Awesome Homemade Cleaners

I think that one of the things that I hate the most about cleaning my home is not just the amount of time and effort that it takes, but also the cost of the cleaning products. It is very easy to spend a couple of hundred bucks just on specialized cleaning products. I also am concerned for my health and the health of my family when I start using chemicals that I cannot even pronounce all over my home. Another concern has to do with what happens to the cleaners after they go down the drain. I know that our waste water is purified, but what does it take to remove all of those chemicals. I would be ignorant to think that they just disappear after they go down the drain.

After about one minute of searching on-line for safer and homemade cleaners, I came across a ton of uses for vinegar. Here are a few of my favorites:

Drain Cleaner – you can clean your drains without dangerous chemicals by pouring a cup of baking soda down your drain and following it with vinegar. The mixture will bubble and foam and break up your clog. This is so much cheaper than buying traditional drain cleaner!

Laundry Stain Pre-treater – Mixing warm water and vinegar works as a fantastic stain pre-treater. This works wonders on deodorant, coffee, and grass stains.

Mold Killer – White vinegar is one of the best ways to kill mold. Mix it with water and spray the mold before you start scrubbing to make sure that you do not spread the mold spores!

Tile Cleaner – Mix 6 cups of water, ¼ cup of white vinegar, ¼ cup of ammonia, ½ cup baking soda, and 1 teaspoon of lemon juice. This stuff works great and costs almost nothing.

Basic Spray Cleaner – To make a good old basic around-the-house kind of cleaner, just mix 1 part white vinegar with one part water. This works great all over the kitchen and the bathroom on tile, sinks, showers, you name it! If the vinegar smell is a little too much for you, just add a little lemon juice.

Shower Head Cleaner – If your shower is running poorly, microwave some vinegar until it is warm, not hot, and drop the shower head into it. If you cannot remove the shower head, bag the warm vinegar in a couple of freezer bags and strap them around the head. Let the vinegar work for an hour and flush well with lots of water.

These are just a few of the many great homemade cleaners that I found. Using natural products to replace expensive, potentially dangerous ones seems like a no-brainer to me. I hope that you have as much luck with them as I have. Good luck, and happy cleaning!