Spring Cleaning

Spring Cleaning
Adapted from the "Care2 Ask Annie" newsletter

http://www.care2.com/channels/solutions/home/175

The best explanation I have heard for what spring cleaning is, and
why, is that it is a custom left over from times before electricity,
when everything in peoples' houses was covered with soot from
candles, fireplaces, kerosene, and lamp oils used for heat and light
during the winter. By the spring, every inch of the home had to be
cleaned to rid it of the layer of soot.

Even in these days of relatively clean heating and lighting, it feels
so liberating to get rid of accumulated winter grime. After all,
there is nothing like the sun streaming in the windows to show all
the winter dust, when the days get longer in the spring. Like many of
us, I like to do a good spring clean, soot or no. Here are a few easy
tips for safe, energizing spring cleaning.

Cleaning without toxic chemicals is a wonderful way to turn your home
into a healthy and healing place to be. I've archived a number of
nontoxic cleaning basics and strategies on the Green Living channels
at Care2.com. Here are three links that will give you the basics to
clean your house from top to bottom.

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The Five Basics for Nontoxic Cleaning: With these five ingredients I
believe you can clean everything in the house.

http://www.care2.com/channels/solutions/home/14

Learning to clean from scratch—making home-made recipes—can truly
work if you take time to understand a bit about the chemistry behind
how the materials work. Here are the five ingredients that I find to
be the safest, most effective, and useful for cleaning.

Baking Soda
A commonly available mineral full of many cleaning attributes, baking
soda is made from soda ash, and is slightly alkaline (it’s pH is
around 8.1; 7 is neutral). It neutralizes acid-based odors in water,
and adsorbs odors from the air. Sprinkled on a damp sponge or cloth,
baking soda can be used as a gentle nonabrasive cleanser for kitchen
counter tops, sinks, bathtubs, ovens, and fiberglass. It will
eliminate perspiration odors and even neutralize the smell of many
chemicals if you add up to a cup per load to the laundry. It is a
useful air freshener, and a fine carpet deodorizer.

Washing Soda
A chemical neighbor of baking soda, washing soda (sodium carbonate)
is much more strongly alkaline, with a pH around 11. It releases no
harmful fumes and is far safer than a commercial solvent formula, but
you should wear gloves when using it because it is caustic. Washing
soda cuts grease, cleans petroleum oil, removes wax or lipstick, and
neutralizes odors in the same way that baking soda does. Don’t use it
on fiberglass, aluminum or waxed floors—unless you intend to remove
the wax.

White Vinegar and Lemon Juice
White vinegar and lemon juice are acidic—they neutralize alkaline
substances such as scale from hard water. Acids dissolve gummy
buildup, eat away tarnish, and remove dirt from wood surfaces.

Liquid Soaps and Detergent Liquid soaps and detergents are necessary
for cutting grease, and they are not the same thing. Soap is made
from fats and lye. Detergents are synthetic materials discovered and
synthesized early in this century. Unlike soap, detergents are
designed specifically so that they don’t react with hard water
minerals and cause soap scum. If you have hard water buy a
biodegradable detergent without perfumes; if you have soft water you
can use liquid soap (both are available in health food stores).

Mold Killers and Disinfectants For a substance to be registered by
the EPA as a disinfectant it must go through extensive and expensive
tests. EPA recommends simple soap to use as a disinfectant There are
many essential oils, such as lavender, clove, and tea tree oil (an
excellent natural fungicide), that are very antiseptic, as is
grapefruit seed extract, even though they aren’t registered as such.
Use one teaspoon of essential oil to 2 cups of water in a spray
bottle (make sure to avoid eyes). A grapefruit seed extract spray can
be made by adding 20 drops of extract to a quart of water.

Caution
Make sure to keep all home-made formulas well-labeled, and out of the
reach of children.

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Five recipes for cleaning from scratch.

http://www.care2.com/channels/askannie/2001/04/08

All-Purpose Cleaner (Fantastic Cleaner)
1/2 teaspoon washing soda
2 teaspoons borax
1/2 teaspoon liquid soap or detergent
2 cups hot water

Combine the washing soda, borax, and soap in a spray bottle. pour in
the hot water (it will dissolve the minerals), screw on the lid, and
shake to completely blend and dissolve. Spritz every 6 inches or so
of surface once or twice, wiping off the cleanser with a rag as you
go. For tough dirt, leave the cleanser on for a few minutes before
wiping it off. Shake the bottle each time before using.
Shelf Life: Indefinite
Storage: Leave in a labeled spray bottle

Soft Scrubber
This is one of my most favorite recipes. I use it on the bathtub,
sinks, Formica countertops, and the shower stall.

1/2 cup baking soda
Enough liquid soap or detergent to make a frosting like consistency
5 to 10 drops antibacterial essential oil, such as lavender
(optional)

Place the baking soda in a bowl; slowly pour in the liquid soap,
stirring all the while, until the consistency reaches that of
frosting. Add the essential oil (if using). Scoop the creamy mixture
onto a sponge, wash the surface, and rinse.
Shelf Life: Make only as much as you need a time; natural soft
scrubbers dry out.

Mold Cleaner and Inhibitor/Tea Tree Treasure
This spray works wonders to eradicate mold and mildew. I’ve used it
successfully on a moldy ceiling from a leaking roof, a musty bureau,
a musty rug, and a moldy shower curtain. Tea tree oil is expensive,
but a little goes a long way. Unless you have frequent mold crises,
this mixture can last for months.

2 teaspoons tea tree oil
2 cups water

Combine the ingredients in a spray bottle, shake to blend, and spray
on problem areas. Do not rinse. The strong odor will dissipate in a
day or so.
Shelf Life: Indefinite
Storage: Leave in a labeled spray bottle

All-Purpose Window Wash
Around Earth Day 1990, every newspaper in the country (or so it
seemed) offered recipes for nontoxic cleaners made with basic
ingredients that we all have in our kitchen cupboards. The recipe for
window cleaner was invariably plain white distilled vinegar and
water; the method of drying was with old newspapers. People by the
thousands tried this, and many swore off cleaning with homemade
products for good because the formula left streaks on their
windows.Actually the problem was that the commercial products they
had used for years had left a wax buildup, and vinegar alone wouldn’t
remove the residue. A dab of dish soap with vinegar and water would
have done the trick, and from then on they could have used plain
vinegar.

1/4 cup white distilled vinegar
1/2 teaspoon liquid soap or detergent
2 cups water

Combine the ingredients in a spray bottle, and shake to blend. Spray
on, then remove with a squeegee, paper towel, or newspaper.
Shelf Life: Indefinite
Storage: Leave in a labeled spray bottle.

Basic Wood Cleaning Formula
This is a good formula for well-used furniture. The vinegar works
wonderfully to pull dirt out of wood.
1/4 cup white distilled vinegar
1/4 cup water
1/2 teaspoon liquid soap or detergent
A few drops jojoba or olive oil.

Combine the ingredients in a bowl, saturate a sponge with the
mixture,squeeze out the excess, and wash surfaces. The smell of
vinegar will dissipate in a few hours.
Shelf Life: Indefinite
Storage: Labeled glass jar with a screw top

Floor Cleaner with Fragrant Herbs
This recipe is nice to rid the house of the stale smell of winter.
1/8 cup liquid soap or detergent
1/4 to 1/2 cup white distilled vinegar or lemon juice
1/2 cup fragrant herb tea (peppermint is great as it adds
antibacterial qualities)

Combine ingredients in a pail or bucket. Swirl the water around until
it is sudsy. Proceed as normal.
Shelf Life: Discard