As spring is just around the corner and we have had more time than ever in lockdown to revaluate the products we’re using in our homes, we’re looking at simple ways we can make greener choices. Starting with your household cleaning products is a great place to start, as many contain harsh chemicals that can be easily swapped with natural alternatives.
For Lisa Bronner, a Green cleaning product must be safe for all three of the below:
- My Earth: Be sustainably sourced & biodegradable
- My House: Be effective
- My Body (& bodies around me): Be harmless
With this in mind, these are our top 5 cleaning items that you can use to green clean your home this spring.
- Liquid Castile Soap / Sal Suds
Both the Pure-Castile Soap and the Sal Suds are surfactants, which means they are surface active agents, and work by latching on to germs, grime, and dirt. Our Castile soap is great for use on bodies, pets and in the home, whereas Dr. Bronner’s Sal Suds Liquid Cleaner is a concentrated hard-surface all-purpose cleaner. It is made with plant-based surfactants and natural fir needle and spruce essential oils (no cheap, harsh pine stump oil), without any synthetic dyes, fragrances or preservatives. Sal Suds is our biodegradable household cleaner which doesn’t react with hard water. It rinses cleanly and leave surfaces sparkling ensuring no film or marks are left on shiny surfaces. Sal Suds is safe for any surface or material that can get wet. As with our castile soap, you can dilute Sal Suds to create all sorts of products, but our basic All-Purpose Spray is made with 15 ml Sal Suds in 1 litre of water.
- Baking Soda
Baking soda – aka sodium bicarbonate – is a gentle abrasive which makes it useful for scouring bathroom & kitchen surfaces. You can easily make a scrubbing paste by mixing Baking Soda with water and leaving it on stubborn dirt such as baked on oven grime. You can also use it for freshening carpets & upholstery by sprinkling on and vacuuming out.
- Vinegar
Vinegar is an acid that uses the power of pH to clean. It lifts greasy fingerprints, dissolves hard water minerals that cause water spots and stiff clothing, and penetrates soap scum on sinks and tubs. It is useful in cleaning glass windows or mirrors as well as bringing shine to bathroom cabinets.
- Lemons
Lemon juice is an acid with a slightly lower pH than vinegar, and fresh lemon juice have various uses. Fresh lemon juice should be strained well to remove all pulp to create a smooth cleaner. Like vinegar, use lemon juice to dissolve water spots, cut soap scum, and degrease. One of our favourite uses is microwaving quarter of a lemon for 2 minutes – and then letting it sit closed for 5minutes. This will loosen the most stubborn microwave grime.
- Salt
Salt comes in handy for its ability to scour while not reacting. In the kitchen, scrub stubborn pot stains with a little salt, especially cast iron where soap would damage the seasoning of the surface. Salt on fresh oven spills helps them lift easily when cool but remember it is very abrasive do not use it on etchable surfaces such as tile, stone, or acrylic.
Dr. Bronner’s is a family business committed to honouring the vision of our founder Dr. E.H. Bronner by making socially and environmentally responsible products of the highest quality, and by dedicating our profits to helping make a better world. “All-One!”