A clean and adequately disinfected kitchen is one of the best assets you can have at home. It not only shows the type of person you are but also protects your family and loved ones from health hazards like food contamination. There are two main ways of cleaning the kitchen: using chemicals like synthetic detergents and soaps or using natural disinfectants. If you’re conscious about conserving the environment or want affordable cleaners that are also safe for use around children, then the natural disinfectants are what you need.
In this post, we show you nine easy-to-formulate natural solutions and products that you can use to give your kitchen a powerful cleaning. The good thing is most of these methods use items that are already in your pantry or cost next to nothing.
So, without further ado, let’s dive straight in!
White vinegar
White vinegar is one of the most widely used natural detergents and kitchen cleaners today, and there’s a good reason behind it. For starters, this product is mildly acidic and an excellent solvent for common dirt particles and hard water stains. In the kitchen, white vinegar can help with cleaning and sanitising surfaces like countertops and different types of floors, including hardwood floors. This product also produces excellent results when used to deodorise and clean the inside of microwaves and stoves.
The following is a simple procedure for using all-purpose white vinegar as a natural sanitiser in your kitchen:
- Mix water and vinegar in the ratio of 1:1
- Put the mixture in a spray bottle.
- Spray all areas in your kitchen that are stained or need sanitising.
- For tough stains, consider heating your mixture slightly in a microwave for improved results.
You can also use vinegar to clean your fridge using the following simple method:
- Take out all the food and drinks from the refrigerator.
- Detach and remove all compartments and shelves.
- Use a mixture of vinegar and water to wipe clean the inside of the fridge and any part you had detached earlier.
- After everything has dried up, you can now return your fridge’s content, including the food and drinks.
Sodium percarbonate (oxygen bleach)
Sodium percarbonate is an environmentally-friendly bleaching agent that works pretty much like hydrogen peroxide. Upon decomposition, this compound releases several products, including water, oxygen, and sodium carbonate. Also known as oxygen bleach, this compound is quite effective in removing stubborn stains, bleaching and discolouring stained items, and deodorising the kitchen. Besides, it helps to kill viruses, algae, and bacteria, thereby making it an excellent disinfectant.
How to use sodium percarbonate in the kitchen
Oxygen bleach is a powerful bleaching agent that can also be used to disinfect anything in the kitchen. The fact that it is harmless and odourless means you can use it to clean everything that needs disinfecting, including kitchen sinks, utensils, kitchen surfaces, chopping boards, fridges and freezers, etc.
All you need is to scoop a small amount of the powdery compound and dissolve in hot (just boiled) water. Worth mentioning is that it fizzes, so avoid filling your jug to the brim to allow some room for the resulting form. If you wish to add some scent and enhance the mixture’s antimicrobial properties, you can add a few drops of thieves essential oil or peppermint. Other products that can strengthen your mixture’s bacterial fighting power include clove, oregano, lemongrass, eucalyptus, and lemon.
Lemon juice
Like vinegar, lemon juice is acidic, a factor that makes it one of the best natural antiseptics and sanitisers today. When not helping you disinfect your kitchen surfaces and utensils, it can whiten or degrease. The following are a few practical tips for using lemon juice to clean your kitchen:
- When cleaning brightly coloured kitchen towels or linen, use lemon juice to achieve that much-needed sparkle. Add half a cup of the juice in the rinsing stage and let the materials dry in the sun.
- Have a stubborn stain on your countertop? Spray some lemon juice on it and let it sit for a few minutes. You’ll be surprised to see it gone upon wiping the area with a dry cloth.
- Lemon juice is also a fantastic deodoriser. Spray it on your kitchen walls or rub it on your hands after handling strongly scented foods like onions and garlic.
- You can also use lemon (or orange) juice to clean a dirty oven with a bad odour. The process to do this is quite simple and effortless. For starters, preheat your oven to about 120 degrees Celsius. Cut your citrus fruit and squeeze the juice onto the baking tray. Add some water to the tray and put it inside the hot oven. Let it sit for between 30-45 minutes depending on the condition of your oven. Turn off the oven and let it cool down. Remove the tray and the oven racks and scrub them with a spongy material. Finally, wipe every other part of the oven till dry.
Steam cleaning
If you’re looking for an economical yet highly effective chemical-free method to clean and disinfect your kitchen, steam cleaning has to be among your surest bets. Essentially, all you need is some water and a source of heat that can boil the water to least 95 degrees Celsius.
At this temperature, the water turns into steam which you can use it to sanitise kitchen surfaces, disinfect utensils, and remove stubborn stains and oils. Steam is also effective when used to kill common pathogens like bacteria, dust mites, and fungi.
Rubbing alcohol + white vinegar
A mixture of white vinegar and rubbing alcohol offers incredible results when used to clean kitchen floors and countertops. You only need to properly balance your ingredients which can also include essential oil of your choice, natural liquid dish soap, and water.
Mix half a cup of white vinegar with a quarter cup of rubbing alcohol. Stir thoroughly before adding two cups of warm water, a few dashes of natural liquid dish soap, and essential oils. Apply this mixture to your kitchen floor or countertop and scrub the area. Let it sit for some minutes and rinse it clean.
Worth noting is that your liquid soap shouldn’t contain moisturisers, oxygen bleach, or antibacterial properties.
Baking soda + vinegar + olive oil
If you are like most people, the kitchen sink is one of the toughest places to keep clean at home. Food scraps pile up here quickly, while the fact that it’s almost always wet means it’s bound to rust or get discoloured quickly. Luckily, with the right cleaning strategy, it’s easy to maintain a sparkling clean kitchen sink at all times.
A few key ingredients that you’ll need here include baking soda, olive oil, and vinegar. Of course, the clean-up process starts with removing any physical matter from the sink like food leftovers. Thereafter, wipe it down with warm soapy water.
At this step, mix baking soda with water and use the paste to wash away tough stains on the stainless steel parts of the sink. To disinfect the sink, rinse with white vinegar and leave it to dry. Finally, wipe the tap using lint-free linen dipped in some olive oil to give it a beautiful shine.
Sudsy ammonia
Grime can be a tough stain to remove from mini ovens, but not when you know how to use sudsy ammonia. This natural compound contains a powerful detergent that makes it super easy to remove grime stuck on oven racks, grills, and stove hoods.
For starters, add a half cup of sudsy ammonia to a gallon of water and mix thoroughly. Dip a spongy material in this solution and wash any part of your oven that has grime stains. Let it sit for 10-20 minutes to allow the grime to loosen up. You can now wipe the surface with a wet piece of cloth and finish by rinsing with clean water.
In the event the parts are extremely dirty with grime, we advise you to soak them in the solution directly. You can also increase the concentration of ammonia to make your cleaning solution more effective.
Toothpaste + baking soda
If there are wooden surfaces or floors with water rings in your kitchen, we recommend this method to get rid of them fast and chemical-free. Start by mixing a white non-gel toothpaste with baking soda. Scoop a small amount of the paste using a dampened piece of cloth and rub it vigorously over the affected area. Let it stay for a few minutes and wipe it off using a dry cloth. If the stain doesn’t go away with this first attempt, repeat the process until your wood is spotless.
White vinegar + lemon rind + rosemary
A mixture of these three simple ingredients produces a sweet-scented all-purpose detergent that you can use to clean kitchen wall smudges and remove hard water stains. For the best results, let your solution infuse for at least a week after you have formulated it. You can also consider increasing the ratio of lemon grind to boost your solution’s ability to deal with stubborn stains.
Have you used any of these natural cleaners and detergents in your kitchen? How has your experience been like? Please share your feedback in the comments below.
