Best All-Natural items to Use for Cleaning Products
Cleaning sprays that are made with herbal ingredients have a lot of practical and environmental value. They can be just as effective at killing germs without using harsh chemicals and toxic compounds. A lot of commercial products, including bleach, also have a short shelf-life, which means that stockpiles can expire, leaving you with few options during a prolonged survival situation.
Herbal or all-natural alternatives can be made on-demand or stored for longer periods of time, and they don’t have any harmful chemicals to worry about. This can go a long way when it comes to enhancing your ability to be self-sufficient. Take a look at some common all-natural items that are known for their antibiotic and antiseptic properties. Experiment with making tinctures that include various combinations, and see how they can give you long-term solutions for keeping germs at bay.
Lemon and Orange
Lemon is a powerful cleaner and disinfectant, and you don’t need a lot to make a potent cleaner. You can use it alone, with some water, or with a combination of other herbs. Not only does it eat away at dirt, grime and bacteria, it also leaves a nice smell when you’re finished. Best of all, you can make all kinds of lemon-based cleaning products with the whole fruit or store-bought natural lemon juice. It also works well in oil-based cleaners in addition to sprays.
Oranges are particularly effective when it comes to removing grease, any kind of grease. You can also use orange to clean wood or tile floors. It can also be used in oil or spray form.
Lavender
Lavender is one of the gentlest and nicest-smelling herbs to use for cleaning due to its high concentration of antibacterial compounds. It can be adapted for use as dish or laundry detergent, or you can make it into a tincture and combine a few drops with vinegar to use a good surface cleaner.
Peppermint
Peppermint has lots of antibacterial compounds, and it also makes for a good air freshener as well as insect repellent. Mixing 1 part of peppermint oil to 10 parts water and applying it to cracks and crevices in walls and along baseboards can go a long way to keep ants and some other common household pests at bay. Peppermint is also very easy to grow and harvest when necessary, and it is a must-have herb for a wide-range of medicinal purposes as well as for cleaning.
Pine
Pine oil is probably the second best all-purpose cleaner to have on hand next to lemons. It is a universal disinfectant, helps to control mold, fungus, yeast and certain types of bacteria. Best of all, most of us are within arms-reach of pine, which makes it easy to gather and process. Try different concentrations of pine oil vs water and see how it can tackle a wide-range of messes that you will encounter in a long-term survival situation.
These are just a few of many items out there that you can either grow or easily obtain to make safe and effective cleaning products. Learn more about how to make tinctures and infusions in oil, and see how this simple process can give you a limitless supply of cleaning aids that you can count on when the SHTF.
