You think you got the hang of all the DIY natural home cleaning products, and you are probably using vinegar, baking soda, and lemon juice to make your all-in-one sprays and avoid harmful chemicals in your house. Which is great, let us high five you! But wait 'till you hear this:
Did you know you can use olive oil in your cleaning routine?
How to Use Olive Oil for Cleaning?
Wood Furniture & Antiques
Unlike vinegar, olive oil is very beneficial for all the wood surfaces around your home. You can breathe new life into that gorgeous but old mahogany armoire with the following simple formula:
Mix 2 parts olive oil and 1 part lemon juice in a spray bottle (or any container that you find convenient will do) and shake well. Spray onto a soft cleaning cloth and polish the wood surfaces. If you have a special, delicate and fragile piece of antique furniture, use just oil on a cloth and gently run over the piece you want to clean, shine and polish.
Pour some olive oil on a cloth and rub your leather chairs, sofas and any leather furniture you have been neglecting to clean because you didn’t know what kind of products to use. Let the oil nourish the leather and use a clean, dry cloth to remove any excess, unwanted residue. If you have leather car seats follow the same process to give them a good glow!
Stainless Steel Appliances
Remember how shiny and fancy your new stove or refrigerator was when you first got them? You can easily restore that shine with a bit of vinegar and olive oil. First, remove any dirt residue with some vinegar on a clean cloth. Then dab some olive oil on an absorbent cotton cloth and run it all over the stainless steel appliances. Voila!
Cast iron
We all love the durability of a good, old, cast iron skillet but those pans need some love and attention too! It can be intimidating because there are so many ways NOT to clean a cast iron pan. Don't use soap, don't use steel wool, don't put it in the dish washer... so what CAN you do?
Wash the skillet by hand using hot water and a sponge or stiff brush. Avoid using soap, you don't want to strip the seasoning off the pan. If there is stubborn food residue, boil water to loosen the food. You can also make a DIY natural scrub by mixing 2 parts coarse salt and one part olive oil. Use that basic formula to scrub and condition your pan at the same time!