These Common Pantry Items Make Incredible Natural Cleaners — And You Probably Already Have Them

Could cleaning our homes make us sick?

A recent study of 30 common cleaning products found they contained hundreds of hazardous volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, which have been “investigated as the cause for respiratory harms and have been associated with other chemical hazards including cancer, neurotoxicity, and reproductive toxicity.”

Using “green” products can be a safer choice, but what else can we do to lessen our exposure to VOCs — and look out for our planet — while still waging our domestic battles against dirt and dust?

That’s what we — Raj Punjabi and Noah Michelson, hosts of HuffPost’s “Am I Doing It Wrong?” podcast — discussed with Patric Richardson, the “Laundry Evangelist” and author of “House Love: A Joyful Guide to Cleaning, Organizing, and Loving the Home You’re In.”

“We can do things naturally,” Richardson said. “We need to take care of the Earth because… I don’t want [kids having to wear] gas masks to school.”

That means Richardson stocks his cleaning kits — which he keeps in several different parts of his house, so they’re always handy — with homemade products.

“I like to use vinegar as an all-purpose cleaner,” he told us. That’s because acetic acid, the active component in vinegar, is an excellent disinfectant. His recipe: One part vinegar, one part water, and about five squirts of dish soap.

Richardson uses it in his homemade glass cleaner, too, which he makes with one cup vinegar, one cup rubbing alcohol and two tablespoons of cornstarch, mixed together in a spray bottle.

“I use that for stubborn glass, like the shower door, the windows outside… and things that get fingerprint-y, like the oven door. The rubbing alcohol causes it to dry fast, the vinegar cleans, and the cornstarch gives you