Green cleaning using household ingredients - Black & Decker, India

Tired of yet another allergic reaction to that strong chemical cleaning agent? I have an even tougher time with an allergic child around at home – even strong smells can set something off. I have come to realize over the past few months that there are many cleaning agents that we have lying around in our kitchen or home that we don’t realize the utility of:

Baking soda: The next time you are trying to remove a stain from a vessel, instead of scrubbing and using strong cleaning agents, just add baking soda and pour hot water on it. It works like magic, and is a most cost-effective solution too.

Vinegar: A diluted vinegar spray, along with some baking soda can remove even stubborn stains from bathroom tiles. I also recently heard about using vinegar as an ant repellant, hope to try that out sometime soon. Your local kirana shop should have a large bottle of vinegar that will last you for a lot of cleaning.

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Citrus juices and peels: Do not discard those orange peels as they have great cleaning properties. Just rub them on stained areas, and leave for a few minutes before scrubbing lightly and you’ll see most stains clear up. Can you imagine the difference from those acidic agents that hurt our hands and feet while using them?

These ideas can make a good beginning to green cleaning and I hope you would like to try them out too. I would also love to hear from you on what worked for you! While on the subject of eco-friendly cleaning, do check out the Steam Mop that can eliminate germs up to 99.9% using just steam, and other products from Black & Decker: http://www.blackanddeckerindia.in

How to clean those difficult nooks - Black & Decker India

This interesting article about problem areas that we might not even notice while cleaning our homes, made me think twice. This is probably true of most of our houses, that we don’t notice a lot of stuff just by virtue of seeing things everyday and taking them for granted. Here’s a list of ways in which we can make those difficult to notice and reach places cleaned more easily:

Vacuum nozzle: Though most of us have vacuum cleaners at home, we might not really have explored all the attachments well. So many places like channels of windows and gaps in the sofas can be cleaned using the nozzle attachment that helps to reach the gaps very easily.

Toothbrushes: From crevices in vessels that may have food stuck in them, to joints between tiles, the trusty old toothbrush comes to the rescue. It is a very handy thing to have around, and since toothbrushes are always replaced every few months, there will always be a couple of old ones around without going to much effort.

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Baking soda: To keep chimney grills clean, you can just sprinkle them with baking soda, and pour some hot water over them which causes most of the oily residue to come out easily. For the remaining dirt, toothbrushes can be used to get them sparkling clean again.

Steam or hot water: Most stains can be cleaned using just boiling hot water or steam, without the addition of any chemicals at all. If at all the stain proves stubborn, easy kitchen items like baking soda or vinegar are enough to clean nearly all of them. This is why the steam mop is a very effective appliance for keeping floors clean.

Ear-buds: For areas like switchboards where you might need delicate cleaning, you can use soap solution or a thinner/nail polish remover in extreme cases along with an ear-bud for a controlled cleaning operation. Watch out though as thinner can erase any markings on the switches too.

Hope some of these tips are useful for your holiday cleaning to make your home ready to receive friends and family in the new year. Do check out our page for more appliances that can help make your cleaning tasks easier:

http://www.blackanddeckerindia.in

5 Great Eco-friendly Cleaning Options for your Home - Black & Decker

A recent article in the Times of India paints a scary picture of the chemicals around our home. Are you one of those people who are tired of all the strong smelling chemical formulations available in the market for cleaning your homes? Here are some simple cleaning solutions that can help keep our home and environment chemical-free:

Baking soda: This is one of the most versatile and simple home cleaning products you can find, and can be used for a variety of things from cleaning your stove-top to removing smells from your refrigerator. Try it with a combination of other eco friendly ingredients like vinegar to remove stains from literally anything.

Vinegar: Did you know that keeping your vegetables and fruits soaked for a few minutes in a water and vinegar solution is a good way to rid them of pesticide residues, and can even help remove the waxy coating that has become a standard feature of today’s apples? Used in combination with baking soda, it is a very effective household cleaner that can even be used to clean your toilet bowls.

Lime/Lemon: It’s acidic content makes it a good cleaning agent, as well as a good disinfectant. A combination of olive oil and lemon juice can even be used as a homemade wood polish. See this simple recipe here and give it a try.

Plants: Keeping houseplants is a great way to clean up the atmosphere of the room as they help by providing oxygen as well as to reduce bad odours. Here’s a great list of plants that you can try growing indoors.

Hot water: From cleaning your pans to swabbing your floor, hot water can replace a lot of chemical home cleaners very effectively, with just a little help from vinegar and baking soda for stains. You can add a drop of natural oils like citronella to help with the mosquito menace as well as for that little bit of fragrance if you like it.

 In the quest for eco friendly cleaning, Black and Decker has come out with this product, that uses just tap water and does a great job of cleaning your floors. Check out the steam mop and other great products at our website: http://india.stanleyblackanddecker.com/