Here are some safe, homemade cleaners to try, including homemade laundry soap and metal cleaners.

Natural Homemade Cleaners

By Adrianne Lake
Miscellaneous homemade cleaners to try before you reach for more toxic and more expensive commercial cleaners!

Caution: Please remember to NEVER mix bleach and vinegar; it creates toxic fumes!

Homemade Laundry Soap

1 cup borax

1 cup baking soda

Mix the baking soda and borax. One load=1/2 cup. If you want to make bigger batches and store it, keep the mixure in an airtight container. If your laundry needs a bit more cleaning power, try adding one cup of castille soap to every load.

Clothes Freshener
Cycle your clothes with a cup of vinegar. This removes detergent build-up which can irritate and dry skin. Vinegar is also great at retaining colour.

Non-Toxic Metal Cleaners
Rust Stains: Mix cream of tartar and lemon juice together. Leave on. Rinse.
Copper: Spray vinegar onto copper; sprinkle with sea salt and rub with cloth. Rinse.
Silver: Attack with baking soda, water and a toothbrush.
Brass: Mix baking soda and lemon juice into a thick paste. Rub on, let it sit for a couple hours, and rinse.
Stainless Steel: Make a thin paste of vinegar and baking soda. Rub, rinse, and dry.

Label Remover
Vegetable oil usually does the trick. Leave a liberal amount on the surface overnight, and rub off in the morning.

If you liked this article, you might also like to see Homemade Carpet and Floor Cleaners and Homemade Surface Spray Cleaners