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Green Cleaning Recipes
Try these green cleaning recipes as alternatives to chemical cleaning products. They’re safer for you, your family and the environment, and cost less, too!
Tub & Tile Cleaner
- 1 2/3 cups water
- 1/4 cup liquid soap (not detergent)
- 1/4 cup baking soda
- 2 tablespoons vinegar
- A few drops of essential oil (optional)
Dissolve soap in water. Stir in baking soda. Add vinegar. Store in a squirt bottle.
Shake before using. Rinse surface thoroughly to avoid leaving residue.
Toilet Bowl Cleaner
- 1 cup borax
- 1/4 cup lemon juice or vinegar.
Mix. Pour mixture into toilet bowl. Let sit. Scrub.
Glass Cleaner
- 1/4 cup white vinegar
- 1 quart warm water
Mix ingredients in a spray bottle. Shake and clean as you would with a commercial product.
Bleach
- Hydrogen peroxide (3%)
Spot clean. Let dry. Repeat if necessary.
-or-
- 1/2 cup borax
- 2 gallons water
Mix together & presoak.
Drain Cleaner
- 1/2 cup baking soda
- 1/2 cup vinegar
Pour baking soda down the drain followed by vinegar. Let it bubble for 15 minutes, then pour down about 1 quart boiling water. For stubborn clogs, use a mechanical snake.
Oven Cleaner
- 1 tablespoon liquid soap (not detergent)
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/4 cup salt
- 3/4 cup baking soda
Spray oven surfaces with soapy water. Mix salt & baking soda, then sprinkle on wet surface. Spray again so the mixture is damp & pasty. Let stand overnight. Scrape off with putty knife or wet pumice stone.
Tile Floor Cleaner
- 1 cup vinegar
- 1 gallon hot water
Mix, mop & wipe clean.
Tip—To remove scuff marks, sprinkle with baking soda & spray with equal parts vinegar & water. Wipe clean.
Silver Cleaner
- 3-inch square of aluminum foil
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 tablespoon baking soda
- 1 cup warm water
Dissolve salt & baking soda in warm water. Submerge foil & silver in the solution.
Wait one hour. Rinse silver & wipe dry with a soft cloth.
-or-
Apply non-gel toothpaste to a soft cloth. Rub tarnished spots. Rinse & dry.
Fabric Softener
- 1/2 cup vinegar
Add to rinse cycle to soften & deodorize fabrics.
Books and Resources
The following books offer a variety of green cleaning recipes, as well as information about commercial green cleaning products and other eco-friendly household products. They are available through the Mariposa County Library and its branches.
- Easy Green Living: the ultimate guide to simple, eco-friendly choices for you and your home by ReneeLoux, 2008
- The Green Book of Household Hints:keeping an efficient and ecologically Sound Home, by Marjorie Harris, 2001
- Clean Naturally--Recipes for Body, Home & Spirit, by Sandy Maine, 2001
- Green Cleaning for Dummies, by Elizabeth B. Goldsmith, 2009
- Better Basics for the Home, by Annie Berthold-Bond, 1999
- The Complete Idiot's Guide to Green Cleaning, by Mary Findley and Linda Formichelli, 2009
- Clean Home, Green Home: the complete illustrated guide to eco-friendly homekeeping, by Kimberly Delaney, 2009
- DVD--Green Cleaning for a Healthy Home, produced by Saul Nir and Ari Firestone, 2008
Links:
These are merely suggestions for further reading. We do not guarantee the results of any of the recipes contained in any of the above materials/websites.