What are your best tried & true recipes for homemade cleaning supplies ... we're trying to save money?

Answer 1

Vinegar mixed with water is a great cleaner for floors, etc. And vinegar is super cheap!

Answer 2

To clean Chandeliers or fixtures of crystal, fill a tumbler with 1 part alcohol to 3 parts water. Or wear cotton work gloves and ammonia water is good.
For the combs and brushes, you can use 3 Tbs baking soda and 3 Tbs bleach to warm water.
For Eyeglasses, try a drop of vinegar or Vodka on each lens.
Fireplaces...there is less need to scrub the Fireplace if you throw salt on the Logs occasionally. Vinegar will clean brick tiling around a Fireplace. Rub smoked areas with a art gum eraser, this works well with Rock front Fireplaces.
You can clean the outside of your Iron with Toothpaste or Silver Polish. You can also clean a Guitar with Toothpaste, rub it on, let it dry, and then buff it out for a shine.
Clean your phone with alcohol.
Cleaning Pewter with Cabbage Leaves is the best...or try a homemade mixture of wood ashes moistened in water...it works!
Glass Table Tops...clean with lemon juice and use a newspaper to wipe off.
Leather upholstery, prevent it from cracking by polishing it regularly with a cream made of 1 part vinegar, and 2 parts Linseed oil.
Grease Stains, try pouring Salt on the spot immediately, or try talcum powder, cornstarch, rub it in, let it stand til absorbed, and wipe with a damp cloth.

Can ya tell I have had to be frugal at times!

Answer 3

Actually it depends on what you are cleaning..Vinegar and water, of course will clean windows. Baking soda is also a great cleaner, is an abrasive, so will scrub almost any area, with little effort. Every home has dish liquid, detergent, and bleach!! These items can also be used for many cleaning jobs. Almost forgot this, but vinegar is good for mop jobs too!! Professional flooring service told me this, when my daughter got new tile installed!! So try some of these things..Hope I helped some.

Answer 4

Windows...vinegar and water in a spray bottle.
Floors...vinegar, water, and a little dish soap.
Dusting...I just use a dry rag..it seems to me that the dust spray doesn't do all that much to prevent more dust..so just dry dusting is OK if you do it more often.
Surface cleaner...vinegar, water, and dish soap in a spray bottle.
Toilets...Ladies aid pumice stone. You'll need gloves for this, but no chemical cleaner has gotten my toilets cleaner than good old scrubbing. These bars work great and they last a long time.(cheap too..under $2 per bar)
Tile....again...no chemical is going to get those grout lines clean...get out the dish soap and a scrub brush.
Laundry...I use hot water and no chemicals. My clothes come out clean and no dyes or perfumes...works great.
Cleaning can be cheap and efficient without all the different chemical cleaners.

Answer 5

Type in the search engine "home cleaning remedies" You will find tons of information for making your own cleaning supplies. Like, vinegar and water is great for cleaning glass. Baking soda works well as a stove cleaner, tub cleaner (like "Soft Scrub"), alittle Tide laundry detergent mixed with water will make your floors sparkly clean.

Answer 6

I keep baking soda in one of those shakers you can get in the utensil aisle. It has a screw top lid and a handle. I think it's meant for flour for dusting your countertop before rolling out pie crust. I use it in the kitchen sink, on my smooth top stove top, gunky pots and pans and bathroom sink and tub. Rinse out a pan, sprinkle a good coating of baking soda on and if it's really tough gunk, leave it to dry overnight. The next day, get your scrubber damp and scrub. By drying, it absorbs grease and is a better abrasive for tough jobs. I also use 1/2 white vinegar & 1/2 water for cleaning surfaces and windows. Use newspaper to clean windows and mirrors. A bucket of warm water and a cup or so of vinegar is good for floors. Pour a cup of white vinegar into your rinse cycle in the washing machine and it's a softener. It disolves any residual detergent and really makes clothes soft.

Answer 7

Vinegar and water in a spray bottle are great for countertops inside of refrigerators,and your microwave. I use 1 part vinegar(just plain white),and 3 parts of water. It gets out bad smells,too.
If you don't want to use bleach, use a freshly cut lemon. Just rub it on your clothes to get stains out. Wash as usual,and let the garment dry in the sun.
To deoderize anything in your house like your carpets or furniture,sprinkle baking soda on it,work it in with a clean broom,let it sit for 1/2 hour, then vacuum as usual.

Answer 8

The first is a great site with an A-Z breakdown of household items and how to clean them. How to clean every thing from bathrooms to humidifiers to silver and stainless steel.
http://www.virtuowl.com/home/hints-tips1.htm
The second link is for recipes like olive oil and lemon juice for furniture polish, and lots of uses for vinegar, baking soda, and ammonia.
http://organizedhome.com/content-8.html
More can be found here:
http://www.jlyne.com/homemade_cleaning_supplies.html
http://www.stretcher.com/stories/05/05apr04d.cfm
http://www.doityourself.com/stry/cleaners
Good luck and I hope this helps. I know how it is trying to save money.

Answer 9

Get a big bottle of "Simple Green". Full strength it will remove paint. Diluted enough it can be used on glass. Anything in between can be cleaned by making a general purpose strength.

Answer 10

Use vinegar mix with water for cleaning floors, mirrors, windows and counter tops. They are awesome and cheap.