By Michelle Joe
Gone are the days when we could live without the fear of the environmental consequences of our action. Now, according to Statista, more than 95 percent of the global population is breathing unhealthy air.
Surveys conducted about environmental concerns showcase that these days, the general public is worried about pollution. Many are striving to live sustainably and responsibly. This doesn’t just include investing in alternative energy.
Instead, you must incorporate green living in every facet of your life. This also includes the chore of cleaning your house. Here are the top eco-friendly ways to clean your home.
1. Let fresh air in to eliminate unwanted odor
All of us wish that our houses smell pleasant. After all, what is a clean house if it does not smell like one? However, many air fresheners contain ingredients that are not eco-friendly. Rather than depending on such products, it is better to let nature take the lead.
Closed up house tend to smell. If you live in an area which features fresh and breathable air, make sure to leverage it. Open your windows. Position your fans in the right place, like in your hallway or stairway.
Don’t just leave your window open. Instead, place a fan in it too. Make sure it is facing outwards. This will help in circulating the air effectively.
2. Use remedies for bed bugs
Bed bugs are the worst. When you are deep asleep, they come out and attack you! Their incessant biting might not wake you up at night, but you will surely feel their effect once you wake up in the morning.
The good news is that there are home remedies for bed bugs that you can use. Similarly, you can also find eco-friendly and sustainable bug proof sprays in the market. Once you use the spray, make sure to take protective measures to prevent repeated infestation.
For instance, you can use steam to access areas where the spray doesn’t reach. Similarly, vacuum regularly to prevent dirt and bed bugs from accumulating. Make sure to use a powerful hose and be thorough with your cleaning.
Keeping bed bugs at bay isn’t just part of cleaning your house. It is essential for ensuring your health and peace.
3. Use newspaper to clean your house
Do you know that now you can make houses out of recycled bottles and sandbags? Well, we won’t ask you to do so. But you can recycle and reuse items for your house cleaning.
You don’t necessarily have to use towels to clean the mirrors and glass windows of your house. Instead, you can make use of the newspaper delivered to your abode.
In fact, cleaning your mirrors and glass windows through newspapers gives them an excellent shine. You might think that newspaper ink will get smeared onto your transparent glass. However, now newspapers feature water-based ink. Therefore, you won’t see any lint when you clean the mirrors and windows with newspapers.
4. Use your old towels wisely
Have your old towels become worn out and torn? That doesn’t mean you have to throw them away. Instead, you can use them as cleaning rags for your house! Rather than investing in cleaning rags, always use your old towels and cut them into a plethora of cleaning material for your house.
This option is much more sustainable than using paper towels. When it comes to cost-effectiveness, re-using old material is much better than buying new cleaning rags every other month! So, you will be doing yourself and the Earth a favor!
5. Use fresh lemons and coffee beans to get rid of odors
If you cook food in your house every day, rather than living off of takeaways, cleaning your kitchen should also be your priority. After all, along with opting for sustainable living, you also need to take care of hygiene.
Now, cleaning your kitchen is much more than getting rid of grease and stains. You might have also noticed that your kitchen smells different than other parts of your house. If you don’t do anything about it, the quality of the air in the room will be subpar.
Don’t want your house to smell of an amalgamation of garlic and fish? Air fresheners aren’t the only solution. Instead, something as simple and easily available as lemon can do the trick! All you need to do is cut a lemon in half and simmer its peel through heating it. Add water to it, and voila, you have a natural air freshener at your disposal.
Another natural ingredient that can come handy for eliminating the unpleasant smell is coffee beans. You can use them to ensure that your fridge doesn’t have a distinct smell. Coffee beans work by absorbing all the different odors present in the fridge.
Place a bowl filled with coffee beans in your fridge for a day. You will feel a difference in the smell coming from the fridge when you open it.
6. Clean your floors with vinegar
An important part of house cleaning is scrubbing all the floors of your house clean. The chances are that you make use of detergents and stain removers for this purpose. You will be pleased to know that there are much more eco-friendlier solutions out there.
For instance, you can use vinegar to clean your floors. Add white vinegar to water in a 50-50 ratio. If your floor is made of anything except slate and granite, this solution will work tremendously for you.
7. Use salt and lime juice to remove rust
It is easy to give up on rust. No matter how hard you scrub it, it can be almost impossible to remove. Commercial rust cleaners do work but are highly toxic in nature.
A much better option is to make use of lime juice and salt. Make a paste out of the two and let the solution sit in room temperature for a few hours. Then, use it to scrub off the rust from the affected appliances. This will help you in getting rid of the rust in no time.
Clean smartly and sustainably
House cleaning might not be the highlight of your day. But, it plays an important role in the maintenance of your physical as well as mental health. By using eco-friendly solutions to do it, you are doing your part in making the world a better place to live! Do you know of any other hacks? Let us know in the comments section below.
Author the Author
Michelle Joe is a blogger by choice. She loves to discover the world around her. She likes to share her discoveries, experiences, and express herself through her blogs. You can find her on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook
