Living in apartments with dog park in Houston offers a wonderful community lifestyle, and maintaining a clean and sustainable home is a top priority for many residents. Embracing an eco-friendly lifestyle involves making mindful choices about consumption and waste. One excellent approach to this? Master the art of DIY cleaning solutions.
For everyday cleaning tasks, you can often find natural cleaning ingredients readily available in your pantry. The best part is that you don’t need to be a DIY expert to make the most of them.
Additionally, these natural cleaners are significantly more environmentally friendly compared to commercial products. Without the presence of harsh chemicals, they serve as perfect mild solutions for all-purpose cleaning and are still effective for tackling tough stains.
In this article, we have compiled a list of top natural cleaners that will help keep your apartment sparkling and fresh.
White Vinegar
An all-around magic cleaner, vinegar isn't only used for homemade dressings.
It can easily break down grime, dirt, grease, and hard water deposits-making it perfect for cleaning almost any surface you can think of. This includes your microwave, kettle, windows, stove, and sink. What's more, vinegar can effectively remove rust, mildew, and even stinky odors.
But remember: vinegar is made of acetic acid, so you have to dilute it with water for safety. You can also mix in a few drops of liquid soap for the best results.
Baking Soda
Another natural deodorizer, baking soda can absorb awful smells and loosen dirt and gunk. You can pair it with dishwashing liquid or water for a more powerful cleaning combo like vinegar.
Apart from creating a mini volcanic eruption, you can use both baking soda and vinegar for a few cleaning tasks, like breaking up minor clogs. Just sprinkle baking soda into your drain, pour in vinegar, then allow their unclogging magic to do the trick.
As a standalone cleaner, baking soda offers plenty of uses beyond allowing your baked goods to rise, from removing stubborn residue to freshening carpets and upholstery.
Borax
Did you know that borax is a naturally occurring mineral? While it isn't safe to swallow or breathe in, it has been a popular ingredient in commercial cleaning products for decades.
Like baking soda, borax is an alkaline. But it has a higher pH, so you have to dissolve it in water to make it safe for use.
Besides making slime for kids, borax can clean a lot of things in your apartment. You can add a mixture of 1 tablespoon of borax and 2 cups of water to your laundry load for a deep clean. Or dilute a cup of borax in a gallon of warm water and spray the solution on your bathroom tiles to remove mildew stains.
Lemon
When used by itself, lemon juice isn't that effective at cleaning your apartment. But when combined with other cleaners, you can have a natural bleaching agent to treat stains, remove soap scums, and dissolve hard water deposits. And at the same time, you can enjoy the fresh citrusy scent of lemons.
To remove stains from surfaces, you can sprinkle baking soda on the affected area, cut a lemon in half, and use it to scrub off the stain. To polish hardwood furniture, you can soak a clean cloth in a mixture of 1/2 cup lemon juice and 1 cup olive oil.
You can also use lemon for removing odors. Simply put lemon peel in a pot filled with water, allow it to simmer, and enjoy a fresh-smelling apartment. Or toss lemon peel into your garbage disposal to eliminate any awful smells.
Westmount at London Park Apartments in Houston, TX