In my former profession, you had to choose the right bomb for the right target. The same could be said for a sensible approach to household cleaning. Strive to reduce the “collateral damage” of using overly harsh chemicals on household surfaces, while still achieving overall cleanliness in the home. Blasting your bathroom with ammonia and bleach will certainly get the job done, although not without irritating your skin, eyes, airways, and with prolonged exposure, your nervous system.
Before children, you may have sprayed away at mildew and grime without ever considering the contents of your cleaning products. However, understanding a child’s unique vulnerability to toxins changes everything, and over 150 chemicals found in the home have been linked to allergies, birth defects, cancer, and psychological abnormalities.
Fortunately, there is hope. You do not have to give up your health for a clean home. A few non-toxic DIY mixes of common products can deliver more punch than you might expect for minimal cost.
DIY Recipes for Low Cost Green Cleaning Supplies
Green cleaning supplies from the store are definitely more convenient, but for those who want to make their own, try these recipes.
Plain Liquid Soap
These gentle soaps, found at natural food stores such as Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s, are made with natural oils, such as olive, palm, and coconut rather than petroleum or animal based products (e.g., castile soap, made from 100% plant oils, became popular with the Dr. Bronner’s brand).
DIY Recipes/Suggestions for Use
- Make a citrus scented, all-purpose scrubbing paste with a fresh lemon, baking soda, and a plant-based liquid soap.
Baking Soda
Use baking soda as a non-abrasive scrub or to absorb odors in trashcans and the fridge. Baking soda also combats oil and grease stains.
DIY Recipes/Suggestions for Use
- Use baking soda and a spray bottle of vinegar together to scrub away the ring around the tub. Leave a box in your bathroom for impromptu cleanings of the tub, toilet, and sink.
- Sprinkle baking soda in your kitchen sink and scrub.
- Make it fizz! Pour baking soda and vinegar down a drain to unclog it.
- Mix 4 tablespoons baking soda and 1 quart warm water to clean nearly all the surfaces in your kitchen: stainless steel appliances, countertops, and more.
Vinegar
100% distilled white vinegar is the strongest form of vinegar for your home. This all-natural cleaner tackles soap scum, dirt, mineral deposits, and creates an environment that inhibits mold, mildew, and bacteria.
DIY Recipes/Suggestions for Use
- Buy distilled white vinegar in a gallon jug and make spray bottles of concentrated or diluted vinegar for everyday cleaning (but do not use on granite, marble, or porous stone countertops.) Add orange or lemon peels to the bottles to avoid the vinegar smell.
- Keep a spray bottle of vinegar in the bathroom to keep your shower curtain free of mildew.
- Clean out your coffee maker with a solution of half water and half vinegar.
- For hardwood, vinyl, or tile floors: mix ¼ cup vinegar, 1-gallon warm water, and a few drops of essential oil, if desired. No need to rinse.
Lemon Juice
The acid in lemon juice removes dirt, grease, and rust stains. When mixed with salt or baking soda, it creates an all-natural scouring paste.
DIY Recipes/Suggestions for Use
- Use four tablespoons of lemon juice with half a gallon of water instead of Windex on windows and mirrors (add vinegar or soap to remove tougher residues).
- Polish wood furniture with two parts olive oil and one part lemon juice for a fresh-smelling shine.
- Use a half of a lemon and salt to clean cutting boards. Wet the surface, sprinkle salt on the board, and then rub half of a lemon on the surface.
Green-Washing of Store Brand Household Cleaners
If you are not a home ingredient mixer, carefully select green cleaning products and beware of “green-washing.” Green-washing is a form of marketing spin or green labeling that companies use to pad their profits and promote their public perception. In the world of household cleaners, the words “green” and “natural” are completely unregulated, and a product with a speck of an organic essential oil can label itself organic. Only foods are certified organic.
Companies that make household cleaning products aren’t required by law to print a full list of ingredients on their packaging. There also aren’t any testing requirements for most of the chemicals in cleaning products.
Making the cleaning situation even more perilous, current laws do not require household products to list ingredients. The Environmental Working Group (EWG) found that only 7% of cleaning products adequately disclosed their contents, while 53% of the products under review had lung-damaging ingredients. Several products tested contained poisons and suspected carcinogens, such as formaldehyde (used as a preservative for some citrus, pine, and scented oils), chloroform (this toxic vapor escapes in the fumes of bleach products), and the chemical 1,4-dioxane (a common contaminant in detergents).
If you want to check household cleaning ingredients, search more than 2000 products online on the EWG’s Guide to Healthy Cleaning or the U.S. Department of HHS National Institutes of Health Household Products Database.
Cleaning Products to Avoid or Restrict
Having a baby crawling on your floors, licking windows and mirrors, and pulling up on the rim of your toilet can change your perspective on cleaning products. The following is a list of EWG’s Hall of Shame most toxic household cleaners, which includes most of the cleaning products that I used while growing up.
Consider replacing these products on your shopping list, if you are concerned about chemical exposure:
Simple Green All-Purpose Cleaner, Citra-Solv Cleaner and Degreaser, Scrubbing Bubbles Foamer, Mop and Glo Floor Cleaner, DampRid Mildew Stain Remover, Spic and Span Floor Cleaner, Easy-Off/Walmart/CVS Oven Cleaners, Drano Clog Remover, Glade Air Freshener Spray, Air Wick Automatic Air Fresheners, Febreeze Air Effects, Comet Powder, Old English Furniture Polish, Great Value Furniture Polish, Spot Shot Carpet Stain Remover, Static Guard spray, Target Up and Up Toilet Bowl Cleaner, and Lysol Toilet Bowl Cleaner with Lime and Rust Remover.
Some Well-Reviewed Green Household Cleaners
Brand recommendations (using factors of cost, green ratings, and online reviews):
- Dish-washing Soap: Seventh Generation Free and Clear Dish Liquid ($3 or $18/6-pack), Mrs. Meyers Liquid Dish Soap, Lemon Verbena ($11-13/3-pack)
- Dishwasher Detergent: Method Power Dish Dishwasher Soap Packs ($5-7 for 20 tablets)
- All-Purpose Cleaner: Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day Multi-Surface Everyday Cleaner ($4), J.R. Watkins All Purpose Cleaner ($6-8 or $25/6-pack)
- Toilet Bowl Cleaner: Method Toilet Bowl Cleaner, Spearmint ($4)
- Scrubbing Powder: 365 Everyday Value, Baking Soda ($1)
- Food Prep Surfaces: Begley’s Multi Surface Cleaner ($7)(pH neutral for eating and food prep surfaces, made in the USA)
- Countertop Spray: Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day Multi-Surface Everyday Cleaner ($4), Puracy Natural All Purpose Cleaner, Streak-Free Household Multi-Surface Spray ($13/2-pack)
- Glass and Window Cleaner: Puracy Natural All Purpose Cleaner, Streak-Free Household Multi-Surface Spray ($13/2-pack) “The Best All-Purpose Cleaner” – The New York Times
- Laundry Detergent: Kirkland Free and Clear Laundry Detergent from Costco ($16 for 110 loads or $0.14/load) , Seventh Generation Concentrated Laundry Detergent, Free & Clear Unscented ($25 for 106 loads or $0.23/load)