The following are five great green cleaning tips:
Plants: Just like every other part of your home, the air in your home needs to be cleaned. You can invest in an expensive electric air filtration system or you can use plants for natural air filtration. English Ivy, spider plants, and Boston ferns are all natural air filters that will leave your home with fresh, clean air, without the use of electricity. The only thing you have to do is keep the plants alive and while this might be tricky if you don’t have a green thumb, with a little effort you’ve got a natural way to clean the air that’s almost free.
Vinegar and water: White vinegar is a great natural disinfectant, and can be used to clean a number of surfaces and fixtures in your home. You must dilute it with water, but it makes a great green cleaner. A few tablespoons of white vinegar mixed with a quart of cool water makes a great window and mirror cleaner. Vinegar applied after baking soda to a toilet makes a wonderful toilet bowl cleaner and disinfectant. Vinegar, liquid dish soap and water combined make a fantastic floor cleaner. Baking soda, vinegar and water make a fantastic all purpose cleaner.
Baking soda and water: As mentioned above, baking soda is a great cleaner. It can deodorize a toilet, and help scrub and remove stains from the bowl. It can be mixed with vinegar and water to be a great counter or all purpose cleaner. Generally, you need only about 4 tablespoons of baking soda for every gallon of water for cleaning.
Hang dry: We all have to do laundry. The best way to go green with laundry is to simply hang dry your clothes. String a clothes line outside your home, or buy a portable hanging dryer to and set your clothes over inside your home. Your clothes will be fresh and clean, and you’ll save a great deal of energy by not using your dryer. If you do hang your clothing outside, turn them inside out to prevent fading.
Regular maintenance and cleaning: One of the best ways to avoid needing harsh chemicals, or using excess energy to clean is simply clean regularly. If you wipe up spills in your oven right after they happen, you won’t have to run a self cleaning cycle. If you mop up spills and sweep regularly, you won’t need a harsh soap to mop with. The more regularly you clean, the easier it is to go green.
Parenting viewpoints from parents in the trenches, because parenting doesn’t come with a manual. In addition to