The ultimate guide to eco-friendly cleaning glass spray bottle
When it comes to cleaning your household, there is a lot you can do to protect the environment. Starting with the cleaning agents that you use through to the utensils. However, you will also notice other benefits when you switch to sustainable cleaning by using a glass spray bottle. It’s usually cheaper and better for your health. Especially if you have children or pets, you should think about natural alternatives.
Most conventional cleaning products are irritating to the nose and throat due to artificial fragrances, volatile organic compounds (the same building blocks that create smog) and other toxic ingredients. In addition, they are only available in plastic bottles, which pollute the environment enormously. Most of them are not biodegradable because they have to house the chemicals safely.
Here are the top tips on how to make your cleaning at home more sustainable:
- Use the right cleaning tools
Most of the equipment you use to clean your home is certainly made of plastic. It’s okay if you already have it. You can use most devices for a long time, so there is hardly any plastic waste here.
However, if you must buy new equipment, reach for plastic alternatives. These can be wooden or bamboo handles, steel or silicone toilet brushes, feather dusters, etc. Once you become aware of this, you will be amazed at the great alternatives that exist. Use a broom with a wooden handle and natural bristles or a vacuum cleaner.
Speaking of vacuum cleaners: These should be bagless, which not only saves you money but also waste. However, that doesn’t mean you should throw away your working vacuum and buy a bagless model. This would ignore the idea of sustainability. Alternatively, you can sew a dust bag yourself, which is reusable. Find out if the manufacturer might even offer reusable vacuum cleaner bags.
When using rags for cleaning, you can use old t-shirts, linens, etc. if they’re on cotton. They absorb liquid very well and are also suitable for dusting.
Use a dish brush instead of a sponge. The utensils for washing up must be changed regularly as they contain many harmful germs. You can also use old cotton clothes here, crochet or knit a rag yourself and give it a hot wash from time to time. The dishwashing brush should be made of wood or bamboo, and ideally constructed in such a way that you only have to change the brush and not the handle. If the bristles are natural fibre, you can even throw the entire brush in the compost when replacing it.
If you need a hand broom and dustpan, invest a little more money in wood and metal implements. These have a much longer shelf life and are biodegradable. However, if you already have plastic shovels and brooms, there is no point in replacing them now. Use them until you need to replace them.
Use a plastic-free mop if you need to buy a new one. It’s best to use the very conventional old devices with reusable rags. In any case, avoid disposable mops, which are now available in every supermarket. These work no better than a broom, vacuum cleaner or mop.
- Mix your cleaning products from natural ingredients
It’s incredibly easy and, most importantly, very cheap to make your natural cleaning products. These are non-toxic, don’t smell that strong and protect the environment.
Alternatively, you can also use biodegradable cleaning products such as Reusable Frosted Glass Spray Bottle if it’s still too much work for you (but it’s really easy!).
All-purpose cleaning spray:
You can use this cleaning agent anywhere. Use plastic containers that you bought that are now empty for your cleaning supplies. You can reuse the spray bottles from bathroom or window cleaners several times. If these are also broken, you can buy an empty reusable spray bottle.
You have two options here: either you buy citric acid or you prepare the cleaning agent with lemon and orange peels. In the first version, you carefully mix the citric acid with lukewarm water in the bottle and shake it well. Then add a few drops of biodegradable dish soap. To make it smell nice too, you can add a little bit of your favourite essential oil. Shake the whole thing vigorously and you’re done.
The second variant is the following: Collect lemon and orange peels and then put them in a container. Fill this up with white vinegar and leave the whole thing tightly sealed for about a month. Then, without the peels, pour the liquid into the spray bottle and add a little essential oil if you like.
You can keep almost everything nice and clean with this all-purpose cleaner.
Glass cleaning:
To clean the glass, simply mix one part of distilled or boiled water with one part of white or apple cider vinegar in a spray bottle. Shake the ingredients well so that they are sufficiently mixed. Again, depending on your taste, add a few drops of essential oil to make it smell nice. Use a cotton cloth for cleaning.
Alternatively, you can make a mixture of lemon, vinegar, and water. To do this, mix the juice of one lemon with a quarter litre of vinegar and 250 ml of water. If you don’t like the smell of the lemon, you can add a few drops of essential oil here as well.
toilet cleaning:
There are some all-natural and effective ways you can not only keep the toilet clean but also free of bacteria and germs. The first option is that you put about three spoons of citric acid and one baking soda in the toilet bowl. Both powders react with each other and even get to grips with stubborn urine and limescale deposits. Let it soak in and then clean with the toilet brush.
Another option is to mix baking soda with a little dish soap until you get a relatively firm paste. Make a ball with it and put it in the toilet. Then add white or apple cider vinegar. The ingredients will react with each other and start foaming. Let the detergents do their job for a bit, brush off afterwards, and then just rinse off.
