salt Scrub for the Oven
Treat fresh grease stains in the oven by sprinkling them with a handful of salt. When the oven cools, wipe it clean with a cloth.
Furniture Polish
Give an antique dresser a makeover with a couple of cooking staples—two parts olive oil and one part lemon will make it gleam.
Silver Polish
Can’t take the fumes of silver polish? The natural solution is amazingly simple: Make a paste of three parts baking soda to one part water, then rinse and dry.
Concrete Cleaner
Freshen the Drain
Run lemon rinds through the garbage disposal to freshen your whole sink. Lemons can also have a bleaching effect on stained sinks.
Clean Carpets
Baking soda is a great way to clean and deodorize carpets. Sprinkle some on your carpets before vacuuming. You can also try cornstarch, which soaks up oils on the carpet.
Sparkling Grout
Cleaning grout isn’t a cakewalk, but using baking soda is a trusted way to keep grout stain-free. Make a paste of baking soda and water, and spread it on the area. Spray vinegar on the paste to create a foaming action, then scrub and rinse.
Bathtub Grime
Banish hard water stains from the bathtub by placing a vinegar-soaked paper towel over the area. Let it stand for up to two hours, then scrub with a baking soda paste and spray with a vinegar-and-water solution.
Unclog a Drain
If you keep just one thing in your natural cleanser arsenal, vinegar’s not a bad choice. To fix a clogged drain, try pouring one-half cup of baking soda, followed by one cup of vinegar. The chemical reaction will cause a cleansing foam. Once that stops, rinse with hot water. Wait five minutes and flush the drain with cold water.
Burnt Food on Pots and Pans
Crispy cheese, burnt rice, stuck-on oatmeal—no wonder some folks despise washing dishes. Loosen the debris first by sprinkling baking soda and spraying vinegar. After that, it should come off with a little steel wool. If your dishes require something less abrasive, try a nylon scrubber.
Freshen Wood Furniture
Foodies love coconut oil for its health benefits, but it’s handy around the house as well. Use a microfiber cloth to polish wood furniture with coconut oil, rubbing with the grain and letting it soak in before moving anything back onto the surface.
All-Purpose Cleanser
Lemon and vinegar are two of the best natural cleansers, so why not combine the two? Make your own all-purpose cleanser by soaking citrus peels in white vinegar for two weeks. Once you strain out the peels, this cleanser can tackle almost any surface.
