Mar

Lemon, Vinegar, Salt – Not for Your Salad, But for Cleaning!

И know what you might say: “Enough with all that craze with natural remedies!” Well, what if I tell you they work? Here are a few tested and proven tricks you can try:

1. White Vinegar

Use for Carpet Cleaning: Did you know that, instead of toxic and expensive carpet cleaners, you can wash your carpets with vinegar. A mix of water and vinegar is especially beneficial for oriental rugs. White distilled vinegar protects the colours of the carpet, preventing them from running. In addition, because it is acidic, it kills bacteria and dust mites very efficiently.

Use for Kitchen Cleaning: You can use a 50:50 mixture of water and vinegar to make an all-purpose cleaner for all your kitchen shelves, cupboards and surfaces. Don’t worry about the smell – it goes away as soon as the surfaces dry. It’s also excellent for cleaning inside the fridge.

Use in the Garden: You pour white distilled vinegar directly on weeds. “Water” them with it for a couple of days, and the vinegar will eliminate them.

2. Lemon Juice

Use for Carpet Cleaning: Similarly to vinegar, lemon juice kills bacteria, and if you add a teaspoon of lemon juice to the mix of water and vinegar, you won’t regret it. If you are bothered by the smell of vinegar, now you can rest assured as the freshness of the lemon juice will completely neutralize it.

Use for Kitchen Cleaning: You can pour lemon down the drain and it will help eliminate grease build-up and unblock it. Additionally, since lemon juice is acidic you can use it in your garbage disposal. If you have a garbage disposal, cut one lemon in relatively small pieces and put them in the garbage disposal. They will clean its parts from the inside and similarly, leave a nice, fresh smell. Fresh lemon juice in rinse water will remove soap film from interiors of ovens and refrigerators.

Use in the Garden: Save lemon and orange rinds to deter squirrels and cats from digging in the garden. Store rinds in the freezer during the winter, and then bury them just under the surface of the garden periodically throughout the spring and summer.

3. Baking Soda

Use for Carpet Cleaning: Sprinkle baking soda in the fabrics of your carpet. Baking soda absorbs the excessive moisture and the nasty odour. When there is no moisture, dust mites cannot reproduce

Use for Kitchen Cleaning: Use baking soda when cleaning the oven and in combination with vinegar. It is cheap, healthy, safe and just as efficient. You don’t have to expose yourself to toxic fumes and irritate your eyes, skin and airways. Most oven cleaners are strong, and you even have to wear a respiratory mask while you clean. So, I order to avoid all that, simply make a paste of baking soda and water, and apply equally everywhere on the inside of your oven. Professional cleaners would usually advise you to let the mixture stay overnight, but a few hours would do just fine (unless your oven is in a very bad condition). When you are done waiting for the baking soda to influence all the grease and stains, mix some vinegar with water in a spraying bottle and spray on top of the soda. It will start fizzing and that means that it works – so don’t worry, you haven’t done anything wrong. Leave for another few hours, put your rubber gloves and simply wipe with a sponge and water, or scrub gently if necessary.

Use in the Garden: Use baking soda to sweeten tomatoes, by sprinkling soda in the soil, as it lowers their acidity. It will also deter pests.

4. Salt

Use for Carpet Cleaning: Salt provides an environment in which bacteria cannot live and reproduce. It absorbs water from food and cells. This is one reason why it is not recommended to put a lot of salt in your food. You need to be hydrated and double the amount of water your intake if you decide to do so. However, bacteria cannot reproduce without certain extent of moisture and therefore salt is largely used on meat when you want to keep it from going bad. Using salt for cleaning is also a good idea, because it absorbs the grease and moisture in the stain.

Use for Kitchen Cleaning: If you have many copper, brass or silver cutlery and utensils in your home, you can mix water with a spoon of salt and clean them. This will leave them clean and shiny! You can make a mixture of salt and hot water and pour it down the drain – this will eliminate unpleasant odours and grease build-ups. Salt is particularly efficient with grease. If you make a paste of salt and hot water, you can scrub greasy pans and utensils before applying detergent. This will make washing them a lot easier. Even when you are cooking, and especially frying, sprinkle the pan with salt – this will prevent the food from sticking. It is beneficial for both the quality of food that you will end up with and a pan, which will be easier to clean later. In addition to all that, in case of a grease fire, you can put it out with salt!

Use in the Garden: Use Epsom salt to speed up plant growth.