It has been shown that household cleaning products that contain an abundance of chemicals can be a severe risk to children and pets. This is mostly due to the fact that children and pets can often find access to chemical products like air fresheners and laundry products, which in turn causes them to come in contact with them. Contact with these chemicals can be as simple as touching a surface which has been freshly cleaned with the chemicals. This can often result in poisoning, or even death.

Natural cleaning products are not only safer than other chemical products, but are safer for those who suffer from immune dysfunctions, MS, fibromyalgia, and who are sensitive to chemicals. These products can help them feel better and prevent disease relapse. Most of the ingredients in natural products are safer for those prone to allergies as the ingredients are non-allergenic.

Whatever the reasons, natural cleaning products are a great alternative. They are made from all natural, wholesome ingredients, so they are completely safe, even if ingested by small children or pets. They use natural botanicals, so they always smell wonderful. Finally, they will often clean your home much better than chemical products! You will be amazed at how all your surfaces gleam!

When looking to select natural cleaning alternatives, keep an eye out for those that contain vinegar and citrus. Vinegar is a natural disinfectant and cleaning agent and it is completely safe for your home. Citrus, such as lemon or orange smells fresh and clean, kills germs and bacteria and makes almost all of your home surfaces shine brilliantly.

When purchasing natural cleaning products, it is important to keep in mind the surface one intends to use the product on. Natural cleaning products exist for nearly every conceivable surface, but it is important to choose the correct one as they can have damaging effects on surfaces if used for unintended purposes. An example of this is the discoloration of carpets that some products can cause if not used as directed.

Natural products such as laundry detergents, soap, toothpaste, shampoo, and similar products provide great choices for all of your family from the youngest to the oldest. They have a great fragrance and work as good as they smell.

For many people, chemical containing cleaning products are not only unsavory, but can also be unsafe. Non-toxic cleaning products are an alternative to chemical based ones and safer for those suffering from multiple chemical sensitivites, MS, immune dysfunction, fibromyalgia and other disorders. Use of natural products can also help those suffering feel better and prevent relapses. When selecting cleaning alternatives, keep an eye out for those containing vinegar and citrus. Vinegar is a disinfectant and cleaning agent and it is completely safe. Lemon smells fresh and clean, kills germs and bacteria and makes home surfaces shine brilliantly. These products can be purchased from natural grocery stores and online retailers.

McArthur, Belinda. “Non-Toxic Cleansers For Better Health.” EzineArticles 25 November 2007. 27 January 2008 http://ezinearticles.com/?Non-Toxic-Cleansers-For-Better-Health&id=849756.

A ready to use cleaner for carpet, upholstery, vinyl, leather, wood, tile, fiberglass, hands & hair. Removes grease, tar, oil, chewing gum, label and adhesive residue, scuff marks, lipstick, makeup, crayons, wax, carbon & soot from any surface. Free of dyes, petroleum and chlorinated solvents.

Super Citrus Cleaner cleans, degreases, and deodorizes in one application while combining the advantages of natural solvents and detergents with the finest non-fuming synthetic solvents and cleaning agents in one product.

POSITIVE POINTS:

• Contains natural citrus solvents, vegetable derived detergents and food grade water conditioners.
• Minimally hazardous to humans, animals, the environment or areas being treated when compared to traditional highly caustic degreasers.
• Free of phosphates and fuming solvents and EDTA found in most other citrus cleaners.
• Pleasant natural deodorizing action leaves a fresh scent.
• Lower in alkalinity than almost all heavy-duty degreaser/cleaners.
• One product cleans many surfaces and may be used through many application systems.
• Non-corrosive and actually inhibits corrosion when used on bare metals.
• Safe for use on glass, aluminum and most plastics.
• Extremely easy to use.
• Very free rinsing which saves labor and eliminates residues.
• Breaks down oils, soils, and greases without letting them reattach to the surface being cleaned.
• Non-toxic.
• Biodegradable.
• Non-combustible.
• More dilutable with water and economical to use than most degreaser/cleaners.
• More multiple purpose than other degreaser/cleaners, which saves inventory, space and money.
• Works on contact thus eliminating customary waiting times for the product to work.
• Equally effective in hard or soft water.

DIRECTIONS:

Manual Cleaning -
Light Duty Use 2 to 4 ounces per gallon of water
Medium Duty Use 6 to 8 ounces per gallon of water
Heavy Duty Use 12 to 16 ounces per gallon of water
Severe Duty Use 24 to 48 ounces per gallon of water

Spray and Wipe Cleaning -
Medium Duty Use 4 ounces per quart of water
Heavy Duty Use 8 ounces per quart of water

High Pressure Cleaning -
Light Duty Dilute with 256 parts water
Medium Duty Dilute with 128 parts water
Heavy Duty Dilute with 64 parts water

OTHER PRODUCT USES:

• Automotive Engine and Parts Degreaser
• Laundry Degreaser
• After Fire Cleaner and Carbon Remover
• Grill, Deep Fat Fryer, and Oven Cleaner
• Pot and Pan Presoak
• Metal Cleaner
• Pre-paint Metal Conditioner
• Concrete and Stone Floor Cleaner
• Printing Press Cleaner

INGREDIENTS:

Sodium Gluconate, D’Limonene, Amine Oxide, Non-ionic Surfactant

ANIMAL RIGHTS:

• Cruelty free.
• Contains no animal ingredients.
• Has not been tested on animals.

CAUTIONS:

Avoid direct eye contact. Do not take internally. Avoid prolonged skin contact. Wash skin with soap and water after use.

[Click Here to order Veriuni Super Citrus Cleaner]

Natural cleaning has become a priority for us. Next time you go to the grocery store, take a slow stroll down the cleaning isle. And yes, it takes up a whole isle now. Pick up any of the products and read the ingredients.

Do you know what any of those ingredients are?

We know we don’t.

Our very basic rule for natural cleaning is that if we don’t know what an ingredient is, we don’t buy it and bring it into our home. This goes for food, cleaning products, anything. If it’s a word we can’t pronounce, chances are it’s a chemical and it probably isn’t good for us. Ever wonder how people in the 1920’s kept their homes clean? Did they do it with chemicals? Nope. They used homemade natural cleaning products, many of which are probably in your kitchen or pantry right now.

Naturally Cleaning Your Air

We don’t use canned or plug in air fresheners. These are chock full of chemicals. There are a myriad of natural options. Here are just a few.

Plants which reduce toxic materials are: Aloe Vera, English ivy, fig trees, chrysanthemum, spider plants, Chinese evergreen, bamboo palm, and lily. Decorate liberally with these plants and they’ll act as a natural air purifier.

Beth’s favorite air freshener is vanilla, which by the way was voted the number one erotic scent by males. Place 1 tablespoon natural (not imitation) vanilla extract in a ceramic bowl and place in a room. If the room is large you may want to use more than one. As the vanilla evaporates, a light, refreshing vanilla scent will waft into the surrounding air. Replace every day.

Josh’s favorite air freshener is eucalyptus, which leaves the whole house smelling fresh and springy. If you have a diffuser, you can put a couple of drops of eucalyptus oil in it and freshen the air for hours. We don’t actually own a diffuser, so we simply use an old sauce pan, with a little water in the bottom on low heat. Works the same way.

We write a lot about vinegar on our site. Along with Borax, vinegar is our favorite cleaner and so versatile. Mildly acidic white vinegar dissolves dirt, soap scum, and hard water deposits from smooth surfaces, yet is gentle enough to use in a solution to clean hardwood flooring.

As far as freshening your air, white vinegar is a natural deodorizer. It absorbs odors instead of covering them up. We use it to get rid of pet odors, like our dog Barlow’s bed, which needs a good natural cleaning quite often.

Clean Your House

The following recipe is my favorite of all time, and it’s not for food. It is a recipe for an alkaline all-purpose natural cleaning agent. We use it everywhere: in the bathroom, the kitchen, to spot clean the carpets, and to get that black gunk off the walls. It neutralizes odors, dissolves grease, and removes stains.

- 1 teaspoon or 40 drops antiseptic essential oil (thyme, sweet orange, lemongrass, rose, clove, eucalyptus, cinnamon, rosemary, birch, lavender, or tea tree)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons Borax
- 1 teaspoon liquid detergent
- 2 c hot water

Combine ingredients in a spray bottle. Shake to blend before each use.

We’ve added up the cost of this natural cleaning solution. It costs 3 cents to make once you have all of the ingredients. A bottle of store-purchased, chemical-laden all-purpose cleaner costs around $4. We honestly think this works better than the store bought stuff too. Hmmm, tough choice here.

This is the best glass cleaner. Forget about what you buy in stores.

- 1 c rubbing alcohol
- 1 c water
- 1 tablespoons white vinegar

Mix in a spray bottle.

The Wonders of Borax

For those of you not versed in the magic that is borax, you need only take another stroll down your grocery store’s cleaning isle. In the laundry section you’ll find a medium sized cardboard box marked “Borax”. Also known as sodium borate, it is a complex mineral found in lakes and other evaporite deposits. It is a laundry booster, which has been around for over 100 years, but it works for so many other things as well.

If you have a flea problem, sprinkle it on your carpets, wait a day, then vacuum it up. The fleas eat the borax, it dehydrates them and they die.

We use borax most often as a carpet cleaner. Whenever we rent a wet carpet cleaner from the grocery store we use 1/2 cup borax to 1 gallon of hot water. Fill the machine up with this instead of the cleaner sold with the vacuum, which is full of chemicals. Borax deodorizes and disinfects. One half cup to 1 gallon of water satisfies a hospital’s germicidal requirements.

Stop Buying Drain Cleaner

Drain cleaners use incredibly powerful chemicals to eat away clogs in your pipes. These chemicals then find their way into our water systems. They are extremely expensive and we never use them. Try these recipes. If they don’t work, chances are a chemical drain cleaner won’t either. You’ll probably have to snake your drain or if all else fails, hire a plumber.

For natural cleaning of drains, pour 1 cup washing soda down them every week or so. Washing soda (sodium carbonate) is a chemical relative of baking soda (sodium bicarbonate). It is soda ash that is processed differently than baking soda. It is caustic so wear gloves when using. It is available in the laundry section of the grocery store.

For clogged sinks, pour 1 cup washing soda into the water surrounding the drain, as close to the drain as possible. Within a minute, the water should go down. If water hasn’t yet backed up, or you don’t have any washing soda, pour 1 cup baking soda down the drain followed by 3 cups boiling water.
You can also try pouring in ½ cup baking soda and ½ cup vinegar. Leave in drainpipe for 1 minute then rinse with hot water.

If that still doesn’t work, pour ¼ cup hydrogen peroxide into the drain. Wait for a few minutes then plunge. Repeat if necessary.

As a last resort, Sells Actina produces a digestive organism that liquefies grease and waste solids and reduces or eliminates odors. It’s safe for use in drains, pipes, and septic tanks. This product will usually work when nothing else has. Order from Medina Agricultural Products Company, P.O. Box 309, Hordo TX, 78861.

These are just a few of the natural cleaning solutions we have found. Check back in with us, we will post new recipes and ideas periodically. Also feel free to contact us with any questions or with any natural cleaning recipes and ideas that you have.

Joshua is a retirement coach, and Beth is a healer. They are also proud parents and are passionate about naturally caring for their own health and the health of their family. They have spent years finding the most effective methods to do so and love to share those methods with others! For more information, feel free to visit them at their family website!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Joshua_Dunn
http://EzineArticles.com/?Natural-Cleaning-Products:-A-Simpler,-Safer,-(and-Cheaper)-Alternative&id=548998

Dilute with warm or cold water. Start by using 1/4 cup per gallon of water or 1 tablespoon per quart of water. Adjust by using more or less cleaner to suit personal need. Use on any surface not harmed by water. Ideal for use on tile floors, marble, terrazzo and walls. Will not film or streak as it cleans, brightens and deodorizes surfaces.

INGREDIENTS:

Ozone Treated Water (for purification), Sodium Citrate (a reaction of citric acid from fermented corn and sodium hydroxide), Citric Acid (from fermented corn), Non-Ionic Detergent (from corn derived ethanol and natural oils), D-Limonene (pesticide residue free, distilled from orange rind oil), Amphoteric Detergent (from coconut and/or palm kernel oil), Amine Oxide (from coconut, palm kernel, and or/soy bean oil). Contains no preservatives.

PRICE COMPARISON:

Formula 409 All-Purpose Cleaner

(1 quart=1 quart)

Price-per-Ounce: $0.10

Price-per-Quart: $3.09

Veriuni All-Purpose Cleaner

(concentrated; 1 quart=32 gallons)

Price-per-Ounce: $0.007

Price-per-Quart: $0.06*

*Calculated based on amount of cleaner produced per quart.

ENVIRONMENT AND HEALTH:

* Non-toxic.
* All ingredients are biodegradable or break down into harmless natural elements.
* Biodegrades without forming micro toxins.
* Contains no hazardous ingredients as per OSHA regulations.
* Free of petroleum distillates, butyl ether, ammonia, chlorine, phosphates, benzene, pine oil, or strong acids.
* Free of all known or suspected carcinogens.
* Gray water and septic tank safe.
* Biodegradable without effluent treatment process.

ANIMAL RIGHTS:

* Cruelty free.
* Contains no animal ingredients.
* Has not been tested on animals.

Click Here To Order Veriuni All-Purpose Cleaner

Below is list of some of common household cleaning ingredients and the risks they pose:

Chlorine bleach (sodium hypochlorite):

• FOUND IN: Detergents and other cleaning products. Also available for purchase alone for laundry purposes.
• RISK: It is toxic to fish and can bind with organic compounds in water to form “organochlorines”, which breaks down slowly in the environment and accumulates in the fatty tissues of our wildlife. Chlorine is especially toxic to organisms that live in water and soil.

Phosphates:

• FOUND IN: Laundry and dishwasher detergents
• RISK: Causes “algae bloom”, which kills fish and aquatic plants and produces chemicals that are toxic to animals and people who drink the water.

Formaldehyde:

• FOUND IN: Furniture polish and various cleaning products. Interestingly enough, this is also found automobile exhaust and tobacco smoke.
• RISK: It’s a potential human carcinogen and a known cancer-causing agent in animals.

Trisodium nitrilotriacetate:

• FOUND IN: Laundry detergents
• RISK: Possible carcinogen and can disrupt the elimination of metals in wastewater treatment facilities.

Napthas and mineral spirits:

• FOUND IN: Furniture polishes
• RISK: These are known neurotoxins and considered hazardous waste. Mineral spirits break down very slowly and contaminate air and water.

Phthalates:

• FOUDN IN: Furniture polish
• RISK: Known to disrupt hormone function and can cause genetic defects in both animals and humans.

Sulfuric acid:

• FOUND IN: Drain cleaners
• RISK: Can change the pH of water and kill fish.

Sodium hydroxide:

• FOUND IN: Drain cleaners
• RISK: Can change the pH of water and kill fish.

Methylene chloride:

• FOUND IN: Oven cleaners
• RISK: These are hazardous waste and can contaminate the air, water, and soil.

Butyl cellosive:

• FOUND IN: Oven cleaners
• RISK: These are hazardous waste and can contaminate the air, water, and soil.

Ether-type solvents:

• FOUND IN: Oven cleaners
• RISK: These are hazardous waste and can contaminate the air, water, and soil.

Petroleum distillates:

• FOUND IN: Oven cleaners
• RISK: These are hazardous waste and can contaminate the air, water, and soil.

[Click Here To Order Your Natural Cleaning Products Now]

• The government has very limited power to regulate and require proper testing of household cleaning products.
• Products that kill 50% of lab animals can still get labeled “non-toxic”.
• Out of 17,000 household chemicals, only about 30% have been adequately tested and less than 10% have been tested on the nervous system.
• No law requires manufactures to list the exact ingredients on the package label.

It’s up to you. Switch to natural cleaning products today!

[Click Here To Order Your Natural Cleaning Products Now]

Recent studies revealed that most households and offices contain over sixty-three (63) hazardous products that together contain hundreds of dangerous chemicals. It’s also reported that the avergare American uses approximately forty (40) pounds of toxic household cleaning products every year. Most of these traditional household cleaning products contain dangerous ingredients such as neurotoxins, carcinogens, allergens, central nervous system depressants, heavy metals, and other agents. These substances are known to cause or contribute to cancer, respiratory problems, reproductive abnormalities, allergic reactions, and behavioral problems. Exposure to these toxins pose an immediate risk to you and your family by way of accidential ingestion, inhalation, and skin absorption. They also pose a very serious risk to our environment, animals, and plants, because they are poured down the sink, flushed down the toilet, and thrown in the trash every single day.

[Click Here To Order Your Natural Cleaning Products Now]