If you’re against traditional cleaners and into saving money, chances are good you’ve tried to come up with some alternative cleaning solutions for your home. While items like vinegar, lemons, and baking soda may be common knowledge for the experienced DIY cleaner, there may be a few items lying around your home you weren’t aware could handle certain cleaning tasks. Here are a few examples of some of the more unusual natural cleaning solutions from the good people at Green Cleaning Magazine.
5 Unusual Natural Cleaning Solutions
Are you fed up with buying expensive products that sometimes don’t manage to do the trick at all? Is your space under the kitchen sink full of bottles with warning signs that make you wonder if washing off a stain isn’t also washing your health?
Don’t dismay—here are 5 ideas for green cleaning that uses safe, everyday products as effective cleaners:
• Alcohol: you might be surprised that alcohol is a great cleaning tool. It is useful in many areas—from disinfecting and cleaning to defrosting windows. It does wonders in cleaning bathroom and toilet areas, making sinks shine and disinfected.
It is the weapon of choice when it comes to ink and permanent marker stains. It is also effective on cleaning mirrors and tiles. Remember that although this product is getting more and more reputation, it is still not largely found in the cleaning aisle of many supermarkets. If you are familiar with it and want to give it a try, it might be necessary to do a little research on where to find it in your country.
• Cola: believe it or not, the liquid joy of millions of people around the globe actually has great cleaning potential. One of the most well-tested uses is toilet cleaning—just pour the drink, wait for an hour, scrub with a brush and then flush for sparkling result.
Cola is also great for removing rust and refreshing objects, due to its phosphoric acid ingredient. Are you a coin collector? Consider soaking the pennies in the drink to make them shiny as new.
• Vinegar: a true champion when it comes to natural cleaners. It is well known for usage to combat mold, mildew, and a ton of bacteria that can be harmful for human health. It can disinfect glassware, washing machines and coffeemakers. After proper soaking, it can free the showerhead from any mineral deposits. Combine it with some baking soda to make an effective drain cleaner.
• Lemon: great for cleaning, disinfecting, and deodorizing countertops. It can easily remove stains off many types of surfaces, glassware, and cookers. We are all aware of smells that can linger on our skin for days, such as when dealing with raw fish. Lemon can remove the odor easily. Try dropping a lemon slice in your garbage disposal, too, for a fresh smell.
• Toothpaste: a truly unexpected usage of common toothpaste is as a cleaning agent. It can be used to shine up bathroom and kitchen chrome. It does wonders in polishing silver and cleaning CDs.