Alternatives to commercially available chemical cleaners

• Lino, vinyl - mop with warm soapy water (or washing up liquid) and use washing soda if greasy. Be careful not to let water get under the floor covering.
• Carpets, rugs - ideally take outside and beat, otherwise a stiff brush is good (but will throw up a lot of dust). Car vacuum cleaners are generally unimpressive.
• For washing carpets, use water with washing up liquid, or sprinkle with bicarbonate of soda and leave for two hours or longer, then vacuum off. Don't use carpet shampoo with perchloroethylene, a solvent used in dry cleaning that causes damage to vital organs and to the environment. Naphthalene is toxic if repeatedly inhaled and is also a suspected carcinogen. Remember to do this in summer, and not to use too much water otherwise it will soak through and you'll have to dry out your dry bilge under the cabin.
• Wood - use linseed oil or Osmo Polyx oil on floors and for furniture - see the wood treatment section of this handbook. Don't use aerosol polishes as most contain silicone, a solvent whose vapour is irritating and which can leave a residue on the wood. Some aerosols also still contain propellants, which damage the ozone layer.
• Stains - use washing up liquid or white distilled vinegar in boiling water. For mud, blood, or coffee, mix one part of borax with eight parts of water, or use washing soda dissolved in water. Borax is sodium tetraborate, a naturally occurring mineral salt, and washing soda is sodium carbonate. Neither should be swallowed (!), and gloves should be worn when using washing soda. Don't use cleaners containing sodium percarbonate, an irritant, though not damaging to the environment, or 111 trichlorethane, which contains chlorine compounds damaging to the ozone layer.
• Windows - use equal parts of white vinegar and water in a spray bottle; spray on and polish off with a soft cloth or use a non-toxic window cleaner based on acetic acid. Don't use cleaners containing ammonia, an irritant, or aerosol types of cleaners, or those with formaldehyde.
• Sinks and drains - if your sink drain hose goes straight outside just pour some boiling water down it. Make sure there are no ducks underneath since they often drink sink water draining out of boats (!) If your sink drains into a holding tank or box before being pumped outside you can pour in some bicarbonate of soda with vinegar in boiling water down and leave it for a while. Don't use bleach, which may be sodium hypochlorite (chlorine bleach) or based on hydrogen peroxide (oxygen bleach). These give off irritating fumes and can burn your skin and corrode the tank if it is metal. Chlorine bleach is a water pollutant and shouldn't be allowed into the canal/river water.
• Descalers - use white vinegar or lemon juice with an equal amount of water, boil in the kettle and leave for 1-2 hours. Don't use descalers with strong acids such as formic acid, sulphamic acid or phosphoric acid.
• Dishes - use Bio D or Clearspring (both made in the UK). Ecover is subject to a boycott because it is a sister company to Group 4. The security company has been responsible for beating up many environmental activists and now runs private refugee prisons. Ecover also have only a "5-year rolling" policy on animal testing - which many people consider useless. For tea-stained mugs, put a tablespoon of baking powder in each mug, then half fill with boiling water (it'll fizz up so don't overfill). Leave for 5-10 minutes, then wash as usual.
• Ovens - use elbow grease(!) and bicarbonate of soda, or washing up liquid. Don't use caustic soda, aerosol oven cleaners, or ammonia.
• Toilets - use white distilled vinegar to remove stains, and mild borax solution to disinfect, or sprinkle with bicarbonate of soda, leave overnight, and brush well in the morning. Avoid air freshener blocks containing para-(or per) chlorobenzene, a serious water pollutant, or paradichlorobenzene which causes liver damage.
• Brass - use equal parts salt and flour, with a little vinegar; or dissolve citric acid in water and dip your brasses in.
• Washing machines - have a look at http://www.inasoapnutshell.com/index.html
  
• Stoves - You can clean your chimney from above with a chain (it's more flexible than a broom handle, which some people use). You can clean glass on a burner with woodash and a damp towel.