1. Rating: +0

   

   Non-toxic cleaning

   Numerous studies to show that a straight 5 percent solution of vinegar—thekind you can buy in the supermarket—kills 99 percent of bacteria, 82 percent of mold, and 80 percent of germs (viruses). He noted that Heinz can't claim on their packaging that vinegar is a disinfectant since the company has not registered it as a pesticide with the Environmental Protection Agency. However, it seems to be common knowledge in the industry that vinegar is powerfully antibacterial.

2. Rating: +0

   

   Vinegar Kills Bacteria, Mold and Germs

   Keep a clean spray bottle filled with straight 5 percent vinegar in your kitchen near your cutting board, and in your bathroom, and use them for cleaning. The smell of vinegar dissipates within a few hours. Straight vinegar is also great for cleaning the toilet rim. Just spray it on and wipe off.

3. Rating: +0

   

   Homemade formula for Baking Soda

   A commonly available mineral full of many cleaning attributes, baking soda is made from soda ash, and is slightly alkaline (its 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 non-abrasive 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.

4. Rating: +0

   

   Homemade formula for 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.

5. Rating: +0

   

   Homemade formula - 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.

6. Rating: +0

   

   Homemade formula - Liquid Soaps and Detergents

   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).

7. Rating: +0

   

   Homemade formula - 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.

8. Rating: +0

   

   Floor Cleaner with Fragrant Herbs

   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 unused formula

9. Rating: +0

   

   Homemade furniture polish

   Did you know...that petroleum distillates and solvents in commercial furniture polish are highly neurotoxic. Most of the old folk formulas for furniture polish ask for 1/4 cup of oil or so, plus a few drops of vinegar. I feel those folk formulas leave the furniture too oily, and in hot weather there is a risk of the oil going rancid.

   Instead, reversing those ratios —using 1/4 cup vinegar plus a few drops of oil—makes for a much better wood cleaner and polish. The vinegar pulls the dirt out of the wood, and the few drops of oil lubricates the wood so that it doesn't dry out.

   The best oils to use are those that have the longest shelf life. Olive oil works well. The best choice of all is the liquid wax jojoba, because it never goes rancid. It is found in most health food stores. Boiled linseed oils found in hardware stores have synthetic drying chemicals in them and shouldn't be used. I do love the smell of linseed oil in a furniture polish—it is rich and nutty—but I only use that which is food grade.

   You can substitute lemon juice for the vinegar. Organic apple cider vinegar is the best choice of vinegar, although I don't usually recommend this for general cleaning because of the possibility of staining. If you are cleaning something that could possibly stain, use white distilled vinegar.

   Homemade Furniture Polish Cloth
   Dip a soft recycled cloth, such as one of flannel, in the vinegar and oil mixture, and wipe furniture.

   Lemon Oil Duster
   Most commercial lemon oil is not all natural, but may contain petroleum distillates. Contact herbalists for pure sources of lemon oil. Traditionally, lemon oil has been used for furniture because it is so lubricating and antiseptic.

   10 drops lemon oil
   2 tablespoons lemon juice
   A few drops olive oil or jojoba

   Dip a soft recycled cloth, such as one of flannel, in the lemon oil mixture, and wipe furniture.

10. Rating: +0

    

    Salt as a cleaner

    From the Farmer's Almanac, some cleaning tips for using salt.

    Just Add a Pinch of Salt: Recipes for a Cleaner Home

    We all know salt as a seasoning, but did you know it can help you around the house too?We all know salt is delicious, and was one of our earliest preservatives, but did you know it can help you around the house, too? Here are just a few tips on cleaning with salt:

    • Pour a bit of salt, followed by a few cups of boiling water down your kitchen drain once a week to prevent clogs or unpleasant smells.

    • Greasy pan? Scour it with some salt and a paper towel before washing.

    • Salt can remove grease from clothing, too. Just pour some salt on a fresh grease spot on to soak up some of the grease. Then gently scrub some more salt into the fabric and rinse before washing.

    • Salt is a great way to remove coffee stains from pots and mugs.

    • A paste of vinegar and salt can add shine to old copper pans and molds.

    • Salt makes a great rust remover for getting bicycles moving again in the spring, or refreshing worn household objects. Make a paste using three parts salt to one part lemon juice.

    • When your child is sick, salt can help clean up messy accidents. Sprinkle salt over the "throw up" and let it sit for five minutes to help absorb the wetness and the odor.

    • Salt will also remove fishy smells from counters, cutting boards and refrigerator shelves.

    • Soaking new pantyhose in saltwater can help prevent runs.

    • Pour salt over a grease fire to smother it quickly.

11. Rating: +0

    

    Baking Soda Drain Cleaner

    If water hasn't yet backed up in your drain, pour 1 cup of baking soda followed by 3 cups of boiling water. The boiling water will change the chemical composition of baking soda, making it more alkaline. Repeat a few times until the drain is clear.

12. Rating: +0

    

    Washing Soda Drain Cleaner

    If the water isn't going down the drain, pour a cup of washing soda over the drain area and let it set for a while to work its way down to the clog. Once the clog is loosened, use the baking soda method, above. Washing soda is more alkaline than baking soda, with a pH of 11. You never want to use washing soda if a commercial acid drain cleaner has recently been used in the drain, as they will strongly react with each other. You also shouldn't overuse washing soda if you have PVC pipes, as the caustic nature of washing soda can slowly damage the plastic.

13. Rating: +0

    

    The Bubbling Method Using Vinegar and Baking Soda

    Baking soda and vinegar react with each other to cause bubbles and fizzing. Sometimes the fizzing can unlodge clogs. Follow the baking soda and boiling water formula, above, with 1 cup of vinegar.

14. Rating: +0

    

    Enzyme Drain and Garbage Disposal Maintenance

    All natural living enzyme culture drain cleaners will actually eat and break down any organic matter. Using enzyme drain cleaners once a month, such as Bi-O-Kleen's Bacout, will help not just your drains, but your septic system. They will also significantly reduce odor from garbage disposals. Colonies of enzymes will actually continue to grow and break down organic matter in your drains.

15. Rating: +0

    

    Washing Soda Maintenance

    Enzymes don't work as well on hair clogs, so to keep drains clear that tend to collect hair, such as in the shower and bath. A few times a month pour 1 cup of washing soda followed by a thorough flushing of water.

16. Rating: +0

    

    Brass Cleaner

    Most commonly used kitchen cupboard or refrigerator ingredients that contain a natural acid, such as vinegar, Tobasco Sauce, ketchup, tomatoes, milk, and lemon or lime juice, will remove tarnish.

    The tarnish washes away with an acid rub or soak. You might have to remove the lacquer cover if the brass is new. Do this by submerging the brass in boiling water with a few teaspoons each baking soda and washing soda (available in the laundry section of the supermarket). Once the lacquer has peeled off, polish dry.

17. Rating: +0

    

    Homemade formula - Laundry detergent

    Do-It-Yourself Laundry Detergent by Stacy Johnson - Tuesday, April 20, 2010 - provided by MoneyTalksNews

    While having clean clothes is obviously both hygienic and neighborly, how they get that way may be more open to imagination and experimentation than you may have considered. And consider you should, because as it turns out, the companies supplying the soaps you use to make your attire springtime fresh may be doing little more than taking you to the cleaners.

    According to soap super-seller Proctor and Gamble (their Tide label alone accounts more than 40% of all laundry detergent used in the U.S.) Americans are doing 1,100 loads of laundry every minute of every day. And it's certainly possible that, thanks to new concentrates, many of those loads feature too much detergent.

    As you've probably noticed, the latest twist in detergent is to sell us less product at a higher price with "ultra-new-and-improved" concentrates. "Use less soap, save the planet" is the basic idea. But smaller quantities mean more precise measuring is needed: fail to pay attention and you'll pour too much, which doesn't help the earth or your budget ... but does benefit Proctor and other purveyors of these products.

    To read more about the conflict over exactly what kind of green concentrated laundry detergents are really designed to produce, check out this article from the Wall Street Journal.

    Then consider this dirty little secret the suds salesmen don't want you to know: Some people get by with no detergent at all. Many others save 90% of the cost of store-bought by making it themselves.

    Is Detergent Even Necessary?

    I recently did a TV news story showing people how to make their own laundry detergent for a fraction of the cost of store bought. (It's right here on Yahoo!: check it out.)

    As I said in my story, while it may sound impossible, laundry detergent may not even be necessary at all. The blog Funny about Money decided to forgo it completely as part of an experiment. Here's a quote:

    "By and large, all of the freshly washed clothing came out with an odor: It smelled of clean water!"

    You might be surprised to learn that, while clothing has been around since the fig leaf, laundry detergent is relatively new. And yet, ancient people were presumably able to make their clothing at least somewhat clean. How?

    As it turns out, something that may be even more effective than soap is agitation. Ancient people used rocks and rivers, but your modern washing machine can clean lightly soiled clothes by just pushing them around in water.

    In other words, people actually do get away without using detergent at all. But if the idea of using nothing more than water to wash your gym socks sounds a little scuzzy, not to worry. You can still wring significant savings from your laundry money by making your own detergent. It's not hard.

    The Recipe

    A quick search online will show you that there's no shortage of homemade laundry soap recipes: Here's one from The Simple Dollar. And we've got 10 more at Money Talks News. But below is one that seems to work pretty well. You'll need:

    • 4 cups of water.
    • 1/3 bar of cheap soap, grated.
    • 1/2 cup washing soda (not baking soda).
    • 1/2 cup of Borax (20 Mule Team).
    • 5-gallon bucket for mixing.
    • 3 gallons of water.

    First, mix the grated soap in a saucepan with 4 cups of water, and heat on low until the soap is completely dissolved. Add hot water/soap mixture to 3 gallons of water in the 5-gallon bucket, stir in the washing soda and Borax, and continue stirring until thickened. Let the mix sit for 24 hours, and voila! Homemade laundry detergent.

    Of course, who'd post a recipe without trying it out first? I made and washed several loads of clothes with the homemade detergent. And I, like many before me who've traveled this road, couldn't tell the difference between store-bought and homemade.

    Total cost per load? In the neighborhood of 2 cents. Store-bought detergent, depending on what you buy and where you buy it, can cost about 20 cents per load -- 10 times more.

    So, there are at least two alternatives to the agitation of paying too much for laundry detergent: Ditch it altogether and use nothing more than water in your washer, or save to 90% by making your own laundry detergent.

    And here's a final idea for those who, like me, are unlikely to choose either of those options. Since doing this story, I haven't started making my own laundry detergent. I still use the same store-bought concentrate I started with. But I've started using half the amount. Result? No difference at all that I can detect. Now we're really talking green.

    Maybe it's time we all laundered a little money!

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