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Life on two acres of arid dirt, on the edge of the Australian outback.

Saturday, December 13, 2008

Cleaning Tips

These are my cleaning friends, trusty old vinegar and bi carb soda



I use these two things the most when I clean. I started cleaning the windows with vinegar and water in a spray bottle a few days ago. It takes me forever to finish them because there are too many and they are those annoying little squares. They look nice but are painful to clean. By the time I am finished it is time to start again at the beginning.






Vinegar has so many uses. I do my shower screens, tiles, basins, mirrors, windows, stoves, benches, toilets, and occasionally in the mop bucket. I have been known to use it as a final rinse for my hair. Vinegar cleans kettles, just add and let sit for a while before rinsing. It is also good for neutralising smells including urine. Vinegar is a natural disinfectant. Apparently a stocking can be used as a gentle scourer to clean tiles, I haven't tried this method though.





If you visit Rhonda Jean's site she has more information about natural cleaning.





I thought I might do some searching on the web for some more uses and I came up with these:













Bicarb is just as useful and combined with vinegar make good cleaners. I recently sprinkled bicarb down my kitchen sink drains and then poured some vinegar on top and left it to sit. When I came to wash it away I could see the nice whiteness of the drainpipe instead of a yucky dark colour. I sprinkle inside the toilet bowl and then spray vinegar over and let sit for a while. I give a brush and flush and it is all clean.







Bicarb is good for cleaning sinks and making them shine brilliantly. Added to the laundry water, it softens the water and no fabric softener is needed. Can even be used to clean teeth although the taste isn't so pleasant.







A website listing uses of bicarb soda alphabetically:












There is no need to spend a fortune on those nice smelling cleaners. Yes they do make the house smell lovely but are full of chemicals that shouldn't be floating around in the air that we breathe. And most importantly you will have more money in your pocket.
x Tania

1 comment:

  1. I'm here to tell you that vinegar DOES work on the pet urine smells. I was buying expensive bottles of *urine residue remover* from Drytron - because it works... until I got a good sniff of the stuff. Yep, you guessed it... it's simply acetic acid. Or pure vinegar.

    Thanks for the tips and for the links. The cleaning geek in me LOVES this kind of stuff!

    ReplyDelete

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