Green cleaning is natural, safe, inexpensive and easy. Most of these green cleaning ingredients listed here you probably already have in your home or you can purchase at your local grocery store. All that’s needed is a little knowledge on how to use them to be most effective. Just a single shelf can hold all the natural cleaning products to clean your entire home.

Here are ordinary, environmentally safe ingredients that can be used alone or in combination to provide you with an abundance of green cleaning power to tackle everyday household cleaning tasks.

Green Cleaning Ingredients

1. Baking Soda – One of the most common ingredients found in a home, this powerful green cleaner is great at removing stains, softening hard water, deodorizing, and much more. Baking soda is a mild scouring agent and works great at cleaning pots and pans, or sink basins. It can polish aluminum, chrome, jewelry, plastic, porcelain, silver, stainless steel and tin. Put a little in a dish and baking soda will neutralize odors in your laundry room, closets, bathrooms, and refrigerators. Sprinkle it on smelly carpet, in your laundry hamper, on upholstery, and down drains to get rid of unwanted odors. Baking soda can be mixed into an all-purpose household cleaner that can clean just about every surface in your home from the bathroom to your kitchen.
   For more info: check out Best of Baking Soda on the web.
2. Vinegar – Made from soured fruit juice, grain, or wine and contains about 5% acetic acid, making it a mild acid. Vinegar has many uses around your home. It can disinfect surfaces, cut grease, remove stains, and soften water. Vinegar will dissolve mineral deposits on shower heads and water faucets. Vinegar will remove soap scum in bathrooms, remove mildew in showers, polish some metals, and deodorize clothes. Vinegar can also clean stone and brick surfaces.
3. White Vinegar – Great disinfectant properties, White vinegar can be used to clean surfaces in your kitchen and bathroom. It also works well at cutting grease, cutting wax build-up, and removing mildew. White vinegar will remove stains on carpet, countertops, pots, pans, and coffee carafes.
4. Salt – Salt is an incredible versatile ingredient for green cleaning around your home. Salt has natural abrasive and bleaching properties that will brighten up enameled sinks, bathtubs, and toilets. Salt can polish pewter, copper and brass. Salt will remove rust, wine and and grease stains.
5. Castile Soap – Castile soap is a plant based soap and is biodegradable, free of dyes and non-petroleum based. Great for everyday cleaning and can be used to clean everything.
6. Vegetable Oil Soaps – Such as Olive Oli based soaps are also biodegradable and are more gentle on your skin.
7. Essential Oils – Essential Oils are great for adding fragrance and disinfecting properties to your homemade cleaning sprays.
   • Lavender essential oil – One of the most popular essential oils, Lavender’s sweet, woody aroma is an age-old housekeeping favorite. It is antibacterial, anti-fungal, antiviral and beneficial to the immune system. Most people can use Lavender essential oil without allergic reaction. Great for people with a high sensitivity to fragrance in other products.
   • Eucalyptus essential oil – Antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, and beneficial to the immune system, Eucalyptus essential oil is used to cut grease around bathtubs, on mirrors, and counters. It will also clean soap scum.
   • Jasmine essential oil – Works great as a cleaner and whitener. It will also kill mold and mildew.

   Essential oils should be handled with care. They are strong volatile oils and can be hazardous if not used properly. Store them away from pets and children. Women who are pregnant, people who are diabetic or have other medical conditions should consult with a doctor before using essential oils.

8. Borax – Borax is a naturally occurring mineral that is soluble in water. Borax is a safe alternative to bleach and will deodorize, and inhibit the growth of mildew and mold. Add a little Borax to your laundry and it will boost the cleaning power of your laundry detergent.Just add a little water and Borax will remove stains, disinfect surfaces, and will leave your home clean, safe and refreshed. Mix a little sugar with Borax and create an effective attractant to kill cockroaches and other household pests. Borax also mixes safely with other green cleaning ingredients to make a powerful all purpose cleaner.
9. Cornstarch – Cornstarch is made from corn. It can be used to clean windows, polish furniture, shampoo carpets, and rugs. Corn starch is great at absorbing oil, cutting grease, and natural alternative to starch clothes.
10. Cream of Tartar – Cream of tartar is a mild acidic used in baking and can be used to remove tough stains around your home
11. Hydrogen Peroxide – Hydrogen Peroxide is a gentle alternative to bleach. It will sterilize and disinfect both in your home and on your body.
12. Citrus Solvents – Citrus solvents will clean paint, paint brushes, oli and grease. Much safer than chemical solvents.
13. Lemon Juice – Lemon juice can be used to clean glass windows without streaking. It will cut through grease, remove perspiration stains from clothing, and remove stains from aluminum and porcelain. Lemon juice will dissolve soap scum and hard water deposits. Use in combination with vinegar or baking soda to make a cleaning paste.
14. Lime Juice – Like lemon juice, lime juice is also a powerful acidic cleaner. It works great at removing mineral build-up and cleaning grease.
15. Orange Oil – Orange oil consists of about 90% d-Limonene which is a solvent used in various household chemicals like wood furniture conditioner and grease removal cleaners. It is an efficient cleaning agent and is much less toxic than it’s petroleum based counterparts.
16. Tea Tree Oil – Tea tree oil is an essential oil that comes from the melaleuca tree, a shrub with needle like leaves and over 100 varieties. The most commonly used Tea Tree oil comes from an Australian melaleuca tree. Tea tree oil is a natural fungicide and germicide and is effective at killing mold and mildew. Tea tree oil is also great for personal care because of it’s natural antibacterial and antiseptic properties. Tea tree oil has been used to treat fungus disorders like athlete’s foot, toe nail infections, yeast infections and acne.
17. Mineral Oil – Derived from seeds, Mineral Oil is used for furniture polish and floor wax recipes.
18. Olive Oil – If you have leather furniture, used Olive Oil as a moisturizer and conditioner. For other furniture, use it as a furniture polish.

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