Cut the cost of spring cleaning

Refresh your kitchen this spring with replacement kitchen doors from DIY Homefit

Spring has sprung and we suddenly realise how much needs doing around the house! In particular the unaccustomed appearance of the sun highlights all the dust and dirt in our homes and everything begins to look rather dingy.

So it’s time to spring clean but it can be so expensive to buy all the cleaning products that we think we may need. Also with the growing awareness of the waste created by plastic, it seems ironic that most cleaning products come in the plastic bottles which many of us are now trying to avoid.

So is there an alternative? Are there everyday products around the home that we could use instead of buying separate cleaning products? We have done a bit of digging and come up with these ten household products that could be used for spring cleaning:

Vinegar
Vinegar is well known as an effective window cleaner. Simply mix 1 part vinegar with 1 part water and clean as you normally would. But it is also a really good all-purpose cleaner, and particularly good for floors. Also try it as a stain remover.

Bicarbonate of soda
Bicarbonate of soda has many uses as a cleaner because it works as a mild abrasive. This means that you can use it to gently scrub a variety of surfaces without the risk of scratching and damage. It is also good at removing odours, so is great as a bathroom and toilet cleaner – and even works wonders on smelly trainers!

Cornflower
Cornflower is excellent at absorbing oils and greases. This makes it a very effective cleaner for stains on furniture and worktops. It is also a very effective glass cleaner as it is non-abrasive. It can also be excellent as a stain remover for laundry or starch substitute for ironing.

Salt
Salt is an another useful abrasive solution for scrubbing. It is particularly effective at getting rid of rust and mildew, and also works wonders when polishing copper and silver.

Lemon Juice
Lemon juice is excellent for cutting through grease, so is very effective with kitchen dishes and pans. It is also a natural bleach, so can be used to add a clean freshness to areas such as kitchen sinks.

Castile Soap
Castile soap is a soap made with olive oil originating from the Castile region of Spain. It is made completely from oil instead of animal fats or synthetic substances. Diluted liquid castile soap makes an excellent all-purpose cleaner. YOu can also buy castile soap in liquid soap form which makes an excellent degreaser and stain remover. YOu can buy castile soap from many supermarkets, chemists and health food stores.

Essential Oils
On the subject of oils, did you know that essential oils can be excellent for cleaning? Many people use them to fragrance their homes but they also have many practical cleaning uses. For example, orange oil and pine oil both make excellent natural floor cleaners, cinnamon and pine are very effective against mould, and thyme is particularly powerful against germs so is good to use to clean kitchen surfaces and chopping boards.

Toothpaste
Toothpaste works well as a very mild abrasive to clean taps, metallic surfaces and silver. It it also extremely effective at removing stains on white fabrics, including tennis shoes.

Borax
Borax is a naturally occurring mineral that is used in a wide variety of products including toothpaste, cosmetics, laundry boosters and dishwasher detergents. You can buy it in powder form from most supermarkets and homeware stores. Borax can be used as a natural cleaner in itself or to boost the cleaning power of other cleaning ingredients. Think of borax as acting rather like a bleach substitute. This also means that you need to handle it carefully: it can be an irritant on skin, and shouldn’t be ingested.

Hydrogen Peroxide
Hydrogen peroxide is an extremely useful disinfectant. It is excellent on tiles, sinks, baths, showers and toilets. It is also effective on grouting and getting rid of mould and mildew. Additionally, soaking in hydrogen peroxide can remove the most stubborn stains including blood. As with any chemical, care must be taken with use and hydrogen peroxide must not be ingested.

We hope that the above tips help you to clean your home naturally this spring.

During the spring cleaning process if you decide you need to refresh your kitchen even further then why not consider replacement kitchen doors from DIY Homefit. A quick, easy and good value way to transform the look of your kitchen! Take a break from the cleaning to have a quick look at our stunning ranges of doors and see how much better your kitchen could look this spring!