When it comes to green cleaning products you obviously want a  non toxic cleaner for your home.  Some of the green cleaners are easy to make with ingredients you probably already have on hand.  Just a few basic items are all you need to clean safely and completely.  You can even make flea powder for your pets in a natural way.

Vinegar is a neutralizer.  If you want to maintain the color of your clothing, add some vinegar to the wash water to set the dye.  With the addition of some lemon juice you have a powerful acid to dissolve hard water stains, tarnish, grimey build up and dull surfaces on wood.

Washing soda is an old fashioned product found in hardware stores.  It is similar to baking soda but with a higher pH factor.  Washing soda is sodium carbonate and offers no fumes with use.  You should wear rubber gloves when handling this product which does a great job on cutting grease stains like lipstick, petroleum products, softened candle wax and kitchen grease.

Washing soda should not be used on aluminum or fiberglass and should only be used on waxed floors if it is your intention to remove the wax.

Baking soda is like a cousin to washing soda.  It is made from soda ash and it neutralizes odors in refrigerators, water and air.  You can use baking soda to remove green scum from a flower vase.  If you sprinkle baking soda on a sponge it is an effective abrasive cleaner for bathtubs, kitchen counters, ovens and boats and fenders made of fiberglass.

Add ½ cup baking soda to the washing machine and you will find it neutralizes underarm odors in the clothing.  Sprinkle some on your carpets before vacuuming to freshen both the carpet and the vacuum cleaner bag.

Liquid detergent and other soaps are another non toxic cleaner, especially for grease.  Fat and lye are the ingredients in soap.  Liquid soap purchased in a health food store is adequate if you have soft water in your area.  If you have hard water, detergent is a better bet.

Detergent is made from synthetic chemicals and was uncommon before the 19th century.  They’re beneficial for not reacting with hard water to create soap scum.

Soap is a good disinfectant.  To add fragrance to the air while you clean, add 20 drops of essential oil to one quart of warm water.  Tee tree oil works well on mildew and mold and is a natural fungicide.  Tee tree oil can be irritating to the eyes so be sure to avoid contact with the face as you mix your natural disinfectant and mildicide.

To clean your family pet and repel fleas at the same time, combine 1 teaspoon dried fennel, 1 teaspoon pennyroyal and 1 teaspoon dried eucalyptus with one cup cornstarch.  Grind all ingredients and place in a jar.  Sprinkle on your pet and comb into fur.  It takes about 15 minutes for the mixture to permeate the skin.  The remaining product can be stored in the jar indefinitely however it will lose its potency in one month.

Essential oils make an excellent tick repellent.  Rose geranium, bay, eucalyptus, pennyroyal, lavender, rosemary and lemon balm all work to keep ticks at bay.  If you are pregnant, take care not to come into contact with pennyroyal.

Bug repellents cause much concern, especially for parents who don’t want to harm their children.  Try eating more garlic, leeks, onions and chives.  These get processed through the skin and have an unpleasant taste for mosquitoes and other flying pests.

Avoid using lavender soap when you go outdoors.  The floral nature of this non toxic cleaner will attract bees.  We invite your comments if you have some favorite green cleaning products that you would like to share with our readers, we would love to hear from you via the comments tab.

People want safe cleaning products and they ask us all the time for some recommendations.   You’ll see they save money in addition to saving the environment.  All you need are a few basic items which are probably already in your pantry.

First, get a box of biodegradable Borax.   This product is billed as a laundry booster, but without phosphates or chlorine, it is a safe household cleanser when diluted with water.

Borax can also be used as a pot scrubber.  Sprinkle some in the pan, wait a few minutes and then clean with a damp sponge and some muscle.

Another use for borax is eliminating mold.  Sprinkle and scrub borax in moldy areas like the corners of the shower.

For caked on food stains on pots, pans and baking dishes, pour water in the pan, sprinkle borax in the water and simmer for ten minutes.  Once the water is cool, you can scrub the coating away.

Baking soda is another old time product with a variety of modern uses.  Is your shower drain plugged?  Sprinkle one-quarter cup of baking soda onto the drain and add two cups of plain white vinegar.  The mixture will bubble and hiss to create a non-caustic rinse.  Wait ten minutes then run hot water through until the clog is gone.

To scrub your stainless steel sink clean, use a little baking soda.

Vinegar can also be combined with equal parts of olive oil to produce a natural furniture polish and hardwood floor cleaner.

For a handy soap scum cleaner, take a plastic mesh onion bag and ball it up.  Sprinkle with baking soda and scrub away the scum on your shower tile and glass shower door.  Rinse and wipe clean for extra shine.

Other safe cleaning products include a natural air freshener made with simmering orange peel, cloves and ginger on the stove for 15 minutes.

To remove a musty smell, crumble up newspaper and place near the offending odor.   Leave it in place for 24 hours and remove.  The absorbent newspaper should take the smell with it.

To rid the kitchen cutting board of odors, cut a lemon in half and rub the lemon juice back and forth along the surface.  This is better than any strong chemical cleanser in erasing strong odors like onion and garlic.

For carpet stains, sprinkle cornstarch on the stain, dab with some water, and allow to sit for 15 minutes, scrub and vacuum.   If the stain is small, pour some club soda onto the spot, blot and let dry.

Your herb garden is nature’s carpet deodorizer.  Bring in thyme, oregano and lavender, dry on the countertop for 24 hours, then crush the dried leaves and sprinkle throughout the room.  The fragrance will be released when you vacuum.

One note: the bagless vacuums don’t emit the fragrance since the herbs get sealed in the plastic dust vessel.  If you have a vacuum like this, make a potpourri with the herbs instead.  Place the crushed blend into a cotton hankie or napkin, gather up and tie off with a ribbon.  The aroma will last about two weeks.

To clean a flower vase of algae, sprinkle a generous amount of salt into the vase, add hot water and allow to sit for two hours.  Rinse and dry.

Natural cleaning products such as these have many benefits.  They save the environment of harsh chemicals, and they eliminate the clutter in your home of a different cleaning product for different tasks.  With safe cleaning products you are providing a clean eco-friendly environment for your family and the family of man.

Here are some great household cleaning tips.  There are many different ways and ideas for cleaning your home. Most of which are known like to using newspapers to clean your windows. But I also have non-traditional ways of cleaning that most people have not thought of or use.

Window washer fluid for your car will work just fine on your home windows and it’s cheaper.

Vegetable shortening is great for getting grease off your hands or out of cloths. This one makes a lot of sense. As a chemist I know the principle of like dissolves like. Shortening is a grease but without impurities. This is why mixing cleaner grease with dirty grease, the two will join and the spot will disappear.

Vinegar is a wondrous liquid. In the laboratory it is known as acetic acid. This acid is very mild but has all the great characteristics of acids that are useful around the house from cutting grease in dishwater to reacting with baking soda to remove carpet stains.

The abrasive ingredients in most toothpaste can be used to clean and polish other items like rings and candle sticks that are made out of metal.

To repair scratches on furniture try rubbing a walnut on it. For dark furniture apply a little appropriate color shoe polish.

For those that have super glue around, make sure you also keep nail polish remover. This is actually acetone, which dissolves super glue.

If your iron has build up or rust from sitting too long, rub emery cloth on the base to bring back the new finish shine.

Yes another use for baking soda. On a damp sponge place a small amount of baking soda and watch those crayon mark on the wall just disappear.

Worcestershire sauce not only tastes good but cleans the bottom of copper pans. The heavier the stain the longer you let it sit on it before washing it off.

These are just a few helpful household-cleaning tips. Just remember keep it simple and it might just work.

When it comes to Going Green, there are a lot of things to consider. Where do I start? What products should I buy? What can I do in my own home? Most products on the market today end up spending hundreds of years in a landfill, clogging up lakes and streams, and creating a huge mess. Home cleaners can end up putting deadly chemicals into the ground water and can end up back in your home. However, you can make your own Green Homemade Products with little effort or money.

Baking Soda:
One of the easiest ways to clean your home without harsh chemicals is by using something you probably already have in your cupboards; baking soda. Baking soda can be used for a wide variety of purposes, such as carpet cleaners, laundry additives, and even as toothpaste. Baking soda is a natural product and is totally safe to use around your family.

Cleaning:
Add a little baking soda to your laundry to brighten your whites, and kill any odors due to mold or mildew. A little baking soda in your toilet will help cut through hard water stains. It will also whiten your bathtub and sink. It will also get rid of any odors coming from the refrigerator and drains. A little baking soda added to some hot water will also get rid of carpet stains.

Vinegar:
Another wonder product you probably already have it white vinegar. This is a great product for cleaning glass and mirrors. Add a little to a bottle of warm water and you’re ready to clean every window in your house. Also, add vinegar to a bucket of water to mop wooden floors. Normal cleaners will leave a film on your hard wood floors, but vinegar will help maintain the finish while killing the germs you might have.

You don’t have to spend hundreds of dollars on fancy cleaners when you can make your own Green Homemade Products from things you probably already own. How’s that for saving time, money, and the environment?

There are a number of common household items that are great to use for cleaning around your home. Here are some examples of How to Go Green with Cleaning Products.

Peroxide: It does more than bleach your hair! This can be used instead of bleach when doing laundry. It’s also great for cleaning out humidifiers and disinfecting toothbrushes.

Baking soda: Not just for baking! Baking soda helps eliminate odors. Use it in the bathroom for scrubbing the tub or sink. Try sprinkling it in your oven, then spray it with water until damp, leave it overnight, and then wipe your oven clean in the morning.

White vinegar: Great for killing bacteria, cutting grease or wax buildup, removing mildew and it even works great for cleaning out teapots or coffee pots. Just add about half a cup to a few cups of water, boil, and rinse well. (For the coffee pot, run the water and vinegar through twice, then run plain water through and rinse.)

Lemon juice: Squeeze half a lemon in your garbage can for a natural deodorizer. It also cuts grease and removes stains.

Olive oil: Put some olive oil on a clean cloth and use for polishing wood furniture.

Club soda: Not just for removing stains! It also polishes and if put in a spray bottle is a great all purpose cleaner. It works very well on windows.

Castile soap: A vegetable-based soap that cuts grease, disinfects, and works well as an all purpose cleaner. Castile soap comes in a variety of scents from almond to peppermint or unscented.

Cornstarch: This is great for picking up spills from juice, coffee, or even wine.

What do you have to say? Do you have additional tips on How to Go Green with Cleaning Products? Please leave a comment and share your ideas, or to ask any questions.

Thanks for reading.