House Cleaning

Baking soda (or sodium bicarbonate) is an alkaline, or base solution. Alkaline solutions are good at cleaning through dirt, grease, proteins, oils, and other organic items.

Fine abrasive
The fine particles of bakings soda act as an abrasive to help cut through particles and remove stains.

Absolve grease
Using Baking soda in your dishwashing water or other cleaning water helps the grease to dissolve in the water.

Where baking soda is the alkaline vinegar is the acid. Acids are better for removing calcium, rust, and other icky buildups like soap scum and brines left by hard water.

Surfaces to avoid
Because vinegar is an acid you maybe want to avoid using it on marble, granite, or soapstone surfaces.

Epsom Salt isn't actually a salt but a naturally-occurring compound, magnesium sulphate. And like Baking Soda it is alkaline, but not as tough in grease-cutting, but the magnesium sure softens the water. 

Laundry Softener
Try using some Epsom Salt in your washing next time and feel how soft, especially your towels, are. 

Dishwater
It does add with the degreasing but also make the water "gentler" on your hands. 

Essential oils are great resources for natural cleaning around the house. When you buy high-quality essential oils they are pure and ultra-concentrated so a few drops goes a long way.

Here is some that we regularly use.

• Purification – Deodorise
• Tea Tree Oil – Mildew, mold and bacteria removal
• Lemon – Degreaser, Bacteria killer and natural scent
• Citrus Fresh - Clean and fresh scent, degreasing
• Thieves - Cleaning power and an irresistibly spicy scent

There is a range of different products on the market. Do your research and find one that works from a company with ethical values. Higher quality is usually a bit more expensive to buy originally, but if you bought the right one, it will last you way longer. And the bonus because it last longer, you generate less plastic waste ????

That why you need to find the right product. I use the Thieves range to replace harsh chemicals with pure essential oils and other naturally derived ingredients.