First Posted: 3/21/2014
This past week we welcomed spring! Although the weather doesn’t seem like spring is here, the additional hour of daylight might be showing the need to spring clean our kitchen.
Sometimes cleaners can be a bit pricy. Common and safe household ingredients such as plain soap, baking soda, and vinegar or lemon juice can be low cost ingredients for a number of household friendly recipes, including floor cleaner. Make your own cleaning solutions to “be green” and save money too.
We can use effective yet safe to handle household staples like baking soda, Borax, vinegar and lemon juice. Baking soda can be used to cut grease, clean oven spills, absorb odors and cleans tile, glass and enamels. Borax makes a good all-purpose cleaner. White vinegar and lemon juice are good at removing hard-water deposits, discoloration on metal surfaces or rust stains. But don’t use lemon juice on silver.
When making your own cleaning solutions, Penn State recommends following these steps: Read and follow all safety labels on the ingredients before mixing together. Some products, like chlorine bleach and ammonia, produce a toxic gas when mixed.
Here are some reminders before you begin. First, mix only what you need or no more than a month’s supply. Some products may lose their effectiveness over time. Mix solutions in a well-ventilated area. Place mixed products in new containers and label with the date made. It is important to store cleaners out of the reach of children.
Other cost saving ideas which will cut down on cleaning time, improve the indoor environment and reduce the need for cleaning products include: use a damp mop on floors instead of sweeping, use a squeegee to clean shower doors after each use. To reduce the amount of dirt tracked indoors, place a doormat at each entryway better yet, ask family members to remove their shoes when indoors. Freshen your indoor air by boiling cinnamon, cloves or other herbs instead of spraying store-bought air fresheners.
For a list of recipes for creating green cleaners for use on toilets, floors, doors and glass go to: http://pubs.cas.psu.edu/freepubs/pdfs/ui289.pdf or call Penn State Cooperative Extension office at 570-602-0600 for your free copy.
So let’s welcome spring and begin our spring cleaning!
Floor cleaner
For greasy, no-wax floors:
1 cup white vinegar
¼ cup washing soda
1 tablespoon vegetable oil-based liquid soap
2 gallons hot water
Combine all ingredients, stirring well to dissolve the washing soda. Mop as usual.
Drain cleaner
For slow drains, use this drain cleaner once a week to keep drains fresh and clog-free.
½ cup baking soda
1 cup white vinegar
1 gallon boiling water
Pour baking soda down drain/disposal, followed by vinegar. Allow the mixture to foam for several minutes before flushing the drain with boiling water.
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