Urban Blog

You don’t need harsh chemicals or strange ingredients to keep your home clean. There are literally dozens of great ways to keep your living environment shiny and spotless without using chemicals or ingredients that can harm you, your children, your pets or the environment. The idea that you need chemicals to clean the average home is not only truly outdated, but also it could put your health and the health of your family at risk.

 

Why expose your family to a bunch of chemicals if it’s not even necessary? You’ll find that some common household ingredients not only save you money, but also often clean your home even better!

 

In this article, we are going to explore 25 of the very best ways to keep your home clean. All of these household green cleaning tips are easy to implement, inexpensive and, of course, very effective.

 

Tips for the Kitchen

 

Tip One-Vinegar in the Kitchen

Grandma used vinegar for cleaning her kitchen and for good reason. Vinegar is something of a cleaning superstar, and it definitely works wonders in the kitchen. If you don’t like the vinegary smell, you very well might want to try to make an exception when it comes to cleaning.

 

One good way to use vinegar in the kitchen is to spray vinegar on your stove, let it sit for 10 minutes and then wipe it clean. Another excellent use of vinegar in the kitchen is to remove and prevent hard water deposits in your dishwasher.

 

Tip Two-Salt and Lemon for Your Pots

Salt and citrus isn’t just for margaritas anymore! If you feel that your pots and pans need a little shining up, don’t reach for a potentially toxic chemical, as there is a much easier solution.

 

Dull looking pots and pans can be brought back to life with a sprinkle of salt. After adding a sprinkle of salt to your pot or pan, simply scrub it with a lemon wedge. You’ll be surprised just how well this simple and inexpensive trick works! You will definitely notice and appreciate the difference when you look at the cookware in your kitchen.

 

Tip Three-Say Goodbye to Grease on Stoves

Grease on stoves can be pretty tricky to remove, and can quickly make your kitchen look dirty and unkempt. But there is an easy way to remove grease. Simply mix baking soda with warm water and scrub your stovetop with a cloth. Also, this trick can be used to brighten and liven up stainless steel appliances and even stainless steel countertops.

 

Tip Four-Baking Soda and Your Trashcan

Just as grandma loved vinegar for cleaning, the same can be stated for baking soda. Baking soda has endured the test of time and has been loved as a low-cost and people friendly cleaning product for generations.

 

A dirty trashcan be something of a nightmare, but a little baking soda can clean even the dirtiest trashcan right up! Sprinkle some baking soda into your trashcan, then add water and wipe until dry.

 

Don’t forget baking soda removes and prevents odors, so it really is a perfect ingredient to use. You can add extra baking soda to control future odors.

 

Tip Five-Cleaning Granite Countertops

Granite countertops always look amazing in the kitchen. But what about when they get dirty? If you want to keep your granite looking clean and vibrant, the good news is that you don’t need special cleaners or chemicals.

 

Mix alcohol and water together in a spray bottle then spray and wipe for granite countertops and other granite surfaces when you want them to be sparkling clean.

 

Tip Six-Cleaning Your Trash Disposal

People have a tendency to forget about their trash disposal unless it does one of two things: stops working or starts smelling! Neutralizing the sometimes powerful smells that can come from trash disposals can be as easy as squirting a liberal amount of liquid hand soap down the drain.

 

After you’ve squirted the liquid soap down the drain, count to five and turn the disposal on. Let the disposal run for at least fifteen seconds. If this doesn’t neutralize the odors, just move on to pouring vinegar down the drain.

 

Tips for the Laundry Room

 

Tip Seven-Removing Odors

Laundry odors may sometimes be a headache. After washing and drying your clothes, you want them to smell clean and fresh. If you’ve tried to reduce your laundry odors and nothing seems to work, don’t despair.

 

Instead add ¼ cup of white vinegar to the wash cycle. You’ll find that your laundry odors vanish in no time.

 

Tip Eight-Vinegar to the Rescue Again

 

It’s a good idea to periodically clean your laundry machine. Cleaning your laundry machine is as easy as allowing mixing some vinegar into the water of your laundry machine, letting the mixture soak and then rinsing.

 

Tip Nine-Soften Clothing with Vinegar

Believe it or not, vinegar can also soften clothing as well. A little vinegar during the rinse cycle serves to soften virtually any article of clothing; this old trick works very well.

 

Tip Ten-Brighten Your Whites with Baking Soda

 

People often replace their whites just because they can’t figure out how to get them white and bright again. There really is no need to spend the extra money, because you can easily do it yourself on a very, very low budget.

Dull whites are not necessary, especially if you have an inexpensive box of baking soda handy. Special detergents might have harmful chemicals in them and they are not necessary. Instead opt for the time tested, whitening power of baking soda.

 

Tip Eleven-Baking Soda and Stains

 

It may come as little surprise that baking soda, which can brighten whites, can also work to remove stains. If you want to use baking soda to remove stains, just pre-treat your clothing with baking soda and water before washing. Then toss them into the washing machine and you’ll quickly see that your clothes are stain-free. You’ll find that this quick fix can remove some seriously stubborn stains and, of course, it’s far less expensive than buying stain removal formulas from the store.

 

Tips for the Bathroom

 

Tip Twelve-Skip the Pricey Wipes

Many people believe that if there is no place in their home that needs “industrial strength cleaning power,” that it’s the bathroom. That’s why so many people are willing to spend their hard-earned dollars on bathroom cleaning supplies. Yet, the simple fact is that nature has provide us with a range of excellent ways to clean our bathrooms without the use of harmful chemicals.

 

Wipes are a great example of how you can save considerable money with the right approach. But cleaning and disinfecting wipes from the store have a tendency to be rather expensive.

 

But you can make your own equally effective wipes just by adding alcohol to baby wipes, which tend to be much cheaper. (They have to be inexpensive as people go through hundreds of them just taking care of their infants!) The end result is a wipe that does the same job and will disinfect just as well as specialty cleaning wipes. Our baby wipe and alcohol combination will save serious cash.

 

Tip Thirteen-Cotton Balls Soaked in Alcohol Are Your Friend

Cotton balls soaked in alcohol are an easy way to shine metal in your bathroom. Far too often people skip cleaning metal surfaces in the bathroom thinking that they don’t harbor bacteria and virus like other surfaces; this is a mistake. But cotton balls soaked in alcohol will definitely get the job done in a quick and easy manner.

 

Tip Fourteen-White Vinegar for Bathroom Surfaces

 

Another great way to clean your bathroom surfaces is to use white vinegar. The ever-versatile white vinegar can clean almost any bathroom surface. After spraying down a surface with white vinegar, just rinse or wipe the vinegar away with water.

 

Tip Fifteen-The Easiest Way to Clean Bathroom Mirrors

When was the last time you cleaned your bathroom mirror? If you are like most people, then you probably can’t remember the last time that you actually accomplished this feat.

 

Once more vinegar is on our list coming to the rescue! A mixture of vinegar and water will not only clean your bathroom mirrors, but will also leave them streak free.

 

Tip Sixteen-Tackling Soapy, Grimy Shower Curtains

 

Grimy shower curtains can be one of the single scariest things in the average home. Shower curtains can be notoriously hard to clean and many are made from harmful materials that degas. If you’ve ever thought that a new shower curtain smelled you are not alone. What you are selling is a chemical mixture that is harmful.

 

Cotton shower curtains and hemp based shower curtains are two good options. Hemp is naturally resistant to mold and mildew for example, but even these shower curtains can get quite grimy.

 

Periodically spray your shower curtain with a mixture of vinegar and water. Let this vinegar-water mixture sit for about fifteen minutes and then rinse. You can use this tip for any surface that has soap scum buildup.

 
Tip Seventeen-Brighten and Clean Your Tub

Soap and dirt build up on your tub can be unsightly and unhealthy. After your next shower or bath, put a little baking soda on a rag and scrub down the wet surfaces; this easy approach will clean, remove soap build up and help prevent future soap build up as well.
Tip Eighteen-Don’t Fight with Clogged Drains

Some drains are so tough that you may need a plumber, but the fact is that in most situations you can unclog drains yourself! Here is a trick you might find very helpful.

 

Try pouring boiling water down the drain and then using a plunger until you begin to see the water flowing more readily. With tougher clogs, you may have to repeat this step a few times, but it is certainly cheaper than a plumber’s bill!

 

Tips for Overall Cleanliness

 

Tip Nineteen-Cleaning Hardwood Floors

If cleaning hardwood floors makes you a little nervous then consider our tip for cleaning hardwood floors. Hardwood floors are finished with a wide array of different products and some are more durable than others.

 

For this reason, it is best to test out any hardwood cleaning approach or product in an out of the way area, such as a closet, before using on all of your hardwood floors. Vinegar and a hot water mixture will work to both help shine your hardwood floors and get them clean. Any dirt or grease should easily be removed with this approach.

 

Tip Twenty-Invest in a Microfiber Cleaning Cloth

 

A good microfiber cleaning cloth, one that can be washed and reused, is a prudent investment. A microfiber cleaning cloth is a great way to clean everything from computer monitors to television screens and more. Since, most microfiber clothes are intended to be washed they can be a very eco-friendly option.

 

Tip Twenty-One-Improve Vacuum Cleaner Performance and Energy Efficiency

There is a simple way to improve both the performance and the energy efficiency of most modern vacuum cleaners. These vacuum cleaners have at least one and sometimes two filters. Periodically cleaning these filters improves their performance by increasing their suction power and by increasing the efficiency of the vacuum cleaner.

 

Clean filters require less energy and that lowers your carbon footprint. Plus, cleaner vacuums release cleaner air.
Tip Twenty-Two-Change Your Whole House Filters

 

If you have an HVAC system, it is important to keep your filters clean. HVAC systems have to work much harder to handle air when there is a dirty, clogged or even blocked filter. Checking your filters every month and changing them when they are dirty will help you save energy, save money and lower your carbon footprint.

 

The air that circulates through your home will be far cleaner and healthier than if you infrequently changed your air filters.

 

Tip Twenty-Three-Invest in a Quality Air Purifier and Air Quality Meter

When it comes to cleaning people often overlook cleaning their air. However, indoor air quality is increasingly being linked to a range of diseases and even lower I.Q.s. In fact, poor indoor air quality may play a role in everything from the number of colds and flus you catch to whether or not you get seriously ill in the future.

 

Poor indoor air quality is particularly concerning for children. If you do have an air purifier be sure to change the filters frequently. An air quality meter can help you keep track of how successfully you are cleaning your home’s indoor air.

 

Tip Twenty-Four-Plants, Plants and More Plants

A great, inexpensive and often overlooked way to clean your home’s air is to populate your home with a variety of plants. Plants such as snake plants, ferns and peace lilies have been shown in many studies, including those conducted by NASA, to remove harmful compounds, such as formaldehyde, from the air.

 

Plants clean the air during the day and release oxygen at night making them true friends for your lungs and overall health.

 

Tip Twenty-Five-Keep Vinegar Handy

Vinegar often cleans just as well as chemical cleaners. Most people don’t need powerful disinfecting cleaners. Soap and water and a little vinegar and white vinegar can successful handle most cleaning tasks.

 

These twenty-five tips were carefully selected to help you not just clean effectively, but to clean in a way that is healthier for you, your family and the planet. The cleanliness of your home isn’t just limited to how clean your kitchen, bathroom and floors may be, but also includes how clean your air is and the products that populate your home.

 

Products that degas harmful chemicals, lead paint, exposure to chemical based insulation, hiding areas of mold and mildew, radon and other dangers must also be considered.