Edible home cleaning solutions?

Save money and keep your family safe from toxins with edible home cleaning solutions.

Consumers all over the country are doing their part to be "green" and more eco-friendly from simple changes around the house like changing out light bulbs to doing a full home energy audit. One of the areas that many consumers are turning green is household products particularly when they consider the potential harm conventional cleaners can pose on your health and the planet's.

The "pure clean" smell you've grown used to is really just toxic synthetic chemicals such as ammonia and chlorine. In fact, conventional cleaning products can contain some of the most hazardous ingredients we're exposed to on a daily basis.

And did you know that disinfectants are classified as pesticides? The truth is, most of us don't need our homes to be completely disinfected. Besides, it's virtually impossible to keep any surface completely germ-free for very long anyway.

Conventional cleaning products can contain some of the most toxic chemicals in your home. Luckily, there are plenty of alternative cleaning products that work well and are widely available.

There's lots of marketing around eco-friendly products, but unfortunately sometimes people think they don't work as well, which gives the whole green movement a bad wrap. A couple of my favorite brands that really do work are Clorox Green Works and Method.

If you want to be even greener and save money, there are a lot of products that are already in the home that you can use to clean. Some of the best options my grandmother used to keep her home spic and span - and they are safe enough to eat.

White vinegar: Distilled white vinegar helps kill germs and break up dirt. Mix it with water to clean your windows or floors. (For windows, mix 3 tablespoons of vinegar with 3 cups of water. Add a couple of drops of liquid soap, spray windows, and use crinkled newspaper to wipe up). Or use a half-cup of vinegar in your washer to reduce static cling so you don't have to bother with fabric softener or dryer sheets.

Baking soda: It's well-known that baking soda absorbs odors. Keep an open box in your fridge, or sprinkle some on your carpet and then vacuum it up to deodorize. It's also an effective scouring powder. Pour some on a damp sponge and scrub sinks, bathtubs, counters, and more. Add a little liquid soap for a super scouring powder.

Lemon juice: Use lemon juice to cut grease, remove stains, or clean windows.

Walnut and olive oils: Polish wood furniture or salad bowls with olive or walnut oils.

Also in support of Earth Day and our efforts to be more green Yahoo! Green has an interactive house that you can tour room by room and find various ways to save money and be green including outside of the house. You can go to green.yahoo.com

For more information on Erin Carlson and Yahoo! For Good: http://green.yahoo.com