Thursday, July 15, 2010

Cleaning Products

I love vinegar and baking soda and use them in place of every other household cleaning product I've ever owned.

I use vinegar to disinfect my sink and kitchen counter tops, microwave, bathroom, floors and anything else that needs cleaning. Vinegar is great for washing windows and leaves no streaks when wiped off with newspaper. I use undiluted vinegar in a spray bottle, but some use a 50/50 mix with water. When I first started cleaning with vinegar, I couldn't stand the smell and had to use essential oils in the spray bottle as well. Vinegar becomes odorless once it dries and now that I'm used to the smell, I only use essential oil if I happen to have some on hand from other projects.

For harder to clean things like my stove top and cast iron tub, I use baking soda and vinegar. Baking soda is great for scrubbing and very cheap.

I use homemade laundry detergent to clean our clothes. It's nice to know exactly what is in the detergent and it's extremely cost-effective. I use vinegar as a fabric softener and think it's great. I never have static issues either, but that might be because the clothes typically stay in the dryer for awhile. My cleaning products might be efficient, but I am not when it comes to laundry.

I would like to replace my dishwasher detergent with something homemade, but have not started looking for recipes.

If you want more ideas on how to clean with vinegar, check these out:

1 comment:

Charlotte said...

Heather, I have not been successful finding a dishwasher detergent to make. One friend mentioned she thinks that our water has a lot to do with how the dishes come out. I have been using vinegar for the rinse aid. Powdered things I have tried like washing soda seem to remain on the dishes in a film. Let us know if you find one!