It is Saturday again, and it is cleaning day for many of us. I can't tell you how excited I am about this way of cleaning, it even has the younger generation helping out with a smile.
I used it on my stove and cleaned up the grease and spaghetti sauce with one stroke, and the mirrors just shine. I love it!!!
These days we are always looking for better ways of being good to our environment, and our own health. I always appreciate it when people pass on their ideas as to what they use to clean their home. These ideas came from my friend Karin that uses nothing else to clean. She says that the following she uses for windows, mirrors, sinks, appliances, just about anything.
- 16 oz spray bottle (I used a 32 oz bottle and doubled the ingredients)
- 1 tbsp. rubbing alcohol
- 1/2 cup of vinegar
- 1 tsp. dish soap
- Add enough water to fill spray bottle
- Spray on anything that you wish to clean and wipe with a soft cloth.
Tea Tree Oil as a disinfectant
- Once a week put four drops in the toilet, swish and let it sit til the next flush.
- Or put a few drops in with some water in a spray bottle and spray down areas like toys or door knobs.
- Puts few drops of Tea Tree Oil in the palm of your hand with shampoo helps to rid of lice (or keep them away) as well. We used this tip when we needed it and learned from personal experience that it really did work! Don't forget the hair still needs to be combed through with a special nit comb to get rid of any nits. Keep doing it until you don't see any nits anymore.
I would love to hear your ideas, or tips that you have for environmentally friendly and safe cleaning. Please share them in the comment box.
FANTASTIC CLEANER!!! My black fridge doors are shining, as is my glass shower door!! Thank you!!!!
ReplyDeleteyour site is so very eclectic and I enjoy every single post (and especially Sunday's! thank you) and adding shared great ideas for non-toxic cleaning solutions "takes the cake" - I appreciate your dedication and devotion to family and feeding them His manna in so many ways...God bless you all.
ReplyDeleteIn WI we have to use approved products for daycare sanitizing. As for the lice, every time we hear of someone in the school having lice, we put a few drops in our shampoo. We have never gotten it, even though we work closely with the kids.
ReplyDeleteI just stumbled on your blog. Its wonderful. I live in Northern Indiana where there is a large community of Mennonite and Amish. I have several friends that share recipes with me. I look forward to trying some of yours as well.
ReplyDeletePeace.
what a terrific post!
ReplyDeleteLove it! I will have to mix up a batch of that and set some of my older grandkids to work....they would love it.
ReplyDeletehas anyone tried this on stainless steel appliances yet?
ReplyDeleteYES!
ReplyDeleteWOW!
THANK YOU!
MY STAINLESS STEAL THANKS YOU!
I just had a messy messy day in the kitchen getting ready for our church potluck lunch and I made meatballs from 20 lbs of ground beef.
I got grease and smudges everywhere and this cleaned it up, with no streaks, and in one wipe!
I found you last week and have been following you ever since.
Sally ND
I've been using homemade cleansers for a couple of years now and am totally delighted with their results. I often add a few drops of essential oil (usually lemon) and it leaves a wonderful fresh fragarance in the house. I clean my wood floors with a mix of half vinegar half water and some essential oil and they absolutely gleam.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the great tip on environmentally safe cleaning solution. I enjoy your blog very much. JB
ReplyDeleteI just tried adding 1 T 'corn starch' to the water to wash windows and I cannot believe the shine. Just corn starch. Linda
ReplyDeleteHi there,
ReplyDeleteI have a question regarding the home made cleanser. Does it have to be just (Dawn dish soap)? Thanks for your time in answering this.
no this can be any dish soap, i didn't use dawn but what i had and it is great!
ReplyDeleteI've just found out im allergic to a million foods, I'm so happy to find some more recipes from a bit of the old country :)
ReplyDeleteI use vinegar and baking soda a LOT when I clean. I'm SUPER smell sensitive, and really prefer to know whats in my cleaner :)
I do half water and half vinegar in a spray bottle, and throw a few cups of baking soda into some tupperware with a sponge, and go around the house scrubbing, spraying, then wiping. Vinegar is lovely stuff... the vinegar solution can also kill off the ant scent trails, so I'f you are getting visitors, I'd say try it
I dont know if you have a disposal is your sink, but a lovely way to clean and disinfect is a good scoop of baking soda, followed by vinegar. let it bubble! Or toss a lemon into the disposal for some scent-control. Toss in some ice cubes, and it sharpens the blades.
For sensitive scalps, or a deep clean, use some baking soda paste and use it as your shampoo. clears up dandruff, and grabs leftover junk from hair products, and washes them away. follow with vinegar and water as conditioner (really!), and all the knots flow out of my hair. rinse, and prepare for compliments!
cant wait to see more ideas
When the lavendar is in bloom I put 5 sprigs into a quart of white vinegar to infuse it. This would make the cleaner with lavendar aroma.
ReplyDeleteCarolyn
As someone living with Lupus for company, cleaners and scents can be a real issue for me at times. That said, is there any way to remove a bit of the strength of smell from the vinegar? I know this cleaner would work better than pretty much anything in a store..but vinegar can be a real downer on a "bad company" day.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to any help with this! Thanks for your help with my coffee pot too, it came out like brand spankin' new!!
anonymous
ReplyDeleteI sure am sorry about the smell of vinegar being a sensitive issue for you...try, making it in smaller batches and using lemon juice instead. the reason i suggest smaller batches is because the lemon juice will stay good indefinitely like vinegar would and it might be a better scent than vinegar. i personally have not tried it, it is just a try and see suggestion. you certainly don't waste a lot of money trying it and that is the only way you will know. another thought would be to try a lighter scent vinegar like rice vinegar as well....i again have not tried it, it is just a suggestion.
sorry about the typo.....lemon juice will NOT stay indefinitely like vinegar.....
ReplyDeleteI just use 2 cups water and 2 tbsp dawn (only 1 tbsp if it's ultra concentrated.) Put it in a spray bottle and use it for everything!
ReplyDeleteFor soft scrub I mix 1cup baking soda, 1/4 cup Dawn (concentrated) 2 Tbsp glycerine and 1/4 cup water to a paste. works great on stainless steel pots. But you have to be sure to rinse thoroughly.
I really don't like to use the alcohol because of the respiratory issues it causes.
Good tips.
ReplyDeleteTHANKS -YOU- CHARLOTTE
ReplyDeleteI have tried this !!! and love it,even stainless steal,,,
could you make this without the rubbing alcohol and mabye add some essential oil to this to smell nice or even trea tree oil?
ReplyDeleteThe alcohol aids in the cleaning, but adding an essential oil would be nice for the scent, however would the oil not leave streaks on the surfaces, I don't know since I haven't tried it. Try it and let us know how that works for you.
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