The world you live on is a living, breathing environment. This means it can be damaged, even killed if over abused by inconsiderate usage of harsh chemicals and sprays when it comes to cleaning, such as with the use of bleach. Still there is the ever pressing need to make sure your home, laundry and foods are as safe and as clean as they can be, so what can you use instead of bleach? What are some effective Eco-friendly alternatives available?
Believe it or not you might be housing just the things you need to whiten those whites or disinfect your home and produce in your pantry. Open up that pantry or cupboard and take a gander. Do you see lemon juice, vinegar, or peroxide? These products are great for cleaning, washing and whitening.
It’s always a safe measure to soak your produce or fruits in a diluted solution of vinegar and water. This helps to get rid of those micro organisms unseen by the eye, which cause nasty sicknesses and so on. Too, after a good washing, when you get ready to drain the sink this will not harm the environment by poisoning the water supply system or our earth with bleach or other harmful chemicals.
What about whites when it comes to laundry? The best way to approach laundry in an Eco-friendly way is to educate yourself about natural products which can do the same job bleach does, but without all the fumes and toxins bleach causes. Lemon Juice is such a product that can whiten whites. The natural acid in lemon juice helps to cut through all that dingy grime which stains whites. It also helps to keep those whites, white.
Try pre-soaking your whites in a sink full of lemon water, or you can fill the washing machine up and do the same. Pre-treat stains with the lemon juice as well. Allow for a few hours of sitting before you start a wash cycle. This isn’t always a hundred percent, but it’s effective when you’re dealing with stains and whites that haven’t been damaged beyond help, by either bleach or lemon juice. Take an old toothbrush and rub the lemon juice in over the stain.
Peroxide is another product which is far less harsh than bleach. Peroxide can be used in laundry and in cleaning the home. Use peroxide to clean grout stains, clean toilet bowls or to help clean whites in laundry. Wipe down shower walls and tubs with peroxide to rid the surface of scum and grimy buildup.
For a great and effective natural cleaning product, combine a bit of lemon juice and baking soda together. These products might foam at first, it’s a natural reaction of the two combining, but once it’s through foaming you have a safe cleaning solution for all kinds of jobs around the house. Wipe down your kitchen counters, clean your stove tops and microwaves, even run the solution through your washing machine to keep it running smooth. It helps to rid the washing machine of all the gunk that’s left behind after washing laundry. Run this solution through a wash and rinse cycle. This leaves your washing machine smelling nice and clean.
Regardless of how you approach keeping your home, food and self clean, it’s a kindness to the world we live on to find and use Eco-friendly products that don’t contribute to the condition it’s in today. You’ll find many stores now carry Eco-friendly products as well if you don’t want to mess with making your own natural solutions. Educate yourself, then explore the many different ways you can turn to Eco-friendly products to make your world a little safer.
I have been using Borox, baking soda, vinegar and lemon juice to clean almost everything. I couldn’t be happier!