One of the biggest problems with cleaning your house comes from the materials you need to use: bleach, harsh powders, cleaning foams, oven sprays – they all smell terrible and have you holding your breath for fear that you’ll kill your lungs. Wouldn’t it be awesome if there were alternatives to using these harsh cleaners? (Hint: there totally are!)
A super simple, natural cleaning solution that’s good for everything:
- ½ cup of vinegar
- ¼ cup baking soda
- ½ gallon of water
A simple recipe for a simple cleaner, this mix is great for water stains in bathtubs and on chrome, windows, mirrors, and any other shiny surface! Vinegar is a great disinfectant and baking soda is good for stains and smells, so this powerful and easy mixture can do a great deal – and it’s much cheaper and safer on the nose to boot!
Use lemon to clean your cutting boards
Especially if you’ve been cutting fish or seafood. Simply cut a lemon, sprinkle some salt on the cutting board, and wipe it down, getting that acidy lemon juice in all the nooks and crannies! The lemon juice will cover up and deodorize any smells that may latch on to the board, and the salt + acid combo of the mixture will nuke a bunch of germs on it too. You should still use some dish soap after, but your board will be fresher than ever when you’re done.
Use a cheap vodka for pet stains and other smelly areas
Who knew that vodka was a great way to get rid of bad smells? Turns out putting a bit into a spray bottle and going to town on certain smelly stains can really do wonders. This trick works best with clothes – have something you really want to wear but worry that it isn’t clean, since you wore it the other day? Give it a light misting of vodka and the smells will come right out! Great if you really need to wear that lucky top again!
So don’t believe the hype – there are a lot of ways to clean without opening up that bleach bottle and they all smell a lot better and are a lot milder to the touch! Every now and then you’ll need that bleach, for sure, but for everything else, try something a little more home-made. You’ll be surprised at the results!