Green Cleaning

Question: Do you recommend a green cleaner that can clean hard water off of fences and not harm the grass?

Answer: The best environmentally friendly cleaner you can find is usually right in your cupboard!

What can you to to clean green at home in between your Sure Systems Group deep cleans? You might be surprised to find out that some of the best natural cleaning agents are right in your kitchen. White distilled vinegar is not just for salad dressing, it has many purposes you may never have thought of and it is environmentally friendly. Try it on those hard water stains and it won't harm your grass.

Here are some other uses:

Scour that bathtub or kitchen sink. Spray with vinegar and scour with baking soda. Rinse with warm water.

Stinky drain? Make an all natural drain cleaner and deodorizer by mixing one cup of baking soda with one cup of hot vinegar. Pour mixture down drain and let it sit for 10 minutes. Just rinse with hot tap water and smells are gone!

Vinegar is great as an all purpose cleaner. Mix equal parts water and vinegar and use to clean your refrigerator and clean your counter tops. To really cut the grime (like on the stove top), use vinegar at full strength.

Vinegar is also useful to cut hard water and stains. Use at full strength. Inside, use on water spotted glassware, flatware and vases. Cut the stains from your coffee or tea mug by soaking them in vinegar.

Table salt and vinegar is another great mixture. Mix equal amounts to clean tarnish off brass and silver.

Pesky pests? Fruit flies leave when you set out a small bowl of undiluted vinegar. Ants won't come a crawling when you spray a small amount of undiluted vinegar in front of doorways, on window sills and around foundation cracks.

Clean your floors by making a simple solution: 3 drops of liquid dish detergent, 1/3 part vinegar, 1/3 part rubbing alcohol, and 1/3 part water. Keep in a separate spray bottle, spray sparingly and mop up. To make sure nobody mistakes solution for water, you can add a few drops of food coloring. Label well and as with all cleaners, keep out of reach of children.

Disinfect children's toys and board books with vinegar. For books, dampen a rag and simply wipe clean. Soak toys for 10 minutes and rinse with water.

Clean off price stickers and remove sticky gunk from scissors by wiping with a vinegar soaked cloth.

Tune in next week for more helpful tips with vinegar! Hint: Underarm stains on your white shirts?