You have just mopped the floor and breathed a sigh of relief that your little ones can safely play on it now. After all, when you clean the house, there is not a single speck of dirt left, but let me ask you a question? Did you use the same age-old commercially available toxic floor cleaner? If your answer is yes, then stop and ponder on for a moment. Is your place safe for the kids after using that chemical-laden cleaner? Does there exist an alternative non-toxic home cleaner for it?
What’s in this article?
In this article, I am going to talk about one such eco-friendly and non -toxic substitute for all the commercial home cleaners. That non-toxic and magical home cleaner is bio-enzyme liquid cleaner, which has the potential to replace almost all the commercially available disinfectants, air purifiers, dishwashing soaps, or other cleaning stuff you buy. Also, it is phenomenal that how quickly and easily it can be prepared with minimal ingredients available in your home.👏👏
First and foremost, we should be aware of the damage caused by the commercially available liquid cleaners:
Why we should not use commercial cleaners?
- The active disinfecting ingredient in most of these reputed brand cleaners is Benzalkonium Chloride Solution, which is proven to be an eye and skin irritant.
- Excessive inhalation of BCS may cause respiratory tract irritation and central nervous system effects (headache, dizziness).
- Toddlers usually play on the floor, which exposes their skin directly to the chemicals found in these disinfectants.
- Even the environmental implications of these cleaners are destructive. They can pollute the air, groundwater, rivers, lakes, and the whole environment due to the phosphates, nitrates, and ammonia present in them.
If you are convinced about the disastrous effects of the home cleaning liquid which you buy off the shelf without a single thought, we can move ahead to know more about how we can save our environment with bio enzymes.
What are bio-enzymes?
1. Bio-enzymes are an inexpensive and environmentally friendly solution to keep our homes and gardens clean and healthy without a trace of any hazardous or toxic chemicals.
2. These cleaners use good bacteria to digest strong odors, stains, and wastes. The bacteria do this by producing enzymes that break down the dirt found in our home into smaller pieces. These smaller pieces become “food” for the bacteria.
One more interesting fact is that the bacteria and enzymes in these cleaners keep working overtime(sometimes up to 80 hours after application), feeding on stubborn dirt to eliminate it.
So, you know that somebody else is cleaning the house after you!
3. Fermentation of fruits, vegetables, jaggery, and water produces good bacteria, which accelerates the cleaning in bio-enzyme cleaners.
So, after having a basic idea of what is a bio-enzyme liquid cleaner, we can scroll further to find out how we can prepare it easily at our home.
Steps to prepare bio-enzyme liquid cleaner at home:
Bio-enzyme cleaners are mostly prepared from peels of citrus fruits such as oranges, sweet lime, pineapple, and lemon for their fresh and unique scent. You can even prepare it with the peel of other vegetables and fruits, but the smell will not be so pleasant.
Required:
- 100g – jaggery cut in small pieces
- 300g – orange/sweet lime peel
- 1000ml(1liter) – water
- 2-liter plastic bottle with screw cap (Don’t use metal or glass containers as gases will be released during formation and they cannot expand)
The ratio of jaggery, citrus, and water is 1:3:10. It might not be precise when you are preparing it at home, but don’t deviate too much.
Method:
1.In a Plastic bottle mix the required amount of jaggery, citrus peel, and water.
Note: Bottle should not be filled up to the brim, about 30% of the space should be empty otherwise it can explode due to the formation of gases.
2. Screw the bottle tight and shake the contents well till the jaggery is dissolved completely.
3. Label the bottle with the expected date of completion as it takes around 90 days to prepare the first batch of bio-enzyme.
For instance, if you have initiated the process on the 24th of April, mark the date in the bottle as 24th July.
4.Keep it in a dark place(under the kitchen sink can be a good idea).
5. For the initial 5 days, make sure to open the lid daily to release the gases formed during the fermentation process. Later, open it once every 3-4 days.
Tip: If you do not want the solution rushing towards your face when you open the lid in the initial week, make sure to face away from the bottle when you open the lid.
6. Strain and store your homemade cleaner after 3 months. Now it is ready to use.Don’t worry jaggery won’t attract ants, it is all converted into bio-enzyme at the end of 3 months.
How to make the process faster:
- You can add 1 tsp of yeast in the new batch to prepare the cleaner in 2 months.
- For the subsequent batches, you can quicken the process up to 2 months by mixing a part of the already prepared batch.
Now, when you have mastered the art of making bio-enzyme liquid at home, dedicate some more time to understand how we can put it to use for cleaning almost anything under the roof.
Multiple uses of bio-enzymes liquid cleaner in our home
| Uses of Bio enzyme | How to Use it |
|---|---|
| 1.Air Purifier (removes bad odours) | 1 part of bio-enzyme and 3 parts of water. Store in open containers to act as a purifier. |
| 2.Floor cleaner | 50 ml in a bucket of water. Mop the floor |
| 3.Keep mosquitoes away | Add 15 ml of bio-enzyme in 500 ml of water. Spray everywhere in the house with a spray bottle. |
| 4.Remove limescale from taps and other steel surfaces | Use directly on the surfaces. Wipe off with a cloth. |
| 5.Fertilizer for house plants | 30 ml of bio-enzyme in 2 liters of water. Water your plants. |
| 6.Natural pesticide and herbicide for plants | 15 ml of bio-enzyme in 2 liters of water. Spray on the plants with the help of a mist spray bottle. |
| 7. Unclogs kitchen sinks | Pour 100 ml of bio-enzyme in the sink and leave on for 20 minutes. |
| 8.Make your pets allergy free. Keeps their hair and skin healthy. | Use a diluted solution for bathing your pets. |
| 9.Wash your steel or copper utensils | Mix the bio-enzyme with soapsuds powder, wood-ash powder, or shikakai powder for effective cleaning. Less foam and hence less water are required. |
| 10.Cleaning mirrors | Spray the formula on to the mirror, wait for a few moments, then wipe off with a kitchen towel. |
Final Take
Now, when you know so much about bio-enzymes, don’t you find it amazing that such an easy to prepare non -toxic home cleaner is so versatile and can easily replace our existing toxic cleaners?
If this thought doesn’t excite you much, let me suggest you one more reason to try making this non-toxic home cleaner.
With the onset of monsoon and surge of COVID 19 cases, most of us are cooped at our home. Kids too have got more than the required dose of boredom. To ease a bit of this monotony, you can encourage them for a fun DIY of making bio-enzymes at home.
They will feel rewarded to see their DIY put to good use and you will get a month’s supply of a completely non-toxic and eco-friendly cleaner for your home. That too without leaving a single carbon footprint! 🤗
Do let me know in the comments section if you are planning to step forward for a green world!
Also Read:Top 7 myths around baby care