Cleaning With Non-Toxic Substances

Do you ever get a headache, a sore throat, or feel dizzy after you clean the house, or after doing the laundry? Many conventional cleaning products are extremely powerful and contain many untested and toxic chemicals. For further information about the chemical content of commercially available products see previous post "Chemical Sensitivity and the New EU Chemical Law".

If you want to clean with non-toxic substances, white vinegar and baking soda can get you a long way. These two substances have many uses, both in cleaning a home and in dealing with laundry.

White vinegar diluted with water can be used around the home to clean windows, glass, floors, and to remove odors and grease from walls. The concentration of vinegar to water can be varied according to the strength needed for the job.

After working with it for a while, it becomes easier to determine what ratio is required, but a good place to start for these tasks would be approximately 1 part vinegar to 10 parts water. More vinegar can always be added as needed.

White vinegar is also good for removing calcium deposits from taps, sinks and shower heads. A shower head can be soaked directly in the vinegar, while for taps and sinks a cloth can be soaked in full strength vinegar and placed over the calcium deposits.

A very dilute solution of vinegar and water is useful for softening clothes and even hair. Rinsing the hair, after shampooing, with a weak vinegar solution makes the hair shiny and soft. A small amount added to the rinse water will also soften laundry. In both cases, if a dilute enough vinegar-water solution is used, it won't leave either the hair or the laundry smelling of vinegar.



Baking soda can be used as a mild scrubbing agent that won't scratch surfaces and it's also a good odor remover and a fairly good whitener.





White vinegar and baking soda together can be used to remove odors and some chemical substances from fabrics. Many new clothes have been treated with fire retardant chemicals and often clothes made out of cotton have a strong pesticide content. People with chemical sensitivities often find that wearing such garments can cause them to react. To learn more about chemical sensitivities see "What Is Multiple Chemical Sensitivity?". A very effective way to remove these substances is to soak the fabric in water along with vinegar and baking soda.

The vinegar to water ratio that works best is approximately 2 or 3 parts vinegar to 4 water. Four to five cups of baking soda is effective for the equivalent of a small to medium load of laundry. These are approximate measures and they can be varied according to need. Using either vinegar or baking soda alone, without the other, doesn't usually work successfully. Once the fabric has been left to soak for several hours it can then be washed and rinsed as normal.

For most new items it's best to do this at least twice, and usually three times is necessary, in order to fully remove the pesticides and other chemicals. In my experience, after soaking fabric this way four times, it's unlikely that further treatment will be effective if there's still residue that causes a reaction in the user.

This process doesn't remove fabric softeners or strong laundry detergents from fabrics. I've never found a way to do that. If anyone knows a way, please tell me. I'd be very grateful to know how.






Vinegar and baking soda are easily available and economical. They provide a simple solution to using non-toxic substances for many cleaning tasks.