Natural cleaning recipes are pretty cool: not only are you eliminating the toxic chemicals from your home, you’re reducing the need for plastic, and your getting all your chores done healthfully!

Many people worry that homemade cleaning products won’t do the heavy lifting that chemical cleaners can– but there are two reasons not to worry about this. Firstly, most regular cleaning products are actually too strong for home use, and have lots of risks associated with them. And second, natural cleaners will do a wonderful job of keep the house clean and fresh- more safely and more healthfully than chemical-based cleaners that you buy! Homemade cleaning products to the rescue!

In a previous post, we wrote about a report from Consumer Affairs that explained how common antimicrobial chemicals found in regular household cleaners often have serious consequences, and have been linked to health impacts including irritation of skin, eyes, and respiratory system. Chemicals used in cleaning products have also been linked to hormone imbalance, immune system impacts, asthma, and potential reduced fertility. The overuse of disinfectant chemicals also contributes to the growing problem of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, more commonly known as ‘superbugs.’



{Find out the full story of household chemical exposure in our post about 5 household chemicals to avoid}

But the good news is that there are a ton of natural cleaning recipes for healthy, edible and cheap cleaning products for your non-toxic home. Vinegar and baking soda are great homemade cleaning product ingredients to help you get things done around the home. Vinegar and baking soda can be used separately or in combination for a bunch of cleaning tasks throughout the home.



We always recommend organic vinegar because regular white vinegar is often made from GM (genetically modified) corn. Whole Foods seems to have the best priced organic white vinegar in the 365 store brand.

Baking soda has just enough grit to clean pans and scrub showers, and vinegar has germ-busting power that can help you kill the few germs that do live in the home. Vinegar also helps to deodorize around the home and keep things shiny and clean. Here’s 10 household cleaning tasks that require just vinegar and baking soda or a combination of the two! Let’s get cleaning!

1. Power up your laundry: Use about a 1/2 cup of white vinegar per load of laundry to freshen your musty or sweaty smelling clothes. It also works as a fabric softener, so you can ditch the dryer sheets too! For extra stinky stuff, soak with a mixture of 3 parts water and 1 part vinegar before washing.

2. Freshen your clothes: If your clothes on the drying rack don’t dry fast enough, or if you forgot some damp clothes in the dryer, sprinkle a few tablespoons of baking soda onto the clothes, then dry until finished. The smell will be gone.

3. Ditch the glass cleaner: White vinegar and newspaper are the perfect, natural way to get streak free shine in mirrors and glass. And the newspaper can still be recycled afterwards! Vinegar + water can also be used as an all-purpose cleaner.

4. Scrub your tubs and showers: Baking soda has grit to polish your sink and your showers, but is gentle enough to keep everything looking great for years to come.

5. Keep the toilet clean! The Queen of Green from David Suzuki’s website has a great tip for cleaning the toilet with vinegar too: to deodorize the toilet, pour 125 millilitres of white vinegar into the bowl. Let sit 15 minutes and then flush.

6. Get rid of hard water stains too! Queen of Green also says that you can remove hard-water deposits on the tub and glass shower doors. Simply warm 250 millilitres of white vinegar in a pot. Then, spray warm vinegar onto surface, let sit 15 minutes and wipe clean.

7. Homemade drain cleaner! No joke, this is our most popular post on our site. Making natural drain cleaner with just vinegar and baking soda is going to blow your mind.

8. Use baking soda to scrub your pots and pans: if food is stuck to the baking dish or saucepan, add a generous amount of baking soda, stir in a little bit of dishsoap and water, and let sit 30 minutes. Scrub it clean!

9. Perk up your carpets and rugs: Reader’s Digest explains that vinegar can be used to make old carpets look better! You can also sprinkle baking soda onto carpets and rugs before vacuuming to remove funky smells and dampness.

10. Make and all-purpose spray for kitchen and bath cleaning: Mix vinegar and water in equal parts, along with essential oils of your choice. Keep in a spray bottle and use for all spills and simple clean up tasks.

Check out our guide to homemade cleaning products to get started with natural cleaning in your home today!

Baking soda, vinegar and lemon image from Shutterstock; baking soda box from LunaseeStudios / Shutterstock.com

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