Friday, October 5, 2012

Homemade Cleaners: Cheap, Natural, and Really Work

This summer I started using homemade cleaners. It all started when I saw these two pictures on Pinterest:


Both of the captions explained how you can use vinegar to clean up your subborn bathroom buildup. My bathroom sure was in need of a major cleaning, so I gave it a try. I couldn't believe how well it worked. I could actually see fizzing bubbles coming off our showerhead immediately after I attached the baggie of straight vinegar. Letting the tub soak in water, vinegar, and some dish soap helped stains come off with just a little bit of scrubbing.

Later on in the summer, my husband and I took a weekend roadtrip. When we got back, I discovered a little trail of tiny ants going across our countertop, into our sink, and down the disposal. Knowing that ants leave little oily scent trails for other ants, I made sure to wash everything down carefully with a sponge and dishsoap. But hour after hour, the ants kept returning. A friend suggested washing my countertop with vinegar instead of soap. After one wipe-down, no more ants! And I was happy that the vinegar didn't leave any smell after it dries.

Since I was pregnant this summer, I was more than happy to use these natural cleaning methods. I started looking up other homemade cleaning solutions online. I bought some cheap-o spray bottles from Walmart, and came up with my own little stash:


I decided to write the recipes for each solution on the bottles to make refilling easier. Here's the recipes I decided to try (and am really happy with so far):

Furnitiure Polish: Two parts olive oil, one part lemon juice (goes on a little greasy, but wipe down with a cloth, and it's all good)
Power Cleaner: Undiluted white vinegar (for really tough stuff)
Glass Cleaner: Equal parts water and rubbing alcohol, plus a little white vinegar (looks a little streaky at first, but dries awesome)
General Cleaner: Equal parts water and white vinegar

Does anyone else out there use homemade cleaning supplies? Even scrubbers, etc? I'm always looking for ideas, and I bet there's some good ones out there.

2 comments:

  1. Homemade Laundry Detergent:
    1 bar soap (I use Dr. Bronner's Almond), grated or ground up
    1 cup borax
    1 cup washing soda
    1/4 cup oxygen cleaner

    Mix, use 1 Tbsp per load (2 if heavily soiled). Vinegar in the rinse cycle (1/4-1/2 cup, mix in a few drops of essential oil if you want).

    Works really well, and cleans your washer while you use it.

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  2. thanks for posting these recipes! definitely want to give the bathtub cleaning a try with them.

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