I'd wash the dishes by hand. You can even do that with ordinary bar soap as long as you rinse well. I would not put any substitute into the dishwasher. It could really mess up the works. As for spray cleaning, a bit of white vinegar, about one part to four parts water works well and is germicidal and ecologically safe. I use this all the time in the kitchen and bath. It's cheap too and fine to use around pets and children.

A friend of mine once put shampoo in the dishwasher out of desperation. Let's just say it was a huge bubbly mess all over the kitchen. :)

Water: vinegar in a 10:1 ratio = daily cleaning. The 4:1 mentioned above = chemical stripper which can be too harsh for most surfaces (except tile, glass, porcelain). Beware of "eco" cleaners. They leave oil residue behind that can damage wood finishes (I've seen the eco products ruin several wood floor finishes inside of 5 years...owner was not happy).

I use vinegar in almost all my cleaning, that and microfiber cloths and I have a Shark for that once a month get down and do it right cleaning. I hate a bunch of chemical stuff and the only soaps I use are for my body, my dishwasher and laundry.

For our granite counters, I use alcohol, drop of blue Dawn & water mixed in spray bottle...squirt & wipe with a microfiber cloth. Baking soda & vinegar, then really hot water takes care of drains.

General surfaces are fairly simple, however the biggest problem I was having was with grout, all that scrubbing and having to clean it again in a few days. I used this product out of a manufacturer in Las Vegas called SEMCO Surface and they have a cleaner normally used for hard are deposit removal and someone suggested this for the grout. I mixed it 1:1 with water and sprayed on the grout and it lifted all of the gunk out of there and i just have to use a damp rag to wipe it out. Pretty awesome stuff, the name of the product was nu-lift cleaner. It saves me hours in cleaning my tile floors

Beware of vinegar on wood surfaces--it will degrade the finish over time (even diluted a lot). Plain water is an amazing cleaner when you add a bit of baking soda to it. 6:1

Old-fashioned lemon oil is great for wood.

vinegar, while a great cleaners, is also bad for granite counters

One part vinegar, one part rubbing alcohol and two parts water was my go to cleaner for years until I got granite. Now I use edithmom's recipe as above. Perfect.

Edithsmom, how much alcohol do you put in the squirt bottle?

I have the same question on cleaning the micro suede couch... How do you use the alcohol?

@msvanessarae put the rubbing alcohol in a spray bottle, spray it on any marks or stains, including water marks and then with a sponge (similar colour is best in case the sponge bleeds colour, I haven't had it happen but why take the chance) then rub it, I have read people use the scrubbing end of a scotch sponge but I just use the soft part. As it drys us a brush to fluff up the fibre a little and it should dry clean with no water marks.

Due to multiple sensitivities for many years, I can't buy off the shelf cleaning products so have always used bi-carb soda in the bath/shower area and in the kitchen, scrub brush with a weak bleach mix for the dunny regularly, vinegar mix for cleaning and a damp cloth for picking up dust. Carpet spills are quickly sorted by laying a towel or paper down. Grate 1/4 bar of bathroom soap for your laundry washing. Add hair conditioner instead of fabric softener. Tons of other ideas I do! No problems ever yet. I've heard ti-tree oil is good for getting off grease from oven trays, so might give that a go. Why pay the companies who pollute the world and cause more sensitivities in humans when nature and simpler methods are available? No problems when running out of anything here! Granny in her day didn't have a supermarket to run to, so I guess I enjoy living like Granny!

I love this bathroom.

@edithsmom, I would also like to have the recipe with how much alcohol, water, and Dawn for the squirt bottle. Thank you in advance...

I use ultra fine (600 grit and higher) wet or dry sandpaper to clean/polish stainless sing and pans. The really fine stuff is available at auto supply stores in thepaint section

Sorry, wasn't paying attention to this post for a few days. GRANITE COUNTER CLEANER: in a quart spray bottle (32oz), 1/2 cup rubbing alcohol, 2-3 drops Blue Dawn...then fill the bottle with water. Important to use a microfiber cloth to wipe the mixture. I keep a bottle of this spray under my kitchen sink and another under the bathroom sink. I think I first saw this posted last year on Pinterest...I know it was on another site.

My mother used to clean her windows with a bowl of warm water and vinegar. Then wiped down with old newspapers. Ive tried it and it works!

Your question is quite timely! We recently wrote a blog about Natural Cleaning Products for the Kitchen. Check it out here>> http://www.thertastore.com/blog/natural-cleaning-products.html maybe you'll find something you can use.

When I use to clean houses I was always buying different cleaners to try, but as time has passed I find I am happiest with the cheapest stuff and it is usually the least harsh on the surfaces too. Vinegar solutions to varying degrees for cleaning. Vinegar and Baking soda with boiling water for drains. 1/2 dawn-1/2 vinegar for the bathroom. Mopping vinyl floors with an ammonia solution-1/2 c. ammonia, 1/2 t dish soap per gallon of H2O) wood with 1 c vinegar per gallon of water. I make my windex-1 16 oz bottle alcohol, 8 oz ammonia, 1/2 t dish soap in a gallon container-fill the rest with water-works as all purpose on everything except wood

I use all natural plant, water-based Bioenzyme solution that cleans, deodorizes, cuts grease and even spray to my compost for faster decomposition. Will do for all types of surfaces. Very safe for humans and animals. Oh I also mix it with dog shampoo and use to clean their mess. And for buffing or polishing I use old lotions - works very well because of their oil content.

For most surfaces I use just a microfiber cloth and warm water... that's all. Germs and mould can't live on dry surfaces, so I wipe the shower out after using it. I avoid using soap, so there's no soap scum. For tiled floors I use water with a few drops of dish detergent. For stainless steel... rub on a little mineral oil, then polish with a clean soft cloth. The outside of our bbq sparkles with an occasional rub with baby oil and it doesn't harm the stainless steel. A lot of people might find this a bit hard to imagine, but I haven't used shampoo or conditioner on my hair for seven years and it's healthy, clean and shiny. True! The hair takes about six weeks to adjust; after that just massage scalp in the shower with warm water. This works best for short layered hair. Not so great if you have very long hair and an oily scalp though.

A lot of natural things like vinegar, bicarbonate of soda, lemon juice etc., are acidic or caustic and will eventually damage surfaces.

Definitely little vinegar and water ( more water than vinegar [3x]) and newspaper does work wonders for windows and mirrors.

It can also be used to sterilize some things at home too-a doctor showed me this, part water and vinegar, leave to soak, like breathing masks for machines at home.

Lemon juice with warm water washes dishes well and kills grease. Also add half a left over squeezed lemon to warm water in a small bowl and soak kitchen sponges to kill odours.

Soap bars for washing clothes and good old fashion scrubbing bowl-yes, they are still around.

Shampoos for washing silks even in a washing machine. Sunsilk is great-no kidding!

Make soap flakes using bar soap (or grate it)

I heard tea is very effective for cleaning hardwood floors-not tried it though as I have tiles

Lemon oil and beeswax for polishing furniture.

Wow doenmabest...you have obviously done your research and have found a way to delete most (all?) commercial products from your daily life. Interesting posts and I will try some of your ideas.

CLEAR rubbing alcohol is almost impossible to find in Italy - they have tinted it PINK and it smells horrible - can not be good for you to be breathing that noxious smell they've put in it. I guess that's the keep people from drinking it? Strange. I keep bringing some home with me from the U.S. every time I travel there!! Weird, huh?

Yes, edithsmom, for health reasons I've had to avoid chemicals as much as possible. I do like to use decent quality microfiber cleaning cloths. I use dish detergent and occasionally some bleach in the bowl of the loo. I also make a mouthwash with 1 cup water, 1/4 tsp carb soda, 1/4 tsp salt... carb soda neutralises mouth acids and salt kills germs and it doesn't go 'off' in the medicine cabinet. By the way edithsmom, I like your idea for a drain cleaner.

Most of the commercial detergents and soaps are laced with chemicals that are very very harmful to humans and animals. Certified organic and natural products are quite expensive so I purchase ingredients in their natural form my grocery or market and mix them myself. Word of advise, don't use baking soda/baking powder as mouthwash cuz it contains aluminum which MAY cause Alzheimer's. Products claiming to be ALL NATURAL I believe contain the least harmful chemicals - everything goes through PROCESSING.

Won't the vinegar make the house smell?

The vinegar smell quickly dissipates as it dries or gets rinsed away.

I'm not trying to put a plug in here but Method cleaners are non-toxic and smell very nice (they use essential plant oils for the light scents they contain). They work well too.

bibishboy, McKenzie's say their bicarb soda contains no aluminium and the mouthwash recipe came from the Queensland Health Department, recommended for people with dry mouth problems. I believe the main thing with chemicals is to keep them to a minimum, but we still have to live in an imperfect world. As my name suggests, I'm just Dooenmabest. :)

Good for you dooenmybest. I have yet to find a brand in my country that provides a list of ingredients. All of them don't have that list in the back of the package.

Dooenmybest, I suggest you use virgin coconut oil as a mouthwash. Just a tsp will do. In Ayurvedic medicine ,it's called pulling. Virgin coco oil is anti bacteria & fungi. Don't forget to spit out all.

Thanks for the tip on coconut oil bisishboy. I might just give that a try. How long should you keep it in the mouth?

I just Googled oil pulling and found that the coconut oil has to be in the mouth for 20mins. That's a bit too much of an inconvenience. I can use my carb soda mouthwash as often as I like during the day and it's cheap.

I'm looking for something to clean the grout in between my floor tiles in kitchen. The grout line is kind of wide so there are just a few spots that are very dark. Any ideas.