The Complete Guide to Natural Cleaning for Australian Homes

Last updated: March 2026

Most Australians clean their homes with products they've never really looked at closely. A spray bottle here, a powder there, bought on autopilot, used without much thought. But spend a few minutes reading the ingredient lists and you'll find a mix of synthetic surfactants, artificial fragrances, chlorine compounds, and chemicals that come with warnings about skin contact and ventilation.

The natural cleaning movement isn't new. It's actually a return to something very old: the minerals, acids, and compounds that homes were cleaned with long before the chemical industry decided to replace them with something more profitable.

At Santos Organics, we've been stocking the ingredients for a genuinely non-toxic home since 1978. This guide covers everything we know about natural cleaning: what the key ingredients are, how they work, what to use them for, and how to build a complete cleaning kit that's safer for your family, better for the environment, and honestly more effective than most of what's in the supermarket cleaning aisle.

Why Natural Cleaning Matters in Australia

Australian consumers are actively looking for safer alternatives for their families and the environment as they become more aware of the negative effects that conventional cleaning products have on their health and surroundings. The Australian natural household cleaners market is growing at a CAGR of 12.9% through to 2033, and it's not a trend driven by marketing. It's driven by people reading labels and asking questions.

The practical case for natural cleaning is straightforward.

Conventional cleaning products often contain compounds that don't fully biodegrade, meaning they accumulate in waterways and soil long after they go down your drain. For the roughly 20% of Australian households on septic systems, particularly common in regional areas like the Northern Rivers, this isn't abstract. The bacteria that make septic systems work are killed by harsh synthetic cleaners, causing real and expensive problems. Natural alternatives are almost universally safer for septic and greywater systems.

Indoors, synthetic fragrances and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from conventional cleaners contribute to poor indoor air quality, a growing concern given how much time Australians now spend inside. Children and people with respiratory sensitivities are most affected.

And then there's cost. A $10 bag of borax or a $15 bottle of food grade hydrogen peroxide replaces a dozen different commercial products. Once you understand what each ingredient does, you realise you don't need a separate cleaner for every surface in your home.

The Four Cornerstones of a Natural Cleaning Kit

Every effective natural cleaning setup is built around a small number of versatile ingredients. Here are the four we recommend stocking and what each one does.

1. Borax (Sodium Tetraborate)

Borax is a naturally occurring mineral salt mined from dried lake beds, primarily in Turkey and the American West. It has been used in cleaning since the 19th century, long before synthetic detergents existed, because it is genuinely effective at a wide range of tasks.

At its core, borax works by raising the pH of water, making it more alkaline and therefore better at breaking down grease, dirt, and organic matter. It also inhibits the growth of mould and mildew, functions as a laundry booster, and when combined with sugar syrup is one of the most effective ant controls available.

What borax is good for: laundry (half a cup per wash), mould and mildew removal, toilet cleaning, grout scrubbing, drain maintenance, ant control, and general surface cleaning. It's a workhorse ingredient that earns its place in any non-toxic cleaning kit.

Handle with care: wear gloves when using directly, keep away from children and pets, and avoid breathing the powder. But used with basic care, it is significantly safer than most commercial cleaning products it replaces.

Read the full guide: Borax: The Natural Cleaning Mineral Your Grandma Swore By Shop: Blants Pure Borax 900g at Santos Organics

2. Food Grade Hydrogen Peroxide

Hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) is water with an extra oxygen molecule. That extra molecule makes it one of the most powerful oxidising agents available, which is what gives it its cleaning, sanitising, and bleaching properties. When it finishes working, it breaks down into nothing but water and oxygen. There are no residues, no toxic byproducts, nothing that lingers on surfaces or goes down the drain causing harm.

The "food grade" designation means the product contains no stabilisers or preservatives: it's pure H₂O₂ in water, nothing else. This is important because standard pharmacy-grade hydrogen peroxide often contains acetanilide or other stabilisers that you don't want on food contact surfaces.

The 35% concentration is the form worth buying. Diluted to 3% with water (1 part peroxide to 11 parts water), it's equivalent to what you'd buy pre-diluted, but at a fraction of the cost per litre and with significantly less plastic packaging. The concentrated form is what makes it economical and environmentally efficient.

What hydrogen peroxide is good for: produce washing, surface sanitising, bathroom cleaning, mould treatment, laundry stain removal, and whitening grout and tile. It's the closest thing to a universal sanitiser that doesn't leave a chemical trace.

Read the full guide: The Natural Cleaner Hiding in One Bottle: Food Grade Hydrogen Peroxide Shop: Gaiaganic Food Grade Hydrogen Peroxide 35% 500ml, Gaiaganic Food Grade Hydrogen Peroxide 35% 200ml, and Gaiaganic Food Grade Hydrogen Peroxide 3% 500ml at Santos Organics

3. Colloidal Silver

Silver has been used for its antimicrobial properties for thousands of years, in vessels to preserve water, in wound dressings, and in everyday household applications long before synthetic disinfectants existed. Colloidal silver is the modern form: microscopic silver particles suspended in purified water, used topically and as a surface spray.

In the context of natural home cleaning, colloidal silver is most useful as a targeted antimicrobial spray, for surfaces where you want genuine antimicrobial action without harsh chemicals. It's particularly valued for bathrooms, cutting boards, and anywhere where bacteria or mould is a concern.

Quality matters significantly with colloidal silver. The PPM (parts per million), particle size, and purity of the water used in production all affect how the product performs. Both brands we stock, NAClo Health Products and Allan Sutton's, use pharmaceutical-grade water and 99.99% pure silver, with no chemical stabilisers.

Read the full guide: Colloidal Silver: An Ancient Remedy With a Modern Following Shop: NAClo Colloidal Silver 200ml and Allan Sutton's Colloidal Silver Spray 200ml at Santos Organics

4. Bicarb Soda (Baking Soda)

No natural cleaning guide is complete without bicarb. Sodium bicarbonate is mildly alkaline (pH 8.3), making it effective at neutralising acids and cutting through grease without being aggressive enough to damage surfaces. It's the gentler sibling of borax, appropriate wherever you need a softer touch, particularly food-contact surfaces, bath fixtures, and anywhere you'd rather not use anything stronger.

Used alone, bicarb is a gentle abrasive cleaner and deodoriser. Combined with white vinegar, it creates a fizzing reaction that helps lift grime from drains and grout. Combined with hydrogen peroxide, it becomes a mild but effective cleaning paste for tiles, ovens, and stovetops.

Every natural cleaning kit needs bicarb. It fills the gap borax is too strong for and does things hydrogen peroxide can't, particularly deodorising.

Shop: SO Aluminium-Free Bicarb Soda at Santos Organics

Building Your Complete Natural Cleaning Kit

Once you have these four ingredients, you can make virtually every cleaning product your home needs. Here's how they map to common cleaning tasks:

Bathroom surfaces and tiles: hydrogen peroxide spray (3% solution) or diluted colloidal silver spray. For grout: bicarb paste with a small amount of hydrogen peroxide, scrubbed in and rinsed.

Toilet: 1 cup borax left overnight, scrubbed in the morning. Effective at removing stains and inhibiting bacterial growth.

Kitchen surfaces: hydrogen peroxide 3% spray, particularly effective on food preparation areas where you want genuine antimicrobial action with no residue.

Laundry: half a cup of borax added to your normal wash cycle as a booster. Effective at lifting stains and brightening whites without bleach.

Mould and mildew: borax solution (1 tablespoon per litre of water) applied and left without rinsing. For stubborn mould, undiluted 3% hydrogen peroxide applied and left for 10-15 minutes before wiping.

Produce washing: 3% hydrogen peroxide in a spray bottle, sprayed over fruit and vegetables, left for 1-2 minutes, then rinsed thoroughly with water.

Ants: borax mixed with equal parts sugar and a small amount of water, placed in a shallow container near ant trails. The ants carry it back to the colony.

Drains: half a cup of bicarb followed by half a cup of white vinegar, left to fizz for 5 minutes, then flushed with boiling water. Repeat weekly to prevent blockages.

Glass and mirrors: diluted white vinegar in a spray bottle with a few drops of essential oil. Streak-free and genuinely effective.

What to Avoid in Commercial Cleaning Products

Understanding what's in conventional cleaners makes the switch to natural alternatives feel less like a compromise and more like an obvious upgrade. The most common problematic ingredients:

Synthetic fragrances: "fragrance" on a label can represent any of hundreds of undisclosed chemical compounds, many of which are known irritants and some of which are linked to hormone disruption. Natural alternatives use essential oils, which are fully disclosed and biodegradable.

Triclosan: an antibacterial agent found in many commercial products that has been linked to antibiotic resistance and is persistent in the environment long after it goes down the drain.

Chlorine bleach: effective but corrosive, produces toxic fumes when mixed with other common cleaners (including ammonia-based products), and is damaging to waterways. Hydrogen peroxide achieves similar sanitising results without any of these issues.

Phthalates: used to make fragrance last longer. Associated with endocrine disruption, and particularly concerning for children and pregnant women.

Quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs or quats): common in disinfectant sprays, associated with respiratory issues with repeated exposure, and increasingly linked to antibiotic resistance.

None of these are in borax, hydrogen peroxide, bicarb, or colloidal silver. That's not a marketing claim. It's chemistry.

A Note on Safety With Natural Ingredients

Natural doesn't mean unconditional. The ingredients above are significantly safer than most commercial alternatives, but they still deserve appropriate handling.

Borax should not be ingested and should be kept away from children and pets. Wear gloves when handling it directly, particularly if you have sensitive skin.

35% hydrogen peroxide is a strong oxidiser that will irritate skin and eyes on contact. Always dilute before use and store safely out of reach. The 3% ready-to-use version is safe to handle without special precautions.

Colloidal silver used internally should only be considered after consultation with a qualified health practitioner. Topical use is the best-supported and safest application.

Bicarb is safe to handle and non-toxic, but avoid breathing the powder in quantity.

Why Santos Stocks These Products

Santos Organics has been a 100% not-for-profit social enterprise in Byron Bay since 1978. Every product that goes on our shelves, physical or online, goes through a care check process that looks at ingredient quality, ethical sourcing, environmental impact, and genuine usefulness.

The natural cleaning range fits that framework exactly. These are ingredients that work, that don't harm your household environment, and that have stood the test of time in a way that no synthetic cleaning product has. We've stocked them not because they're trendy but because they're genuinely the right things to have in an Australian home.

Browse the full natural cleaning range at Santos Organics, available online for delivery Australia-wide and in our Byron Bay, Mullumbimby, and Banksia stores.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is natural cleaning as effective as conventional cleaning? For the vast majority of household tasks, yes, often more so. Hydrogen peroxide is a genuinely powerful sanitiser. Borax is more effective at mould suppression than most commercial mould sprays. The main difference is you need to understand what each ingredient does and use it appropriately, rather than reaching for a different branded product for every surface.

Can I use these products if I have a septic system? Yes, and they are significantly better for septic systems than conventional cleaners. Borax, hydrogen peroxide, and bicarb are all biodegradable and do not kill the beneficial bacteria that septic systems depend on, unlike chlorine bleach and many synthetic detergents.

Is borax the same as baking soda? No. They are both alkaline cleaning agents but they are chemically different compounds with different strengths and appropriate uses. Borax (sodium tetraborate) has a pH of around 9.3 and is better for heavy-duty cleaning, mould control, and laundry. Baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) has a pH of 8.3 and is gentler, better suited to food-contact surfaces and mild scrubbing.

Where can I buy food grade hydrogen peroxide in Australia? We stock Gaiaganic Food Grade Hydrogen Peroxide in both 35% concentrated (200ml and 500ml) and 3% ready-to-use (500ml) at Santos Organics, online and in our three stores. Gaiaganic is Australian-made and contains no stabilisers or preservatives.

Is colloidal silver safe to use at home? Topically, yes. Colloidal silver spray is safe for use on surfaces and skin when used as directed. Internal use should only be considered in consultation with a qualified health practitioner. Buy from reputable brands that disclose PPM, particle size, and water quality, as not all colloidal silver products are made to the same standard.

Shop the Santos Organics natural cleaning range online or visit us in Byron Bay, Mullumbimby, or Banksia.