Monday, July 18, 2011

Home-made Cleaner and Green too!

I’ve mentioned before that I love Pine Sol, Lysol, Pledge etc. when I clean.  I think I said something like, “I don’t feel like my house is clean unless I can smell it”.  Well, while I still love that lemon-fresh smell, I am now less cynical about homemade cleaners.  Enter Peroxide and Baking Soda!
We have an antique claw-foot tub in our hall bath that, shortly after having it professionally painted, became stained and dingy.  Nothing I have tried would get it clean.  Bleach: nope. Ammonia: nah. CLR: nu-uh. Traditional bath cleaners: no way.  The list goes on.
So I did what any first world citizen living in the 21st century would do; I Googled it.   A few people recommended sprinkling baking soda then gently applying enough peroxide to make a paste and letting it sit.    Cue angelic singing IT WORKED!!!  In just one treatment I could see a big difference.  The second treatment, even better!  If it worked so well on this tub, what else would it clean?
Let me just say I had a blast in the kitchen today.(Yeah, I know-I’m easily entertained.)  Grease and food splatters that even vinegar and Dawn wouldn’t erase, came off easily with just a little bit of my new favorite cleaner.  It even cleaned a dingy stainless steel convection oven and its glass front.  Amazing!  I am hooked and cannot wait to discover what else it can work its magic on.
I returned to Google.  Turns out, peroxide is good for more than whitening teeth and killing infection in minor cuts and scrapes. Wouldn’t you know baking soda is good for more than baking and freshening the fridge.
Here are some of my favorite uses for these natural products:
Peroxide:                 

peroxide
*dipping your toothbrush in a 3% peroxide solution after use kills bacteria
* helps kill salmonella and bacteria when used to clean cutting boards and other food handling surfaces
* use a 50/50 solution of peroxide and water in a spray bottle to clean toilets
* immersing your fresh fruits and vegetables in a sink full of cold water plus 1/4 cup of peroxide will kill bacteria, and make them stay fresh longer.  Be sure to rinse after removing from the sink.

Baking Soda:
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*  rub baking soda into damp hands to remove any odors from cooking (fish anyone?)
* removes oil and grease stains when sprinkled on dry then wiped with a cloth
* a paste of b.s. and water will remove scuff marks from floor
* a mixture of b.s., water and salt will remove stains from plastic (who knew?)

These are just a few of the many uses! Click here to read up on some more uses for peroxide and here for a list of 25 uses for baking soda.
  And talk about inexpensive!  My big bottle of peroxide was $1 at Dollar General and baking soda usually runs anywhere from .50 to $1.  You can’t beat that.
I’ll still use my Pine Sol and Lysol for freshening up, but when it comes to the deep cleaning I’ll head for the fridge and medicine cabinet.

1 comment:

Mom Daughter Style said...

thank you for all the tips. I'll do that on our toothbrushes.

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