When we think about green cleaning, a lot of the focus ends up in the kitchen. We decided to put together a few tips to help you take green cleaning into your bathroom. Many bathroom cleaners are toxic and have fumes that no one wants to breathe in. Disinfectants are made to destroy micro-organisms that are living on surfaces. The problem with most of these products are they are often hazardous.
Germs and micro-organisms will always come back - no matter how strong of a product you use. Here's some basic ideas to get your bathroom cleaner, fresher, and much less toxic!
What You Need: Baking Soda, Vinegar, Dishwashing Liquid, Lemon Juice, Alum Powder1)
Daily maintenance is the key to easy cleaning. For every day cleaning in the bathroom, use baking soda liberally. Sprinkle some on a damp sponge and wipe off dirty surfaces. Once a week, lift the drain cover in your bath tub and use a cotton swab to remove any hair that may have accumulated there. Then pour 1/2 cup baking soda followed by 1 cup of vinegar down the drain. Let it sit for 20 minutes and then flush the drain with hot water.
Tip: You can buy a hair strainer that you can place over your drain so that you don't have to get down and dirty with the cotton swab.
2)
If your sink or shower has developed hard-water or mineral deposits you can get rid of them by soaking paper towels in undiluted vinegar and placing the towels over the stained areas. Let them sit for one hour and then wipe the areas with a damp sponge. If your shower is made of fiberglass, clean it by wiping on a paste of baking soda and dishwashing liquid with a sponge. Use a nylon scrubber to clean it, and then rinse it off.
Tip: When you use your bath, add in 2 tablespoons of baking soda to your bathwater. This will help save yourself time cleaning as well as help soften skin!3)
Spraying your bathtub and shower corners, doors, and walls with vinegar can loosen up the built up soap cum. After you're done spraying, allowing it to dry and then spray it down with water and wipe clean. Porcelain tubs and sinks can be trickier when removing stains. If you have a porcelain tub that's showing stains, pour lemon juice over the stains and sprinkle on alum powder (look for this in the spice aisle of your grocery store). Work this mixture into the stain and if it doesn't lift immediately, let the mixture sit as long as overnight. The next morning, add more lemon juice, scrub again, and then rinse off with water.
4)
Those nonslip strips on your shower floor can easily get stained and are often a pain to remove. To clean these, dampen the strips and sprinkle baking soda directly onto them. Let this sit 20 minutes, then scrub and rinse. If you want to remove the strips, saturate each decal with vinegar to help loosen the glue. Any left over glue should be easily removed with a damp sponge.
Tip: For better results when removing your nonslip strips, warm the vinegar in a microwave or stove for about three minutes. Let the vinegar sit on the strips for a few minutes and then peel off the decals.
5)
Remove mildew stains on the grout around your tub with a baking soda paste. Apply the paste and then scrub it with an old toothbrush until the stain is gone. Remember to rinse the area well.
6)
Clean your shower curtain by sprinkling baking soda on a sponge and scrub. If you have a mildew stain on the curtain, tackle this by making a paste with the baking soda and water and rub it briskly on the stain. You can also try removing your curtain and washing it on the delicate/cold cycle of your washing machine. Add vinegar and baking soda as the only detergent. Add a bath towel int he wash to help agitate the grime off the curtain. If you feel the mildew is severe enough, add one more cup of vinegar to the rinse cycle.
Tip: Keep a spray bottle of vinegar and water in your shower. After each shower, spray down the curtain or doors to prevent scum and mineral buildup.
7)
Once a week, pour about a half a cup of vinegar into your toilets and let it sit for 30 minutes. After it's soaked, sprinkle baking soda on a toilet bowl brush and scrub any remaining stained areas. You can either let this sit for another 20 minutes or go ahead and flush.
8)
To clean your bathroom floor, add 1/2 cup of baking soda to a bucket of warm water. Mop the floor with this solution and rinse. Add in a little lemon juice to give your floors a nice fresh scent.
9)
Keep your bathroom smelling fresh. Every time you empty your bathroom trash, sprinkle baking soda on the bottom of the can and even inside the bag to help absorb odors. For a natural air freshener just keep baking soda in a pretty dish on the back of your toilet or on a shelf. Amazingly this often does the trick! You can add in a spice like cinnamon or herbs like lavender to add in a fragrance. Change the mixture out every three months.
Happy cleaning!
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