By By Michelle Blaylock, Mom’s Corner
Dear Mom’s Corner,
I know with all your kids you do a lot of cleaning. Do you have any recipes for homemade cleaning stuff?
Dear SL,
You’re correct I do a lot of cleaning. I do purchase some household cleaning products, because I haven’t yet found anything that I can make that cleans as efficiently as they do. For example, my favorite household cleaning products are the “Arm and Hammer” line, the Magic Eraser, and Mr. Clean. I try to make them last as long as possible. I love the Mr. Clean because I can dilute it and make it last quite a long time.
Since I do try to make our cleaning products last I sometimes alternate with “homemade” variations. For example, baking soda is wonderful as a “soft scrub” type cleaner. For homemade window cleaner, just use two to three tablespoons of ammonia and a tablespoon or so of white vinegar and mix in a standard size spray bottle filling the rest of the bottle with water. For disinfecting I sometimes use rubbing alcohol. The trick is to spray it on and then let it dry without wiping it off. Rubbing Alcohol can also be used to clean windows and mirrors. Mix about one cup each water and rubbing alcohol and a teaspoon of vinegar in a spray bottle. I have used white vinegar in my laundry as a substitute for fabric softener. Vinegar can also be set around in the house in small bowls to help absorb unpleasant odors.
There are many other recipes for homemade cleaning products. These are just the ones that I have tried (so far!). I do want to give everyone a caution. Never, ever mix bleach with any kind of acid like vinegar or ammonia. It will make toxic fumes!! Seriously, I can not stress this enough. Good luck with your cleaning.
If you have a recipe for a homemade cleaning product you would like to share or a comment or question; please e-mail it to me at: moms-corner@juno.net.