Make your own cleaning products

[WQ Project Coordinator]

Many cleaning products contain harmful substances that make their way into our environment. You can make many of your own cleaning products using safe materials that might even be found in your kitchen right now.

Baking soda: provides grit for scrubbing and reacts with water, vinegar or lemon by fizzing, which speeds up cleaning times
Borax: disinfects, bleaches and deodorizes; very handy in laundry mixes
Distilled white vinegar: disinfects and breaks up dirt; choose white vinegar over apple cider or red vinegars, as these might stain surfaces
Hydrogen Peroxide: disinfects and bleaches
Lemons: cut grease; bottled lemon juice also works well, although you might need to use bit more to get the same results
Olive oil: picks up dirt and polishes wood; cheaper grades work well
Vegetable based (liquid castile) soap: non-petroleum all-purpose cleaners
Washing soda: stain remover, general cleaner, helps unblock pipes; should be handled with gloves due to its caustic nature. Washing soda is usually found in the laundry aisle of grocery and drug stores.

Recipes:
All Purpose Cleaner:
2 tablespoons vinegar
1 teaspoon borax or washing soda
2 cups hot water
1/4 cup liquid soap
Mix everything but soap in a spray bottle and shake. Add 1/4 cup liquid soap last. Mix gently. Apply and wipe clean. Good for counters, wood work, appliances, etc.

Window Cleaner:
1/8 cup vinegar
1 cup water
Mix ingredients in a spray bottle. Shake and apply. Wipe clean.

Scrubbing Cleaner:
2/3 cup baking soda
1/2 cup liquid soap or detergent
2 tablespoons vinegar
Mix soda and soap to form a paste. Add vinegar and stir. Keep paste in a tub at the kitchen sink for scouring pots and pans or the sink itself.

You can find lots of cleaning supply recipes on the web. If you have tried any of these let me know how it goes. You could even do a little experiment with some cleaning product and the homemade product and see how they compare in their cleaning power.

[pawnee]

I use vinegar and water when i go to the gym Its a lot better than breathing in Mr.Clean when your working out...

[Kikai]

my mom just cleans so im not sure what she uses

[wolf567]

My mum makes her own, don't ask me what stuff she uses, lol. Shes a house cleaner so she also makes it for the houses she cleans for if the owners agree.

[WildFire]

yeah, my mom uses the vinegar and water thing on our floors, as we have tile everywhere except for in the bedrooms. It stinks, but my baby sisters have gotten it a few times, and I'm glad that we don't have to worry about a bad chemical cleaner hurting them

[Lucrisha01]

well im not sure what my mom uses but i never breath the harsh chemicals

[TimberWolfie]

great idea! this is perfect!

The problem is, Mum might not believe that it would work (then again, she said we would never get a dog and hey presto! we have one! And she also said we would only move to a farm when I was married and grown up and hey presto! I'm only twelve and we are moving to a farm! Somebody has brainwashed her for the better! lol)

Anyway not the point. this is a fanatastic idea! when we were living in Singapore for a year my dog got some rash and the vet said it was from the harmful chemicals in the cleaning supplies! it will help my dog and wildlife too!