How raw ingredients can save the day (and I don’t mean for cooking)

Nan Wray
Nan Wray
Sep 7, 2018 · 5 min read

Non-toxic household hints is a popular topic these days, but I am almost certain there will be something new in here that may help you, even save you in a pinch. If you are a consummate domestic god or goddess, you may be sitting back in your chair, arms crossed, just daring me to excite you with some new tidbit, and I’m going to take up the challenge.

For those of you who utilize a home-cleaning service, there may be a day (post-cleaning) that you throw up your hands a little, and wonder how you will make it until the next cleaning. Or, you have run out of your favorite cleaning product, or just decided you want to be that much more eco-friendly. Don’t lose hope, there are a few things you can do that will help.

The first thing to understand is the basic functions of these everyday items, which may give you new ideas and uses for them. If you were an audience before me, we could play question and answers with raised hands and shouting, but let’s move forward nevertheless.

My Top Favorite Natural Cleaning Helpers:

Baking Soda & Salt (abrasive/chemical cleaners)

Vinegar (anti-fungal, chemical solvent)

Oil (lubricant, barrier, degreaser — the irony!)

Rice (dessicant)

Baking Soda. Ok so let’s start with the most obvious: a box of baking soda in the fridge eliminates odors. YES. Ok now that has been said, let’s move on. Baking soda makes a great mild abrasive for quick cleaning of bathroom sinks and countertops, and can be kept in a little shaker jar in your bathroom cabinet. You can brush your teeth with it if you run out of toothpaste. You can sprinkle in your shoes to keep them odor-free. You can polish your jewelry with it with a soft, barely damp cloth. You can put it down your drains weekly to help keep them clear of build up. Yes, baking soda is marvelous. Common products it can fill in for: countertop cleanser, silver polish, drain cleaner, toothpaste, odor control products.

Salt. Ok, SALT. Salt is a bit more abrasive, but is perfect for things like cleaning out and seasoning frying and cooking pans, as long as you aren’t using non-stick coatings. If you mix your salt with a bit of oil the salt will stay intact and abrasive, as it does not dissolve in oil. Salt can also serve as a weed killer. Mix with water and a bit of dawn soap and vinegar, then put into a spray bottle to kill invasive plants from the top down. Salt can be used as a body scrub and added to a bath for its natural anti-bacterial properties. Plus, it makes everything taste good. Common products salt can fill in for: air freshener, household cleanser, weed killer, skin scrub, bath therapy.

Vinegar. Vinegar is the true wonder substance of the group. Distilled white vinegar is sold in large quantities for a reason. It is an incredibly useful item to have around the house. You can use it is a rinsing agent in the dishwasher, to help clothing keep their color in the washing machine, to get rid of water spots (it breaks down the mineral deposits), to clean windows, and as a passive air freshener: put a little in a jar or cup around the house and it will clean the air as it evaporates (the vinegar scent dissapates quickly after it settles). To supercharge air cleaning in your home, simmer some on the stove.

Vinegar has natural anti-mildew and anti-fungal properties. A mold mitigation specialist shared a tip with me. “Wash the walls with vinegar” he said, and it will kill the mildew. I have not gone through extensive testing to verify this, but it sure does get things clean and fresh smelling. The most amazing thing is what I discovered when I noticed a brown ring that appeared one day on my skin, that turned out to be a non-contagious type of fungus: tinea versicolor. All kinds of websites talked about different anti-fungal medications that may or may not work. I tried putting vinegar on a band-aid pad and pasted it over the ring. Fifteen minutes later the ring was gone. I’m not kidding. I did another band-aid for good measure and left it on the rest of the day. It stayed gone. Wow.

Common products vinegar can fill in for: air freshener, mildew abatement, weed killer, window and shower spot cleaner, anti-fungal.

Oil. Oil seems like something we spend a lot of time washing off with soap, but oil has some great qualities. It is a protector of vulnerable substances (our skin, for one), metals (protection from rusting), and as we all know, it lubricates parts that could rub together and get stuck. Oil is also great for getting rid of squeaks and goo. Have some stickers that you couldn’t peel off all the way? Rub some oil on it along with that razor blade and it will come off faster. Any sort of unknown goo is more likely to loosen up with oil, or some sort of oil/surfactant combo.

I’m mostly interested in the cleaning aspects of oil, but have discovered a very useful and less known use for it: as an ant-barrier. No need to get out the pesticide sprays or borax powder, a thin coating of cooking oil on any surface will keep the ants from crossing it. I know, you won’t believe it until you try it.

Common products oil can fill in for: lubricants, degreasers, ant traps, sprays or barriers.

Rice. The savior of wet cel phones everywhere. Yes, if get your phone wet and put it in a tub of rice for a day it will pull the moisture out of your phone. It can absorb moisture out of humid environments, as well, so if you have tools that you don’t want to get rusty, put a small bowl of rice in your toolbox (cover with some gauze if you are worried about spillage). You can but some in a cloth bag and insert anywhere that you want to keep drier, or you can use it in a few other ways: as a blade sharpener for your blender, as a cleaner for a coffee grinder and to keep salt separated.

Common products rice can fill in for: dessicants, blade sharpeners.

There are many more uses out there for these common items, and you may be able to get creative with the understanding of how they work. I hardly mentioned soap, which is a big topic all by itself. So I guess this means the topic of soap will be my cliffhanger, if the banal topic of soap even has the capacity to thrill. But now that I’ve brought it up, you may just find yourself wondering about the ubiquitous substance. Some people love it to the point of obsession, others hardly care. Where does soap come from, after all? You might be surprised. Did you know there was such a thing as a soap “plant”? Haha! Now that I’ve got your attention, I’ll just bid you adieu. I’ll save that for next time. Of course, you can just Google it, or you can come back next week for the fuller story. :)

Nan Wray

Written by

Nan Wray

Welcome to a place where words matter. On Medium, smart voices and original ideas take center stage - with no ads in sight. Watch
Follow all the topics you care about, and we’ll deliver the best stories for you to your homepage and inbox. Explore
Get unlimited access to the best stories on Medium — and support writers while you’re at it. Just $5/month. Upgrade