Cleaning Without Chemicals

Around your kitchen, basement and garage, you'll find oven cleaners, paint removers, insecticides, and other potentially hazardous products. Many of these products, as well as personal hygiene products, contain phosphorus, the nutrient that is primarily responsible for the premature aging of Lake Simcoe.

It is up to each of us to select household products carefully and dispose of them responsibly. By substituting chemical cleaners with non-toxic alternatives, we ensure that harmful chemicals do not travel from our sinks and drains into sensitive groundwater supplies and other aquatic resources.

What You Can Do

• Purchase the least toxic product you can find and never buy more than you need. The non-toxic cleaning kit will give you ideas on how to clean without harmful chemicals.
• Read the label to know the potential hazards and the appropriate means of disposal. Store toxins in their original containers so the label can be referred to whenever the product is used. If directions are unclear, contact the manufacturer. Many products have a toll-free phone number listed for the manufacturer.
• Never dispose of paints, preservatives, strippers, brush cleaners, or solvents down drains or into gutters or storm sewers. These products contain many chemicals that can contaminate groundwater and septic systems and kill beneficial microorganisms in septic treatment plants. Many toxic substances are not broken down in treatment systems, so they pass directly into aquatic environments and can harm organisms.

Non-toxic Cleaners

• To clean your windows, use a mixture of two teaspoons of vinegar and one litre water.
• Clean fresh grease spots on the stove by pouring table salt on them, leaving for a few minutes, and wiping clean.
• Clean sinks, counter areas, and bathtubs with a paste of baking soda and water.
• Clean the toilet with baking soda and mild detergent. Swish inside the bowl using a toilet brush. You can also just add 1000 mg of Vitamin C and let it sit overnight.
• Clean tarnished brass by rubbing it with lemon peel dipped in salt. Follow up by polishing with olive oil.
• Clean scuff marks on vinyl floors by using a damp cloth and baking soda.
• Watermarks on wood furniture can be removed by rubbing essence of peppermint into the mark, and then polishing with a soft cloth.
• Make spot remover for fabrics by mixing two parts water with one part rubbing alcohol.
• Clear plugged drains by pouring a mixture of 250ml of baking soda, 250ml of salt and 125ml of vinegar down the drain. Let stand for 15 minutes, then pour a kettle of boiling water down the drain. Don't forget about your trusty old plunger, for it works very well also.
• All you need to use for furniture polish is one teaspoon of lemon oil mixed with one half litre of mineral oil.
• replace all your mothballs with cedar chips, lavender flowers, or herbs.
• A good all-purpose cleaner to use on floors, counters and painted walls contains 50ml of baking soda, 125ml of vinegar and four litres of warm water.