A few inexpensive household items keep the cost of cleaning supplies to a minimum.
I clean my house with cleaning supplies made from vinegar, dish soap or bleach. Here’s the how to:
Vinegar
- Use for cleaning, deodorizing, eliminating soap scum and cleaning floors.
- For heavy duty jobs such as removing soap scum, mix a solution of one part vinegar to one part water (1:1 ratio). Let sit for a few minutes
- Spray 1:1 ratio solution lightly on floors and wipe with a dry cloth.
- For regular glass cleaning and shining, mix 1/4 cup vinegar to 2 cups water.
- Money Saving Tip: If you don’t like the smell of vinegar, dilute commercial window cleaner. Put 1/2 an inch of cleaner in the bottom of a spray bottle and fill it up with water.
Dish soap
- Use as an all-purpose cleaner throughout the house and for cleaning floors.
- For an all-purpose cleaner, combine 2 tbsp dish soap (a regular dish soap such as Ivory or Dawn, or an antibacterial dish soap) with 2 cups of water in a spray bottle.
- For cleaning floors, add a squirt of dish soap to a mop bucket and fill with warm water.
- Keep a bottle handy under the kitchen sink to spot clean as needed or spray on pots and pans to lift baked-on food easily.
Bleach
- Use as a toilet bowl cleaner.
- Add 1/8 cup of bleach to toilet bowl and let sit a few minutes before scrubbing. Then flush.
- Be careful not to mix bleach with other chemicals as this can cause a toxic gas.
- Do not pre-mix bleach with water. Bleach will lose its disinfecting power after about 24 hours of being diluted.
- Here is more information on cleaning and disinfecting with bleach
Purchase spray bottles for your solutions or re-use clean, empty spray bottles. Label bottles with contents and solution ratio for quick reference when refilling.
Here are more articles on cleaning:
A clean house is good for your mental health
Subscribe to Homemaking Jewels today!
