There is nothing better than a stain free and clean home. But despite keeping your home clean and maintaining it every day, there are many parts of your home, which gather dust easily. Unused corners, sofas, false ceilings, light fixtures, washroom, kitchen etc are dust accumulators. So these places must be cleaned on more frequent basis. Besides, being an eyesore, a dirty home can lead to many diseases like respiratory problems, asthma, diarrhea, dust allergies etc. Most of us find it hard to keep home clean and stain free. But when you use right set of techniques and cleaning materials, keeping your home clean and stain free become much easier. If you are struggling in keeping your home clean and stain free, then here’s the post worth reading. Because today, we are going to discuss about how to keep your home stain free and clean, using natural cleansers which is easily available in most of the kitchens.
A home is not just a shelter to protect us from snow, rain, and wind, it is a sacred place where we come together and live as a family. It is a structure where you feel that you belong. And for the safety and good health of your family, you have to ensure your home is absolutely clean and stain free. In our daily lives, we accumulate lot of germs and dust from our surroundings. Especially in a country like India, our homes are prone to many bacterial and virus attacks through germs that enter our homes.
While on one hand some people love cleaning and organizing their homes, most of us seem to share a love hate relationship with cleaning and dusting. And we end up depending on a professional cleaning company to get the job done. We do want our house to look spic and span all the time, but are not willing to put in the time and effort to do the same. Most of the local maids too, do not do justice to their work as they overlook a lot of things that can affect the hygiene of your home. And thus, once in awhile, you need to take the matter into your hands. Anyways, there is absolutely no need to panic, because I am going to share with you a list of the 19 natural ingredients with which you can keep your home stain free and clean; absolutely clean.
How to keep home clean and stain free using natural cleansers
There are many inexpensive, easy-to-use natural alternatives, which can safely be used in place of commercial cleaning products. Here is a list of 19 such commonly, available and environmentally safe natural cleansers that can be used alone or in combination to keep your home stain free and clean.
Baking soda
This is one of the natural ingredients that can be used to remove stains mainly for scrubbing and whitening purposes. A paste of baking soda and water can help whiten sinks and bathtubs. You can also keep a box of baking soda in the refrigerator; bathroom or cupboard as it helps absorb odors. Thus, it helps in keeping your home stain free and clean.
In addition to being an effective deodorizer wherever you want to get rid of stinky smells, it’s also an effective antiviral agent and surfactant that eliminates grease and grime.
You can easily keep your combs and hairbrushes clean by soaking them in some water with a teaspoon of baking soda.
White vinegar
We all know it is absolutely necessary to keep our home germ free and hygienic for the safety of the entire family. So what better natural disinfectant will you get other than white vinegar? White vinegar is a powerhouse of cleaning. Disinfecting and deodorizing, vinegar is a go-to product for germ-ridden spots such as countertops, door handles and telephones. The natural acidity in white vinegar makes it a great natural antifungal and antibacterial agent. In addition to being a fantastic non-toxic degreaser, it eliminates soap scum.
To clean and brighten rugs and carpets, dip a push broom in a solution of 1 cup white vinegar and 1 gallon of water. Use the same solution to clean brickwork.
Washing soda
In other words called sodium carbonate, washing soda is another essential natural ingredient that can be used in scrubbing, removing stains and cutting grease. It is somewhat like baking soda and it is in fact believed to be better than baking soda.
Use washing soda to clean toilets, or mix with water for a powerful all-purpose cleaner. Previously, natural cleaners recommended borax, but recent studies by the Environmental Working Group have found that it is overly harsh. Thus, you can replace borax with slightly milder washing soda in nearly any recipe.
Lemon
Do you know lemon besides being very essential for health and beauty can also be used for cleaning purposes? You must have seen many people cut pieces of lemon and keep inside the refrigerator when they are going for a trip. Well, this is because lemons are a great all purpose odor remover. It can also be used to keep your kitchen odor free.
You can run half a lemon over a dirty cutting board to help remove odors such as onion or fish or put half a lemon down the disposal and grind it to remove odors from the kitchen sink. Who need the toxic chlorine bleach for the laundry when you can just add a cup of lemon juice to your load for bright colors, whites and a lemony fresh scent? Lemon juice adds cleaning power to all-purpose.
Club soda
For a safe and effective window cleaner, fill up a small spray bottle with club soda and use a soft cotton cloth (a clean T-shirt will do the trick). If you need to cut through grease, add a little lemon juice. As an added bonus, club soda is a handy stain remover and polisher. If you want to clean your precious gems, you can soak them in a cup of club soda. Plus, the carbonation in club soda makes it an ideal rust remover.
Cornstarch
This is another important ingredient that’s going to help you immensely in keeping your home clean and stain free. The carpets and drapes catch a lot of stain easily. For a quick treatment to stains on carpets or drapes, cover the stain with absorbent cornstarch. Let it sit for about 20 minutes, then pour fizzy club soda to lift the stain. You can also try cornstarch to remove oil stains from clothes as well.
Hydrogen peroxide
Hydrogen peroxide is another powerful disinfectant. If you want to get rid of mildew, the best solution is to use hydrogen peroxide. Make a paste of baking soda and hydrogen peroxide, put on mildew and allow to sit for a few minutes before wiping away.
Coffee
Do you know coffee can be used as a great surface scrubber? Well yes, this is a great use for old coffee grounds. As they are mildly abrasive they will not damage your surfaces, but you can use them to scrub food from kitchen counters, dirty dishes and cooking hobs. It can help you get rid of stains from utensils and many other accessories in the kitchen.
Salt
Besides using salt for cooking purpose, save a bit of it for scrubbing purpose as well. Thick kosher salt is very helpful in removing grease. If you want to clean stubborn soap scum, all you need to do is to take kosher salt and baking soda and scrub it gently.
You would not pour salt in a wound, but pour it in white vinegar and you have a powerful cleaner with a deodorizing effect. A solution of salt and club soda can be used to clean and deodorize the inside of your fridge as well.
Rice
Do you have some strange-shaped vases or bottles that need a good clean? Take two spoonfuls of rice and pour in some warm water to soak for 15 minutes. Shake it well, pour it out and rinse with more water. The rice will help to scrub stains away.
Olive oil
We all know the usage of olive oil for skin and hair, but these natural cleaners can also be used for polishing and cleaning purposes. Olive oil can be used to naturally condition wood. So go polish your wooden furniture’s with it. Besides, the citric acid in lemon juice makes it perfect for dissolving tarnish.
Use a cotton cloth to buff stainless steel and brass to prevent streaks and corrosion and get a brilliant shine. Use a halved lemon dipped in salt to brighten copper cookware. Plus, you can use it to lubricate all your kitchen appliances, from blenders and grinders to any cookware with movable parts—or even fix a squeaky door.
Coconut oil
Restore your beautiful wooden furniture to its former glory with a mixture of melted coconut oil, white wine vinegar and a squeeze of lemon juice. Spray onto your furniture and then polish and buff with a clean cloth. This can help you get rid of stain and make your furniture look like new again.
Liquid castile soap
This vegetable, olive oil-based-liquid castile soap is an all-natural, great for all-natural dish soap, floor cleaner and more. For a floor or wall cleaning, combine a cup of vinegar with a gallon of hot water and a few drops of soap.
Bread
It might happen that a glass falls on the ground and break. You may find it difficult to clean. Besides, you may cut your hand but you can use bread to clean it up. Bread acts like a sponge and all those pesky small fragments of glass will stick to it. First, carefully pick up the largest pieces with your hands and then gently press own on the smaller shards with the bread to lift them.
Beeswax
Since we all have different types of wooden furniture’s at home, here is another natural ingredient, which is very essential for polishing wood. You can forgo oily wood polish in favor of all-natural beeswax.
Pine oil
If you are thinking of cleaning wooden floors, you can use this natural pine oil. It naturally conditions soft wood floors. Besides, it smells fresh.
Broken eggshells
If you have whipped up some scrambled eggs for breakfast then do not just throw away the shells. A handful of broken eggshells make a great scrub for cleaning your pots and pans. Mix them with soapy water for a brilliant abrasive that will scrub away stubborn stains.
Grapefruit
If you have moved into a new home and the bathtub looks grimy, do not despair. Probably the best way to clean your bathtub is to use as grapefruit. Cut a grapefruit in half and sprinkle it with salt. Wet your bathtub, put some more salt on the surface and start scrubbing. Simply wash the residue off at the end.
Plant essential oils
Pure essential oils are very effective for cleaning purposes. They are devoid of any chemicals. A few drops of this aromatic essential oil can add antibacterial and antifungal power to a cleaning solution. Try to use pure, undiluted essential oils that mainly come in dark brown or blue bottles. However, do not forget to do a sniff test before buying to make sure that you are not sensitive to the flumes.
Over to you
Clean, tidy and hygienic environment at home can do wonder for your good health and well being. All of us work hard to maintain a clean and tidy home. All of us hate dirt, dust and stains, but some of us fail to get it right. We may blame it on the lack of knowledge, techniques, ineffective cleaning materials or any other factors.
In my opinion, the secret to making a home clean and stain free lies in the usages of right techniques and right set of cleaning supplies. Today we have discussed about the 19 most commonly available ingredients that can be used as a cleanser. And using these ingredients is way better than the commercially available cleaning supplies. For these items are cheap, work effectively and are environment friendly.
So why use all the costly chemical based cleaning products when you can use natural stuff like salt, baking soda, club soda, grapefruit etc? Switch to environment friendly, cost effective natural, cleaning ingredients to keep your home stain free and clean. These items are readily available in your kitchen and you do not need to run to the far away market to get them. Use these products and do not forget to share your feedback.
If you know of any other commonly available ingredients that can help in making our home clean and stain free, then feel free to share your cleaning tips by commenting below.
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