201 Everyday Uses for Salt, Lemons, Vinegar, and Baking Soda: Natural, Affordable, and Sustainable Solutions for the Home

by Benjamin Mott

Overview

Save money on home cleaning products with 201 natural cleaning solutions that use four simple, versatile, and inexpensive ingredients: salt, lemon, vinegar, baking soda, and olive oil. This is an essential reference for anyone interested in thrifty, natural, and sustainable living!

Clean is the new inexpensive green! Sustainable. Organic. Economical. Natural. Now more than ever, people are looking to create a nontoxic home by using products that are effective, economical, and natural.
 
This handy book focuses on living simpler, stepping away from all those expensive, chemical-laden products for cleaning the oven, washing windows, polishing silver, removing stains and instead leveraging the power of a few humble but mighty ingredients in the common pantry. You can do a whole lot more with vinegar than make salad dressing!

This practical book will guide you through 100s of recipes, broken down by the area of the house, with easy instructions. Home cleaning (both indoors and outdoors), personal hygiene and grooming, pet care—this is an essential reference for all parts of your life that you will reach for again and again! Natural cleaning and care solutions include:

The Kitchen
All-Purpose Cleanser * Stainless-Steel Cleaner * Copper Cleaner * Silver Polish * Cutting Board and Countertop Disinfectant * Natural Stone Countertop Cleanser * Broom Bristle Preserver * Kitchen Sponge Disinfectant * Oven Cleanse * Grease Fire Control
 
The Living Room
Rug and Carpet Shampoo * Wood Floor Polish * All-Purpose Glass Cleaner * Window Anti-Freeze * Vacuum Bag Deodorizer * Light-Duty Spackle * Lemon-Scented Wood Furniture Cleanser * Leather Furniture Conditioner * The Bedroom * Pillow Deodorizer * Closet Freshener * Baby Toy Disinfectant * Shoe Deodorizer
 
The Bathroom
Bathroom Sink and Bathtub Drain Clog Remover * Shower Door Cleanser * Shower Mildew Preventer * Toilet Bowl Cleanser
 
The Laundry
Stain Pretreatments * Laundry Softener * White Load Lightener * Vinyl Shower Curtain Liner Cleanse
 
And much more!

Learn how to use salt, lemons, baking soda, and vinegar (plus a few other versatile items) in hundreds of different combinations to clean the home and care for yourself, your family, and your pets. Just like these inexpensive but mighty ingredients, this book is good for the planet and your wallet.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781632174307
Publisher:	Blue Star Press
Publication date:	08/23/2022
Sold by:	Penguin Random House Publisher Services
Format:	eBook
Pages:	256
File size:	31 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Benjamin Mott is a professional cook, recipe tester, and editor with three decades’ experience in nonfiction and cookbook publishing. Based in New York City, he has focused his food practice on farm-to-table cooking and organic food choices since long before those terms became the routine calling card of restaurants and groceries around the world. And as a loving partner, a mindful parent of two children, and steward of two very hairy cats, he discovered the health benefits and awesome cleaning properties of a handful of natural, nontoxic ingredients, adapting them for use in his own home.
 

Read an Excerpt

Chapter 2: The Kitchen
 
Perhaps the most time-worn cliché about the kitchen is that it is the heart of the home—but like most clichés, it is uttered so often because it’s true. The kitchen is where we wind up spending a lot of our waking hours, preparing meals, grabbing snacks, eating and drinking, and just hanging out. And because it often has a door that leads outside—or is situated close to the entrance to the home, whether a house or an apartment—the kitchen is also a heavily trafficked thoroughfare. Due to all this activity, much of it quite messy, the kitchen probably sees the hardest use of any room in the house. The recipes in this chapter will help combat the chaos.
 

All-Purpose Cleanser
Every cleaning arsenal requires a multipurpose cleanser capable of handling a wide variety of household cleaning challenges, from dirty stovetops to coffee tables, grease-stained clothing to bathroom sinks, and car interiors to most countertops (but not natural stone, many types of which are easily damaged by acids such as vinegar; see Natural Stone Countertop Cleanser, page 25, for this type of surface). This simple preparation makes a great-smelling, highly effective cleaning solution for countless situations.
 
NOTE: If you’re in need of a glass cleaner, see All-Purpose Glass Cleaner (page 70).
 
• Mix 3 large strips of lemon peel with 2 cups (500 mL) white vinegar in a glass jar with a tight-fitting lid. Let this mixture stand for 4 weeks, giving it a good shake every couple of days.

• Strain the mixture through a fine-mesh stainless-steel strainer or cheesecloth and pour into a clean 16-ounce (500 mL) glass spray bottle.
 
NOTE: If you don’t have time to wait for the lemon peels to steep, substitute 5 to 10 drops lemon essential oil; the spray will be ready to use immediately.
 

Stainless-Steel Cleaner
Anyone with stainless-steel appliances knows how difficult it is to keep them clean—stainless steel shows fingerprints and other stains, but cleaning it with soap leaves an unsightly film behind. This simple solution takes advantage of baking soda’s mild abrasive qualities to make an effective cleaner that leaves no residue.
 
• Add 1 heaping tablespoon (15 mL) baking soda to the surface of a clean, damp sponge. Holding it over the sink, squeeze the sponge to release enough moisture into the baking soda to create a thick paste. Rub the paste onto the surfaces you are cleaning in wide circles. Rinse the sponge and wring it out, and wipe the surfaces clean with the damp sponge. Buff with a clean, lint-free cloth.
 

Copper Cleaner
Copper cookware is much loved by cooks everywhere—the metal is famously conductive, heating evenly and quickly, and it looks stunning. All this comes at a cost though: copper pots, pans, and bowls are very expensive and, because the metal tarnishes easily, require a lot of maintenance. Luckily you probably have the necessary ingredients for an excellent cleaner in your home right now. Oh, and don’t forget to polish your brass too (antique door handles, I’m looking at you)—brass is an alloy of copper and zinc, so this solution works just as well on all those doorknobs and sculptures.
 
• Cut 1 lemon in half and wrap each half in a small piece of cheesecloth. (No cheesecloth? No problem—it works almost as well without it.) Sprinkle 1 1/2 teaspoons (7.5 mL) of salt on each cut surface of lemon and use that side to polish your copper cookware. Add a little more salt as you go, as needed. Rinse and thoroughly dry with a dish towel.
 

Silver Polish
Silver flatware and dinnerware are among the most prized possessions in any home, passed down from generation to generation and trotted out for special occasions. Because of all the sulfurous chemicals that have been released into the environment since the Industrial Revolution, however, this beautiful metal tarnishes easily. Many consumer products have been developed to keep silver looking its best, but you have everything you need to clean it right now. (By the way, this works just as well on silver jewelry.)
 
• Heat 2 quarts (2 L) water to a boil and pour into a large, wide bowl. Stir in 1 cup (250 mL) baking soda until incorporated, then add a 2-inch (5 cm) by 12-inch (60 cm) strip of aluminum foil. Lay the silverware (and dinnerware that is small enough to fit) into the bowl and soak for at least 30 minutes.
 
• In a small bowl, prepare a mixture of 3/4 cup (180 mL) baking soda and 1/4 cup (60 mL) water. As you remove each piece of silverware from the large bowl, apply a small amount of the baking soda paste and rub thoroughly with a clean, lint-free cloth. Then wash the silverware by hand with mild soap, rinse, and dry.

Table of Contents

Introduction: What Have We Gotten Ourselves Into? xiii

Chapter 1 The Ingredients 1

Chapter 2 The Kitchen 17

All-Purpose Cleanser 18

Stainless-Steel Cleaner 19

Copper Cleaner 20

Silver Polish 21

Chrome Polish 22

Pewter Polish 23

Cutting Board and Countertop Disinfectant 24

Natural Stone Countertop Cleanser 25

Broom Bristle Preserver 26

Kitchen Sponge Disinfectant 27

Ceramic Sink Cleanser 28

Oven Cleanse 29

Grease Fire Control 30

Refrigerator Cleanse 31

Refrigerator Deodorizer 32

Refrigerator and Freezer Freshener 33

Trash Can and Recycling Bin Deodorizer 34

Garbage Disposal Refresher 35

Dishwasher Cleanse 36

Dishwasher Soap 38

Homemade Rinse Agent 39

Microwave Steam Cleanse 40

Coffee Maker Cleanse 41

Tea Kettle Cleanse 43

Tea and Coffee Cup Stain Remover 44

Travel Mug and Water Bottle Cleanse 45

Drinking Cup and Glass Rim Pretreatment 46

Burnt Pot and Pan Cleanse 47

Nonstick Pot and Pan Cleanser 48

Aluminum Pot and Pan Restorer 49

Cast-iron Pot and Pan Deep Clean 50

Cast-iron Pot and Pan Seasoning 51

Fruit Fly Trap 52

Sticker Goop Remover 53

Vegetable Wash 55

Wilted Greens Reviver 56

Kitchen Glove Powder 57

Plastic Storage Container Cleanser 58

Ice Bucket Super Chiller 59

Chapter 3 The Living Room 61

Rug and Carpet Shampoo 62

Rug and Carpet Brightener 63

Rug and Carpet Deodorizer 64

Rug and Carpet Stain Cleaner 65

Multipurpose Floor Cleaner 67

Natural Stone Floor Cleaner 68

Wood Floor Polish 69

All-Purpose Glass Cleaner 70

Window Anti-Freeze 71

Vacuum Bag Deodorizer 72

Water-Glass Ring Remover 73

TV and Computer Monitor Cleaner 74

Painted-Wall Cleaner 75

Wallpaper Cleaner 76

Wall Stain Remover 78

Light-Duty Spackle 79

Ceiling Fan Cleanse 80

Air Conditioner Filter Cleanse 81

Air Freshener and Deodorizing Spray 82

Wicker Furniture Reconditioner 83

Lemon-Scented Wood Furniture Cleanser 84

Lemon-Scented Wood Furniture Polish 85

Upholstered Furniture Deodorizer 86

Upholstered Furniture Cleaner 87

Upholstered Furniture Stain Remover 88

Leather Furniture Cleaner 89

Leather Furniture Conditioner 90

Leather Furniture Stain Remover 91

Leather Scratch Eraser 92

Hinge Lubricant 93

Smoke Odor Remediation 94

Chapter 4 The Bedroom 97

Pillow Deodorizer 98

Mattress Deodorizer 99

Mattress Stain Removal 100

Lube 101

Closet Freshener 102

Dresser Drawer Freshener 103

Laundry Hamper Deodorizer 104

Baby Toy Disinfectant 105

Diaper Pail Refresher 106

Zipper "Unsticker" 107

Leather Salt Stain Remover 108

Leather Conditioner 109

Patent Leather Polish 110

White Canvas Sneaker Brightener 111

Shoe Deodorizer 112

Humidifier Cleanse 113

Chapter 5 The Bathroom 115

Bathroom Sink and Bathtub Drain Clog Remover 116

Shower Door Cleanser 118

Shower Mildew Preventer 119

Bathtub and Bathroom Sink Cleanser 120

Bathtub Ring Cleaner 121

Grout Stain Remover 122

Toilet Bowl Cleanser 123

Toilet Bowl Stain Remover 124

Toilet Bowl Deodorizer 125

Slate Tile Reviver 126

Toothbrush Reconditioner 127

Hairbrush and Comb Cleaner 128

WHO Antimicrobial Spray 129

Chapter 6 The Laundry 131

Stain Pretreatments 132

Laundry Booster 134

Laundry Deodorizer 135

Laundry Softener 136

White Load Lightener 137

Color Load Brightener 138

Vinyl Shower Curtain Liner Cleanse 139

Line-Dried Clothing Anti-Freeze 140

Swimsuit Reconditioner 141

Linen Spray 142

Steam Iron Reconditioner 143

Steam Iron Tank Cleanser 144

Chapter 7 The Personal Touch 147

Steam Facial 148

Exfoliating Salt Scrub 149

Exfoliating Sugar Scrub 150

Gentle Exfoliating Facial Scrub 151

Skin-Softening Bath Salts 152

Fizzy, Lemon-Scented Bath Salts 153

Moisturizing Honey-Milk Bath Soak 154

Body Lotion 155

Skin Toner 156

Face-Moisturizing Serum 157

Shaving Cream 158

Skin-Tightening Aftershave 159

Anti-Acne Facial Mask 160

Shampoo 161

Dry Shampoo 162

Under-Eye Reviver 164

Conditioner 165

Hair Deep-Conditioner 166

Beach Wave inducer 167

Hair Volumizer 168

Hair Color Lightener 169

Anti-Dandruff Treatment 170

Lip Balm 171

Tooth-Whitening Pretreatment 172

Whitening Toothpaste 173

Mouthwash 174

Retainer Maintainer 175

Sore Throat Wash 176

Lemony Throat Soother 177

Canker Sore Reliever 178

Earache Soother 179

Nasal Irrigation Solution 180

Eye Wash 181

Eye Makeup Remover 182

(Temporary) Tattoo Remover 183

Splinter Treatment 184

Foot Scrub 185

Tropical Foot Soak 186

Athlete's Foot Treatment 187

Nail Polish Pretreatment 188

Heavy-Duty Hand Cleanser 189

Rash Treatment 190

Sunburn Soother 191

Muscle Ache Soother 192

Indigestion Relief 193

Chapter 9 The Animal Kingdom 195

Dog Shampoo and Rinse 196

Cat Shampoo 197

Pet Bed Deodorizer 198

Flea-Proofing Cat and Dog Beds and Rugs 199

Puppy Pee Preventer and Anti-Chew Spray 200

Cat-Scratch Deterrent 201

Dog Crate and Cat Carrier Cleaner 202

Paw Pad Protector 203

Hairball Preventer 204

Litter Box Cleanser 205

Chapter 9 The Great Outdoors 207

Red-Brick Cleanser 208

Teak Furniture Reviver 209

Barbecue Grill Cleanser 210

Driveway and Garage Oil Stain Remover 211

Car Deodorizer 212

Windshield Wiper Blade Cleaner 213

Chewing Gum Remover 214

Sidewalk De-Icer 215

Mosquito Repellent 216

All-Natura! Weed Killer 217

Ant Remediation 218

Slug Trap 220

Garden Tool Preserver 221

Flowerpot Reviver 222

Do-it-Yourself Soil Analysis 223

Rose, Tomato, and Pepper Booster 225

Powdery Mildew Treatment 226

A Note on the Way Out 230

Acknowledgments 232

Index 234