TIPical Mary Ellen host Mary Ellen Pinkham discusses natural alternatives for hazardous and toxic household cleaners.
- If you have allergies or simply don't want lots of chemicals lingering around the home, here are a few basics you can use to clean your entire house. You probably already have them sitting in your cupboard.
- Mineral oil works just as well as any commercial wood-furniture polish. The job of furniture polish, after all, is to oil the wood. Mix a teaspoon of lemon oil to the mineral oil if you prefer a polish with a scent. If the scent is not important to you, mayonnaise also works well for polishing wooden furniture.
- Make an easy all-purpose cleaner with one teaspoon liquid soap or borax per quart of warm water. A splash of lemon juice or vinegar should be added to cut kitchen grease.
- A substitute for an ammonia-based cleaner is white vinegar. Simply dilute one cup into two cups warm water. Apply it to surfaces with a spray bottle.
- An alternative oven cleaner can be created with two tablespoons liquid soap and two teaspoons borax combined in a spray bottle and topped off with warm water. Spray the mixture directly on the caked oven matter and let it soak for about 20 minutes. Scour the oven bottom with steel wool, and the caked on food should come right off.
- One tablespoon cornstarch dissolved in a pint of water is an equal substitute for spray starch. Pour it into a spray bottle and use as needed.
