Hi Guys
Found these eco-friendly household useful tips on my local Netmums and thought they might be very useful to some of us.
Baking Soda (Bicarbonate of Soda)
This breaks down grease and is great added to vinegar or lemon juice to make them more abrasive. It is also a great deodoriser in fridges and dish washers as well as a water softener.
Mix it with a bit of water to dissolve grease and grime.
Use dry on carpets to lift out stains.
Bicarbonate of soda neutralises most strong odours.
Use on a damp sponge and smear on stains on general surfaces.
For blocked drains chuck some over the plug holes and then pour some vinegar over.
Bicarbonate of soda can also be sprinkled on carpets before vacuuming to freshen them up
Olive oil &
vinegar
Use olive oil to get rid of finger marks on stainless steel surfaces and utensils.
Put some on a kitchen towel and rub over the finger marks.
White vinegar (or better still white wine vinegar) is an all-purpose cleaner. It will clean and
deodorise as it goes. Here are just some of its uses:
Use 50/50 mixed with water as a cleaner in your bathroom and kitchen.
Put an egg cup full in your washing machine to use instead of softener. It's great for towels
or cloth nappies as the coating fabric softener gives them makes them less absorbent.
It's a great descaler. Soak paper towels in the vinegar, wrap them around taps, cover with
plastic bags and secure with elastic band and leave for a few hours - taps will come out
looking brand new.
Clean your windows with vinegar and water.
Lemon juice
Use this to dissolve scum, particularly in hard water areas. It can be mixed with vinegar to
make a cleaning paste that will get rid of serious stains and is also useful as a bleaching
agent.
Mix one cup of olive oil with half a cup of lemon juice and pour into a spray bottle for
furniture polish. Spray a little on and then rub it all over. The lemon juice cuts through the
dirt and the olive oil gives it a nice shine. Buff with a dry cloth.
Lemon juice is good for microwave smells - add a few slices to a bowl of water and
microwave on high power for a couple of minutes.
Mix some olive oil with lemon juice to make furniture polish. (Double amount of olive oil to
lemon juice)