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A good rule is that when vinegar doesn’t work, use baking soda. This is why I buy vinegar by the gallon and baking soda in 13.5 lb bags.

Baking soda is good at removing grease and oil. That’s why it’s in your homemade shampoo! Depending on the mess and how long it’s been there, you will want to use different concentrations. If you just want to let something soak, you will use a weak dilution of baking soda. If it’s a tough stain on your stove or oven, you will want

• About 2:1 ratio of baking soda to water

Then mix these together to form desired amount of paste paste and apply to area. Let sit (I’ve seen it recommended for two hours, but you could do this for however long seems necessary) and wipe or scrub off with a sponge. This can also work to get rid of soap scum, although you don’t need to let it sit as long.

Sometimes, you’ll want to use baking soda and vinegar together. Yes, they will react. But for drain cleaner, it’s okay.

Drain Cleaner:

• 1 c baking soda
• 1 c vinegar
• 8 c water

Start by pouring the baking soda down the sink, then the vinegar. It will react. Let it sit, in the meantime heating the water to near boiling. After 5 minutes, pour the water down the drain. If you want, use this recipe to maintain a clean drain once a week or so. If it’s just maintenance, you can cut the baking soda and vinegar in half after the first application.

Sometimes, even with baking soda and vinegar, you need a little something else. For a good tile cleaner and moldy grout killer, read on:

Tile Cleaner:

• ½ c water
• ¼ c hydrogen peroxide

Mix together and spray on desired area. Leave on areas with mold for 1 hour before rinsing. If you’ve even poured hydrogen peroxide on liver in biology class, you know why this works on mold.

My final homemade cleaner for the day is one you may already have. We have granite in our bathroom, so we didn’t want to use vinegar on that. My mom used our dishwasher detergent instead. Works great!

My family had already been using most of these recipes before we began our journey. And this transition will be the easiest even for families who haven’t yet. You probably already have the ingredients in your house and they take moments to make up. Then you can just use them like your regular cleaners and be amazed by the results.

For more cleaning recipes, read DIY Non-Toxic Cleaning Recipes.

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