Homemade Housecleaners PART 3

[Guest guest]

I posted this article, since today is recipes and frugal living, tips

etc.

I find that I save so much money just making my own housecleaners

from vinegar, and essential oils!

I clean our floors with just that. I have so many recipes for them in

my database as well.

I only have one store bought cleaner and that is for our white tub.

Once a month I use it in between the weekly cleanings

 

 

 

MULTIPURPOSE CLEANER

 

Rating: Excellent. Performed as well as top-of-the-line commercial

products.

Uses: Many. Tile and linoleum floors, formica counter-tops,

appliances, etc.

Hazards: Read about ammonia above.

Cost: About 40 cents a gallon (not including water)

 

¼ cup baking soda (sodium bicarbonate)

1 cup household ammonia

½ cup white vinegar

1 gallon warm water

 

Mix ingredients and store in tightly-capped container.

 

OLD-FASHIONED GLASS AND WINDOW CLEANER

 

Rating: Very good. The best commercial preparations left the window

only a little shinier. Even though the cornstarch makes the mixture

slightly gritty, it didn't scratch the glass. Poisonous.

Hazards: Ammonia is poisonous, so keep. the mixture away from

children and arrange good ventilation. Wear gloves because it's a

heavy-duty cleaner and rough on the hands.

Cost: About 20 cents a gallon (not including water)

 

2 tablespoons cornstarch

½ cup household ammonia

½ cup white vinegar

1 gallon warm water

 

Mix the ingredients in a bucket and use to scrub windows. Try not to

clean glass the sun is shining on because it will dry too fast and

streak.

 

VINEGAR WINDOW CLEANER

 

Rating: Very good. We'd been warned that plain water could do as well

as a vinegar solution, but our subjective impression was that the

vinegar made it a lot easier to get rid of smudges. In theory,

vinegar is supposed to remove hard-water spots.

Hazards: May be hard on your hands, but safe enough to drink.

Cost: About 7¢ a gallon (not including water)

 

½ cup white vinegar

1 gallon warm water

 

Just mix and scrub.

 

DILUTE BLEACH

 

Rating: Very good. In the ballpark with commercial cleaners, but few

name-brand cleaners got rid of smudges with less scrubbing.

Hazards: Bleach is poisonous, so keep it away from children. It will

bleach anything it touches, so use only on colorfast items. Check the

solution first on a hidden spot.

Uses: Same as above.

Cost: Less than a penny a gallon (not including water)

 

2 tablespoons or 1/8 cup liquid bleach

1 quart cold water

Mix in a scrub bucket. Moisten an old cloth with the solution and

wipe onto surface. Let stand about 2 minutes and rinse well.

 

DILUTE AMMONIA

 

Rating: Very good. A few of the best commercial cleaners outperformed

it.

Hazards: Ammonia is poisonous and its fumes sting the eyes and

throat. Wear gloves. Don't mix with chlorine bleach because the

combination produces poisonous gases called chloramines.

Uses: Same as above.

Cost: About 8¢ a gallon (not including water)

 

½ cup household ammonia

1 gallon warm water.

 

Mix in a pail and use to scrub.

 

METAL POLISH

 

Rating: Good. Does the job but you need to scrub more than you would

with a commercial cleaner.

Hazards: Safe enough to eat, and it's not gritty enough to scratch

the metal.

Uses: Suitable for brass, bronze, copper and pewter. Not for silver,

silver plate and jewelry.

Cost: Less than a penny for about 3 tablespoons of paste (not

including water)

 

1 tablespoon flour

1 tablespoon salt

I tablespoon white vinegar

 

Combine salt and flour in small bowl and stir until blended. Add the

vinegar and mix into a thick paste. Smear on the paste with a damp

sponge or cloth and rub gently. Let the polish dry for about an hour.

Rinse well with warm water and buff dry with a soft cloth.

 

WALL CLEANER

 

Rating: Very good. A few commercial preparations required less

scrubbing.

Hazards: See ammonia above. Don't let children eat the borax either.

Uses: For painted walls, not wall-paper

Cost: About 6¢ for 2 quarts (not including water)

 

2 ounces borax

I teaspoon ammonia

2 quarts water

 

Dissolve the borax and ammonia in a bucketful of water. Scrub a

really dirty wall from the bottom up. if you scrub from the top down,

the dirty water will run down over the dry, soiled wall leaving hard-

to-remove streaks. Oddly enough, it won't stain wet, clean walls. For

textured walls, old socks are good scrubbers because they won't tear

off in little pieces as easily as a sponge might. To keep water from

dribbling down your arm, fasten an old washcloth around your wrist

with a rubber hand.