Safe, Green and Earth Friendly Cleaning Product Substitutes

It’s easy to substitute toxic and harsh cleaning products for safe ingredients for most home cleaning chores.

All that you need to know is the common uses for the product and select the proper nontoxic alternative to get the cleaning power you need.

It’s important to recognize that though this list of cleaning products are generally recognized as natural and so are considered safer, they are still not fit for human consumption.

Keep them away from children and you should also use all normal and necessary precautions when using any cleaning product- whether it is labeled nontoxic or not.

Baking Soda

Baking soda is made from sodium bicarbonate. It will neutralize acid, and is mildly abrasive so will scrub without scratching, it is a natural deodorizer.

Borax

Borax is a naturally occurring mineral it is water soluble. Borax is normally used in disinfectants and water softeners and detergents.

Rubbing Alcohol

Rubbing alcohol is also called isopropyl alcohol and is a very good disinfectant.

Lemon Juice

Lemon Juice contains citric acid and is a natural deodorizer and has a light bleaching action so it can be used as a stain remover too.

Mineral Oil

Mineral oil comes from petroleum and it is used in suntan oil, cosmetics and suntan oil.

TSP

TSP is made from trisodium phosphate which is soda ash and phosphoric acid. TSP can be used for cleaning drains, removing stains and removing paint.

Vinegar

Vinegar is made from grain, wine or apple juice. It is acidic and can be used to cut grease and deodorize. It will kill mold and mildew. We use vinegar at Mrs. Clean to quickly clean linoleum floors or hardwood floor quickly with no residue left behind. Note: Don’t use this on marble floors.

Washing Soda

Washing Soda is a mineral called sodium carbonate decahydrate. It is not edible, but is essentially double strength baking soda. It is caustic so don’t get it on your skin. It is used to boost stain removers in the washing machine and to cut grease.

All Purpose Cleaner

All-purpose cleaner can be made from vinegar and water or mix 4 tablespoons baking soda with 1 QT water.

Disinfectant

Mix 1/2 cup borax with 1 gallon of water to make a great disinfect and deodorizer. You can also use rubbing alcohol or bleach and water also works well.

Floor Cleaner

You can clean your floors the natural way by just mixing vinegar with water approx 50/50 ratio.

Safe Oven Cleaner

Wet down the burned crust in the oven and sprinkle with plain baking soda. Scrub with steel wool.

Scouring Powder

Use baking soda, or salt. You can also try Bon-Ami cleaning powder.