Natural Laundry Cleaning Solutions

A lot of consumers use off-the-shelf commercial products to clean their laundry. Sometimes the choice is made based on the least expensive laundry product, or the product offering a coupon for the week.

Laundry is listed as one of the least favorite chores, and the fact is that no one really likes to do laundry, but everyone loves to have clean, fresh smelling clothes. But by using laundry solutions that contain synthetic ingredients, you’re cleaning your clothes in harmful chemicals.

These chemicals don’t always come out in the rinse cycle. Then if you toss the clothes into the dryer and add a chemically treated dryer sheet or you use a liquid fabric softener, you’re adding even more chemicals! Laundry cleaning solutions are one of the top causes of skin allergies and eye irritants.

Clean laundry drying in the sun. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

But by choosing to go the more natural way and use organic or natural products, you won’t miss out on that freshly laundered smell and appearance. You’re still going to have clothes that look their best and smell great, too. What you will miss out on are the things that aren’t healthy for your body or the environment.

You can use laundry cleaning solutions you make at home, but this is time consuming and if you’re just getting started with using natural cleaners, it’ll take some time before you get the hang of making the mixture.

An easy way to go natural and save time is to use a ready-made natural or organic laundry cleaner. Not all laundry cleaners that claim to be natural really are, so you’ll have to check the ingredients carefully. The natural or organic cleaners that are best for both you and your clothes will say that they’re without any synthetic dyes, and they won’t contain any phosphates.

Look for laundry detergents that say that they’re free from chlorine chemicals. Also look for labels that say the product is hypoallergenic, and the ingredients are based on plants and not on synthetics. You can buy concentrated natural laundry detergents in larger containers to save money. Many have great, natural scents. (My favorite is Earth Friendly Products Ecos Lemongrass - I've been using it for years and it works wonderfully and smells great!)

To whiten clothes, especially clothes that have stains, you can use Borax to treat them. If you have sweat stains on shirts, put some vinegar in a spray bottle and cover the stain with the vinegar. Let sit a few minutes, then launder.

For clothing that needs to be pretreated for stains like an ink stain, you can put the clothing in vinegar. The smell isn’t all that great while it’s soaking, but it does come out in the wash and the vinegar will remove the ink stain. Vinegar is also an excellent stain remover to rid clothes of tomato-based stains.

Once you’ve pretreated any stains, just wash the clothes in a natural or organic detergent for a healthier way to clean your laundry that’s better for your health and safer for the environment!

Natural Laundry Detergents:

   

A Safer, Healthier Way to Clean Your Dishes

Food is the center of many of life’s celebrations, but at the end of the celebrating, when all the guests are heading home, the clean up has to begin. Doing the dishes, whether you put them in a dishwasher or wash them by hand, takes up a lot of time. And depending on what you use to aid in the cleaning up, the products you use may be environmentally unfriendly and unsafe for your skin.

Natural and organic cleaners are safe and effective for every task you need to do - so that means you don’t have to skip using natural substances to clean your dishes, regardless of whether you choose to wash them by hand or load them in a dishwasher.

There are a lot of natural dish cleaners that can give your dishes sparkle and get them shiny clean. If you use a dishwasher, you can buy natural cleaning pods that come with delightful fragrances like lemon or thyme. This scent can give your entire kitchen a fresh smell - while still being safe for everyone.

A dishwasher load of clean dishes. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Because natural ingredients are often better at cleaning than chemicals, you might not need to use as much of the product when you do your dishes. Look for organic dishwashing detergents that don’t have any chlorine or phosphate in them.

Organic and naturally based cleaners can make a greasy clean up job a lot easier by cutting through the grease. And if you get the pre-measured dishwasher pods, this even cuts back on time spent in the kitchen, too. All you have to do is stick one into the dishwasher - no time needed to measure and no chance of accidentally overfilling the soap dish.

If you want to hand wash the dishes, then using natural soap won’t just clean your dishes without unsightly spots, but the soap is often better for your hands, too. Find one that contains aloe vera or chamomile to soothe your skin.

Instead of using dishwasher detergent that has synthetic scents and colors, use ones that have citrus extracts like lemon so that your kitchen is instantly refreshed after you cook a meal with strong odors.

You can even make an effective cleaner yourself just by using a mix of borax and baking soda with an essential oil scent of your choice. This may not have the beautiful color and suds that you had when you used store-bought dishwasher detergent, but you also won’t be putting anything harmful down your drain.

Make sure you play around with the do-it-yourself recipes for organic cleaners to find a formulation that works, because we all have different levels of hardness to our water. And watch how your skin reacts to the ingredients, too. Just because it's all-natural doesn't mean you can't have an allergic reaction. Depending on the ingredients, and your personal sensitivities, you still might need to wear gloves while cleaning.

Natural Dishwashing Soaps:
   

Safe & Natural Oven Cleaning Methods

Cleaning the oven isn’t high on anyone’s joy list, but it’s a task that has to be done in order to have a clean oven, and get rid of any spillage so you don’t run the risk of starting an oven fire.

There are many oven cleaners on the market that advertise how quickly they cut through grease and clean your oven. While they do clean the appliance, it’s what these cleaners don’t tell you that matters.

You won’t hear that the fumes from these cleaners can permeate your entire home and can cause coughing and watery eyes - and even more serious side effects for some people. You also won’t hear that the ingredients are caustic. Caustic means that the ingredients can cause painful skin burns.

Dirty oven. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Natural oven cleaning methods are safer to use in your home and you won’t have to worry about damaging your skin or breathing in a caustic substance. If you need to clean your oven and want to use what you have around the house to do it, then you can use citrus fruits like lemons.

But this is more of a time consuming task because even using lemons, you’ll still have to scrub - and if you have a stuck on mess, you may end up needing something to scrape off burned on food spills.

You can also use white vinegar to clean an oven, but for the scrubbing action, you’ll need to use it in conjunction with baking soda. Even then, depending on the shape your oven is in, you’ll still have to put some effort into scrubbing it clean.

Both of these methods will work to get your oven clean, but they do take up a lot of time and since time is a precious commodity to most of us, you may prefer to look for faster, just as effective methods.

To do that, you can use a natural oven cleaner that’s designed to break apart food spills and cut through grease. You can find these natural oven cleaners in handy spray bottles available through online suppliers such as Amazon.com and many others.

Because they’re natural or organic, they’re safe to use in all types of ovens, including countertop versions. By using only the natural ingredients in these formulas to clean your oven, you won’t be dealing with any of the dangerous fumes, either.

Unlike the other chemical based cleaners that require you to saturate the oven and then wait half an hour before cleaning, with a natural cleaner, you can spray the oven - and because the cleaner works fast, you can wipe it down in minutes without having to wait as long. These natural oven cleaners are also great for cleaning barbecue grills, too!

Natural Oven Cleaning Products:
   

Healthier Ways to Clean Your Dishes

Food is the center of many of life’s celebrations, but at the end of the celebrating, when all the guests are heading home, the clean up has to begin. Doing the dishes, whether you put them in a dishwasher or wash them by hand, takes up a lot of time. And depending on what you use to aid in the cleaning up process, the products you use may be environmentally unfriendly and unsafe for your skin.

Seventh Generation Dishwasher Pods

Organic cleaners are safer for every cleaning task you need to do - so that means you don’t have to skip using organic products to clean your dishes, regardless of whether you choose to wash them by hand or load them in a dishwasher.

There are a lot of organic cleaners that can give your dishes sparkle and get them shiny clean. If you choose a dishwasher, you can buy organic cleaning pods that come with delightful fragrances like thyme. This scent can give your entire kitchen a fresh smell - without all the harmful chemicals.

Look for organic dishwashing detergents that don’t have any chlorine or phosphate in them. These are also a much better option if you have a septic system, as these chemicals can disrupt the delicate microbial balance of your system and cause problems in the future.

Organic cleaners can make a greasy clean up job a lot easier by cutting through the grease. And if you get the pre-measured dishwasher pods, this even cuts back on time spent in the kitchen, too. All you have to do is stick one into the dishwasher - no time needed to measure and no chance of accidentally overfilling the soap dish.

Earth-Friendly Products Dishmate

If you want to hand wash the dishes, then using organic soap won’t only clean your dishes without unsightly spots, but the soap is also better for your hands, too, without drying alcohols or harsh sudsing agents. Find one that contains aloe vera or chamomile to soothe your skin.

Instead of using dishwasher detergent that has synthetic scents and colors, use ones that have citrus extracts like lemon so that your kitchen is instantly refreshed after you cook a meal with strong odors.

You can make a nice cleaner yourself very cheaply just by using a mix of borax and baking soda with an essential oil of your choice. This may not have the beautiful color and suds that you had when you used store-bought dishwasher detergent, but you also won’t be putting anything harmful down your drain.

Make sure you play around with the do-it-yourself recipes for organic and natural cleaners, because results can vary depending on the hardness of your water. And watch how your skin reacts to the ingredients, too. You might need to wear gloves while cleaning, as even some natural ingredients are abrasive and can irritate your skin.

The Benefits of Organic Cleaning Products

Everyone wants a clean living or work environment, but cleaning can be hazardous to your health if you use cleaners with harmful toxins. Exposure to the harmful toxins found in cleaning products can worsen asthma and cause allergic reactions.

You may not even be aware that you're polluting your home when you clean. But if you'll check the ingredients posted on the side or back of regular cleaners, you'll see many allergy and cancer-causing ingredients listed. You can research these chemicals and see the harmful health effects they've been linked to.

Earth-Friendly All-Purpose Cleaner

Using organic cleaning products offers many benefits that chemical based ones do not. By using organic cleaners, you can rid your home of chemical cleaner toxins. Organic cleaning products don't contain harsh chemicals that will not only damage your skin but can affect your lungs if you breathe in the vapors.

Cleaning products are used in every room in the house, including on counters, on floors, and on furniture - and everyone in the home is exposed to whatever active ingredients make up the compound of the cleaning product. What do you want your family to come in contact with?

The number of children diagnosed with asthma continues to rise and concerns have been raised by study groups that exposure to the toxins found in household chemicals may be to blame.

One form of asthma, called extrinsic asthma, is caused by environmental contaminants. By using organic products, you'll create a safer home environment for everyone around you. Because they're non-toxic, organic cleaners are safer to use around kids and they're also safer to use around your beloved pets, too.

Organic is better for allergy suffers as well as asthma sufferers. Going organic cuts down on (and in many cases eliminates) illness brought on by being around chemical cleaners. Not only are organic products better to use in your home for health reasons, but they're also better for the environment.

Chemical cleaners can contain harsh abrasives that damage the surfaces of counters - even granite - and bathroom fixtures too, whereas most organic products are gentle and won't hurt the surfaces. Even when you're finished using a chemical cleaner, the chemical toxicity can stay on your counters, tubs and toilet for several hours if not longer before evaporating.

Organic cleaners can clean as well as (and in most cases, better than) chemical cleaners. Plus, there's the cost involved. Chemical cleaners seem a lot less expensive, but they're not in the long run. Many organic and natural cleaning products are highly concentrated, so you don't have to use as much of them. And when you factor in the long-term impacts on your health, organic cleaners come out way ahead.

A Quick Look At Natural & Organic Cleaning Ingredients

You can scrub your home in every room, but that doesn’t mean your home is clean in a way that’s good for your health. If you’ve used chemical cleaners, these chemicals do get absorbed into your body through your skin.

That’s why you want to use only organic and natural cleaning supplies. Products that contain only organic ingredients are not just part of helping the world be a safer place to live environmentally - they’re better for you, too.

Using vinegar for a natural clean (Photo credit: elycefeliz)

When you’re looking for cleaning products, you need to know what the contents should be in order to be considered natural - because some products say that they’re natural, even when they’re not. Avoid products that contain preservatives or synthetic materials.

Organic and natural cleaning supplies will often have plant extracts and natural minerals on the ingredient lists. Some will have flower essences (such as lavender) to give your home a soothing scent.

Look for products that contain essential oils, which are oils from natural items such as lemon or pine. Cleaning ingredients that are natural in nature will also often have the word 'biodegradable' on the label.

Baking soda is a natural cleaner and is often used to scrub and whiten stains. White vinegar can be used to clean through grease, to get rid of stains and even as pest control. Ants will avoid white vinegar, so if you clean around your window frames and any crevices with white vinegar, this will take care of any ant problems.

Vinegar can also be used to kill mold, clean a garbage disposal and even to take out stains left by tea and coffee in your cups. It’s also great for getting rid of lime deposits.

Salt. (Photo credit: SoraZG)

Some other natural and organic cleaning ingredients found in green cleaners are coconut, minerals and salt. You might not think of salt as a natural cleaner, but it is. Salt can be used as an abrasive and it can also be used to dry up liquids spilled on carpets - and like vinegar, it's much cheaper than most commercial cleaning products on the market!

Look for cleaners that contain castile soap. This soap is made of natural olive oil and can be used for cleaning counter tops. It can also be used to clean clothes and it’s great on the hands. People with allergies often find it easier to use castile soap than any other type of soap.

When you’re buying organic or natural cleaners, just remember that the labels should have ingredients that you would recognize from nature. Also look for keywords like non-abrasive and non-flammable, because this is sometimes indicative of it being chemical-free.