Cutting out toxic cleaning products is one way to green your home, and you don’t need expensive cleaning products – packed in plastic bottles or refill packs – to do this.
Sink and taps
After wiping down the sink, spray a generous amount of white spirit vinegar over the sink and taps. Pay special attention to small crevices around the tap and drain. Let this sit for about 10 minutes and then use an old toothbrush and sponge to wipe and rinse with clean water. Buff to a high shine with a microfibre cloth. For tough build up of grime, repeat the process.
GOOD TO KNOW: Do not use vinegar on granite or marble. These are naturally porous and the vinegar will damage them.
Remove scale from a showerhead
Add some white spirit vinegar to a plastic bag, place this over the showerhead and close off with an elastic band. Leave this on overnight.
In the morning, give the showerhead a light scrub with an old toothbrush or soft nail brush and then buff to a high shine with a microfibre cloth.
Clean a steam iron
Where there are mineral deposits [hard water or lime scale] on the heating plate, combine 2 parts white spirit vinegar and 1 part salt in a pot and heat until dissolved. Do not boil, but remove from the heat as soon as the salt dissolves. Allow to cool and rub over the heating plate with a soft cloth.
GOOD TO KNOW: Use a cotton bud soaked in the vinegar and salt solution to clean steam holes in the heating plate.
For burn marks, soak a thick cloth in the solution and let the iron sit on this for an hour, before rubbing down. Any remaining burnt material can be removed with a soft cloth and a dab of toothpaste. The toothpaste acts as a rubbing compound without damaging the heating plate.
Clean stains from shower doors
Most shower doors suffer from a built up of hard water, lime scale or soap scum. This reveals itself as an opaque haze on glass that can be difficult to remove.
Fill a spray bottle with white spirit vinegar and spray this liberally onto the glass. Allow to sit for 5 minutes and then use a soft cloth to wipe clean. Repeat this for glass that has stubborn stains or a build up of residue that has accumulated over time.
