Take common cleaning products, for example. Three of the most common ingredients in household cleaners are bleach, ammonia, and formaldehye. All respiratory irritants, all toxic, some dangerous if combined with other chemicals, some known carcinogens. Sounds like something you want to be breathing in, doesn't it? More about the three most dangerous chemicals under your sink here.
A much safer, more natural, and even cheaper option for plenty of cleaning tasks is an old standby in the kitchen. Plain white vinegar!
Vinegar can be used for so so many uses, from degreasing, deodorizing, preventing mildew, killing mold, laundering, etc, etc, etc. For an awesome, extensive list of some of the best ways to use vinegar, check this article out. I was surprised to see it can remove stickers and labels from surfaces, and get the smell of smoke out of fabric!
I've been using vinegar for cleaning around the house for a few years now. Recently I decided to see if it would work on a really tough job...degreasing and cleaning a really dirty stovetop. Take a look..
This was what I was up against. Old, melted on, burned-up grease. Both vegetable and animal.
For this job, I sprayed the vinegar on at 100% concentration, or non-diluted. Really saturated the entire surface. Then I let it sit for about 15 minutes to give it a chance to soften up the hard stuff. When it was time to come back and use some elbow grease, I used a regular sponge, scrub side. That's all it took. Everything started coming up!
After a bit of work (nothing too difficult, and definitely less trouble then potentially inhaling poisonous cleaners), the job was done and I had a gorgeous white stovetop once again!
Long live a clean, inviting space! Now I want to cook for everyone!! Visions of stir-frys, scrambles, soups and sauces are dancing through my head...let's eat!
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Thanks to The New Homemaker for the links :)
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