Does anyone have any recipes for cheap, homemade cleaning supplies like cleansers, spray cleaners, etc.? Thanks in advance!
By Jaci from MO
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Hi Jaci,
Minnesota Extension offers a great (and huge!) list of homemade cleaners, laundry products, pest control, etc.
Hi Jaci. In addition to what others have suggest, do some google or bing searches on "home uses for vinegar" and "home uses for baking soda" or some variation of these words, just to start. You will be amazed at how many ideas are out there! Good luck
Try Mrs Myers cleaning products. They're natural and work great. But here is something else to think of Vinegar (white) is also a all purpose cleaner and yes you can clean windows with it!
Scroll down on this page and you'll find oodles of ideas and recipes in the Archives. I only use distilled vinegar and/or baking soda anymore and both are really inexpensive and especially if you buy in bulk. :-)
Wet and ring out a microfiber cloth and it will clean your mirrors without any cleaning product. They will also take off grease.I use vinegar and water on my tile floors and use it in my carpet shampoo machine. I use baking soda to clean my sinks. I use vinegar in the rinse cycle to soften clothes and prevent static electricity. I do use a product in my toilets called The Works. I get it at the dollar store but Walmart sells it to for a few cents more. That's the only cleaning product I use other than the vinegar and baking soda. I don't want a lot of chemicals in my house.
In addition to what everyone here already posted. I use Borax (find it in the laundry aisle) for the toilets, just follow the directions on the box. We don't use any commercial cleaners and I own my own housekeeping business. There is no reason to spend your hard earned money on chemicals that hurt us and the environment and cost so much. One note on Borax though, keep it away from animals and kids, just because it's natural doesn't mean it can't hurt you if you eat it.
White vinegar diluted with 1/3 water, and two or three (no more) drops of dish detergent. Cleans counter tops, windows (use newspaper, with black ink only, to clean windows)and mirrors. Use full strength vinegar for kitchen and bath counter tops and sink & tub, including walls. Vinegar, full strength is an anti-bacterial and really works. When it dries, no more vinegar smell. Be sure to either run your sponges in the dishwasher, or microwave for 1 minute to kill all other kinds of bacteria. I buy it by the gallon.
My favorite bathroom cleaner is to make a paste of Dawn and baking soda, put a little on a wet cloth, rub all over the area, rinse well, and watch the shower/tub sparkle! Also, use Dawn for clogged toilets! Heard recently to use vodka for weed killer. Haven't tried it, yet!
Things you'll need:
Baking soda
Vinegar (white distilled)
Borax or washing soda
Liquid soap
Lemon juice
Tea tree oil
Essential oils
Olive oil
Spray bottles
Glass jars (with lids)
All Purpose Cleaner: You'll need a large spray bottle, a half cup of baking soda, and enough water to dissolve. To this, slowly add a cup of vinegar (it will fizz like mad for a bit), then top off with more water. Let this mixture sit overnight, and then flip end over end to mix. Be prepared for more fizzing. When fizzing ends, it's ready to use.
All Purpose Cleaner that Cuts Grease: Use the same recipe as above, but add a teaspoon of dish detergent. Organic detergent was my one splurge. After all, you are spraying this into the air.
Window Cleaner: Mix warm water, one cup of vinegar, and two capfuls of ammonia. Be careful and try not to inhale too much. This mixture should be kept away from children.
Toilet Cleaner: Pour two cups of baking soda into toilet bowl, scrub the inside, and flush. Now, pour two cups of vinegar into the toilet bowl, swish around the inside, and flush. Do not do this if you have a clog, as you will quickly have a reenactment of Old Faithful in the toilet. However, regular application will keep your drains sparklingly clean.
Carpet Cleaner and Deodorizer: Sprinkle baking soda over carpet and let it sit. You'll get better results if you let it sit for an extended period of time. It's okay to walk on it and grind it into the carpet. Then vacuum thoroughly.
Stainless Steel and Fixtures: To clean, use vinegar and cheesecloth.
Furniture Polish: In a small bottle, preferably foaming variety, add two parts lemon juice to one part olive oil (plain). To scent your furniture, add some essential oils to this. Keep the mixture in the refrigerator and discard in under a month. This does not last long.
Tile Cleaner: Mix equal parts baking soda and warm water, scrub into tiles, and then clean with all purpose solution.
For drain cleaner, pour ½ cup of baking soda down the drain. Follow the baking soda with 1 cup of vinegar. The mixture will bubble and fizz. Wait 5 minutes. Flush the drain with a teapot full of boiling water, with 1 tbsp. of salt mixed in. If the drain remains clogged, repeat the procedure.
For disinfectant, combine one squirt of liquid soap, 2 cups of water, 20 drops of tea tree oil and 10 drops of the essential oil of your choice in a spray bottle. Shake to mix. Spray it on surfaces to disinfect.
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I need to know how to make more house hold products. I am trying to save money and I am old fashion.
Tashface from Newark, NJ
Homemade Cleaning Products: Recipes from the Pantry
by Cynthia Townley Ewer, Editor
OrganizedHome.Com
Have you taken a trip down the cleaning aisle at the supermarket lately? If you believe the ad hype, you can't keep a clean house without loading your shopping cart with multiple specialty cleaners: a different bottle for each surface, floor and sink in the house.
Hogwash! Simple recipes using products from your pantry make effective household cleaning solutions that are inexpensive and easy to make. An added plus: these natural products are more environmentally friendly than detergent and fragrance-laden commercial alternatives. Stock your cleaning tool tote with these homemade cleaning sprays and solutions to make short work of household grime--without harsh chemicals or irritating fumes.
In a recent appearance on daytime television's ABC's The View, I used these homemade cleaning recipes to clean a dirty bathroom on live television. Try these easy recipes to clean your organized home faster, better and cheaper:
white vinegar:
Mildly acidic white vinegar dissolves dirt, soap scum, and hard water deposits from smooth surfaces, yet is gentle enough to use in solution to clean hardwood flooring. White vinegar is a natural deodorizer, absorbing odors instead of covering them up. (And no, your bathroom won't smell like a salad! Any vinegar aroma disappears when dry.) With no coloring agents, white vinegar won't stain grout on tiled surfaces. Because it cuts detergent residue, white vinegar makes a great fabric softener substitute for families with sensitive skin.
Try these recipes to harness the cleaning power of white vinegar:
Homemade Spray Cleaner Recipe
Mix in a sprayer bottle:
In the kitchen, use vinegar and water spray to clean countertops, lightly soiled range surfaces, and backsplash areas.
In the bathroom, use vinegar spray cleaner to clean countertops, floors, and exterior surfaces of the toilet.
undiluted white vinegar:
Undiluted white vinegar straight from the jug makes quick work of tougher cleaning problems involving hard water deposits or soap scum. Use undiluted white vinegar to scrub the inside of the toilet bowl. Before you begin, dump a bucket of water into the toilet to force water out of the bowl and allow access to the sides. Pour undiluted white vinegar around the bowl and scrub with a toilet brush to remove stains and odor. Use a pumice stone to remove any remaining hard water rings.
Clean shower heads that have been clogged with mineral deposits with undiluted white vinegar. Place 1/4 to 1/2 cup vinegar in a plastic food storage bag, and secure the bag to the shower head with a rubber band. Let stand for 2 hours to overnight, then rinse and buff the fixture to a shiny finish.
Add one cup of undiluted white vinegar to the laundry rinse cycle instead of commercial fabric softener. White vinegar softens clothes and cuts detergent residue, a plus for family members with sensitive skin.
baking soda:
Baking soda's mild abrasive action and natural deodorizing properties make it a powerful replacement for harsh commercial scouring powders. Put baking soda to work in your organized home.
Sprinkle baking soda onto a damp sponge to tackle grimy bathtub rings, scour vanities, or remove food deposits from the kitchen sink. For tougher grime, make a paste of baking soda and water, apply to the tub or sink, and allow to stand for 10 to 20 minutes. Dirt, soap scum, and deposits soften and are easier to remove.
Slow-running drains? Keep bathroom drains running freely by pouring 1/2 to 3/4 cup baking soda into the drain, and dribbling just enough hot water to wash the solution down. Let stand for 2 hours to overnight, then flush thoroughly with hot water. The deodorizing effect is an added bonus! (Do not use this method on blocked drains.)
rubbing alcohol:
Rubbing (isopropyl) alcohol provides the base for an evaporating cleaner to rival commercial window and glass cleaning solutions. Use this glass cleaning spray recipe for windows, mirrors, chrome fixtures, and for a shiny finish on hard-surface ceramic tiles.
Homemade Glass Cleaner Recipe
Mix in a sprayer bottle:
ammonia:
A strong alkaline solution, clear, non-sudsing ammonia creates stronger window and all-purpose cleaning recipes than acidic vinegar. Choose non-sudsing varieties of household ammonia for these cleaning recipes. Suds may look like they're working, but they're tough to rinse and remove.
Strong Glass Cleaner Recipe
Mix in a sprayer bottle:
furniture polish:
Most of us no longer use hard-to-apply furniture wax, but rely on oil-based polish to keep furniture protected and shiny. Our "salad dressing" version avoids the danger of silicone oil, found in most commercial polishes and sprays. Silicone oil can penetrate tiny cracks in furniture finish and enter the wood, causing problems in the event refinishing is needed. Lemon juice dissolves dirt and smudges, while olive oil shines and protects the wood:
Furniture Polish Recipe
Mix in a sprayer bottle:
Shake well and apply a small amount to a flannel cleaning rag or cleaning cloth. Spread evenly over furniture surface. Turn cloth to a dry side and polish dry.
(10/17/2005)
By Irish
I have replaced all my store bought cleaning products with homemade. I gathered the recipes from ThriftyFun and Recipegoldmine.com. They work better and are unbelievably inexpensive.
So far, I have made: all purpose spray cleaner, all purpose abrasive scrub, disinfectant, dish detergent, laundry detergent, fabric softener, shower gel, glass cleaner, Febreze, and furniture cleaner/polish.
(10/19/2005)
By Terry Lynn
The best 2 cleaners are vinegar and baking soda. These are used all of the time. For disinfecting, use bleach diluted in water. (03/28/2009)
I have 3 recipes on my blog http://itsmellsgoodinhere.blogspot.com just look on the side bar for the titles. (03/28/2009)
By anna
