Eco Friendly Kitchen Cleaning Tips

Here are some kitchen cleaning tips that will keep your house clean and healthy when compared to chemical based cleaning strategies. Over the past several decades, homemakers have become conditioned by advertising to think that only harsh chemicals can really disinfect a kitchen. As our grandmothers could tell us, that's just not right.

What's more, it has become crucial that we learn how to get back in harmony with our environment. We're using up irreplaceable resources, such as petroleum used for energy, in making commercial cleaners that are turning out to be harmful to our bodies and to nature itself.

For instance, did you know that, according to Seventh Generation, we could keep 9.3 million pounds of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from getting into our atmosphere if every household in America replaced just one 32-ounce bottle of chemically based cleaning solution with natural cleaners?

Families who have members with environmentally related illnesses such as asthma and allergies are starting to pay closer attention to the kinds of chemicals they're using for home cleaning. What's more the kinds of chemicals that are in many household cleaning products have been directly linked to a host of health problems that range from skin rashes to cancer. No thanks!

The kitchen is a prime source of chemical contamination in the home but that's a situation that can be easily remedied by switching over immediately to an eco-friendly cleaning regimen.

The easiest kitchen cleaning tip is to start reading the labels on kitchen cleaning products and look for those that contain no toxic chemicals. Natural cleaning products may not have the marketing power behind them, but they will clean your kitchen just as well, if not better than chemical based cleaners, because they leave behind no toxic residue.

For instance, one of the biggest kitchen jobs is doing the dishes. When choosing either liquid dish soap or dishwasher detergent, look for products without phosphates or other harmful additives. These are what cause harm to the environment. Since "biodegradable" is being used a lot by even chemically based cleaning products, look instead for logos and seals that confirm the products are “certified biodegradable.”

But what about those stubborn, baked-on food messes? Don't we need to blast those out with strong chemicals? Nonsense! Water has been nature's universal solvent for millions of years. Just let the dish, pan or pot soak in a little water with dish soap and soon you can scrub the mess out easily. If soaking doesn't work, then make a thick paste of baking soda with water, and the baked-on bits will come off.

Next, if you need to save money on your household budget – and who doesn't these days – consider making your own household cleaning products out of common natural materials such as vinegar, baking soda and lemon juice, among others. There are many recipes online for making household cleaners with natural ingredients. You may already have some of your own. Finally, here's a kitchen cleaning tip for great coffee: Clean your coffeemaker with vinegar. That's right; vinegar will clean a coffeemaker beautifully because it gets out the natural oils in the coffee. Fill the coffee maker with 1 to 2 cups of white vinegar and top off with tap water. Start the coffee maker and let it run into the glass carafe. Allow the carafe to sit for 15 to 20 minutes to get coffee stains out. Then pour out the mixture, reserving about one-quarter cup in the carafe. Scrub any stubborn spots with a soft toothbrush. Take out the basket and rinse it and the pot with warm water. Run one point of clean water through the coffee maker to rinse out any vinegar residue. Be sure to do this early in the day so the vinegar smell will dissipate before it's time for your morning brew.

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