HOMEMADE HOUSEHOLD CLEANING PRODUCTS

Homemade Household Cleaning Products

Have you ever wondered what people used to clean their house before so many different kinds of cleaning products were so readily available on the market? Many of these ideas are not new and have been around for a long time. I have made every attempt to only include instructions that include easy to find, relatively inexpensive ingredients. Please use a little caution and a lot of common sense when trying these preparations out:

Instead of buying expensive antibacterial sprays for the kitchen, just put about 1 tablespoon of household bleach in a spray bottle filled with water and use it to disinfect around the sink and counters, especially when you've been handling or packaging meat. When your drain is clogged with grease, try pouring a cup of salt and a cup of baking soda down the drain followed by a generous amount of boiling water. This will usually dissolve the grease and clear the drain. Use a cloth moistened with rubbing alcohol, club soda, or white vinegar to give your stainless steel a brilliant shine.

	Club soda makes a good instant spot remover. Pour a little on the stain, let it set for a second or two, and blot with a damp sponge. A mixture of 1/2 cup mild dishwashing liquid and 2 cups boiling water makes a great spot remover for carpets. Apply with a damp sponge. Black marks left on your floors from the heels of your shoes can be removed with a pencil eraser. Water rings or spots can be removed from wood furniture with a mixture of toothpaste and baking soda applied with a damp cloth. To clean all types of wood work, make a mixture of 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, 4 tablespoons white vinegar, and 1 quart warm water. Apply with a soft cloth and dry with a separate, clean cloth. To clean the stubborn stains in your bathtub, make a paste of hydrogen peroxide and cream of tartar. Use a toothbrush to rub it into the stains and rinse thoroughly.

Save on spray cleaners. Spray the solution on a rag and then wipe. This way the extra spray cleaner is not wasted and you save time by not having 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 almost to the top with water. Add dishwashing liquid and mix. Top off with water. Rated by Consumer Reports Magazine to work much better (and much cheaper) than most commercial window and kitchen sprays. Alcohol is the secret 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. 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 in half, (an electric or serrated knife works best for this.) Remove the center cardboard. Place 1/2 of the paper towels in the baby wipe container. Pour cleaning solution into the container. (The amount will depend of the absorbency of your paper towels.) This can be used for window cleaner, all purpose cleaner, or disinfectant cleaner. Pull the first paper towel out of the center of the roll, through the hole in the container lid. If the paper towels dry out before they are all used add more solution or some water. *If you don't have a baby wipe container, you can use a round plastic container 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't hold 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 for your garden hose. Spray upper windows and let them dry. This is for cleaning the higher windows on your house that you can't reach except with a ladder.