Edukacja Ekologiczna

The cleaning method matters

Before you start a home manufacture of cleaning agents, you should prepare yourself properly for this: turn old and damaged clothes into cleaning cloths and equip yourself with glass jars for detergents and spray bottles for cleaning liquids.

To minimize the use of strong chemicals during spring cleaning, try steam cleaning equipment. By using a universal steam cleaner, you can effectively get rid of dirt and microbes.

A clean house without strong chemicals

Natural cleaning agents are a solution that more and more people choose. In spite of appearances, it does not take much to prepare an effective milk for cleaning the bathroom or a preparation that removes limescale. Check what to expect when using cheap and readily available food products that are probably already in your kitchen.

Almost all environmentally friendly cleaning products is composed of just a few basic ingredients that naturally remove dirt, have a bactericidal effect and effectively dissolve grease and even difficult limescale deposits. To begin with, reach for:

• baking soda,
• spirit vinegar,
• citric acid or fresh citrus,
• rock salt,
• coffee.

Kitchen

Spring cleaning in the kitchen is a huge challenge. Fortunately, lemons come in handy. By boiling the peel of this citrus in a little water, you can easily remove limescale from the inside of the kettle. Eliminate unpleasant odours from the refrigerator by placing a container with fresh, preferably grained, coffee.

Instead of conventional dishwasher tablets, use a mixture of coarse salt and citric acid in the proportion 1:1. It is enough to spray such a mixture with water and put it into an ice cube tray for a few hours to obtain the desired shape of the tablets. Instead of a dishwasher rinse agent, try a teaspoon of white spirit vinegar which will give all your glasses a brilliant shine.

Bathroom

Dirty joints can be easily washed with a paste made of baking soda and water. It is enough to spread such a mixture in critical areas and scrub them thoroughly. Microbes and hard water deposits in the toilet can be removed with a mixture of baking soda and spirit vinegar. Water stains on the shower cabin will disappear if you treat them with a spirit vinegar solution in which citrus peel have been soaked for several days. It is possible to remove limescale and soap deposits with a universal cleaning agent made of water, spirit vinegar, domestic salt and lemon juice. It is enough to mix the ingredients until a thick mixture is obtained and then apply it to dirty surfaces for a few minutes. If mould has appeared in your bathroom, then spirit vinegar and baking soda will work best.

Other rooms

To remove dust, wipe the furniture with cleaning cloth made of old and damaged clothes which has been soaked in tea infusion or natural olive oil. Talcum powder is useful for cleaning light rugs and carpets. It is enough to rub a thin layer of the product into the carpet and then vacuum it thoroughly. Baking soda will be equally effective as it will refresh the carpet and remove unpleasant odours, especially if there are animals in the house.

Floors

If you need a simple way to clean floors, pour a few tablespoons of spirit vinegar into warm water to obtain an exceptionally effective cleaning agent. If you are concerned about a pungent smell, you can add a few drops of peppermint or lavender oil. This solution will work for both wooden and ceramic surfaces.

Windows

There is no spring cleaning without window washing. How to make them shine without the use of strong chemicals? An effective way to clean windows without leaving any streaks or stains is a solution of lemon juice and warm water. It is enough to dissolve half a glass of lemon juice in one glass of water and spray the glass with the mixture, and then wipe it dry with a cleaning cloth made of old clothes or newspaper. Windows washed in this way will not only shine, but also become more resistant to renewed dirt.

Cleaning preparations made on your own from natural ingredients are not only highly effective, but also free of microplastics and safe for all household members, especially for children and pets. By using reusable packaging, you do not introduce new plastic waste into the environment, which has an increasingly negative impact on it.

Recipes for homemade cleaning agents

• Oven cleaning paste

Ingredients: juice squeezed from 3 large lemons, 2 glasses of water, 1 glass of spirit vinegar, 1 glass of domestic salt

Preparation: All ingredients should be carefully mixed and then poured into a pot and boiled. Leave it on heat for about 5 minutes and keep stirring until the liquid thickens. Then leave the paste to cool down.

• Dishwashing liquid

Ingredients: 1 cup of hot water, 5 grammes of grated grey soap, 1 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar,
a few drops of lemon, a few drops of your favourite essential oil

Preparation: Put soap shavings into water and stir until they are completely dissolved. Then add the remaining ingredients and stir for a while. Pour the mixture into a bottle and let it cool down. Note! Baking soda mixed with apple cider vinegar can produce a lot of foam.

• Washing powder

Ingredients: 1 cup of soda ash, 1 cup of sodium percarbonate, 1 cup of borax

Preparation: Pour all ingredients into a bowl and mix thoroughly. About ¼ cup of homemade washing powder is enough for a single load of laundry. Instead of rinsing liquid, use apple cider vinegar with a few drops of your favourite essential oil.