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Do you want to make the switch to homemade cleaners both for your wallet and the environment but you are not sure what you need to begin? If so this list of 8 must have ingredients for making simple DIY cleaners can help.
I converted to green DIY cleaners right around the same time my children started helping me clean. I just could not stand the thought of them ingesting fumes that were bad for their little bodies (for some reason it didn’t bug me for years what I did to my own).
The first thing I noticed was how little they cost compared to conventional cleaners. The second thing I noticed was that they worked just as well. I also found out they were simple to make.
8 Must Have Ingredients For Making Simple DIY Cleaners
1. Vinegar
Plain old white distilled vinegar will do. I use it in my all purpose cleaner, my toilet cleaner and as a fabric softener. Since I use so much of it, I buy it in bulk at Sam’s club and save money doing so.
2. Baking Soda
I use baking soda to scrub away soap scum and other stuck on dirt. It also an ingredient in my favorite way of ridding my coffee mugs and tea cups of stains.
3. Super Washing Soda
Super washing soda is an amazing stain remover! It works well on both mustard stains and grass stains. I like to mix about 1/4 of a cup of it in a plastic dishpan, then fill it about a third of the way with warm water, give it a mix and use it for washing walls. It gets dirt off the walls better than any other cleaner I have tried without removing paint. It is also used in most homemade laundry detergent recipes.
4. Borax
Borax is an ingredient found in many homemade laundry detergent recipes.
5. Pure Castile Liquid Soap
I add a few drops of Dr. Bronner’s pure Castile liquid soap to my all purpose cleaner. We also use it in our foaming hand soap dispensers and as our foaming body wash.
6. Castile Bar Soap
I use Kirks Original Coco Castile Bar Soap in my handmade laundry soap instead of the recommended Fels-Naptha because I like the smell better.
7. Containers To Store Them In
I purchased a 5-gallon tub for my laundry soap from the hardware store and spray bottles from the dollar store. If you want something just a bit more pretty for your cleaners these glass spray bottles have good reviews on Amazon and come with cute chalk board style labels.
8. Effective Scrub Brushes and Cloths
I use a toothbrush for small cracks and a bigger scrub brush for larger areas like the bottom of the shower stall. I use old clothes cut up into rags as cloths for cleaning and microfiber cloths for dusting.
5 Optional But Beneficial Ingredients For Making Simple DIY Cleaners
1. Essential Oils
I started adding a few drops of lavender essential oil to each gallon batch of laundry soap and love the smell it adds.
2. Salt
Salt is great for really greasy stuck on messes. Just sprinkle a bit on a spot and then cut a lemon in half and use one-half to scrub the spot.
3. Fresh Lemons
Lemons are good for removing grease from oven surfaces.
4. Hydrogen Peroxide
Hydrogen Peroxide is used in many natural stain remover recipes. You can also use it on your granite countertops provided you stick to a no more than 12% strength hydrogen peroxide.
5. Rubbing Alcohol
Rubbing Alcohol is used in many natural stain remover recipes.
With these ingredients on hand, you can whip up whatever you need to clean whatever you need to in very little time with no hassle. I keep all the recipes I either use or want to try on my Homemade Cleaning Products board on Pinterest. You might want to create a similar board on your Pinterest account as well- that way you won’t have just the ingredients for DIY cleaners at your finger tips but also the recipes for them.
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