For every surface in your home, it’s possible to prepare a natural, eco-friendly cleaning solution without harsh chemical ingredients. Learn how to clean without chemicals: wooden surfaces, furniture, parquet floors, dishwasher, microwave, oven, bathtub, toilet bowl…
The first days of spring are the perfect time for many to embark on cleaning and tidying up their homes. While numerous products are available for purchase, many opt to restore the shine to their homes using natural cleaning solutions, mostly found in the kitchen. Whether for ecological, health, or financial reasons, here are some of the most effective natural cleaning agents:
Cleaning Wooden Surfaces
For rustic wooden surfaces like unpainted beams in the attic or exterior woodwork, such as windows, the best natural solution is olive oil. Fill a coffee cup halfway with olive oil and add a little vinegar. Vinegar helps remove impurities from the wood, while olive oil restores its shine and provides protection. Apply this mixture vigorously with a clean cotton cloth, such as an old torn T-shirt. Optionally, for fragrance, add a few drops of essential oil.
Cleaning Parquet and Wooden Furniture
For lacquered wooden surfaces like parquet or furniture, prepare the cleaning solution differently. Pour a cup of alcohol vinegar into a mop bucket or “jogger,” add about 20 drops of tea tree or lavender essential oil, warm water, and a bit of dishwashing liquid. Use this mixture to vigorously mop the parquet. Whether matte or glossy, it will look like new.
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The essential oils act as natural antiseptics and disinfectants. If you notice scratches on the parquet or furniture, rub them with a walnut kernel. The walnut’s oil will alleviate larger scratches and eliminate smaller ones.
Washing Window Glass
This recipe is simple: mix two cups of water with half a cup of alcohol vinegar and half a cup of 70-percent alcohol. Ideally, pour this window cleaning solution into a spray bottle, which you can purchase at any plastic shop. Your windows will sparkle better than with any expensive cleaning product.
Natural Solution for Cleaning Microwave and Oven
The microwave oven, especially the oven, is definitely a “tough category” when it comes to household cleaning. However, even for such special tasks, there are effective natural cleaning solutions. For regular cleaning of the oven or microwave with only minor traces of grease, plain vinegar will suffice. If dealing with ovens that haven’t been cleaned for a while and have accumulated stubborn dirt, a mixture of vinegar and baking soda is necessary.
Pour baking soda into a container and add vinegar. Ensure the baking soda and vinegar mixture is not too dry. Rub all dirty surfaces with this mixture and let it sit for an hour before attempting to remove dirt. Repeat the process if necessary.
A handy tip for neglected microwaves: place a glass of water with half a squeezed lemon inside the microwave and turn it on so that the solution evaporates. The steam will soften stubborn dirt and make cleaning easier.
Dishwasher Cleaning
This is the simplest. In fact, you don’t have to do anything. Pour a cup of alcohol vinegar and a cup of baking soda into an empty dishwasher and run it on the highest temperature setting. This type of cleaning once or twice a year, combined with the use of high-quality All-in-One dishwasher tablets, is sufficient for the “good health” of your dishwasher.
Cleaning the Refrigerator
Once a year, it’s necessary to defrost and clean the interior of the refrigerator. The ideal solution for this is a mixture of half water and half alcohol vinegar. Optionally, add a few drops of lavender essential oil to this mixture.
When cleaning the refrigerator, don’t forget to move it and clean the heat exchanger grille. Dry cleaning from dust is applied here, best done by attaching a brush to the end of the vacuum cleaner hose and sucking up all the dust from the grille. This way, the heat exchanger will work more efficiently, the refrigerator will overheat less, last longer, and consume less electricity.
Removing Limescale from the Sink, Bathtub, and Sink
Vinegar comes to the rescue again. Soak an old cloth in heated alcohol vinegar and leave it over the surface where limescale has accumulated. This way, limescale will be much easier to remove, and there won’t be a need for abrasive methods that can dull shiny chrome surfaces. It’s better to repeat vinegar soaking than to use mechanical and abrasive methods to remove limescale stains.
This is especially important for new sinks and chrome-plated polished faucets in the kitchen or bathroom.
And Finally, “the Worst” – Cleaning the Toilet Bowl
Regular routine toilet bowl cleaning is best done with a cloth soaked in alcohol vinegar to which, for fragrance, you can add a little essential oil. For stubborn dirt and limescale deposits, use a similar trick as with the sink, but instead of a cotton cloth, use disposable paper towels.
Cover all surfaces where limescale has accumulated with “wraps” made of paper towels soaked in a mixture of vinegar and baking soda. You can even tuck paper soaked in a mixture of baking soda and vinegar under the bottom edge of the toilet bowl from the inside, where the most stubborn dirt always accumulates. Leave them as needed, even overnight, and the next day, dirt will be much easier to remove.
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