By Katherine Hegemann
It is a lot easier to save money than you think. Using inexpensive items and mixing up your own home products will save you big bucks. Additionally, you will feel safer knowing exactly what is in the products you use at home.
Take proper precautions when using any home products, pre-mixed or homemade.
Baking Soda
Most people know about using baking soda to keep your refrigerator smelling fresh and relieving indigestion, but there are many other uses for this versatile product.
Baking soda is sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) and is an alkaline (base). In the refrigerator, the alkaline nature of baking soda neutralizes the acidic nature of odors. It does basically the same thing for indigestion; acid in the digestive tract is the cause of indigestion so taking baking soda makes the pH (acid or alkaline) level neutral. Before using baking soda for an upset stomach, consult your doctor if you have chronic indigestion or high blood pressure.
Many brands of toothpaste now have added baking soda to whiten teeth and freshen breath. About twice a week, rinse your mouth with diluted hydrogen peroxide then brush with soda: kill germs and whiten teeth at the same time. Other personal uses for soda are as an exfoliant for the face, deodorant, and shampoo. If you use it for an exfoliant, be very gentle. You want to get off dead skin, not end up with raw skin. Be sure to moisturize afterward.
Baking soda can be added to the rinse cycle of washing machines in place of fabric softener, and it also helps remove odors. In addition, it can remove heavy tea and coffee stains from cups.
One more household use of baking soda is to clean stainless steel sinks. It won’t scratch the surface but will help preserve the beauty of the steel.
For more information and an extensive list of used for baking soda:
Arm & Hammer at www.armandhammer.com/BakingSoda
The New Homemaker at http://www.thenewhomemaker.com/bakingsoda
Vinegar
Hot pepper vinegar is a southern staple for pork roast, greens, and dries beans. And what would homemade lime pickles be without vinegar? Vinegar can be used for much more than seasoning or part of pickling. All types of vinegar are derived from alcohol and are acetic acid.
Apple cider vinegar (ACV) has long been seen as a tonic and energizer. Mixing a little honey, apple cider vinegar, and club soda is often used as a spring tonic. Plus ACV is used in many natural weight loss products.
One tip that hair stylists used to give brunettes or redheads was to make a weak rinse of ACV and water. Pour it over the hair then rinse well. It makes it easier to comb out the hair and gives it shine.
ACV is useful for cleaning glass, coffee makers, and hardwood floors. It cuts grease and deodorizes at the same time.
White Vinegar (WV) used to be made from rice, but these days it is made from distilled corn alcohol. This type of vinegar is a great degreaser for appliances.
Pour about one fourth cup of baking soda followed by about one cup of white vinegar down a smelly or slow drain. Let it bubble and sit for about five minutes then flush with cold water. Your drains are now clean and fresh.
One of the most effective uses of WV is as a fabric softener. Just add one cup of vinegar to the rinse cycle. The pH in the vinegar makes the soap residue let go of the fabric and get rinsed out. This is especially effective for towels because commercial fabric softener binds with the fibers, making the towels less able to absorb moisture. For people allergic to commercial fabric softener, white vinegar is a great alternative.
There are so many uses for vinegar that are safe and natural. There are two great websites with extensive information:
Apple Cider Vinegar Benefits (http://www.apple-cider-vinegar-benefits.com/)
1001 Uses for White Distilled Vinegar (http://www.vinegartips.com)
Disinfectant
A liquid disinfectant is an essential home product. Products like Lysol™, pine based disinfecting cleaner, or chlorine bleach help clean your home and help keep it a healthy place to live. All disinfectants kill many kinds of bacteria and viruses. If you’ve never gotten sick from a cutting board not being disinfected, you are fortunate – a scrubbing with disinfectant, hot soapy water, and a hot rinse will keep those nasty stomach problems away. An occasional addition of a disinfectant to the dish water can help keep the cold and flu viruses away from you and your family.
These products can be bought bottled and mixed up for daily use in a spray bottle. Of course, you can buy them already mixed, but you’ll save a lot of money mixing them yourself. Just be sure to read the label for proper mixing and use since they can be dangerous if not used correctly.
Two websites full of facts and ways to help you have a healthier home are:
Lysol (http://www.lysol.com)
Pine-Sol (http://www.pinesol.com)
Ammonia
Ammonia isn’t just for cleaning windows. Mixing up a little dish detergent, ammonia, and water does make a great glass cleaner. Try using a dry cloth or old newspaper to polish your mirrors and windows until they sparkle.
This old-time product is also a great degreaser. If a load of clothes headed toward the washer is extra dirty and greasy, add a cup of ammonia. Use ammonia when washing sheets and towels. They won’t smell like ammonia when dry, but they will be cleaner than if you use just detergent.
One use of ammonia you may have never heard of is on spider and other venomous insect bites. Why? The venom is an acid and ammonia is a base. By soaking a cotton ball with ammonia and taping it over the bite for about ten minutes, the venom will be neutralized. It may take more than one application; however, leaving the ammonia longer per application can slightly burn the skin. Ammonia is much cheaper than some of those bug bite sprays and gels. This will even work on the bite of a brown recluse spider. Although you may feel the venom is neutralized, you should have a bite by one of those arachnids checked out by a doctor. The venom of the brown recluse will degenerate tissue if not treated and can result in serious infection.
Bar Soap
There are basically two types of bar soap. One is based on animal fat (tallow) like lard or beef fat mixed with lye and water. The second (Castile) is made from vegetable oil products plus a sudsing agent like sodium laurel sulfate or sodium hydroxide.
Almost all of the bottled bath soap also comes in a bar, which is cheaper. You can make your bar soap last much longer. A simple trick is to buy a few extra bars of soap and cut off the top of the packaging so the soap is exposed to air. This will evaporate some of the water making the bar denser and harder. You can double the amount of time a bar of soap will last using this simple trick.
For more information and links:
Tallow: http://www.secretsofsuzanne.com
Castile http://www.drbronner.com
Powdered Borax
From killing roaches and carpenter ants to acting as a detergent cleaning enhancer, borax is very helpful in the home. It is made from the naturally occurring mineral sodium borate (boric acid). Two benefits of borax are it is inexpensive and less likely to aggravate allergies.
In the washer, borax helps with odor control and stain removal. Used with laundry detergent, it boosts cleaning power.
For rug and carpet odors, it can be sprinkled on the fiber; wait several minutes, then vacuum. A mix of borax and warm water will help remove stains in rugs and carpet when it is rubbed into the fibers, allowed to dry, then vacuumed. Additionally, borax sprinkled into trash cans helps prevent odors.
Borax is used as an all-purpose cleaner in the home. Some examples are rinsing dishes with a borax-water solution; cleaning countertops, refrigerators and stoves; scrubbing sinks and tubs with dry borax; and deodorizing toilet bowls.
For more information and links:
Hydrogen Peroxide
Oh, the good in that little brown bottle! This disinfectant and bleaching agent can do lots of different things around the home.
In the baking soda section, there was a discussion of using hydrogen peroxide to combat germs in the mouth and help whiten teeth. Peroxide should not be used daily for cleaning teeth as there are substances in the kind you buy at the store that can make your teeth overly sensitive. Once or twice a week is enough. If you are using it for mouth or throat infection, you can use it more often.
After each use of your toothbrush you can pour hydrogen peroxide over the brush and let it dry to help prevent bacterial growth.
Peroxide is especially useful for small wounds. After cleaning a wound with soap and warm water, you can saturate it with peroxide. The bubbling is oxygenating the wound, which kills germs and bacteria.
If you have a sore throat, you can gargle with half water and half peroxide solution. It kills the germs and soothes your throat. A couple of drops of peroxide in your ears can help loosen earwax and clear up an ear ache.
Would you like some highlights in your hair? In a spray bottle, mix half hydrogen peroxide and half water. Lightly mist your hair with the mix and rub your hands through it. Let it dry and the next thing you know, you’ll have highlights. You won’t need to do this but every couple of weeks to maintain your look.
Hydrogen peroxide can help remove stains. Use that same highlights bottle and spray a stain. Let it sit for about ten minutes then wash. Just be careful of colors since peroxide is also bleach. This works very well for sweat and older stains.
One use of peroxide you might not think about is sanitizing surfaces. From the kitchen to the bathroom this liquid can kill germs and odors. Spray a half and half solution on cutting boards, toilets, sinks, and tubs. Just let it dry and tell germs goodbye.
A final use for hydrogen peroxide is to mix one ounce with a cup of water to water house plants. The plants will become greener and lush; it adds oxygen to the plant.
To find out more about the uses of hydrogen peroxide:
Do you really want to save some money?
With a little research and willingness to try something different, you can save money around the home. Plastic spray bottles have multiple uses and aren’t very expensive. They last for years so they are a good investment. The best spray bottles are bought at a garden supply store or have on the label specifically saying they can be used in the garden. The sprayer is better constructed so it doesn’t clog as easily and keeps working for years.
Now you know. Go on and save some money.
© 2011, Katherine Hegemann
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