Household Cleaning 101

I love Saturdays. I love laying my head on my pillow after a long, busy day with a sense of satisfaction that comes from getting so much accomplished. Today everything within sight in the kitchen got scrubbed and scoured, and I finally got to those dusty, greasy light fixtures! Amazing how much brighter the kitchen is now. =)

I discovered a wonderful new "cleaning product" today. Have you ever noticed that, however hard you scrub at smudges on stainless steel appliances, they just won't come clean?! I don't know about you, but it drives me crazy. Somewhere recently, though, I read about polishing stainless steel appliances with olive oil, so today I tried it. Ta-da! I never saw anything so shiny. And it was completely effortless! Just thought I'd pass that tip along. (wink)

Allow me share a few other cleaning tips with you while I'm on the subject.

An orange is precious thing. It is not to be wasted. Not any of it!

Okay, so being produce-deprived has made me somewhat eccentric. (chuckle) However, there are incredible uses for orange peels like you wouldn't believe! 

The most flavorful part of an orange is the peel which is full of essential oils. Citrus zest is called for in many recipes as it adds wonderful flavor to the item being prepared. Orange rind is also used in teas. When I began making herbal teas, I told my family, "Please don't toss your orange peels! I want them." So here and there in the kitchen I find little piles of orange peels.

Whenever citrus peels are used, they should be washed with soap and water, thoroughly rinsed, and left to dry. I prefer the peel be removed from the orange in large sections rather than itty bitty pieces. The pith (the white part) of an orange is rather bitter and thus adds an undesirable flavor to tea, so I remove it. I've found that an apple corer with a serrated edge does a great job of scraping it out. Next, I use scissors to cut the orange peels into tiny pieces. After five or six days the orange peels are dried and ready to be used in tea.

Max, our dog, has a tendency to settle himself in the kitchen whenever food is being prepared. We rarely give in to his begging, but I just had to see what he would do if I tossed him some pith from an orange. I couldn't believe it. He loved it!

• We all savor the juicy segments inside.
• Max enjoys up the pith.
• I use the rind in tea.

Nothing gets wasted! The orange is a marvelous fruit, everyone. =D

Now, maybe you're thinking, "Great! What a wonderful way to use orange peels. But I prefer my tea without orange peels, thank you." Guess what. =) I've discovered yet another brilliant use for orange peels: household cleaning!

I once soaked some orange peels in water because they'd dried before I could get to them -- I found that scraping the pith out was impossible. Sadly, my peels didn't turn out so great because the essential oils were extracted while soaking. I didn't want to waste that rich water, so I brainstormed and realized I could clean with it!

About a year ago I eliminated most of our commercial cleaning products. I began noticing a cycle. Saturday is chore day in our house. Fumes abound in the air, coating me in an icky, sticky layer. I usually felt just awful on the next day (Sunday). I'd itch horrendously with a mild case of hives, my eyes would be irritated, my hands dry and scaly, and I would constantly be clearing my throat. I figured our cleaning products were the culprit. Just look at what havoc these chemicals cause:

• Ammonia: Can irritate eyes and lungs and cause headaches.
• Phenol and cresol: Found in disinfectants, and if ingested can cause diarrhea, fainting, dizziness, and kidney and liver damage.
• Formaldehyde: Used as a preservative in many household products, formaldehyde is a suspected human carcinogen that can irritate your eyes, throat, skin and lungs.

Those are only a few chemicals used in most household cleaners. (Want to learn more? Read this article.)

Then I found out about vinegar.

Oh, vinegar. (sigh) My hero!

Vinegar is almighty stuff. Most folks would probably agree. Almighty odoriferous! Mmhmm. It stinks. My dad hates the smell of vinegar, and I don't care much for it myself. However, its virtues far exceed its odor.

It is effective. Distilled white vinegar has an pH acidity level of 2.7 which kills most mold, bacteria, and germs. It also cuts the greasiest, toughest grime you can think of.

It does not leave streaks or residue. At the risk of sounding redundant: I don't know about you, but streaks and sticky residue drive me crazy.

Multipurpose. I can't think of anywhere I haven't used vinegar. Nothing beats it!

It's economical! One gallon of vinegar costs around five to six dollars. Add an equal part of water to that, and you have two gallons. Windex costs around four dollars per 32 ounces -- that's twelve dollars per gallon. Add to that your other household cleaners, such as various kitchen and bathroom cleaning products, and that's a big price for a clean house and impaired health.

Vinegar is good for you. Inhaling vinegar as you clean with it clears your sinus passage, killing bacteria and fungus.

Vinegar is so easy to use: Simply fill a spray bottle halfway with vinegar, then fill to the top with water or water in which orange peels have been soaked. Orange oil is anti-bacterial, as well, and helps a bit with the bad odor of vinegar.

Here are some of my favorite ways to use this wonderful all-purpose cleaner:

• Kitchen counters
• Refrigerator
• Microwave
• Mirrors and windows
• Bathroom sink
• Toilet
• Shower
• Linoleum flooring
• Moldy walls

Full-strength vinegar cuts soap scum in showers very well. Allow it to set 10-15 minutes before scrubbing. I usually mop with a commercial product (as I do not breath the fumes) but I also use my vinegar solution for floors when I need to mop by hand.

Nothing kills mold more effectively than vinegar. I had used it countless times to scrub the walls and ceilings of our bathrooms. Most amazing of all, what stains I'm unable to scrub away are faded the following day because vinegar continues to kill the mold long after I'm done attacking it. As a note, vinegar dries very quickly and does not stain or peel paint.

Here are some websites/articles that list additional uses for vinegar:

• Vinegar Tips
• The Vinegar Institute

What more can you ask for? Effective, versatile, thrifty, healthy! I'm not trying to dash the aspirations you have for that commercial household cleaner you swear by. =) But I just want you to know, vinegar is awesome. I can't recommend it highly enough!