Published: 04/06/2020
There's no need to spend hard-earned cash buying expensive household cleaning products when you can concoct your own at home. It's not only cheaper, but it's cleaner, healthier, greener and sometimes more effective. It only requires a few ingredients to mix a whole range of cleaning products.Here's a list of everyday things you might find lurking in your kitchen cupboards, that can do a sterling job of cleaning. But when it comes to it, you can go a long way with just these three Musketeers as they will bust most dirt.
Bicarbonate of Soda (Baking soda)
Bicarb is one of the most effective products for cleaning. Just mix this white powder with a little water, and you have a paste to clean.
White Vinegar
It's such a pleasure when surfaces start shining so much that you can see your reflection. White wine vinegar is a cleaning superhero that often works with Bicarb to make a winning team.
Lemons
This citrus is not only good for you to drink with water first thing to cleanse your system, but it also works wonders when it comes to cutting grease and adding shine. It also adds a delicious fresh smell to the air.
Working Alone
Adding water to these three gems will do the trick on their own, or all together. Mixing them requires no effort, and the ratios and amounts can be reasonably freehanded.
Bicarb
- Sprinkle over your laundry before washing to freshen it
- Put in containers and place in the fridge, linen cupboard and cupboards to freshen
- Heat some water mixed with bicarb and watch the burnt food stuck on the pan's bottom magically disappear (add vinegar if the burnt debris is stubborn).
- As a paste, it will remove laundry stains if applied before washing (add vinegar if the stains are tough)
- The same paste will make cookware sparkle as well as clean tile grouting if you scrub with a tooth brush
- Put half a lemon in the dishwasher, run the cycle and it will be clean and smell wonderful
Vinegar
- Mix 60ml of vinegar diluted with 120 ml water to make fabric softener
- A similar ratio to make window cleaner
- A cup added to a small bucket to clean wall tiles
- Undiluted to clean the toilet
Lemon
Dip half a lemon into salt and then apply a little elbow grease to rub over wooden cutting boards and copper pots and pans. Remember to rinse off the items afterwards to preserve the surfaces.
Teamwork Adds Strength
Vinegar and bicarbonate of soda paste mixed, will clean off old polish on wooden furniture. It also makes light work of cleaning stoves, loosening even the toughest baked-on build up around the hotplates. There is little they can't handle! Add some lemon juice to the paste to increase its effectiveness and to infuse the air.