Green Cleaning Resource

photo by Bianca de Blok

Cleaning products are up there on the list of “things I hate to spend $$ on” — they come in a close second to toilet paper. So basically any type of green home remedy I can make in place of buying conventional cleaning products is great in my book! They’re always cheaper than what I could buy at the store and healthier. I also get a kick out of knowing that what I clean my sink with also helps to bake cookies (like baking soda)!

Recently I came across this great website run by the Allergy and Environmental Health Association of Ottawa (scroll down to Safe Alternatives to Common Household Products) with all of the formulas for green cleaning that you could possibly want. I’ve never seen such a comprehensive list of formulas.

Here a few that I hadn’t seen elsewhere:

Rug or carpet cleaner: 2 cup cornmeal + 1 cup borax – sprinkle, leave for about 1 hour then vacuum

Tub/tile cleaner: ½ cup of baking soda + ½ up of white vinegar, or drop 1000mg Vitamin C, leave overnight then scrub

Silver polish: place in container: 1 quart warm water + 1 tbspn baking soda + 1 tbspn salt + piece of aluminum foil

Antibacterial spray: Add tea tree oil to vinegar/water solutions and spray on mold

Roach repellent: chopped bay leaves + cucumber skins or place borax in cracks

Drain cleaner ½ cup of white vinegar + ½ cup of baking soda. Cover tightly 1 minute then flush. Next ½ cup of salt + ½ cup of baking soda + 6 cups boiling water. Let sit several hours then flush with water. For more tips on drain cleaning, look for Moffett Plumbing & Air and other similar services.