Homemade Cleaners
by Tawra Kellam
LivingOnADime.com
Here are some tips for using and making your own household cleanersfrom Dining On A Dime Cookbook. Most are simple and only take a fewminutes to mix.
NEVER MIX AMMONIA AND BLEACH! Mixing these chemicals creates a harmfulgas that can be fatal!
If you don't want to make your own cleaning supplies either purchasethe store brands at your dollar store at bulk at a janitor supply.
Buy 1 gallon of bubble bath and use instead of liquid hand soap. It ismuch cheaper and smells better than regular hand soap.
Read the labels on any cleaning product you buy, even on commonproducts that you, your mom and grandmother have used for years. Forexample for generations women have used ammonia to disinfect theirkitchens, but ammonia is not a disinfectant, it is a de-greaser. Itworks great for that greasy grimy build-up on floors, but it isn'tactually disinfecting anything.
Mark your cleaning pail with fingernail polish to indicate the levelsof water you usually use for your jobs (i.e. 1/2 gal., 1 gal.) That wayyou don't waste water.
When using cleansers, tear the tab back only part way. Then you onlyget half as much cleanser so that you don't wash as much unusedcleanser down the drain.
Save on spray cleaners. Spray the solution on a rag and then wipe. Thisway the extra spray cleaner is not wasted and you save time by nothaving to rinse off the over spray.
Use fabric softener sheets to dust furniture and television screens.The sheets make your furniture smell good, but more importantly,eliminate static so dust won't be attracted to these surfaces.
All purpose/Window Cleaner
1/2 cup ammonia
2 cups rubbing alcohol
water
1 tsp. dishwashing liquid
In a one-gallon container, mix ammonia and rubbing alcohol. Fill almostto the top with water. Add dishwashing liquid and mix. Top off withwater. Rated by Consumer Reports Magazine to work much better (and muchcheaper) than most commercial window and kitchen sprays. Alcohol is thesecret ingredient - it's what commercial window washers use.
*Safe on most, but not all, household surfaces.
I use this to clean almost everything from the bathroom to the window.This the main cleaner I use in my house.
Ready Mop Cleaner Refill
1 gallon water
1 cup ammonia
1/2 cup vinegar
water
Mix ingredients and pour use in your mops instead of buying commercialcleaner. Tip: Use a piece of scrap fleece, scrap flannel or micro-fibertowels (purchased at automotive stores) to replace your SwiferTM orClorox Ready MopTM disposable pads. Cut several to size to have onhand. When soiled throw in the wash and launder as usual. Note: Don'tuse ammonia on wood floors. Just use vinegar and water or water andMurphy's oil soap.
Daily Shower Cleaner
1/4 cup concentrated cleaner (Lysol is a good brand)
1/2 cup isopropyl alcohol
water
Pour cleaner and alcohol into quart spray bottle. Add enough water tofill. Thoroughly clean shower before using. Spray on shower daily. Usedaily to prevent water deposits and soap scum.
Homemade Cleaning Wipes
1 round baby wipe container*
1 roll of paper towels**
2-4 cups cleaning solution (homemade is fine)
Recycle a used round baby wipe container. Cut a roll of paper towel inhalf, (an electric or serrated knife works best for this.) Remove thecenter cardboard. Place 1/2 of the paper towels in the baby wipecontainer. Pour cleaning solution into the container. (The amount willdepend of the absorbency of your paper towels.) This can be used forwindow cleaner, all purpose cleaner, or disinfectant cleaner. Pull thefirst paper towel out of the center of the roll, through the hole inthe container lid. If the paper towels dry out before they are all usedadd more solution or some water.
*If you don't have a baby wipe container, you can use a round plasticcontainer and just drill or punch a large hole in the center of the lid.
**It is best to use expensive, thick paper towels. The cheap ones won'thold up to scrubbing.
Face/Hand Wipes
2 tablespoons liquid baby bath
2 cups water
Bathroom Wipes
1/2 cup pine cleaner
2 cups water
Window Wipes
1 cup glass cleaner
1 1/2 cups water
Outdoor Window Washer
3 Tbsp. liquid dishwashing soap
1 Tbsp. anti-spotting agent (Jet DryTM)
Put soap and anti-spotting agent into a spray bottle attachment foryour garden hose. Spray upper windows and let them dry. This is forcleaning the higher windows on your house that you can't reach exceptwith a ladder.
Tough Hand Cleaner
1/4 cup Fels Naptha*, grated
2 Tbsp. mason#146;s sand or pumice
1 cup water
2 cup plastic container (16 oz. cottage cheese container works great)
Place soap and water in a saucepan. Place over low heat; stir untilsoap is melted. After mixture cools, add mason's sand or pumice. Storein a cottage cheese container or margarine tub. Dip fingers into soapmixture and lather hands. Rinse well.
*Any grated bar of soap will work but Fels Naptha removes the stainsbetter.
Skunk Smell Remover
1 qt. hydrogen peroxide
1/4 cup baking soda
1 tsp. dish detergent
Sponge on and let dry. Safe for use on cats and dogs.
Jill Cooper and Tawra Kellam are frugal living expertsand the editorsof
LivingOnADime.com
.As a divorced mother of two, Jill Cooper started her own businesswithout any capital and paid off $35,000 debt in 5 years on $1,000 amonth income. Tawra and her husband paid off $20,000 debt in 5 years on$22,000 a year income. Permission granted for use on DrLaura.com.
