Cheap and Excellent Non-toxic Cleaners

Update: This week, Walgreens has 16oz. bottles of hydrogen peroxide at 2 / $1.00. They have some great deals on other things I need too, so I will making a little excursion to the Walgreens across the street from our neighborhood. (I'm spoiled...I have both a Walgreens and a CVS about a 60-second drive away from me...am doing a lot more shopping at these places now that I have become aware of the great deals available at these two stores!:o)

I also wanted to pass on Mrs. B's caution that hydrogen peroxide DOES bleach things out if you're not careful. I've not had any trouble with that so far, but you'll probably want to spot test first before you use it all over your colored countertop, and be careful around your clothes!

Note: This may be old news to many, but it was very helpful information for a relatively new homemaker such as myself:o)

For a long time, I wasn't sure what type of cleaner I should use on kitchen surfaces that would come into contact with food (as in when kneading bread on the counter-top) or that would be safe to use on the floor around pets (or children, for those of you who have them!). I didn't like the idea of harsh or toxic chemicals for these purposes. I also wanted something cheap, because with a dog running around (who has only recently been fully house-trained) I go through cleaner like crazy:op

After doing some research, I discovered the excellence of vinegar and hydrogen peroxide:

The best way to sanitize kitchen food preparation surfaces such as countertops and wood cutting boards is to use the following vinegar and hydrogen peroxide germ-killing combo:

Using a spray bottle, apply undiluted apple cider vinegar or white vinegar to the kitchen surface to be cleaned.

Then immediately spray the same area with 3 percent hydrogen peroxide (available in all drugstores) from another spray bottle.

Wipe the area clean or rinse with water. According to Susan Sumner, a food scientist at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, it does not matter weather you spray the vinegar before or after the hydrogen peroxide, the effect is the same, it kills virtually all Salmonella, Shigella, or E. Coli bacteria on heavily contaminated food preparation surfaces.

She also found that using both sprays was 10 times more effective than using either spray by itself and more effective than chlorine bleach and all other commercially available kitchen cleaners.

The vinegar / hydrogen peroxide sprays also work well to clean meats, fruits and vegetables of disease-causing germs.

You can buy a huge jug of vinegar at the store for little more than a dollar. Hydrogen peroxide is inexpensive as well. I purchased some nice large spray bottles at Sams (a package containing six bottles was about $5, I believe).

The vinegar/hydrogen peroxide combo is great for when you need strong disinfectant properties, as in the kitchen. For our wood floors, I use just the vinegar, diluted half-and-half with water. I mop with this vinegar solution and it's worked wonderfully! It also works great to clean up doggie messes, because it's very good at eliminating odor.

One other great vinegar feature: When my drinking glasses become spotty (hard water stains), I spray them with my vinegar spray and they clean right up!

Though vinegar doesn't smell particularly nice when first sprayed, the unpleasant smell doesn't last very long. I've learned to tolerate it. How can I not, when it works so well and is so wonderfully inexpensive?