3 DIY Nontoxic Cleaners Perfect for Your Apartment

The world has changed a lot since the beginning of the pandemic, but every cloud has a silver lining—sometimes literally! With fewer vehicles on the road, California’s air quality has actually improved. But did you know that the air inside your home is just as important?

With May being National Clean Air Month , now is the time to improve the air quality inside your home. One way to do so is by switching to homemade, natural, multipurpose cleaners. Using ingredients found in most pantries, you can easily create cleaners for every surface in your home. Here are three simple recipes perfect for cleaning your glass surfaces, kitchen and bathroom, and clothing.

Window Cleaner

Are your windows not quite as clear as you would like? Are your mirrors reflecting spots that aren’t there? When looking for an all-natural, nontoxic solution, turn to vinegar . It’s cheap, environmentally friendly, and can make your glass look like new. Just mix the following ingredients:

Pour the mixture into a spray bottle and use it on all your glass surfaces.

Kitchen and Bath Cleaner

Is your bathroom developing a consistent odor? Lemons may be just what you need. Their acidity makes them the perfect ingredient to combine with baking soda, table salt, rubbing alcohol, vinegar, and hot water. For a simple cleaner, mix the following ingredients like so:

Stir until well dissolved and allow to cool. Remove the rind and pour the mixture into a spray bottle. It’s perfect for hard bathroom surfaces like tile and linoleum—but never granite.

Stain Remover

Do stains on your clothes have you reaching for the bleach? Reach instead for hydrogen peroxide. Normally used as an antiseptic, hydrogen peroxide can also be used to clean and disinfect surfaces as well as create a homemade laundry stain remover. Mix the following:

Once you have the mixture, add 2 tablespoons of water, or enough to make it thin enough to spray through a spray bottle. After color testing the fabric, rub the cleaner into stains with a laundry brush and let it soak for at least 15 minutes.

With National Clean Air Month nearly over, now is the right time to eliminate unnecessary chemicals from your home wherever you can. Use these three recipes to do just that, using natural cleaners to keep your glass, kitchen and bathroom, and clothing shining bright all year long.