These 9 Powerful Ingredients Are The MVPs Of Cleaning

Since the time humans started living indoors, we’ve made it a priority to keep our surroundings clean and tidy. And although recent advancements in chemistry, engineering, and other fields have made cleaning faster and easier in many ways, other things have gotten overly complicated, including cleaning ingredients.

There’s always value in going back to the basics, and I believe that’s true with cleaning as well. To that end, today I want to share 9 of my all-time favorite cleaning ingredients with you. With these ingredients in your cleaning arsenal, you’ll be an unstoppable cleaning machine!

The 9 Best Cleaning Ingredients For Household Use

1. Dawn Dish Soap

If you’re familiar with any of the homemade cleaning and laundry solutions I’ve posted here on the blog, then you may have noticed that many of them have Dawn dish soap as an ingredient. Dawn is number one on my list for a good reason — there are just so many ways to use it!

In fact, this list of 28 uses for Dawn barely scratches the surface. Of all the dish soaps I’ve tried (and I’ve tried a lot of them), Dawn’s grease-cutting ability is second to none, making it a powerful tool in any cleaning toolbox.

2. Vinegar

White vinegar can clean and deodorize almost anything. Combine it with water to clean tea kettles and coffee machines, or remove lime scale and soap scum.

Vinegar pairs well with other cleaning ingredients too. In fact, I’ve written so many posts that make use of vinegar for cleaning that I was able to assemble them into a collection of my 50 favorite uses for vinegar!

3. Baking Soda

When something needs to be scrubbed, I almost always reach for baking soda. Baking soda is abrasive enough to scrub away tough stains, grease, and grime, but gentle enough that it won’t damage most materials or surfaces. You can use it to clean toilet bowls, sinks, cutting boards, and countertops.

Baking soda is also an excellent deodorizer, and makes it a piece of cake to freshen up your mattresses, appliances, garbage cans, drawers, closets, and more. For more ways to use baking soda, see my blog post dedicated to the topic here.

4. Salt

Salt is another natural abrasive that can help scour away stains and messes. In stores today you can find fine salt, coarse salt, and every size in between, which makes it easy to choose the type that will best fit your cleaning needs.

You can also use it to scour things that you wouldn’t want to leave a harmful residue on, like your pet’s food or water bowl. And since salt is usually close at hand, you can use it as a quick way to absorb an accidental spill at the dinner table. Check out more useful ways to use salt around the house.

5. Rubbing Alcohol

Rubbing alcohol evaporates very quickly, so it makes a great cleaner for things that aren’t supposed to get wet, like electronics. It’s also great for getting things to really shine, like window panes and stainless steel appliances!

I also like to use rubbing alcohol to help dissolve sticky messes, like sticker or bandage residue. For lots of other great uses for rubbing alcohol, read my post here.

6. Hydrogen Peroxide

While most people think about hydrogen peroxide in terms of first aid, it’s a great for hygiene and personal care too. You can use it to clean and sanitize your toothbrush and makeup brushes, and you can even dilute it with water and use it as a mouthwash.

Hydrogen peroxide’s other super power is lightening and brightening. You can use it as an alternative to bleach to remove stains, brighten dingy laundry, lighten hair, whiten teeth, and more! (For more details about using hydrogen peroxide, be sure to check out my e-book Hydrogen Peroxide Magic!)

7. Castile Soap

All soaps are made with fats, but Castile soap is made with vegetable oils rather than the standard animal fats used in most other soaps. This style of soap-making originated in the Castile region of Spain (hence the name where it was traditionally made from pure, local olive oil.

This style of soap is typically concentrated, completely biodegradable, and cleans gently, yet effectively. Castile soap has a dizzying number of uses, and you can learn about 22 of them in this post.

8. Borax

Borax, also known as sodium borate or sodium tetraborate, is a naturally occurring (and highly versatile) mineral compound that is mined from evaporated lakes. It does need to be handled with care, but using borax around the house for cleaning and laundry is perfectly safe and very useful to boot!

9. Essential Oils

Many essential oils not only have grease-cutting and stain-fighting abilities, but they also have antimicrobial properties that can kill germs. Because of these special properties, essential oils make a safe, natural alternative to harsher chemical cleaning ingredients found in commercial products.

I use essential oils extensively in my cleaning recipes because they’re effective and leave my home smelling fresh and clean. Check out this post to learn more about cleaning with essential oils.

What are your top cleaning ingredients?