Natural Green Cleaners

Homemade Cleaners: How to Make all Natural Green Cleaners

Basic Ingredients Checklist
Baking Soda
Vinegar
Water
Lemon Juice
Ammonia
Salt
Borax
Vegetable or Olive Oil
Club Soda
Isopropyl Alcohol
Toothpaste
Spray Bottles

Tips Before You Get Started
 Mix in a well-ventilated area
 Label containers and store in a safe place
 Use containers with tight fitted lids
 Don't reuse old containers from other cleaners
 Don't mix bleach and ammonia. NEVER!
 Don't store in food containers
 Test an area before using any cleaner

Dusting
Re-use dryer sheets for dusting instead of the new Pledge or Swiffer cloths.

Linoleum Floor
Use club soda to clean

Fabric Softener
Add vinegar to the rinse cycle

Microwave Cleaner
Mix 2T baking soda or lemon juice and 1 cup water in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave for five minutes or until the liquid boils and condensation builds up inside the microwave. Wipe down.

Chrome Cleaner
Toothpaste is great for cleaning chrome.

Dishwasher Rinse
1 1/2 white vinegar added to the rinse compartment of your dishwasher

The following recipes are safe and non-toxic:
Wood Floor Cleaner
1/2 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
Mix well

All-Purpose Cleaner
1 tsp. borax
1/2 Tsp. washing soda
2 Tbl. lemon juice
In a spray bottle, combine the ingredients with 1 cup of hot water and shake.

Furniture Polish
In a spray bottle mix 1 cup vegetable or olive oil
1/2 cup lemon juice
Shake well and apply a small amount to a cloth.

Vinegar Glass Cleaner
1/2 cup vinegar
1 gallon warm water

Vinegar Glass Cleaner
1 gallon water
1/2 cup white vinegar
1/2 teaspoon liquid dish detergent
Shake to blend.

Vinegar Glass Cleaner
1/4 cup vinegar,
1/4 teaspoon liquid soap or detergent, and
2 cups of water in a spray bottle.
Combine in a spray bottle.
Shake to blend.

Vinegar Glass Cleaner
1 cup rubbing (isopropyl) alcohol
1 cup water
1 tablespoon white vinegar
Combine in a spray bottle.
Shake to blend.

Ammonia Glass Cleaner
To a gallon jug, add:
1 tsp dishwashing detergent (Dawn)
1 pint rubbing alcohol
1/2 cup ammonia
Top off the gallon with water

Ammonia Glass Cleaner
1/2 c. ammonia,
1/2 c. isopropyl rubbing alcohol
1/2 c. water.
Combine in a spray bottle.
Shake to blend.

Ammonia Glass Cleaner
2 parts ammonia
1 part rubbing alcohol
9 parts water

Multi-Purpose Deep Cleaner
1 cup household ammonia
1/2 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup baking soda
1 gallon warm water
Mix well

Generic Tilex (mix and use in a spray bottle)
1 part bleach
9 parts water
1 part Dawn Dish Soap (or brand with surfactants and NO ammonia)

Carpet Deodorizer
Fill a jar with baking soda. Add essential oil (your choice of fragrance and amount), one drop at a time. Stir so it doesn't clump. Sprinkle on carpet and leave for 10-20 minutes before vacuuming.

All Purpose Cleaners
These all purpose cleaners are convenient to use when placed in a spray bottle.
3 tsp liquid soap & one gallon water
1/4 cup vinegar & one gallon water
1/4 cup lemon juice & one gallon water
1/4 cup Borax & one gallon water

Disinfectant
1/4 cup Borax
1/2 gallon water
OR USE THIS RECIPE:
1 part bleach
9 parts water

Oven Cleaner
Sprinkle salt on spills immediately
Baking soda
Vinegar
Steel wool
Clean grease with rag and vinegar. Sprinkle salt on spills. Let it set for a few minutes, then scrape the spill and wash the area clean. For stubborn spots, use baking soda and steel wool.

Drain Cleaner
1/4 cup baking soda
1/2 cup vinegar
Pour baking soda, then vinegar down drain. Close drain until bubbling stops. Pour boiling water. If the clog remains, use a plunger or snake. If all else fails, take the elbow off the pipe.

Mildew & Lime Deposit Remover
1/2 cup white vinegar
Warm water
1/2 cup Borax
Dissolve borax in water, add vinegar. Make a fresh batch for each use.

Ant Killer (NOT child safe!! Use any poison to kill insects with caution!!!)
Powdered Sugar
Borax
Combine in equal parts and sprinkle in places where they crawl.
(I mix with a water to make a thick liquid and dip and paper towel or 2 and softly wring out. Then put in in a glass jar with nail holes in the lid. This way the ants can climb in and out but your kiddo can't.)


Microwave Cleaner
Place 2 small, medium lemons (cut in half)with a cup of water in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave on high for 5 minutes and remove bowl. Wipe out microwave. The same thing can be accomplished with equal parts water and white vinegar (but lemons smell better). If your microwave is encrusted with lots of food residue that is old, it won't be so easy the first time.

My favorite are the carpet deoderizer, microwave cleaner, and the drain cleaner. It's a wonderful example for kids on how science is useful in daily experiences.

Have good green fun!

P.S. I would like to include a warning to all.

Please remember NEVER mix Bleach and Ammonia. It creates chlorine gas which was used as a chemical weapon during World War I and later by Nazi Germany in World War II.

What happens to your respiratory system when you inhale chlorine gas is the gas tears into your nasal passages, trachea, and lungs by causing massive cellular damage. Obviously, chlorine gas causes a very painful death.