Diy & Eco Guide » Home Ideas

Tile Floor Cleaning

Humankind — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 17:33:15 +0000

The bathroom is one of the most difficult rooms to maintain, but not anymore. Rather than using different cleaning materials for different parts of the bathroom, you really can just use a few key natural products and achieve results effortlessly. One of the biggest problems that people find is how to keep a tile floor clean.

The first problem is that the grout between your tiles may start to look hard. If you dip an old toothbrush in vinegar and gently rub this will help, but if you have a very persistant grout problem, then this is what you need to do.

The clean grout, take 3 cups of baking soda and add one cup of warm water in a bowl. You want to mix the mixture into a smooth paste and then scrub it into the grout with a sponge or old toothbrush. After a little scrubbing, you will need to rinse thoroughly and throw away any of the leftover paste.

If mould is your problem, then you can use tea tree oil to get rid of the problem. Remember that mould is bad for you and you might want to wear a mask and long gloves if your mould problem is a bad. Tea trea essential oil spray will deal with the mould, just take two teaspoons of tea tree essential oil and mix with two cups of water in a spray bottle. Shake the bottle, spray the tiles and it will kill the mildew spores as well as taking away and discoloration. Great little trick!

To clean any other bathroom floors such as hardwood, linoleum and any other washable surface, use half a cup of vinegar with one gallon of hot water (one gallon is 4 litres).

Baking Soda Cleaning

Humankind — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 17:30:33 +0000

There are plenty of cheap, easy to use natural cleaning alternatives right inside your home right now which can easily and safely replace the chemical household cleaning products you might have. If you have just one of the following three ingredients in your home, you are well on your way to cleaning green and cheap. They are Baking Soda, Lemon Juice and Vinegar!

Let’s take a look at the first a little closer. Baking Soda is sodium bicarbonate and is commonly used as an ingredient in baking. It works extremely well as an all purpose, non-toxic cleaner and you might find once you get to see how well it works at cleaning oil and stains, the garage or workshop will do with a box or two also.

Baking soda is extremely effective at cleaning stains and is great for scouring pots and pans as well as sink basins. Because of it’s alkaline properties, it will break down acid and softens hard water too. It can also be used to extinguish grease fires.

If you happen to have a smelly carpet or just need to neutralize a smell in the home or fridge, then this is going to be your very best friend. It can even be put down smelly drains and is safe to use to clean:-

silver
stainless steel
tin
porcelain
plastic
jewellery
chrome and
aluminium

For a quick air fresher try this little recipe:-

Lemon and Baking Soda Spray

Dissolve one teaspoon of baking soda in two cups of hot water. Add two tablespoons of lemon juice and put into an atomizer /spray bottle. Quick – Easy and Works a charm!

For a great Bath, Sink and Tile Cleaner here is a fantastic eco option!

Take 200 grams of Baking Soda (thats just more than 1 1/2 cups)
100ml of liquid soap
2 Tablespoons vinagar
110ml (half a cup) of water
a few drops of tea tree essential oil

Now mix the soda and soap together. Add the water next and then the vinegar and essential oil. You can put it in a squirt top bottle, but remember to shake before you use. Also remember to rinse after cleaning so that the tea tree dosn’t leave streaks.

Home Solar Kit

Humankind — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 17:22:26 +0000

The interest in the home solar kit has soared over the last half decade and as a result of the huge amount of interest in alternative energy and the advantages and making your home green, the home solar kit has become the product that everyone is talking about and taking.

There are few opportunities during a slowdown in the economy that show themselves to be both financially rewarding and personally fulfilling, but the home improvement industry has taken the front seat when it comes to topics about the housing industry. No longer do we talk about flipping and making a killing. The conversation is now a little more down to earth and earth related.

If you can’t sell your house, you might as well make it more financially viable and the first thing everyone want to do is cut down the power bills by going solar or having the wind help you out. The cost of setting up these systems used to be massive, but now we have the option of high quality diy solar panels and home built wind turbines.

At a fraction of the cost of buying a prebuilt system, you can learn how to build your own solar water panel and household wind turbines. So what do you get for your effort?

You can build your own – anytime
You can fix it by yourself
You can add or reinstall if you move
You can put it on your caravan
You can build and sell to the neighbours
You can cut down your power bills considerably
You’ll be doing something good for the planet
You can watch that important sports game with cold beers when there is a power outage in your neighbourhood while everyone else can’t.

Now is an excellent time to consider the opportunities that this kind of training will open up for you. The interest is growing and the market is expanding and the technology is available. This is the time to go alternative.