Annam Naturals
Zero-Waste Home

Diwali cleaning without harsh chemicals, room by room

The pre-Diwali deep clean is a tradition. A few simple ingredients handle most of it without the fumes.

2 October 2026 · 9 min read

Cleaning a kitchen sink with a cloth

Chetanya Goel · Founder & Editor

Chetanya started Annam Naturals after two years of keeping a household waste diary. Chetanya writes about the boring, repeatable habits that hold up in a real week.

Few traditions motivate a deep clean like Diwali. The custom of cleaning the home to welcome Lakshmi means every corner gets attention once a year. It also means a lot of strong cleaners used in closed rooms, often just as the air outside gets worse.

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Most of the job can be done with a short list of simple supplies. Our earlier article on DIY all-purpose cleaners covers the recipes in more detail.

The basic kit

  • White vinegar, diluted with water
  • Baking soda
  • A mild liquid soap or castile soap
  • Lemons
  • Cotton cloths and an old toothbrush
  • A bucket and a mop

Never mix vinegar with bleach, and never mix bleach with ammonia-based cleaners; both combinations release toxic gases.

Kitchen

Greasy tiles and chimney filters respond well to hot water with soap and a sprinkle of baking soda, scrubbed and rinsed. Soak chimney filters in a tub of hot water with baking soda and soap for an hour before scrubbing. Use diluted vinegar on glass and steel for a streak-free finish. For burnt vessels, boil water with baking soda in the pan, then scrub.

Bathroom

Hard-water stains on taps and tiles come off with vinegar left for ten minutes, then scrubbed. Grout can be cleaned with a baking soda paste and a toothbrush. Use a separate cloth for the bathroom and keep the room ventilated while cleaning.

Living room and bedrooms

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Dust from top to bottom: fans, shelves, then furniture, then floors. Use a damp cloth so dust is trapped rather than spread. Wash curtains, cushion covers and bedding. Upholstery can be freshened by sprinkling baking soda, leaving it for an hour, and vacuuming.

Brass, copper and silver

Lemon with salt or a paste of tamarind cleans copper and brass. For silver, a warm bath of water, baking soda and aluminium foil lifts tarnish. Rinse and dry everything thoroughly.

Windows and grills

Diluted vinegar with a few drops of soap cleans glass well. Old newspaper is often used to polish, though a cotton cloth works just as well.

What to do with the clutter

Cleaning always uncovers things you no longer need. Keep three boxes: give away, recycle and repair. Our Diwali decluttering guide explains where each kind of item should go.

Keep the air clean while you clean

Open windows during the afternoon when outdoor air is usually better, and avoid aerosol sprays. If you do use a commercial cleaner for a difficult job, use it sparingly with good ventilation and follow the label exactly.

For more of this kind of testing, the zero-waste home hub collects everything we've tried in that area.

Frequently asked

Do I need to buy anything to get started?

No. Every method here begins with what is already in your cupboards. We only recommend a purchase when something has genuinely worn out, and we say what it should cost.

How do you test the things you write about?

Minimum four weeks of ordinary household use, with notes. For anything involving energy or money we use a plug-in meter and record the readings before and after.

Are your recommendations paid for?

Never. Brands cannot buy placement. Some outbound links are affiliate links, which we mark, and they do not change what makes the list.

What if a method doesn't work in my home?

Write to us. A surprising amount of our best material comes from readers explaining why something failed in a flat, a shared house or a very cold winter.

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