If you care to take a look, most of the commercial cleaning products and solutions that you normally use for keeping your home spic and span are loaded with toxic chemicals or ingredients. Routinely using these products can cause considerable damage to yours and your family’s health, more often than not irreversible. Additionally, the hazardous chemicals contained in these home-cleaning solutions also have the potential of greatly polluting the environment.
In this respect, environmental degradation happens at three levels or stages-first when the products are manufactured, next when these are used, and finally when they’re disposed of. In the US, nearly 33% of the population is stricken with asthma, allergies, bronchitis, and sinusitis, and several other respiratory or lung-related diseases that mainly result from the use of commercial home cleaning formulas.
So, what are the remedial measures, one can take in order to keep oneself safe from the aforementioned diseases as well as prevent further contamination of the environment while maintaining the cleanliness of the home? For a start, you should stick to exclusively using green cleaning solutions and liquids that have been formulated with natural ingredients which are non-toxic in nature and eco-friendly. On the other hand, you also have the option of taking advantage of innumerable homemade solutions that are undoubtedly the safest, both from the perspective of family health and environment.
And to say the last but not least, there are a few hygienic home cleaning tips you can follow when it comes to keeping the home neat and clean without compromising your health or the surroundings.
1. Cleaning solutions you can make at home
You can replace the use of commercial home cleaning products with items that are normally found around the house. Not only can you source these products cheaply but using the same is convenient and usually safe both environmentally and from the standpoint of your health. Following are the some of the common household items that also double up as cleaners, water softeners, deodorizers, and scourers:-
- Liquid soap: –Unscented soaps in the form of flakes, bars, powders, and liquids are excellent green cleaning products that are biodegradable or recyclable. However, steer clear of using soaps containing petroleum concentrates or distillates.
- Sodium Bicarbonate or Baking Soda: -Baking soda is one of the cheapest natural deodorant, cleanser, water softener, and scourer that you can make use of.
- Lemon: -Lemon not only helps keep utensils, cutleries, and crockery bacteria free but also is effective in reinstating the gloss to a range of metallic items.
- Sodium Carbonate or Washing Soda: -Sodium carbonate commonly called washing soda is a humble yet versatile household substance that can be used singly or in combination with other natural products. Owing to its extraordinary chemical composition and alkaline nature, washing soda is used as a degreasing, laundering, stain-removal, water-softening, and cleansing agent. However, exercise caution while using this substance as it can cause inflammation in the mucous membranes and refrain from using the same on aluminum products.
- Citrus Solvent: –Citrus solvent is an excellent natural solvent obtained from the orange rinds and finds applications as an effective degreaser, paint thinner, carpet stains cleaner, and metal cleaner. Citrus solvent serves as a suitable replacement for home cleaning solutions containing petroleum chemicals. Individuals who’re allergic to chemicals should be careful while using the citrus solvent as the same may cause eye, lung or skin inflammations.
- Cornstarch: –Cornstarch which is obtained from the endosperm of maize seeds can be used for polishing furniture, shampooing rugs, and cleaning windows.
- Isopropyl Alcohol: –The substance that is generally used for treating minor wounds and cuts is an effective disinfectant. You can use isopropyl alcohol solvent for restoring the gloss to monitor screens and whiteboards.
- White Vinegar: –White vinegar helps in decreasing, deodorizing, removing mildews and stains, and checking wax-buildup.
2. Homemade Formulations or Preparations
All the natural items mentioned above, apart from being used on their own, can also be blended for creating homemade formulations that definitely tend to be much less toxic than commercial home cleaning solutions. At the same time, making them is easy and inexpensive. Following are a few preparations that can be used for various purposes and can be made in the comfort of your home.
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