Top Natural Cleaning Products Available in Your Home

As the fall and winter weather approaches and we begin to spend more and more time at home, keeping our household clean can become a bigger challenge than any other part of the year. We begin to carry in dirt from the streets, unintentionally bringing in salt and sand from the city sidewalks. Here are some easy natural ingredient to keeping your household clean and protected  from outdoor contamination:

Everything begins with water

Water is a natural cleaning property for rinsing and dissolving dirt from surfaces without damage from chemicals or acidic substances. Sometimes simple rinse with water is all that's needed to eliminate visible dirt and regularly maintain a good appearance of your living space as well as personal comfort.

Vinegar removes unpleasant odors

Vinegar is an easy to find, natural, non-toxic, and eco-friendly cleaning solution.  It is multipurpose and has many antibacterial properties. Often used for cooking, it is also a great cleaner and disinfectant because it's made from acetic acid. Acetic acid is a colorless organic compound that gives vinegar its sour taste, pungent smell, and power to dissolve mineral deposits, dirt, grease, and grime. One of the best types of vinegar to clean your stained surfaces is white distilled vinegar due to its lack of coloring agents. With about 5% acidity, it is similar to many everyday multipurpose cleaners easily available in many stores and probably already in your kitchen cabinet.

Vinegar removes vanishes and burnt smell within 15 minutes. Prepare a power spray to remove odor and let it set in on a stained surface, then simply wipe it for refreshed smell and look. To get rid of calcium or lime buildup on your shower-head, soak it in vinegar overnight. This is easily accomplished by pouring vinegar into a plastic bag and securing the bar around the shower-head with tape or a rubber band.

Use baking soda for soft scrub

Baking soda has been long known for its deodorizing properties, but many cleaning professionals also use this easy-to-find powder for eco-friendly and affordable cleaning at home. The all-purpose surface cleaner partnered with other household liquids makes a high-powered potion for removing greasy residue, polishes metal, and unclogs drains.

One way of using baking soda for soft scrubbing in your shower or bathroom is to mix a sprinkle of baking soda with a couple of drops of dishwashing liquid, create a lather on a microfiber cloth and use the cloth to carefully scrub the shower walls or floors. Wipe down the walls and floor with a dry cloth and rinse with hot water. For an all-purpose, low-budget scrubber, sprinkle baking soda on a damp sponge and scrub any tubs, sinks, or toilets in your household regularly to keep them fresh.

Keep your drains in the sink, bathtub odor-free, and flowing by running hot water through the drain before pouring in half a cup of baking soda. Let it sit for about 15 minutes and rinse once again with hot water to wash off any musty smells.

In your kitchen, we suggest mixing baking soda with a splash of vinegar. To clean those hard-to-clean scorched and stove drip pans, bring vinegar to a boiling temperature in the microwave, sprinkle a bit of baking soda on dirty pans, and add the boiling vinegar. Let the mixture sit for about 30 minutes and wipe it with a wet sponge. As always, don't forget to rinse with water and repeat as needed.

Salt for more than just cooking

Salt, sharing some properties with baking soda, can be a good alternative in case the holiday baking has emptied your last reservoirs of the latter. Similar to baking soda, it is an easy-to-find ingredient for cleaning kitchen drains, freshening up the coffee pot, or cleaning those leftover greasy pans.

As a versatile mineral, salt has been used for cleaning since medieval times. It works as an effective yet gentle scouring agent. It catalyzes other ingredients, such as vinegar, to boost cleaning and deodorizing action. To clean the kitchen drain after a long holiday dinner preparation, pour a mixture of salt and hot water down the sink to deodorize and prevent grease buildup. With various family holidays coming up, it's always best to maintain regularity and avoid any severe buildup of dirt and bacteria.

Baking can be fun, but what about all those Casseroles that tend to bubble over, making a mess on the bottom of the over? Once again, salt can help you clean up the mess. Sprinkle a handful of salt on the spill. It will form a crust, making cleaning up much easier once cooled.

To prepare a powerful cleaning paste, mix salt, baking soda, dish soap, and use it on appliances, enamel, porcelain, and many other kitchen surfaces to easily remove water rings, clean greasy pans, or stained cups.

Lemon: the powerful acidic cleaning ingredient

This last one is for all those of us enjoying good lemon water in the morning or between meals to nourish and refresh ourselves. When life gives you lemons, clean with them! Because of  its acidic properties, lemon juice has the power to remove stains, clean your microwave, refresh wooden surfaces, polish furniture, and deodorize drains.

Remove crust by microwaving a bowl of water and fresh lemon juice for 3-5 minutes or until boiling. Let it sit for 5 minutes before opening the door to allow the steam to do its work on the walls, and remove lemon water by wiping down the inside walls of the microwave. An easy solution to a tedious cleaning task.

Similarly to freshen your fridge, cut a lemon in half and place it inside the refrigerator. Leave it there for about 30 minutes to deodorize and remove any unwanted odors. As always, don't forget to declutter and remove any out-of-date items to maintain a fresh and healthy environment.

Finally, to keep your floors and large surfaces odor-free and fresh without the use of harsh chemicals, prepare a cleaning mixture of 1 part lemon juice, 1 part vinegar, and 2 parts water. The vinegar smell might seem harsh at first, but it will fade while disinfecting surfaces, while lemon gives the surfaces a refreshing, long-lasting smell and polish. The solution is ideal for people with kids and pets since crawling on a dirty floor isn't always safe, and many chemicals might cause allergic reactions.