Del.icio.us
Digg
Reddit
Facebook
StumbleUpon
TwitThis
Do It Yourself
9. Clean your kitchen floor the easy way. Don't try to disinfect it, says Findley. "Unless you disinfect your feet, disinfecting your floors serves no purpose." Instead, use these homemade floor cleaners:- Hardwood and laminated floors. One-quarter cup white vinegar per quart of water. Use only 100 percent cotton terry towels on hardwood floors and don't use self-wringing or microfiber mops. Microfiber is made from 80-85 percent polyester, which is plastic. Plastic scratches and will eventually scratch the sealant off the floor.
- Marble, tile, and granite floors. Just use very hot water. Cleaners of any kind will pit these floors.
- Linoleum floors. Hot water with just a bit of Ivory liquid dish soap if needed.
10. Clean out your washing machine and dryer. You'd think they would be clean, right? Wrong. In a study of 50 homes in Tucson and in Tampa Bay, Florida, Dr. Gerba found high levels of coliform bacteria, an indicator of unsanitary conditions, and diarrhea-causing Escherichia coli in home washing machines. When researchers washed sterile cloths in non-bleach laundry detergent, they found that 40 percent emerged contaminated with E. coli bacteria -- with enough extra to contaminate the next load. The greatest risk from the germs comes when transferring wet laundry with your bare hands to the dryer. The solution? Try using rubber gloves when doing your wash, and add a cupful of hydrogen peroxide to your loads instead of bleach. Also, for germ control, wash your clothes on the hottest water setting.
11. Disinfect your cutting board. In his research, Gerba found 200 times more fecal bacteria on the average cutting board in the home than on the toilet seat. To get it clean, run it through the dishwasher, spray it with straight 5% vinegar and let it set overnight, microwave it on high for 30 seconds, or swab it with alcohol to disinfect it if you don't want to use bleach.
12. Microwave your kitchen sponges for 30 seconds every day. Gerba found that the common household sponge may contain 320 million opportunistic bacterial pathogens, enough of which could be transferred from the sponge to your hand to your eyes or mouth to make you sick.
13. Make your own. In addition to the cleaning recipes below, Findley provides the following recommendations for homemade, environmentally and health-friendly products. She also recommends keeping a box of borax around for extra-tough cleaning jobs. Borax is a natural product made of sodium, boron, oxygen, and water and is unbeatable for tough cleaning jobs, as a bleach substitute, or mixed with water for a disinfectant. Dr. Gerba suggests rubbing alcohol as another good natural disinfectant. Just don't light any matches around it.
- Tub and tile cleaner. Two to three capfuls of Bio-Ox or other oxygen-based natural cleanser mixed with 1 quart water.
- Furniture polish. Mix olive oil and vinegar together for an excellent cleaner and polish.
- Oven cleaner. Mix Bio-Ox and baking soda together into a paste. First scrape off as much residue as you can with a scouring pad, then scrub with the Bio-Ox mixture.
- Air freshener. To remove kitchen odors, boil a 50/50 solution of white vinegar and water for several minutes. One capful of Bio-Ox mixed in a quart of water also makes an excellent room freshener.
- Mildew remover. Mix equal parts of water and hydrogen peroxide (20% strength).
- Laundry whitener. Use hydrogen peroxide rather than bleach. Soak your dingy white clothes for 30 minutes in the washer with 1/2 cup 20% peroxide, then launder as usual. This removes the graying caused by chlorine bleach.
- Stain remover. Most stains can be removed with Bio-Ox. Here are four other methods:
1. Grease and paint stains. Spray a bit of foaming shaving cream on the stain, then wipe up.
2. Red Dye #40 that comes from pet food, punch, Popsicles, etc. Spray hydrogen peroxide on the stain, then blot up.
3. Underarm stains on clothes. Spray hydrogen peroxide on underarm stains in shirts 30 minutes before laundering.
4. Mold remover. Spray with a 5% solution of white vinegar (undiluted). Let sit.
14. "Shampoo" your rug safely. Instead of commercial brands, just sprinkle dry cornstarch or baking soda on the carpet before vacuuming. The powders help remove deep dirt, and the baking soda helps remove odors.
Advertisement 
