Tulsa, OK

With spring upon us, those extra hours of daylight have a way of revealing every bit of dirt that hid from sight throughout the winter. But as you open your windows to let in fresh air, don’t pollute it with lung irritants like ammonia and chlorine bleach or hormone-disrupting phthalates used in fragrances. Instead, make your own cleaners from healthier, least-toxic ingredients.

So what should you use instead of chemical cleaners? You’d be surprised that many items you already have at home can be used for cleaning – with great results! Circumvent the armada of commercial cleaners by keeping an ample supply of these eight items, which make up the basic ingredients for nearly every do-it-yourself cleaning recipe:

Baking soda: provides grit for scrubbing and reacts with water, vinegar or lemon by fizzing, which speeds up cleaning times
Borax: disinfects, bleaches and deodorizes; very handy in laundry mixes
Distilled white vinegar: disinfects and breaks up dirt; choose white vinegar over apple cider or red vinegars, as these might stain surfaces
Hydrogen Peroxide: disinfects and bleaches
Lemons: cut grease; bottled lemon juice also works well, although you might need to use bit more to get the same results
Olive oil: picks up dirt and polishes wood; cheaper grades work well
Vegetable based (liquid castile) soap: non-petroleum all-purpose cleaners
Washing soda: stain remover, general cleaner, helps unblock pipes; should be handled with gloves due to its caustic nature. Washing soda is usually found in the laundry aisle of grocery and drug stores.

Don’t forget to pick up an empty spray bottle at the hardware store, and keep those old rags and used toothbrushes for wiping up and scrubbing.

Label all of your ingredients and keep them out of reach of children. While most of these all natural cleaners are not poisonous, some can be harmful or even fatal if swallowed by children or pets.

Here are a few simple recipes for cleaning up around the house. (Thanks to the Metropolitan Environmental Trust for these recipes.)

Glass Cleaner: Fill a spray bottle with one quart water and one tablespoon white vinegar. Wipe with newsprint.

Fireplace: Clean flue of soot by throwing ½ cup salt into the fire. Clean the tiles with vinegar or washing soda.

All Purpose Cleaner: one part baking soda, two parts white vinegar, four parts warm water; or 1 teaspoon soap, 1 teaspoon Borax, a squeeze of lemon, 1 quart warm water.

Disinfectant: ½ cup Borax and 1 liter of hot water.

Drain Cleaner: Pour ½ cup baking soda down the drain and follow with ½ cup vinegar. Let stand 15 minutes, then flush with boiling water.

Toilet Bowl Cleaner: Pour 1 can of Cola into bowl, let stand 30 minutes. Flush.

For more recipes, contact the M.e.t. at 918.584.0584.or visit: www.MetRecycle.com