Getting natural cleaning supplies can get costly very fast, and sometimes you can’t even be sure if some of the ingredients are really natural. You don’t need to go buy every spray and cleaner—you can make most of them at home from ingredients you already have in your cabinets! Staple items like Clorox, Glad garbage bags, paper towels, and disinfectant wipes can stay, but here are 6 natural cleaning hacks that won’t have you breaking the bank or worrying about toxic ingredients:
1. All purpose cleaner with castile soap
If you mix 6 cups of water with ¼ cup of a liquid castile soap, add some drops of an essential oil if you prefer a scent (lemon or lavender are great options), and store in a glass spray bottle, you’ll have yourself a great all purpose cleaner. Castile soap is oil-based and often made of jojoba, olive, coconut, hemp, or sunflower seed. This mixture can be used on many surfaces, such as counters, cupboards, oven hoods, toilet bowls, and more!
2. Cleanse the kettle
After you’ve used your kettle repeatedly for quite some time, you’ll notice a sort of residue or build up on the bottom. To get rid of this and cleanse your kettle naturally, add 2 cups of water and ¼ of white vinegar to the kettle and bring it to a boil—once this is cool, wipe with a cloth and rinse well.
3. Sofas and upholstery
If you’ve spilled something on your sofa, you’ll want to act quickly. Check the label on your sofa, it should let you know the appropriate cleaning method—for example, “W” means you can use water and “S” means solvents only. For water tolerant sofas, blot, don’t rub, with a dry cloth, blot again with a damp cloth, apply a bit of soap or water and vinegar, blot again with the damp cloth, and repeat as required. If it was an oil-based substance, you’d want to sprinkle cornstarch, wait 30-minutes for it to absorb the spill, and vacuum it up.
4. De-mist your mirrors
If you’re tired of fogged up mirrors after you take a shower, try out this hack. Spray a thick covering of shaving cream onto your mirror and use a paper towel to polish the mirror with the foam. Your mirrors will be steam free for a few weeks, and when you notice them fogging up again, simply repeat the process.
5. Get rid of mildew
If your shower curtain is mildewy, don’t throw it out—it can be cleaned. With the shower curtain in the washing machine, add 115 grams of baking soda to the detergent and run a warm cycle. Before the rinse cycle begins, add 115 ml of white vinegar. The mix of the baking soda and vinegar will remove the mildew completely and have your shower curtain looking good as new.
6. Wall cleaner
If your child has drawn a masterpiece on your newly painted wall, don’t worry, it’s an easy and natural fix. Take a slice of brown bread, add a few drops of tea tree oil, and rub at the crayon mark on the wall. If there’s excess oil on the wall afterwards, use the crust to wipe it up. This bizarre hack works because brown bread contains bran, a gentle abrasive that removes the pigment, and the tea tree oil dissolves the wax. Before doing this hack, make sure you have a durable paint on the wall—if it’s not so durable, you may have to try a different hack.
