I am obsessive very particular about my cleaning products.
I try to use natural cleaning products as much possible. I want my house to look great, but I don’t want to get this result at the price of poor quality supplies or unnecessary chemicals.
Since we have 4 boys and a dog and we live somewhat out in the country, a lot of dirt comes into our house every day. And while I love a clean house, I don’t love spending a lot of time cleaning. So I look for products and supplies that work harder so I don’t have to 🙂
Here are my favorite natural cleaning products.
Natural Cleaning Supplies
Microfiber cloths. Use microfiber for kitchen counters and sinks, dusting, bathroom cleaning (reserve a separate color for the toilet), car interiors, scrubbing baseboards and woodwork, etc. etc.
Microfiber glass cleaning cloths do a great job on windows and mirrors. You can use them with just water – no glass cleaner needed.
A good mop for hard surface floors. I don’t think which mop you choose is terribly important, as long as you have a good washable microfiber cover.
Natural Cleaners
You can get most of these cleaners at the grocery store or at Amazon.
Soft Scrub ™ with bleach. Nothing else works as well on our white solid surface kitchen sink. Stains vanish like magic.
Hydrogen peroxide. A gentler alternative to bleach. Add ¼ cup + ¼ cup baking soda to laundry as a homemade alternative to Oxyclean.
Baking soda. Buy the 5 pound box and never run out. I use baking soda:
- to scrub cooked on spills on my glass cooktop
- in homemade adhesive remover
- and many other places.
Barkeepers Friend. This gentle scrub dissolves grime on bathtubs and tile like magic! It’s also great on kitchen sinks and pans that can’t take heavy duty scrubbing. The 4 pack at Amazon for $12 is the best value
Isopropyl alcohol is used in easy homemade glass and electronics cleaner
All purpose cleaner: Method makes a good, natural all-purpose cleaner as does Mrs. Meyers. I have a bottle of this in each bathroom and one in the kitchen.
Mrs. Meyers toilet bowl cleaner (or a little bleach scrubbed and left to soak)
Mrs. Meyers or Method dish soap.
Cascade dishwasher detergent is my go-to dishwasher detergent. Nothing else seems to come close to it’s cleaning power.
Wood floor cleaner: Bona is my favorite for hardwood floors.
Magic Erasers really do work magic! We use them on baseboards, walls, for some pots and pans, and numerous other tough spots.
Cleaning Appliances
A good vacuum. I adore my Shark Navigator vacuum. It’s lightweight enough for my 5 year old, the cord is extra long, and with the bagless canister, I can SEE how much dirt I’m picking up (ewww). I thought our old vacuum did a good job until I got the Shark. I will never skimp on a vacuum again! Ours is now 2 years old and still going strong.
Carpet cleaner. I don’t use my carpet cleaner very much, but when it’s needed (think yucky messes), I’m uber grateful that I’ve got one in the house. And when we do a deep clean, I’m always fascinated and horrified by all the dirt that gets pulled out of the carpet. Vacuums can only reach so far.
My carpet cleaner model is no longer for sale, but this one is comparable and quite affordable.
If you do buy a carpet cleaner, make sure that the one you choose has separate compartments for clean and dirty water. Some models only have a filter to catch the dirt which kind of defeats the purpose if you’re dealing with a wet mess. OK – this is getting way too gross so I’ll move on.
That’s it for the cleaning supplies I use.
It’s a pretty short list considering these things keep our entire house clean!
If you have questions related to your purchase(s), please do not leave a comment on the blog. Contact our customer success team for assistance.
5 thoughts on “My Favorite Natural Cleaning Products and Supplies”
Magic erasers are downright magic! I’ve no idea what they pack in those things, but it’s the only thing I’ve found that gets soap scum off of our shower (bleach and a toothbrush did nothing, neither did 409 or the Scrubbing Bubbles 5 in 1 or whatever it’s called, ha (not fond of that one, anyway)). And definitely isopropyl alcohol for electronics, both inside and out. I keep 409 on hand, which is actually surprisingly good for cleaning carpets (spray, sit for a minute, scrub with a cloth, and it’s mostly gone!) and then do carpet cleaning every so often with our carpet cleaner. For daily use cleaning, though, it’s vinegar and dish soap. It’s easy and cheap and might require a tad more elbow grease, but works well enough for us!
409 on carpets?! I’ll have to remember that! And I’ve never tried the magic eraser on the tub – thanks for the tip!
Natural brings in the best beauty and cleaning products will be so good to have so that the thing on which you are using will be clean variably and will last for long and will be genuine as well.
I also love the Mrs. Meyers surface cleaners, toilet bowl cleaner, and dish soap. Also Method dish soap, hand soap, anti-bacterial spray, and laundry detergent. Both come in beautiful but light scents and are all natural. I’m trying to get rid of as many chemicals as I can. Do agree on the Magic Eraser too though who knows what’s in it–it works on nearly everything! Have to have Soft Scrub with bleach too–the only thing that cleans stains from my 1928 farmhouse kitchen sink and claw foot bath tub plus great on boat seats, outdoor furniture, even vinyl dolls–but don’t press too hard on them!
My daughter loves Thieves but I can’t get past the clove smell to it–to me it’s like cleaning with sweet pickle juice & I don’t love sweet pickles! I, too, love the microfiber cloths except how they cling to your hands when dry–even the dollar store versions work well. I bought some eCloths on Amazon and don’t find much difference–sorry to all who love them. Dollar Tree has a microfiber dish cloth with a nylon mesh lining on the reverse side that gets up bits off the counters and stove gently–two for $1 in lots of colors and last for ages.
For icky messes and hard to wash out cleanups/painting, I save old white holey socks and tee-shirts that I can just clean with and toss. I save money on dishwasher tabs by buying Dollar Tree ones and adding a few shakes of baking soda on the dishwasher door which is usually damp or water spotted so it clings temporarily. Then I put one tab in one cup and about 3 drops of original blue Dawn dish washing liquid in the other–does a great job for very little cost. Homemade baking soda+ tabs don’t work for me but this combo does. I buy boxes of 50 or 100 latex gloves and wear them if I’m going to be cleaning or in water all day and also for painting jobs, or yucky messes. They’re pretty cheap at Walmart and yellow latex gloves–you know the ugly kind I mean–for $1 work great for short jobs. Hope these help anyone needing budget ideas and backing up Sarah’s choices!
I’ve found that I love the seventh generation dishwasher detergent better than cascade! And it’s a good price too!