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Household Cleaners
Keeping your home clean with kids around can feel like a never-ending challenge, especially when you’re concerned about the safety of household cleaners. With little hands touching everything and food often ending up on the floor, it’s crucial to choose safe household cleaners for kids. In this guide, I’ll share my go-to DIY cleaning solution that keeps my home sparkling while ensuring my children are never exposed to harsh chemicals. Let’s dive into creating a kid-safe, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly cleaner that works wonders!
While I have a 6-year-old running around the house creating her own chaos, combine that with another 6,5,4 and 1 year old (when her younger cousins) come to visit, forget double trouble! You now have a quintuple pickle.
Trying to tidy and clean up after they have been together can feel like a full-time job all on its own. From crumbs, to spillages to mysterious spots appearing where you least expect them, your house no longer resembles a quiet, neat oasis but rather the end result you’d expect from a school cafeteria.
You know those grubby hands will be touching counters and picking up food from the floor (did someone yell, “5 second rule”?) but you also know the harsh chemicals that conventional cleaning products contain. So I have found the perfect homemade product to do the trick.
So before I jump into getting you started with how to make your own wonder product, here is why you should consider DIY cleaning products:
Safety First
- By making your own DIY cleaning products, you can ensure that your home is clean without your children being exposed to toxic harmful substances which could cause skin irritations, respiratory issues, fatigue and headaches to name a few.
- You know exactly what is going into your product so you can have peace of mind and not have to worry about toxic fumes. Talking about toxic fumes – when it comes to the safety of bleach – NEVER under any circumstance add it to vinegar or baking soda as the reaction may cause these toxic fumes. Only mix it with water
- Although this is a safe alternative to conventional cleaners, it is still advisable to keep it out of reach of curious hands as it is still dangerous to consume in large quantities
Cost – Effective
- Most DIY cleaning recipes use common household items which means that you can save money over the store-bought alternatives and still have a house that is sparkling clean and fresh smelling.
Environmentally Friendly
- DIY cleaning products reduce the number of harmful chemicals that are released into the environment
- By reusing the containers, you are also reducing the plastic waste. Go, You!
Now that we know why we’re doing it all natural, here’s the how.
Ingredients for this power product
Putting these ingredients together will have you feeling like you have a master’s degree in chemistry and doing science experiments in your kitchen.
Here’s what you’ll need: (Source:Clean and Green Homemade Cleaners)
- Water: A universal solvent which will help to dissolve other substances
- White Vinegar: An acid that is completely non-toxic and can clean just about anything as it’s a natural disinfectant
- Baking Soda: A base that is a good scrubbing agent and helps remove dirt, fat and grease. It also helps eliminate those funky smells around the house.
- Essential Oils: (SourceThe Best Essential Oils)
- Tea tree (also called Ti -Tree) is another great all-purpose cleaner. It’s also a karate ninja against bacteria and viruses and one of the few oils with antifungal properties.
- Lavender is a versatile oil with bacterial properties and sanitizes the area being cleaned i.e. killing the bacteria and making the area smell nice. Lavender is also known for its soothing, calming and relaxing properties, which you will need when finding and cleaning the creative mess.
The recipe for creating the perfect concoction
(Source: Make your own all-purpose cleaner)
ext add 1 tsp baking soda (It will create the cool experiment fizzing action)
Finally add 12-20 drops of essential oil. I added 10 drops Lavender and 10 drops Tea Tree oil
Shake well before each use to make sure the ingredients mix well, especially the essential oils
Putting the concoction to the test
Now that you have armed yourself with this potent product, it’s time to put it to the test.
- Crusty Counters – Spray the solution directly onto the counter and let it sit there for a minute or so and then simply wipe clean. The same can be done for your little toddler’s high chair.
- Filthy Floors – For those strange sticky spots on your tiles or walls, spray a little on the area and scrub clean with a cloth. You’ll be pleasantly surprised at how well the area cleans.
When I first tried the solution out to make sure it actually cleans, I tested a small piece of the counter in my kitchen. It worked so well that when I caught myself, the counter, walls and door frames were spotless. My daughter entered the kitchen, took a deep breath in and out. She proceeded to go “Mmmmmmmm, Mommy, what smells so goooooood”? (Yes, my child is quite dramatic so it was comical to hear).
Final Thoughts
- Creating an all-purpose cleaner safe for young children won’t make the chaos disappear but it will give you the power that you need to bring order back when all is said and done.
So here is to clean homes, happy children and the occasional nap (for you, not them, they don’t believe in those).
A little mess just means a lot of love.