Cleaning your home is one of the easiest ways to keep your family healthy because it kills germs that make you sick. However, have you ever thought about all of the chemicals in the cleaners that you use? What about all the fragrances?
There are natural solutions for your cleaning duties. Not only will these help kill germs and clean the dirt, but they will reduce toxic chemicals and very likely save you money! With just a few simple ingredients and a few essential oils, you can significantly reduce the number of commercial cleaning products in your cabinet.
A few basic ingredients like vinegar, baking soda, castile soap and borax are the basis for most of your natural cleaning products. Vinegar kills germs, cuts grease, deodorizes and dissolves mineral deposits. Baking soda scrubs, whitens, deodorizes and cuts grease. Castile soap is a vegetable based soap that can be found online or in many health food stores. Since you are going for natural and might be adding essential oils, look for an unscented version. Also, don’t expect this to make bubbles like chemical, commercial soap. There is a chemical sudsing agent in soap that makes it bubbly. Finally, borax. It disinfects, kills bacteria and fungi and deodorizes.
Next, you may want to add an essential oil to your base cleaner to make it smell good and help with the disinfecting ability. Many essential oils have antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal or antibiotic properties. There are a few that work on several types of germs. Pick one or two that you like and start with them. You don’t need everything on the list.
Antibacterial: Cypress, eucalyptus, lavender, lemon, marjoram, tea tree, Roman chamomile, and rosemary.
Antiviral: Cinnamon, clove, eucalyptus, lavender, lemon, tea tree, oregano, sandalwood, and thyme.
Antifungal: Eucalyptus, lavender, lemon, patchouli, tea tree, sandalwood, and thyme.
Antibiotic: Bergamot, clove, eucalyptus, lavender, lemon, tea tree, oregano, patchouli and Roman chamomile.
As you can see, eucalyptus, lavender, lemon and tea tree are listed as being effective in all the categories. Pick one or two to get started. Lemon is up lifting and lavender is relaxing, so maybe start with them. Eucalyptus is great for breathing issues, so if you tend to have trouble with congestion, asthma or other breathing difficulty, maybe this would be a good smell to have regularly in your house.
One final ingredient you may want to add to your natural cleaning list is Silver Shield ionic silver. This is patented to kill over 100 pathogens. It can be used for cleaning or put into your medicine cabinet for use if you get sick.
Clearly, you do have choices when it comes to cleaning products and keeping your family healthy and safe. Just as eating natural, healthy foods is important for good health, so is using non-toxic cleaners in your home.
The basic ingredients are available at the store or health food store. The essential oils and Silver Shield can be purchased at the Canton Fitness Center or through the Nature’s Sunshine tab on the CantonFitnessCenter.com website.
Next week I will have some recipes that you can use to make environmentally friendly cleaning products. Until then, be healthy and safe!