Eco-friendly Household Cleaners

Go green and save our planet.  This is what environmentalists are upholding. This has been practised by a lot of people around the world to help save mother earth through different means. There are different eco-friendly inventions and scientific applications like the use of organic fertilisers in farming, eco-friendly buildings in architecture or sometimes called green buildings like those found in Singapore, the use of eco-friendly bio fuels in cars and use of electric cars that emit less pollutants, amongst other applications.  Also, there’s been growing practise of using green household cleaners or eco-friendly household cleaners. What are green household cleaners? What are the examples of eco-friendly household cleaners?

Green house cleaning

Eco-friendly household cleaners are household cleaners that don’t harm the environment. Examples of these cleaners include vinegar, baking soda, cornstarch, castile soap, borax and lemon juice, amongst others.

Vinegar

We’ve been using vinegar as a condiment to food preparation due to its distinct sour taste. But many of us don’t realise the importance of vinegar as a green household cleaner. It’s made up of fermented apple juice, wine or some cane from fermented sugar cane juice. It uses ascetic acid and yeast. As a household cleaner, vinegar is mixed with water and can be used to clean greasy plates and metals; can remove residue of soap in dishes, mineral deposits, mildew and wax. It can also be used to deodorise a newly painted room. Yes, it can absorb the smell of paint.

Baking Soda

Baking soda has been used commercially as ingredient that complements baking powder in making cakes. It is an important constituent of baking powder. But baking soda can also be used as a non-toxic household cleaner. Baking soda can be used to scrub and polish metals and other shiny materials, neutralise acids, deodoriser, and it can extinguish oil fire. Baking soda is wise to use because it is cheap, it is multi-purpose cleaner and it is eco-friendly.

Cornstarch

Although not very popularly known as a household cleaner, cornstarch can be used to clean and polish windows, furniture; can remove dirt from rags and carpets; and can also be applied to starch clothes.

Borax

Borax is a naturally occurring compound. It has a lot of uses as a non-toxic eco-friendly household cleaner. It can be used in laundry. It can be used as a detergent that can disinfect dirt and germs from clothes. It can also be used in cleaning metals because it can remove the metallic oxide. It’s also a great water softener.  Borax is a non-toxic, multi-purpose, eco-friendly household cleaner.

Lemon Juice

Lemon juice is widely known for its vitamin C content and now produced widely in concentrated form. It’s been used in drink concoction. But besides these, lemon juice is also a great stain remover in aluminum and other shiny metals, porcelain and clothes. It can be used to clean glass windows; bleach for clothes under the sun. It can also be used as a hand deodoriser.
There are a lot of non-toxic household cleaners around us that we can use. Continued use of these eco-friendly household cleaners will keep us protected from harmful effects of commercially produced chemical based cleaners. Plus, it can also ensure the safety of our planet.