You've taken several steps to reduce your carbon footprint: you've replaced those old incandescent light bulbs with energy-saving compact fluorescents, you've upgraded the insulation in your home, you use public transit frequently, you cycle or walk when you can, and — for those times that you do need to drive — you've replaced your old vehicle with a much more fuel-efficient small car.

You're feeling pretty good about yourself as you contemplate your contribution to the greening of the nation — even as you prepare to prepare to clean your kitchen floor, armed with a lightweight stick that's loaded with a plastic bottle filled with store-bought detergent and has a disposable pad stuck to the end of it.

Yeah, you've thought about other ways of cleaning the house, but these new cleaners are just so damned convenient and they do such a good job — without you having to get down on your hands and knees to scrub.

Well, replacing the chemicals with environmentally-friendlier ingredients from your cupboard may not be as much of a sacrifice as you think.

Many common manufactured cleaners contain alcohol, ammonia, bleach, formaldehyde and lye — substances that can cause nausea, vomiting, and inflammation and burning of the eyes and throat.

Environmentalists have linked these ingredients with asthma, cancer and damage to the neurological system, liver and kidney.

But in most houses, you have at your fingertips a whole host of ingredients to make safer, cheaper and more environmentally friendly cleaners. For example, any of the following five ingredients can be safely mixed together. Store mixtures in spray bottles and label them.

• White vinegar: Mix with water and you can clean windows or any other glass, countertops and tile.
• Baking soda: Mixed with water, this becomes an all-purpose cleaner, good for scouring sinks and tubs, and even sprinkling over carpets as a deodorizer.
• Salt: Great as an abrasive for cleaning pots and pans.
• Lemon juice: Use instead of bleach in laundry and on kitchen surfaces.
• Olive oil: Mix with vinegar and use as furniture polish.

There are other ingredients — like borax, ammonia, club soda, isopropyl alcohol and toothpaste — that should make up part of your "greener cleaner" toolkit.

Before you get started

Make sure you've gathered your ingredients in a well-ventilated area. Your mixture may be all natural, but the fumes can still irritate your eyes, nose and throat — especially ammonia and isopropyl alcohol.

Use containers with tight-fitting lids. You don't want any leaks — some of your mixtures may be mildly corrosive. Don't reuse food containers or old containers from other cleaners for your homemade household cleaners. It's OK this time to splurge for new plastic containers.

When you have prepared your green cleaners, label the containers and store them in a safe place like you would any other cleaner.

Oh — and don't try to create a super-duper cleaner by mixing bleach and ammonia. You will create a potentially deadly mixture that can cause a number of chemical reactions.

Among them is the release of chlorine gas, which was used as a chemical weapon during the First World War. If you've added more bleach than ammonia, you could expose yourself to nitrogen trichloride, which is a very toxic chemical and a very volatile explosive.

Before you get going on your spring cleaning binge, test your newly mixed green cleaner on a small area.

Try these mixtures:

To clear your drains Pour 125 ml of baking soda down the sink and add at least a cup of vinegar. Put the cover on the drain and wait a few minutes. Finish by rinsing through with a mixture of boiling water and salt.

To clean your oven Make a paste of baking soda and water. First, scratch off burnt spots with a scouring brush and then apply the paste and scrub.

To clean your windows and other glass You have two options: for every litre of water, add 75 ml of vinegar into a spray bottle. Or try club soda. Be sure to use a lint-free cloth to wipe up.

To clean your toilet bowl Sprinkle baking soda around the inside of the toilet bowl and scrub with toilet brush. Add some white vinegar into the bowl and let sit for a few minutes before cleaning with the brush.

To clean your bathtub and surrounding tiles Mix 400 ml baking soda, 125 ml liquid soap, 125 ml water and a few spoonfuls of vinegar. Apply, scrub and wipe. Got mildew? Try vinegar and salt.

Cleaning up in the kitchen Use baking soda on non-scratch surfaces and the vinegar and water mixture on all others.

Cleaning your microwave oven Mix 30 ml of baking soda or lemon juice and 250 ml water in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave for five minutes or until the liquid boils and condensation builds up inside the microwave. Wipe down.

Polishing your silver Put a sheet of aluminum foil into a plastic or glass bowl. Sprinkle the foil with salt and baking soda and fill bowl with warm water. Soak your silver in the bowl. The tarnish will migrate to the foil. Dry and buff.

Cleaning brass Cut a lemon in half, sprinkle it with salt and rub the lemon on the metal. Buff with a cloth.

Cleaning your copper Make a paste with equal parts white vinegar, flour and salt. Rub it onto your copper, leave it on for an hour and then buff with a cloth.

Cleaning your chrome surfaces Try toothpaste.

All-purpose cleaner In a spray bottle, combine five ml borax, 2.5 ml baking soda, 30 ml lemon juice and 250 ml of hot water.

Cleaning your wood floors Mix 125 ml white vinegar and 125 ml vegetable or olive oil in a spray bottle.

Furniture Polish In a spray bottle mix 250 ml vegetable or olive oil and 125 ml of lemon juice. Shake well and apply a small amount to a cloth.

Multi-purpose deep cleaner Mix 250 ml household ammonia, 125 ml white vinegar, 62.5 ml baking soda and four litres of warm water.

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