For most moms, keeping a clean house is a priority (in theory, anyway!). But the next time you pick up your mop and pail you might want to take a closer look at the collection of cleaners under your kitchen sink.

Some household cleaners contain dangerous chemicals, which could harm your child's health. And it's not just accidentally drinking them that's a problem – simply inhaling the fumes from certain household products can pose a risk to your child (see our Chemical Cleaning Safety Tips). Not to mention the fact that common cleaners are also made with non-renewable ingredients, such as petroleum oil, making them harmful to the environment.

If you're looking to go green, here are some natural cleaning alternative suggestions.

While they sometimes get a bad rap for not being as effective as chemical cleaners, if you know how and when to use them, natural cleaners can be incredibly powerful household cleaners, according to Annie Berthold-Bond, author of Better Basics for the Home: Simple Solutions for Less Toxic Living (Crown). Also, they're less likely to irritate the skin and lungs; another good reason to use them. Here's what she recommends:

• Baking soda: It's great for absorbing odors and makes a great nonabrasive cleaner in kitchens and bathrooms too. Combine half a cup of baking soda with some liquid detergent and you've got an excellent soft scrub for cleaning sinks and tubs. You can also add a few drops of essential oil to the mix to make it an antibacterial scrub.
• Vinegar: It's not just for French fries! Vinegar kills germs, viruses, mould and 99 percent of bacteria. Fill a clean spray bottle with vinegar and then use it to clean your cutting board or spray it around the rim of your toilet bowl. Combine vinegar with water and a little dab of soap for a good glass and window cleaner. Adding the liquid soap removes years of wax buildup left by commercial products.
• Washing soda: Washing soda, or sodium carbonate, is in the same family as baking soda, and it makes a good all-purpose cleaner. Combine it with water to make a paste that is strong enough to cut grease and oil and remove wax from surfaces. You'll find it in the laundry section of your supermarket.
• Natural laundry detergents: Laundry detergents are made from petroleum-based cleaners which use oil. Looking for an environmentally friendly alternative? Check out Seventh Generation products (http://www.seventhgen.com/), which include vegetable-based laundry detergents that are non-toxic, biodegradable and don't contain chlorine or dyes. Ecover (http://www.ecover.com/) also makes natural cleaning products, which include plant-based laundry detergents and fabric softeners.

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