Enzyme Cleaner – For a green and healthy living

There is a THING called “GARBAGE ENZYME CLEANER”. It is biodegradable, non-toxic and a cleaning agent! More importantly, it can be made at home! And even more importantly, it is VERY POPULAR!

 

What is an ENZYME?

It is a protein that increases the rate of a chemical reaction (which is why it is a great cleaner). Enzymes are present in all living forms, where they perform the crucial functions of converting food to energy and new cell material. As catalysts they speed up natural processes and create natural reactions that otherwise would not materialize.

What is a GARBAGE ENZYME CLEANER?

It is nothing but vinegar made from fermenting kitchen waste, sugar and water! The sugar converts bacteria and microorganisms present in the garbage into vinegar, which by the way, is an all-round non-toxic cleaner.

NOTE: Kitchen waste – Fruit and vegetable peels. Leftover cooked food can be used! But you have to wash off the gravy from them first before using (So stick of fruits and vegetable peels). Do NOT use meat, cheese, eggs, milk and its products!

MAKING the GARBAGE ENZYME CLEANER

It is NOT rocket science. The simplicity SHOULD overshadow the yuckie feeling that may be creeping inside you.

Trust me.

Here is what you need:

– An empty 2 litre PLASTIC bottle 

– 1 litre water (I took the R.O. water)

– 300 grams of kitchen “garbage” (I have made mine from citrus fruit peels)

– 100 grams of brown sugar (I used gur)

– 1 tsp of dry active yeast

 

These empty cola bottles work well. The decomposing process produces natural gases which expand and so a plastic bottle works well.

Chop up all the citrus peels / skins / pieces so that they go down the mouth of the bottle. What I have here is orange peels, pineapple skins and lemon shells. Do not bother to throw out the seeds, you will be filtering the liquid later. If you don’t have that great a quantity, just go to the nearest juice man near your house and ask him for juiced out shells of whatever he is juicing! OR better still, is that you fill a 2 litre bottle with some water and keep adding your citrus peels to it. Once you have a 300 gram quantity, proceed..

Add the yeast.. This is for the impatient variety. Without yeast, the fermentation process will take 3 months to yield the enzyme cleaner!! Adding yeast quickens the process and the cleaner will be ready in about 2 weeks!

Add 1 litre water to the garbage, cap the bottle tightly, give it a shake for about a minute to mix the yeast and dissolve the sugars. It can look..well… bad! But, the benefits. Think of them!

Label the date on the bottle… And keep the bottle in some cupboard which is frequently opened so that you remember it after two weeks!

I’ve kept mine in the cupboard where there is no sunlight and it’s cooler. For the first week, you should remove the cap and shake the bottle a little. The gases will escape. The following week just let the bottle sit.

USES:

– For dishes and laundry – use 1/4 cup of enzyme

– For washing bathrooms and toilets. grime comes off easily – 1 part enzyme to 10 parts water

– For removing stubborn stains and odours (coloured fabrics and floors) –  use undiluted

– For mopping floors – 1 part enzyme to 20 parts water

– To clean vegetables and fruits – 1 part enzyme to 10 parts water

– To lear blockages in kitchen sinks and drains – use concentrated or blended pulp/sludge of enzyme

– As a natural insect repellent – use undiluted for ants, cockroaches

– As fertilizer for plants (use 1 part enzyme to 20 parts water, or use the leftover mop water)

– As a skincare product, e.g. facial cleanser or toner – part enzyme to 2 parts water

– To wash cars (cars will look as if they have just been polished!) – 1 part enzyme to 20 parts water

NOTES:

– The liquid should remain a dark brown color.  If it starts to turn black, add some more sugar.

– If any bugs get into it, do NOT panic! Just add some more sugar and they will decompose naturally.

– If any whitISH stuff appears on top of the liquid, just tighten the bottle cover, and give it a shake to mix that into the liquid. Then loosen the bottle cap again to allow gas to escape.

Supposedly this ENZYME CLEANER will NEVER expire, does NOT require REFRIGERATION, and the fruit residue can be dumped into your plants and a little bit used to start the next batch of the cleaner.

Will update you on this regularly!