Clean up Your Cleaning
Ever looked at the labels on those cleaning products under your sink? Scary, aren’t they? “Danger – keep out of the reach of children!” and “Warning! Irritant!” and “Harmful to aquatic life!” they scream. And when we’ve finished nuking whatever it was we were using it for, we flush it down the sink/loo/drain for the fishes to enjoy. Additionally, many houses in the more rural parts of Southwater have septic tanks that can be unbalanced by such strong chemicals. And not only are some of these products highly toxic, they can be quite expensive, too. So here are some ideas for a few greener, safer (and cheaper) alternatives.
Tea stained mugs and tea pot? Instead of bleaching them, try wetting the inside of the mug, add a tablespoon or two of bicarbonate of soda and rub it around inside with an old toothbrush (you might need to add a few more drops of water). You will quickly end up with a brown sludge that can be rinsed away and your mug or teapot will be sparkling.
Fabric conditioner: Swap this overperfumed chemical gloop for white vinegar and it does the same job, with no smell of vinegar afterwards. Not only that but it will help keep the inside of your machine cleaner, too. About an egg cup full of white vinegar in the fabric conditioner compartment of your machine per wash should do the trick. And while fabric conditioner can’t be used on towels (it makes them waterproof!) the vinegar can be used for these, too.
Sparkling windows: Mix up a solution of half water and half white vinegar in a spray bottle and use it to clean your windows. Clean your dishwasher: Put a teacup of white vinegar upright on the top shelf of your empty dishwasher and run it through a full cycle.
Slow-flowing plughole? Mix 150g of washing soda with 150ml boiling water until dissolved. Pour it down your troublesome plughole and put the plug in so nothing else goes down there.
Leave overnight (or 8 hours) then pour a kettle of boiling water down the plughole. You can get a big 1.5k bag of washing soda (sodium carbonate) from Wilko for £1.50 and it’s harmless to the environment – unlike many drain cleaners on the market! If you don’t quite trust home cleaning remedies and prefer something commercially produced, you can at least cut down your single-use plastic consumption by opting for a refill service of environmentally friendly products.
The Natural Way in the Carfax offer a wide range of refillable products including laundry liquid, washing up liquid and bathroom cleaner, plus limescale remover and dishwasher tablets. Just take your own bottle along and fill it up!