Going Green With Cleaners

Many people fret over the amount of chemicals in their kitchens. Commercial kitchen cleaners often have caustic chemicals, fumes, and are generally unpleasant in spite of a lemon-fresh or "cool breeze" scent. The scents themselves are a source of irritation for many allergy sufferers who can't stand the perfumes. The solution?

Ordinary household vinegar mixed with varying degrees of water. Vinegar is a natural disinfectant, and cuts through caked on residues like ketchup, mustard and salad dressing. You can clean the entire fridge with vinegar, including the rubber seals.

There are some things to remember about cleaning with vinegar: Never mix it with ammonia or bleach-the fumes created by such a mixture are toxic. Do not mix vinegar with dish soap, which contains ammonia. Use white vinegar for your cleaning needs-including the bathroom, where vinegar is quite effective in cutting through bar soap residue and lime deposits.

Green living is not just better for the environment; it can also be quite cost effective. Compare a single bottle of vinegar with the cost of the same amount of cleaning solutions for both your bathroom and kitchen and see how the savings add up.