Clean Your Bath & Kitchen Drains Naturally

Years ago, I learned the hard way how important it is to keep your bathroom drain clean and clear. We had quite the clog and at the time my first inclination was to buy some drain cleaner. I hesitated when I read the warnings on the label, but I was desperate to not have to brush my teeth in the bathtub.

 I also decided at that point that I never wanted to buy that stuff again. After some research I realized how easy it is to avoid the toxic cleaners by just cleaning the drains on a regular basis.

In fact, it only takes 4 simple products to clean, deodorize, and unclog your kitchen and bathroom drains naturally and three of them are most likely in your kitchen.

Clean Your Bath & Kitchen Drains Naturally

1. Baking Soda
See #2 vinegar.

2. Vinegar
To deodorize and unclog your drains, pour 1/2 cup of baking soda down the drain. Follow with 1/2 cup vinegar that was warmed up in the microwave. Don't be alarmed the vinegar will cause the baking soda to fizz, but it soon dissolves. Allow to sit for 5 minutes or more. Flush down with very hot water. I try to do this every 2 to 4 weeks to keep the drains clear and fresh.

3. Citrus fruit
Instead of throwing a used lemon or lime in the trash or compost, cut it into smaller pieces and drop it down the garbage disposal. Run the cold water and turn the disposal on and the stinky smell disappears.

4. Snake Drain Hair Removal Tool
Snake this simple tool down the drain and wiggle.

It will dislodge hair and soap junk to help it flush down the drain. It will also drag some stuff up as you pull the tool up out of the drain. YUCK!

I use the snake all the time to remove bathroom sink gunk. It can be found at hardware stores, is relatively inexpensive, and will last for years.

By using the above 4 products regularly, I haven't had to buy the toxic drain cleaners in years.

What natural tips do you have to clean and unclog the bathroom and kitchen drains? Let us know in the comments.

This post is linked to One Project at a Time.

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Spring Clean Your Home + FREE Printable Checklist

I'm still spring cleaning...it's just taking me longer than a week...life tends to get in the way and cleaning took a back seat.

Let's recap Spring Cleaning Week where we left off last week:

• Spring Clean the Kitchen plus a Printable Checklist
• How to Clean the Inside of the Microwave
• How to Clean a Glass Top Stove
• How to Clean a Ceiling Fan (and not get dust everywhere)
• Spring Clean the Bathroom Plus a Printable Checklist

I'm now working on the rest of the house. Here is my to-do list, in addition to my normal cleaning tasks. I should really consider including some of these tasks in my normal weekly cleaning routine, it would make life so much easier every spring.

• Wash inside and outside of windows.
• Clean blinds. Wash curtains.
• Clean light fixtures and ceiling fans.
• Vacuum under furniture, ie: under sofas, chairs, TV stands, etc.
• Replace fire alarm batteries.

It has been a month...or two...okay, maybe a year, since I vacuumed under the furniture. Yikes!

How is your spring cleaning going? Print a Spring Cleaning Checklist for Your Home.

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Spring Clean Your Bathroom + FREE Printable Checklist

Cleaning the bathroom is one of those jobs that is never-ending. It seems that 15 seconds after I clean the bathroom, it looks like I had never been there. Do you feel my pain?

We have one full bathroom for the four of us to share. There are moments when the room feels like the size of a postage stamp. Did I tell you that I have two daughters? I'm not looking forward to their teen years.

Our bathroom is very minimalistic and I don't even consider myself a minimalist, but we just don't have much space for a lot of extra stuff. Aside from the bath toys on the floor, I try to keep the bathroom sparse.

I gave the room a thorough spring cleaning recently. Here was my to-do list.

• Mop floor.
• Wipe down sink and tub.
• Wash shower curtain.
• Wash windows, inside and outside.
• Wipe blinds.
• Clean and disinfect trash can.
• Wash rugs.
• Sort, purge, and organize medicine cabinet, closet, the drawers, and cabinet under the sink.
• Clean drains.

Have you spring cleaned your bathroom yet? Print a copy of the Bathroom Cleaning Checklist to help you get started.

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How to Clean a Ceiling Fan

Have you ever tried cleaning a ceiling fan only to have the dust fall onto the bed or floor below?  I learned the following trick years ago from a magazine and it ends that problem. All you need is an old pillow case.

Insert a fan blade into the pillow case. Wrap the ends tightly around the blade and start moving the pillow case down the blade.

Keep going...

Keep going...

...all the way to the end. Your fan is now clean and the dust is contained in the pillow case. Isn't that nifty?!

Do you have ceiling fans in your home? How do you keep them clean? Let us know in the comments.

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This post is linked to the Spring Cleaning Challenge at The Greenbacks Gal.

How to Clean a Glass Stove Top

Do you have a glass stove top? If you do, then you are probably familiar with the black marks.

I clean the stove top as soon as the heating element has cooled down after every use. For some reason the black marks still appear, like the one on the front right burner. They drive me crazy, because they can't be removed with just soap and water. But I have discovered a trick to remove those pesky black marks and you probably have the ingredients already in your kitchen--no need to buy a special cleaner.

To clean your glass top, make a paste with equal parts baking soda and white vinegar. Use a non-scratch scrubbing pads to scrub and the black marks will be gone in seconds.

For caked on food particles, I use a scraper especially made for glass top surfaces. I think we bought it at the same store when we bought our stove. 

It's that easy!

Do you have a glass stove top? How do you keep it clean?  Let us know in the comments.

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How to Clean a Microwave

Microwave ovens can get pretty scary inside, but I do have the secret to keeping your microwave looking spic and span like the microwave pictured below...which happens to be mine, by the way.

This tip is so revolutionary that it will truly amaze you. Are you ready?

Clean your microwave after EVERY use!

See I told you...revolutionary. But I have one more tip to help you clean the inside of your microwave and it is just as simple.

• Wipe down the microwave, removing any loose food particles. Combine 1/2 cup white vinegar with 1/2 cup water in a microwaveable glass bowl. Heat in the microwave until the liquid reaches a rolling boil. After heating, wait a few minutes before opening the door to allow the steam to loosen the food particles. The steam should loosen any food particles remaining inside. Carefully remove the bowl and wipe down the inside of the microwave.

Editor's note: Anonymous alerted me in the comments about the potential for the water to explode. This has never happened to me and I had never heard of it happening, but I did research it. Water can in fact be overheated in the microwave and appear to not be boiling until the cup or bowl is jostled and then it can explode sending boiling water everywhere. I found some tips to help prevent this from happening: insert a wooden stirrer in the cup before heating, use a glass container whose surface is a little scratched (ie, not a brand new container), and with a long object, like a plastic spatula, tap the bowl or cup to rattle it before removing from the microwave.

Now make a promise to yourself that you will wipe down your microwave after each use and you'll probably never have to use the vinegar tip again.

What does your microwave look like? Let us know in the comments.

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Spring Clean Your Kitchen (Printable Checklist Included)

Welcome to Spring Cleaning Week. Today's task--the kitchen.

Meet my kitchen:

 

On a typical day the counters are cluttered with breakfast dishes or after-school snack dishes, clean dishes waiting for someone to put away, the newspaper, the kids' school work, and so much more. In a perfect world, my counters would remain clutter-free at all times, but that's not the world I live in. I like to think that my kitchen always looks 'lived in'.

So the counters are usually a bit cluttered, but I sweep the floor daily and I mop it once a week (more if my youngest daughter drops a brand new 32 oz container of organic yogurt that she tried to get for herself). It's amazing how far that stuff can splatter. I also make sure the sink is clean before I go to bed...thank you Fly Lady!

I don't usually clean this thoroughly on a regular basis. I'm a clean as needed kind of gal. But on this particular day, I declared it spring cleaning day for the kitchen. Here was my to-do list:

• Remove everything from counters and open shelves and wipe down. Put anything away that isn’t meant to be on the counter.
• Clean knickknacks. Purge if possible.
• Wipe all cabinet doors.
• Wipe all baseboards and moldings.
• Wipe down appliances.
• Clean inside of microwave.
• Clean inside and outside of refrigerator.
• Wash windows, inside and outside. I used my window cleaner that costs pennies.
• Organize the pantry.
• Organize the spices and purge any that are outdated.
• Shake and wash the rug.
• Scrub inside and outside of trash can.

Doesn't it look much better? It feels much better.

I have decided that as long as my kids bring home artwork from school, my refrigerator door will always be their showcase. It makes me smile every time I open the door.

Have you spring cleaned your kitchen yet? Print a checklist for Spring Cleaning Your Kitchen.

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This post is linked to Thrifty Chick Decor: Show Us Your Kitchen.