Cleaning supplies can be the worst. Really, just the worst. They’re so toxic and it isn’t necessary. My cleaning lady (yes, even home management experts enjoy some help in the home) has had to have 2 sinus surgeries and has been ordered by her doctor to not use any cleaning supplies other than natural ones like Mrs. Meyers or Seventh Generation.
To me that’s saying a lot. Not to mention the one time I cleaned the shower with Tilex with the bathroom door closed and almost asphyxiated myself.
Keep in mind that most cleaning solutions are about 90% water. It’s easy to come up with non-toxic ways to clean your home that are also more cost efficient.
I pulled together 9 of my favorites using white vinegar, and you get a 10th using ACV (apple cider vinegar) as a bonus. So, let’s get right to it:
1) Dishwashers can get kind of funky after a while. They do the best they can to filter food particles and chop them up if you have that kind of washer. But, some food hangs around and goes bad, causing that funk and residue.
TIP: Modern dishwashing solutions need a little food to activate so don’t clean your dishes before cleaning your dishes, just rinse the big particles off.
To clean the dishwasher:
Clean the filter of any debris
Place a microwavable container with 1 cup of white vinegar on the top rack of your dishwasher
Run a hot or sanitize cycle in an empty washer
For and extra clean dump a ½ cup of baking soda in the bottom of the washer and run another short cycle
2) Vinegar can also be used during a cycle to combat hard water stains. Similar to cleaning the washer itself you can put a bowl of white vinegar in with dishes on the top rack.
TIP: It’s better to put the vinegar in a bowl than in the rinse aid compartment as it can damage the compartment’s gaskets.
3) I learned about vinegar to clean windows when I was a kid. My dad was out of Windex and we had people coming over so we used a 50/50 solution of vinegar and water, which worked great. The modern, fancified version is:
Put a small amount of vinegar in a 16oz spray bottle
Add 40 drops of lemon essential oil (citrus is the Earth’s cleaning gift to us)
Fill with water.
TIP: Distilled water is always going to be preferable to tap water that may have tons of mineral deposits.
4) I always enjoy sharing stories of how I ignored aspects of home maintenance for decades before I did my own Soulful Space work and took control of my home. My oven became my nemesis for about an entire weekend because I actually looked at its window and realized the color wasn’t tinting, it was baked on crud.
I always keep dishcloths on the handle of the oven so the window had been blocked for years and I never checked on my food by looking through the window.
When I finally examined the window, I was totally confused as to why I couldn’t see through the glass. I won’t take you through the entire saga of cleaning that thing. I will recommend you go clean your oven and then keep it up. It’s not worth the hassle to go through what I did.
Here’s the basic magic that eventually netted me clear glass:
cover the inside glass in baking soda
lay a vinegar-soaked towel over the baking soda, let sit for at least 30 minutes
Scrub with a melamine foam sponge (i.e. Mr. Clean Magic Eraser);
Up the cleaning power by using a lemon cut in half to scrub the baked in stains off the window
5) Washing machines are havens for mold. First of all, always leave the door of your washer open so that it can air dry. Second, do this little cleaning trick once a month or quarterly as you wish:
½ cup baking soda directly in the washer
1 quart of white vinegar into the detergent dispenser
Run the hottest longest cycle your washer will do
6) An extra white vinegar bonus to fluff your laundry is:
Add a ½ cup of white vinegar to each load
Pour directly on to the clothes or in the bleach compartment
Run your regular cycle
7) Over time, your shower head can get calcium buildup from hard water and begin to lose water pressure. With a gallon size plastic bag, white vinegar, and baking soda, you can clean your shower head and remove the residue.
Mix 1/3 cup baking soda with 1 cup white vinegar in the gallon plastic bag.
Secure the bag over your dirty shower head with a rubber band. Make sure the head is completely covered in the solution.
Leave the bag on the shower head overnight.
In the morning, remove the bag, wipe down the shower head and run hot water.
8) Another tough item to clean are rusty tools:
Put your rusty tools into a large container
Pour white vinegar over the tools to fully cover them
Leave them soaking for 12 hours
Marvel at the difference in your tools
9) Drains get clogged for tons of reasons. Those of us with long hair know the frustration of a shower drain that constantly gets slow. I really don’t enjoy shoving the drain snake in there wondering what disgusting hair thing is going to come out. Or maybe someone poured the bacon grease down the kitchen drain. Stuff happens.
Pour a (tea)pot of boiling hot water down your drain
Dump in about 1/2 cup baking soda. Let that sit for 3-5 minutes
Then, pour a mixture of 1 cup vinegar and 1 cup very hot water down the drain, on top of the baking soda
If you have a drain plug, cover the drain and let sit for 5-10 minutes. If you don’t have a drain plug, it’ll be fine; the plug just keeps more of the reaction below the surface
Flush again with a pot of boiling water
Bonus Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) Hack
Apple cider vinegar deserves an article of its own. For now, I’ll tease you with this favorite of mine. It comes with a story…
One morning I grabbed my hot, 1 ½ inch barrel curling iron with my dominant hand (right) and singed the fingerprints off each finger. Blisters, pain, lots of band-aids. This prompted a conversation about apple cider vinegar with one of my brilliant clients who had noticed my band-aids.
She told me her father had burned his hand and doused it in ACV. She said he swore it increased his healing time. Interesting.
This next part doesn’t make me look like the brightest bulb: the next week I grabbed the same curling iron with my left hand. Yes, that’s right. I did it again.
But I remembered that conversation and immediately ran downstairs, filled a small bowl with ACV and plunged by burnt fingers into it.
I kept them in there for the next 5 minutes, while I continued with my morning routine, walking around with the little bowl. When I pulled them out, they didn’t hurt, and they never blistered. The skin on the pads of each finger toughened up, but never even peeled off.
My left hand, which had been burned one week after the right, healed faster than the right hand that had not gotten the ACV treatment.
TIP: Keep ACV in your house and dunk yourself or a loved one in it ASAP for a burn. Jus’ sayin’.