Home Remedy Cleaning Tips That Have Stood the Test of Time
It’s important to use natural ways to clean your home to keep you healthy and happy. It doesn’t matter if you’re a clean as you go type of person or put off tidying up until the seasonal deep clean, having old fashioned household cleaning tips can help you save money and maintain a lifestyle of wellness. You likely have most of the following items in your cupboard.
5 Home Cleaning Remedies
- Citrus or Lemon Juice
- Coffee Filters
- Baking Soda
- Vinegar
- Black Tea
Many people have been in the situation of spilling something on a white shirt or freshly-laundered table runner. Without using harsh-chemical-filled cleaning supplies, is there a way to use old fashioned household cleaning tips?
Not only are Fresh Wave products like Odor Removing Vacuum Beads the perfect addition to DIY home remedies, there are many cleaning tips available. We’ve listed a few go-to’s here.
Citrus or Lemon Juice
Rust Removal
Citrus fruit has been used for centuries for many cleaning tasks, including to remove rust. To replicate the remedy, add coarse salt to the lemon juice and let sit for 30 minutes to 2 hours. The iron oxide will react with the mineral compound of salt and the acidity in the lemon juice enough to dissolve rust and wipe off.
Stain Removal
Another use of lemon juice that you can use as a natural way to clean your home is by using the fruit to remove stains. Like rust, combine salt and lemon juice to a stain in clothing or household items like cotton towels or a table runner. Rub the mixture together until the stain diminishes in the fabric and then gently wash with water.
Whitening Fabrics
Similarly, you can also use lemon juice as a whitener. If you’ve ever had coffee, tea, or red wine, you’ll know that your teeth start looking a bit more dull after the sips of liquid. If your sheets, tea towels, or other kitchen or household linens have a yellow hue to them from age or use, lemon juice is a great way to brighten up the white of the items.
Add about a half a cup of lemon juice to a one gallon bucket of hot water. Add the clothing, cotton sheets or towels, or linen items to the solution and allow them to soak for at least one hour. Then remove the item(s) from the bucket and wash in a washing machine as you normally would.
Polish Wood Furniture
Also, if you’re a fan of your wood furniture and want to use a more natural method to clean it, try citrus! With one part lemon juice and two parts olive oil, by using a cotton towel to wipe wood furniture (or even flooring) with the mix, your wood will look bright and shiny.
Although the scent of lemon can be a pleasant reminder that you cleaned, if you prefer no odors wafting throughout your living room or kitchen use Fresh Wave’s Odor Removing Candle to remove any citrus scent.
Coffee Filters
Due to the makeup of coffee filters — in which they are lint-free and don’t scratch — they are an ideal option to use for dusting furniture. They can also be used for cleaning surfaces that are prone to scratches such as windows, mirrors, and even sunglasses and eyeglasses.
Baking Soda
The ever-adaptable baking soda is a foundational ingredient in many old fashioned household cleaning tips. Baking soda is an ideal base for cleaning kitchen appliances and other kitchen items, like pots and pans.
Mixing baking soda with warm water and scrubbing the mixture onto pots and pans is an easy and natural way to remove stains or stuck-on food. Once the combination of baking soda and water is rubbed and scrubbed, it’s easy enough to just rinse and dry.
Rather than that stained pan, are you focused on freshening up a smelly rug? Grab that can of baking soda and liberally apply it to stains, smells, or dingy spots on the carpet. Because baking soda is an alkaline solution, it is able to oxidize and react to any stains in the carpet fabric.
Once the natural chemical reaction happens, let the baking soda sit for up to half an hour and then vacuum up the area where you sprinkled the bicarbonate of soda.
Vinegar
Just as baking soda is often used as a multipurpose cleaner, so is vinegar. Distilled white vinegar, when mixed with water and a dash of lemon juice, is just one natural way to clean grimy pieces of glass, whether it’s a window, mirror, or shower door.
If you’re looking for other household items to clean with vinegar, look no further than your shower head. Grab a plastic lunch bag and pour vinegar into it. Secure the bag to the shower head with a rubber band and let it rest. After a few hours, remove the bag and dry it off and your shower head will be free from calcium or other debris.
Vinegar can have a rather pungent smell. Fresh Wave’s Odor Removing Lavender Spray makes the perfect chaser to eliminate lingering vinegar odors.
Black Tea
Thanks to its acidic properties black tea is able to remove grease, grime, and dirt from windows. It can also be used to polish household items such as microwave and oven doors, shower doors, and mirrors.
Add a few teabags to boiling water, let the tea steep for a few minutes, remove the tea bags, and then let cool down to room temperature. Dip a rag into the tea or add to a spray bottle for cleaning. Keep in mind that green tea, white tea, and herbal teas will not be as effective.
Whether you’re using some of our tips on freshening your home, wanting natural ways to achieve having clean air in your home, or if you’re simply looking to remove odors from your residence, using Fresh Wave products can be useful in tandem with the old fashioned household cleaning tips we’ve laid out here.
