How to turn food scraps into cleaning materials

Probably not, but after reading this, you may want to.

It's called Garbage enzyme – A multipurpose liquid cleaner made from food scraps that have fermented in sugar and water for three months.

This natural cleaning alternative came about thanks to the work of Dr. Rosukon Poomanvong, a doctor from Thailand who creates all of her own cleaning products sustainably and naturally, without using any artificial chemicals.

How does it beat store bought cleaners?

For one, it's chemical free. And what's more is it minimises your household wastage because you're reusing things that would normally go straight into the compost - or bin. Garbage enzyme carries all of the same benefits as chemical cleaners, except that it's sustainable.

It's a natural alternative to detergent

Its anti-bacterial liquid can be used to mop floors, clean the toilet and remove stains and bad odours - as well as even cleaning your dishes.

It keeps insects away

Ants, cockroaches, spiders, lizards - they can all get a little too close for comfort in our homes (especially in the warmer months). But fortunately for us, creepy crawlies aren't a fan of natural cleaning agents. Once you start to use Garbage enzyme around your house you should notice than a reduction in pesky household insects.

It purifies the air

With all that fruit in the mix, garbage enzyme acts as a household air freshener, and increases air circulation indoors. Which is much nicer to inhale than chemical laden sprays and wipes.

[Image: Curious Nut]

So why not try it out for yourself?

The fermentation process may take a while, but during that time you can get started on making more garbage enzyme cleaners for when your current supply runs out.

Or alternatively, try out the 1 million women homemade detergent recipe

Recipe

• 1.3 kg of kitchen waste (left-over fruit and vegetable peels)
• 2.1 kg of black sugar or molasses (if you don't have black sugar you can purchase it from local supermarkets)
• 3.10 litres of water

Mix all ingredients together in a container that can be capped and made airtight. Once mixed in, seal the container and store in a cool room.

Leave for three months to ferment, only opening the seal to release any gases that form in the first month of fermenting.