--if you don't have some of these items, just skip to the jobs for which you have materials, and give those a try. White vinegar and baking soda have multiple applications.

a couple of pairs of plastic or rubber gloves

a couple of nylon scouring pads

a supply of cleaning rags (old T-shirts and underwear work great)

an old toothbrush (save these! they're great for all sorts of cleaning jobs)

a few empty spray bottles (reuse old cleaning solution bottles, or buy new ones if you haven't any)

a plunger (a.k.a., a plumber's friend)

a large bottle of distilled white vinegar--try to find a gallon (3 liter) bottle

a large box of baking soda--a least 2 pounds (about 1 kg)

a bottle of lemon juice (or you can squeeze your own)

a measuring cup and teaspoon

Optional:

commercial products of low toxicity (See Step 10)

borax--see Keywords

2 1000mg tabs of Vitamin C

Alkalis are caustic chemicals that are the chemical opposite of acids on the pH scale.

Baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) is chemically the mildest of all alkalis. It's a mild abrasive, an effective cleaning tool, and even it's suitable for human consumption as an antacid.

Borax (pyroborate or tetraborate of sodium) is a moderately toxic alkali, which you can use as a replacement for chlorine bleach.

Distilled water has no minerals to build up on appliances. Use it in your steam iron to prevent that clean-up job.

Watch the rubber. Polishing silver while wearing rubber gloves promotes tarnish. Instead, wear plastic or cotton gloves.

Never mix chlorine bleach with vinegar. It makes a toxic combination--a poisonous gas that could ruin your whole afternoon.

2torial #0858: Learn2 Cut Down on Toxic Household Cleaners Take the bite out of grime!   It's time to clean up the cleaners! Any cleaning substance you use ends up in the air, the water or the soil and, ultimately, inside your body--so you may want to minimize your use of toxic products in your home. Need more convincing? Read on. Some companies have formulated a different cleaner for every room of the house. To hear them talk, you'd think there are a thousand variations of dirt in your home. But you can forget the jingles and the cute little scrub-scrub-scrubbing bubbles that giggle and talk as they clean up your sinks. What's the bottom line? If you want to save a ton of cash, return to simpler times when dirt was dirt, and cleaners cleaned it up. For most of your cleaning jobs, the homemade cleaners suggested in this 2torial will serve your needs--you'll have a safer home, a cleaner environment, and save money to boot!   The main strategy with home-brewed cleaners is to use them a bit more often; don't leave a cleaning job until the dirt and grime builds up in months-old layers. A gentler and more frequent approach will do the trick. Here's a sample cleaning schedule, which you can adjust for your own situation: On a daily basis: wipe down the kitchen sink, counters, stove tops, and in the bathroom, wipe down the shower. Once a week: sweep and wash floors (sweep kitchen floor two or three times a week if you do a lot of cooking). In the bathroom, clean the sink, shower, and toilet. Once a month: wash windows and give the floors a good scrubbing. In the kitchen, clean the refrigerator, the cabinets, and the oven.   Understand toxic label language Hazardous products contain warning symbols that you should learn to recognize at a glance. It's important that you (and your entire family) know the difference between Poison, Danger, Warning and Caution. Poison: highly toxic or poisonous (symbol in a stop sign) Danger: extremely flammable, corrosive, or highly toxic (symbol in a diamond) Warning or Caution: moderately or slightly toxic (symbol in an inverted triangle)   Signal words Apart from the four hazard symbols, products are labeled with signal words, which reflect a specific standard of toxicity. Corrosive: dissolves or eats away at materials and living tissue upon contact. Corrosive materials are effective cleaners, but they can cause severe eye and skin damage. Any acid or alkaline product is corrosive and is also poisonous if ingested. (Examples: oven cleaner, chlorine bleach, drain cleaner, battery acid) . Flammable: ignites and burns easily. While this is not technically an indication of toxicity, most are indeed toxic. (Examples: lighter fluid, turpentine, oil, gasoline, hair spray). Reactive: either explosive (e.g., any aerosol spray can under extreme pressure or near heat) or any substance which can produce deadly vapors (e.g., chlorine bleach mixed with ammonia). Toxic: capable of causing death or injury when it enters the body through ingestion, inhalation or skin absorption. (Examples: rat poison, bleach, furniture polish). Replace drain cleaners   Sinks and tubs come with a strainer and plug to keep unwanted items out of the drain. Pouring boiling water down the drain weekly is a good preventative measure, but sometimes, despite the care you take, a blockage does occur. Before you resort to a commercial product, give this remedy a try. (Never use a plunger with a commercial drain cleaner.) A plunger is a plumbing tool widely available in most general department and hardware stores. They come in a variety of shapes and sizes, but are used in the same way. And they aren't called "a plumber's friend" for nothing! In many cases it's all you need to loosen up a clog. They don't come with directions but they're simple to use. Place the bowl of the plunger directly over the drain. Make sure it's flat on the sink's surface--this will form a good seal. Hold the stick (the handle) with both hands. Push up and down quickly and firmly four or five times. Maintain the bowl's surface contact with the sink. The vacuum created within the bowl pulls up on the air in the drain, dislodging the clog. Pour boiling water down the drain to flush the clog, and repeat the whole procedure if necessary. Sometimes the clog is more stubborn than you are--stronger measures are required. Pour a cup (about 250 g) of baking soda and a half cup (about 125 g) of table salt, followed by a cup (about 250 ml) of white vinegar, down the drain. The vinegar causes the baking soda to bubble away, moving the grains of salt which are acting as an abrasive on the clog. After 20 minutes, pour in a kettle of boiling water to wash away the clog. If the drain is freed up, but still a bit slow, use the plunger to finish the job. Replace oven cleaners Cleaning the oven is probably one of the dirtiest, least-liked jobs in the house. The commercial cleaners are harsh on the skin, eyes and lungs. The job isn't any more fun with non-toxic cleaners, but it's a lot safer. (If you're the type to plan ahead, consider using a removable oven-liner--it'll reduce cleaning times to a fraction of the original length.)   When grease is allowed to build up, it bakes on hard. Wipe your oven out after each use to prevent nightmarish oven clean-ups. You can retard grease build-up in an oven by dampening a cleaning rag in vinegar and water. A few minutes of light wiping will save many minutes of hard scrubbing. It's easiest to clean up a spill when it's fresh. Table salt is a safe and inexpensive abrasive which will also absorb spills. While your oven is still warm, sprinkle salt on the spill. If the spill is completely dry, wet it lightly first. When the oven cools down scrape away the spill, rinse well and wipe dry. For tougher spills, sprinkle water followed by a layer of baking soda. Let it sit until the spill softens up. If necessary, rub the spot gently with a very fine steel wool pad. Wipe off scum with dry paper towels or a sponge. Rinse well and wipe dry. Consumers Union Chemists has declared Arm & Hammer Oven Cleaner to be nontoxic. Use your own judgment and follow the directions on the label.   Replace general cleaners Here are a few different formulations of baking soda and vinegar (or lemon juice) cleansers that will take care of most of the clean-up jobs in your home. Countertops: Have a big sticky mess on your hands? If you've just been kneading bread on a counter, or deep-frying a dozen or so bananas, you might need something stronger than a wet sponge. But before you reach for the all-new grease-cutting formula by Super Z brandname, try this one. Take a spray bottle and squirt in a small amount of ordinary dish soap--just enough to cover the bottom of the bottle, plus a little extra. Slowly fill this bottle to the top with tap water, and voile! a general kitchen cleaner. For a less sudsy solution, use a mixture of two parts water to 1 part white vinegar. Stain on your countertop? Lemon juice and time is all you need. Squeeze the juice of a fresh lemon (just enough to cover the spot), and wait for 45 minutes. Then finish the job with a wet sponge.   Window and glass cleaner: Interestingly, a study by Consumer Reports found that plain water worked as well or better when matched against several commercial glass and all-purpose cleaners. (After all, water does have solvent properties--it's just not a toxic solvent.) But some cleanups require something extra, so here are home recipes to tackle the tarnish. Make an 50-50 solution of white vinegar and warm water, and pour it into an empty, clean spray bottle. Spray as you would with an expensive, store-bought cleaner, and wipe with newspaper. (You can also use it on your car or truck windshield--it'll act as an anti-fogging agent.) A tablespoon (15ml) of lemon juice mixed in a quart (one liter) of water works especially well on fingerprints.   Miscellaneous: For floors, add 1/2 cup (about 125 ml) of white vinegar to a bucket of warm water. If the floor is really dirty, mix a small amount of liquid soap with water, and wash the floor with that solution. Rinse afterwards with the vinegar and water solution. Denture tablets will remove coffee and tea stains from china coffeepots, teapots, cups and mugs. Use the recommended ratio on the tablets package. Furniture polish: Most folks can all appreciate a nice shiny, dust-free piece of furniture. You can have it, too--without expensive toxic sprays and liquids. Mix a teaspoon (5 ml) of olive oil with a half cup (115 ml) lemon juice in a bowl and apply it to your furniture with a soft cloth. Rub deep into the grain, getting each nook and cranny if it's a varied surface. Turn the cloth and buff with a clean portion of rag. Clean the bathroom It's a well-established fact that most household chemical accidents occur in the bathroom. Unless you have a really neglected bathroom, all you'll need is vinegar (or lemon juice) and baking soda.   Toilet bowl cleaner: Add a cup (about 250 ml) of white vinegar to the toilet bowl, toss in a handful of baking soda. Let it bubble away for ten minutes or fifteen minutes--you could work on the rest of the bathroom while you wait. Then take your toilet brush, give the bowl a good scrub, and flush. At bedtime, toss two 1000 mg vitamin C tablets into the toilet bowl. In the morning, again take the toilet brush and give the bowl a swish and a flush. This gives an extra polish to the area below the waterline.   Tub and tile cleaner: Vinegar (or lemon juice) is a mild disinfectant. It'll remove hard water spots, dissolve mineral build-up and break down filmy soap residue without leaving a film of its own. And while it's doing all this, it's also deodorizing the bathroom.Use 2 parts water to 1 part vinegar--or use it full-strength for small, heavily soiled areas. (Wear rubber gloves if you'll be working with it for more than a few minutes). Note: A nylon scrubbing pad is a major ally in the battle against this kind of dirt. Baking soda is a mild abrasive, safe for all tiles and counters and in sinks and tubs. Use it with a damp cloth on surfaces or scrub hard to get at areas and grout with an old toothbrush and rinse.   Glass shower doors: These are prime areas for soap scum to accumulate, and glass doors display their dirtiness all too well. Dilute liquid soap and let it soak into the surface. Then scrub it with a nylon scrubbing pad (a white one is preferable), or steel wool if the scum is really dried on and stubborn. All of this is preventable, by the way, if you have a squeegee in your shower, and you wipe down the glass doors after each use. (If the squeegee procedure sounds like too much work to do everyday, remember that it really takes about 30 seconds. Replace solvents Solvents are any substance that dissolves another substance. They are usually corrosive, reactive, toxic and flammable. Turpentine is an example, as is fingernail polish remover and furniture stripper. A note on disposal: no toxic solvent should ever be poured down a drain or toilet--this type of chemical will leach into the local water supply with alarming speed. Call your local waste management or recycling center for details on how and where to dispose of these materials.   Use water-based paints. If you can possibly avoid oil-based paints, you'll save yourself a lot of exposure to solvents like paint thinner or mineral spirits, which are easily absorbed by your skin. To soften a hardened paintbrush, soak it in undiluted white vinegar, then rinse well with warm water and dry it. Would you like to avoid this situation entirely? If you're applying multiple coats of paint and waiting several hours between coats, wrap your brush or roller in plastic cling wrap and put it in cool dark place (but away from food). You'll save the work of cleaning the brush, and you'll reduce the use of a solvent. A bit of toothpaste squeezed onto a clean cloth will remove a child's crayon marks from walls. Wrap your finger in the cloth, and rub it against the "art work" until it's all erased; then rinse the area off with clear water. On clothing, rub the toothpaste into the crayoned area, then let it sit and wash it as usual. Hint: If you have a young artist at your home, keep a tube of inexpensive white toothpaste on hand for these creative times. It works very well and it's quite inexpensive. For the sticky residue that labels leave on glass, china and metals, rub the area with undiluted white vinegar. If it's really stubborn, try heating up the vinegar, but don't heat it so much that it'll scald your hand. Alcohol, like gin or vodka, will also remove price tags in a pinch (it can also make for happy work, but watch it). Replace clothing stain removers Stains are an unavoidable part of life. No matter what kind of stain you have or where that stain is, it's always best to act on it as soon as possible. (The longer a stain is left untreated, the harder it'll be to remove.) Some of the following solutions may surprise you, but the fact remains that they do work. Sometimes a bit more time is required or you need to use a bit more elbow grease. Incidentally, these are by no means the only substitutions--this list barely scratches the surface. See 2torial #0513 Remove a Stain for more information.   Remove water stains on leather by rubbing with a cloth dipped in equal parts of white vinegar and water. A yellow stain left by candle wax on a tablecloth can be removed with denture cleaning tablets in a container with warm water. Immerse the stained portion, add the tablets in the ratio recommended on the package and let them dissolve. Soak the cloth until the spot disappears and wash as usual. Sponge perspiration stains with a weak solution of white vinegar or lemon juice and water. Wash as usual. If you have a stubborn stain that requires a commercial laundry product, avoid bleaches that are chlorine-based. Or, try borax (see Keywords)--it's a less toxic replacement. Replace descalers (mineral deposit removers)   Certainly the most effective way to stop mineral build-up in appliances and on surfaces is to treat the water where it enters, before it gets to them. Water softeners and conditioners are one way to do it. There are also electronic systems on the market now that you can check out. They use electrical and magnetic fields generated by a coil wrapped around the water inlet pipe. Neither this nor a water softener is a feasible option, though, if you rent your home. Clean a metal shower head by boiling it for 15 minutes in a half cup (about 125ml) of white vinegar and one quart (one liter) water to remove mineral deposits. If the shower head is plastic, soak it in an equal parts white vinegar and warm water solution for one hour. Clean out mineral deposits in tea kettles (electric or stove top), steam irons and drip coffee makers with a 50-50 solution of white vinegar and water. Operate the coffee maker as usual (let the irons and kettles stand overnight) and rinse well. To remove mineral build-up around faucets, lay a cloth soaked in hot white vinegar on the fixture that needs cleaning. Let it stand for an hour or so, and wipe it off. Replace metal cleaners   Silverware: Put the silver in a pan and cover with equal parts of milk and vinegar. Soak it overnight, rinse in soap and hot water, and polish dry.   Take an toothbrush you've reserved for such jobs and give your jewelry a quick clean and shine with plain white toothpaste. (Use a paste, not a gel. It's cheaper and more abrasive.)   Make a paste with cream of tartar and a bit of lemon juice to clean lacquered brass. Leave the mixture on the brass for five minutes, then wash in warm water and dry.   Rubbing pewter with a cabbage leaf will give it a nice shine. Note: Post-polish cabbage leaves are not suitable consumption by for human or beast--not even the compost pile. Throw it way.   Polish chrome with a soft cloth and dry white flour, or with undiluted vinegar. Replace pest traps You'll see there are different ways of dealing with nasty critters. These range from passive resistance to more aggressive, hands-on methods. Inside the house: a pot of basil set on the windowsill or table helps to repel fleas. (It's also nice to include in your cooking!) Make your own flypaper with corn syrup, sugar and a bit of water boiled together. Coat brown paper strips with the sticky syrup and hang it up. It works! Insert cloves in a ripe orange and set it out on the kitchen table or hang it from the ceiling. You'll enjoy the scent, but flies just hate it. To trap moths, mix one part molasses with two parts vinegar and in a yellow container (the color is important). Remove and dispose of the moths as they are attracted and become stuck in the gooey mixture. To repel moths from stored textiles like clothes or bed linens, make sachets--small cloth pillows stuffed with dried lavender or equal portions of rosemary and mint. Place them in closets, drawers, or closed containers. A non-toxic mouse trap: Set out small bowls of instant potato flakes or buds in likely places. Close by set out a small bowl of water. The potato swells in the mouse as much as it can which causes the mouse to swell more than is good for it. For more strategies on mice, see 2torial #0440: Capture a Mouse. Buy commercial products wisely Some substances are toxic but are occasionally necessary, and there are no alternative substitutes. Although it's difficult to eliminate every toxic chemical in your home, you can reduce their numbers and minimize the hazards. Natural food stores and companies who sell their own brands of cleaners directly to consumers generally have a good selection of less toxic products. Shop around to find the products that best suit your needs (you can even find suppliers online). Try using pure soap rather than detergents--the latter are derived from non-renewable petroleum products. Soaps are animal- or plant-based compounds. Laundry and dishwashing soaps are good examples of this category. Read the labels. Make sure that the product will do what you want and that you'll feel safe using it. Understand what the compounds can do for you and to you (and to your family, pets, etc.) (See Step 1 for more details.) Buy only as much toxic substance as you need and use it up in a short period of time. If there's anything left over, give it to a friend, a school (drama departments can always find a use for paints) or a business. If you can't give it away, dispose of it in the proper manner--which usually entails disposing of it in a harzardous disposal facility. To find out the location of one nearest you, call the local dump: they've probably been making referrals for a long time. Buy multi-purpose cleaners. This reduces the numbers of cleaners you use and therefore the amounts of toxic chemicals in your home. You don't really need a different product to clean every surface in your home. But do heed when the product says it isn't right for some surfaces. Paint is paint--there isn't a replacement for it. But if you choose water-based paint rather than oil-based, you won't need a solvent for cleanup. If you don't mind subtle colors, consider milk paint--yes, it's actually made with milk! This was an all-but-dead product a few years ago, but afficionados of a that "old-timey" look have brought it back in a big way. Avoid aerosol products if you can help it. Try buying cleaners in bulk-concentrate form, and use them in reusable pump sprays--you'll save yourself a lot of money. Store toxic chemicals It's all right if you've done your best to clear out the toxic chemicals, but still have a few remaining in your home. Just be sure that you store and dispose of them correctly. Leave toxic products in their original containers with the labels attached. This guarantees that you know what you've got, how to use it and what the recommended treatment is in case of an accident. Make sure lids and caps are tightly sealed. Never store hazardous products in food or beverage containers (and never store them in the same area as food). Even if you've labeled them and understand that they're dangerous, a toddler won't. Put all toxic chemicals on high shelves or in locked cabinets out of the reach of children and animals. Keep containers dry and in a cool, well-ventilated area to prevent rusting. Store incompatible products separately (e.g. chlorine bleach and vinegar). And keep flammable products away from corrosive products.   -end- Learn More!