Healthy Cleaning, Healthy Living

Using environmentally friendly cleaning products—and getting rid of toxic ones—goes a long way toward ensuring a spotless home with clean fresh air. Clean air rejuvenates and revitalizes. If you live in a home free of toxic chemicals, you'll sleep soundly, concentrate better, and have a higher overall sense of well-being. You can reduce your household's toxic burden by following the steps below:

Look under your kitchen sink.

Almost every home in the world has a cabinet full of poisons: waxes, polishes, oven cleaners, insect spray—these are the items one often stores under the kitchen sink. If misused, they are extremely hazardous to one's health. Remove any toxic products you may have and replace them with safer versions in the future.

Dispose of toxic products properly.

Hazardous materials shouldn't be thrown away in the trash or poured down the drain as they can cause serious environmental pollution. To dispose of your toxic products properly, simply call your local recycling centre or town/city hall. These days, most communities have services that pickup hazardous waste materials from residents at least once every year.

Replace toxic cleaning products with better versions.

Be wary of signal words on labels such as “caution”, “danger”, “warning”, or “poison”. Choose instead the products with labels that signify that the ingredients are effective and safe for the environment. The Design for the Environment label and the Green Seal are examples of these labels.

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Pet-Friendly Home Cleaning Tips

If your pet is so inseparable to you and your kids that you couldn't bear to keep them outside, you might be constantly worried about hygiene and the cleanliness of your house. You don't have to be too conscious, though; with the right strategy, you can ensure that your pet-friendly home is always clean and well-sanitized.

Keep your pet feeding habits clean and sanitary; opt to buy large bowls that will hold their food without too much spillage. Otherwise, you can also consider a separate outdoor room meant for feeding them; utilize this room to its fullest by storing their feed and dish bowls here as well. You can even turn it into a mini-lounge where they can nap and do their business before getting back inside.

Your best friend in this case should be an efficient vacuum cleaner; you should run it through the entire length of your carpet regularly to remove all the fur shed by your extended family member. You should also suction out your sofas and other pieces of furniture using the upholstery attachment.

Don't just let your cat or dog sleep anywhere they want; buy them a special pet basket and train them to use it for when they have to take a snooze. Opt for wicker instead of fabric, as they can be cleaned much easier. When cleaning, watch out for fleas that may infect your vacuum or any other equipment that you're using.

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Do-It-Yourself House Cleaning

No one wants to live in a cramped, messy space. You can always pay someone to clean your home; but why spend money on house help if you can do it yourself? If you're by your lonesome and your house isn't a mansion, gear up and rise to the challenge of cleaning your home.

With a garbage bag in hand, walk along the halls of your home. When you see pieces of trash, don't hesitate to stuff them in the bag. Continue doing this until the floors are no longer littered with useless junk. Make sure the garbage bags are tightly sealed before dumping them outside your yard for pick up by garbage collectors.

Next, go to your room and work on the piles of clothes lying on the ground. Return them to their proper places in the closet and separate unused ones from those that need washing. After order is restored in the bedroom, tend to the dishes waiting for some scrubbing. Before returning cups, pans, plates, and utensils in the kitchen cabinet, see to it that they're dry.

No one knows your home better than you do. It should be easy to devise your own way of cleaning your home. Just promise yourself you won't slack off in the face of utter chaos; neglecting house affairs will haunt you in the future.

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Effective Ways on Cleaning Tiles and Grout

Tiles add shimmering luster to a house's interior, whether in the bathroom or the kitchen. However, regular room activity over time can result in the tiles sporting ugly stains; pristine, white tiles, for example, may later assume a slightly yellow hue. Fortunately, there are ways to easily remedy an icky appearance.

First, you need a special power tool that allows cleaning of narrow crevices. Dampen the grout with a sponge then apply baking soda over the gaps. A suitable alternate solution would be to mix oxygen bleach powder with warm water. Let the substance sit for up to 30 minutes before scrubbing the area. Put in more of the substance as necessary and keep the area off-limits for six hours before disinfecting with hydrogen peroxide.

However, home cleaning experts advise not to apply bleach on colored grout because it can discolor the material. Household cleaners should never be used on granite or natural stone tiles. A nylon brush will help scrape the debris from the grout without affecting the material. Wear protective gloves, as well.

Cleaning up the tile and grout with these simple home solutions will help restore their natural beauty. It's better than investing on replacing them all.

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