Natural Kitchen Cleaners

In the previous articles you read about natural cleaning methods & products and how to utilise these to make your own household cleaners.  Then you read about how to use these to clean the bathroom. This article will help you to clean your kitchen naturally and ecologically..

Refrigerator cleaning

Wipe the fridge with a solution of 1 tablespoon of Borax & a litre of warm water. Keep a small open box of bicarbonate of soda in the fridge to avoid odours – change it every couple of months or so (but don’t throw it away, flush it down the drains to help deodorise the pipes).

Dishwasher cleaning

Add a bit of lemon rind to the cutlery basket for sparkly crockery and some bicarbonate of soda to remove sticky foods on dishes. Run a cup of white vinegar through once a month to reduce soap build-up on the inner mechanisms and on glassware. You can make your own dishwasher detergent by mixing two tablespoons of borax & bicarbonate of soda and a drop of lemon oil.

Cooker & oven cleaning

Clean your oven with a bicarb paste. Add some distilled white vinegar to clean very dirty ovens. Greasy cookers can also be cleaned with soda crystals – for stubborn marks leave to soak for a few minutes.

Microwave Cleaning

Boil a solution of 1/4 cup of vinegar and 1 cup of water in the microwave to dissolve splattered-on food and to deodorize. Clean inside and outside of the microwave with a bicarbonate of soda paste using a damp sponge.

Other Appliances

You can use a solution of soda crystals and/or borax to clean the exterior surfaces of appliances and work surfaces.

Waste disposal unit

Sprinkle 2-3 tablespoons of Borax in the drain, leave it for 15 minutes or so and flush with warm water. To add a fresh fragrance, put a left-over piece of lemon and run the unit for a few second without water.

Glass & tableware

Coffee or tea stains can be removed with bicarbonate of soda paste or a mixture of salt and vinegar. Teapots and chopping boards can be cleaned with soda crystals mixed with white vinegar. Vinegar can help to dissolve mineral deposits in coffee makers and kettles -  fill them with vinegar solution (50%) and run it through a brewing/ boiling cycle. If your drinking glasses look cloudy after a dishwasher run, soak them in white vinegar for a couple of hours!

Dishes & utensils

Add a tablespoonful of borax to a full sink of warm water and wash your dishes in this. To remove burnt-on grease leave the dish in a strong soda crystal solution overnight (if your dish is aluminium, don’t use soda crystals – use borax instead). Make an effective scouring powder by mixing one cup each of Borax, bicarbonate of soda and household salt. Use these on greasy dishes, barbecues, grills and utensils.

Waste bins

Clean out waste bins with a soda crystals solution – add some bicarbonate of soda to deodorise. Leave this solution in the bin for an hour. Then rinse out and, when dry, sprinkle some bicarbonate of soda in the bottom of the bin before you insert a fresh bin liner to keep the waste bin odourless.

Cleaning drains

Use a strong solution of soda crystals regularly for unblocking drains and waste pipes.

In the next article read about laundry cleaning in the natural way.