Archive Category: 'Homemade Cleaners'

• DIY & Homemade Wrinkle Release Tips: If you don’t have any Downy Wrinkle Releaser close by or would like to try a homemade alternative, here are some tips for unwrinkling your clothes. These come in handy while traveling and you forgot to pack your iron. Homemade Wrinkle Release Spray Ingredients: 1 tsp fabric softener (liquid) 1 cup water (distilled is best) Directions: Mix the water and the fabric [...]
• Homemade Travel Hand Wipes: Materials Needed: 1/4 cup vodka 1/4 cup water Juice from 1/2 lemon Paper Towels (use a thick, sturdy towel) Large Ziploc Bag Directions: Fold the paper towels in half and lay them in a shallow dish in a single layer. Mix the liquid ingredients together then pour over top the towels. Repeat as needed until you have the amount of wipes you require. Stack [...]
• Homemade Rosemary Wood Cleaner: You can use this cleaner on wood furniture items like tables, desks, chests and even wooden ornaments. It can be used regularly / daily. The recipe has an antiseptic quality due to the rosemary used. Please test a small area first to make sure there’s no discoloration. Rosemary Wood Cleaner Ingredients: 1/2 cup distilled vinegar 1/2 cup water (or rosemary [...]
• Homemade Silver Polishing Cloths: Similar idea to the pretreated dusting cloths, these polishing cloths are for cleaning and removing tarnish from silver. Nice to have a stash of these on hand if you have a silver collection to maintain. How To Make Homemade Silver Polishing Cloths Items Needed 10″ to 12″ square soft cloths* 2 cups water (cool) 1/2 cup ammonia 1/4 cup liquid silver [...]
• Homemade Varnish Remover: Ingredients Part 1: 1 cup cornstarch 1/2 cup water (cold) Part 2: 4 cups water (hot) 3/4 cup baking soda 1/2 cup household ammonia 1 TBS vinegar Notes: Mix recipe in a pail or container that is heat resistant since you’ll be using it to hold the hot water. First bring water to a boil, remove from heat and allow to rest for 5 minutes [...]
• Homemade Shower Spray Recipes: Daily Shower Spray 1/3 cup rubbing alcohol 1 cup water Mix in a spray bottle and shake. Spray on, no rinsing required. Tile and Grout Cleaner 1/2 cup of baking soda 1/3 cup of ammonia 1/4 cup of white vinegar 7 cups of water Combine all the ingredients in a labeled spray bottle and shake well to mix. Spray on then wipe [...]
• Homemade Herbal Carpet Freshener Recipe: This makes a big batch of carpet freshener that will last quite awhile. You can cut the amounts down if you like until you find your favorite blend. To give yourself a small variety to choose from, you could split the recipe in three then add three different herbal fragrance choices to each container/mix. Homemade Herbal [...]
• Homemade Beeswax Furniture Polish Recipes: Tips: Use wide mouth jars or containers for storage so you can get your hand in easily. Apply finished furniture wax with a coarse cloth and buff. While melting the wax, do not leave stove unattended. The solvents are flammable, do not add them while wax is heating on the stove. Look for odorless turpentine or mineral spirits if the [...]
• Homemade Citrus Vinegar Cleaner: Found this great recipe in a file download from West Michigan Environmental Action Council *(removed pdf link, it’s no longer available). I tried it and loved it–here’s what I did: Homemade Citrus Household Cleaner Fill a large, wide mouth jar with citrus peels (such as lemons, oranges, limes, grapefruits). Cover the peels with white household vinegar. Let [...]
• How To Get Rid of Cockroaches – Roach Ball Recipe: Here are a few tips for how to get rid of cockroaches, if you have a surefire method of your own–feel free to share it with everyone and add it below. Roach Ball Recipe White Flour Boric Acid Confectioners Sugar or Brown Sugar Water Mix 50/50 flour and boric acid. Sprinkle in some confectioners sugar (about 1/4 of the amount of [...]
• Vintage Linens: Soaks & Cleaning Recipes: For old vintage linens that are yellowed with age and need more than spot cleaning, here are some recipes for soaking the entire piece. Notes: Check a spot to make sure the recipe won’t damage the fabric or colors before soaking the entire item. When drying linens in the sun, lay them directly on the grass instead of [...]
• Sour Milk Silver Soak: If you have a carton of milk that has expired, don’t toss it out because sour milk is a great silver cleaner. Sour Milk Silver Soak For every cup of of milk, stir in one tablespoon lemon juice or one tablespoon vinegar and leave for five minutes so it sours. If the milk is sour already, you [...]
• Homemade Fly Paper Recipe: Items Needed: 1/4 cup maple syrup 1 TBS Brown Sugar 1 TBS White Sugar Directions: Mix well then dip strips of brown paper bag into the mixture. Coat the strips well and lay them on plastic overnight to set and dry a bit. The next day poke a hole in the paper strip about an inch from the edge and loop [...]
• Homemade Air Freshener Sprays: Lemon Air Freshener Spray Ingredients 2 cups hot water 1/8 cup baking soda 1/2 cup lemon juice Directions First dissolve the baking soda in hot water then add the lemon juice. You can use ReaLemon for this (expired is fine). Quick Tip: Easy Homemade Deodorizer Sprays: You can also whip up some good, fresh smelling spray with just two ingredients: water or vinegar [...]
• Homemade Softscrub Cleaner Recipe: Here’s a quick and easy recipe for a great soap scum buster on the tub surround or a great cleaner for around the kitchen and bathroom. Homemade Softscrub 1/2 cup baking soda 1/2 cup liquid dish detergent 1/8 cup – 1/4 cup vinegar Mix the baking soda and dish detergent first, then add the vinegar. Adjust the baking soda or [...]
• Kitchen Cabinet Degreaser Recipe: Ingredients: 1 gallon hot water 1 cup household ammonia 1/2 cup vinegar 1/4 cup baking soda Directions: Mix ingredients well in a large bucket, make sure to dissolve the baking soda completely. Soak a sponge in the cleaner and then apply to surface of cabinet. For hard to remove grease spots, hold sponge firmly on spot for several seconds and then [...]
• Mold & Mildew Surface Cleaner Recipe: Test area first to ensure paint, aluminum, vinyl or material isn’t damaged by cleaner. Ingredients: 3 cups water 1 cup bleach 2/3 cups TSP (Trisodium Phosphate) 1/3 cup Tide (or other laundry detergent–nothing with ammonia) Directions: Make sure to keep skin covered when using this (rubber gloves for sure). If you’re reaching up to clean, wear goggles. Also keep nose and mouth [...]
• How To Get Rid of Moths With Natural Repellents: Mothballs are made from paradichlorobenzene and can cause all kinds of health problems including damage to liver and kidneys. They’re especially hazardous to children if swallowed–and they don’t smell all that good either. Natural Moth Repellents Dried lavender Cloves (see How To Make A Clove Apple) Rosemary Mint Thyme Cinnamon sticks Eucalyptus Peppercorns Dried lemon peel Cedar (chips, balls, planks or essential oil–cedar lined closets, drawers [...]
• Homemade Jewelry Cleaner: There are some gems that should never be cleaned with anything containing ammonia, chemicals or harsh solvents as the gem can become discolored, pitted or damaged. If in doubt, simply clean the jewelry piece by wiping it down well with a clean cloth. Homemade Jewelry Cleaner Recipe 1 cup warm water 1 TBS ammonia small squirt of Ivory dish [...]
• 4 Homemade Febreeze Recipes: Basically the ingredients to make homemade Febreeze are a mix of water and fabric softener. Directions: Unless otherwise noted, place ingredients in a spray bottle and shake well to mix. Test a small unnoticeable area first before using to make sure no discoloration or damage occurs. Use as needed, shaking well each time before use. Homemade Febreeze Recipes Recipe [...]
• Frugral Fabric Softener Recipes & Dryer Sheet Tips: Here are several quick tips that you can try as frugal fabric softeners, each point is a separate tip. Next you’ll find a Homemade Fabric Softener Recipe and instructions for Reusable Homemade Dryer Sheets. Quick Tips: Frugal Fabric Softeners Using 1/4 cup vinegar in your laundry’s rinse cycle keeps clothes soft. You can set aside a vinegar [...]
• 10 Homemade Laundry Soap Detergent Recipes: Here is a nice stack of different homemade laundry detergent recipes I’ve collected over the years. Do they work? Yes, I’ve had good luck with them. At the time I was using homemade detergent, we had a relative who was in trade school living with us. Every day he was mechanic grease from head to toe–the [...]
• Homemade Herbal Cleaner Recipes: Thyme Cleaner – Disinfectant 2 1/2 cups water 1 handful thyme (fresh or dried) Vinegar Liquid castille soap (squirt) Boil water, add thyme. Simmer for several hours over medium-low heat, covered. Cool, then strain. Pour the water into a spray bottle, top with white vinegar and squirt of soap. Use as needed. Herb Disinfectant Cleaner This spray cleaner disinfects surfaces, kills mold, [...]
• Rid Your Pet of Skunk Spray Smell: Caution: This recipe cannot be sealed or stored in a container or spray bottle as it can explode. Mix in an open, plastic pail and use immediately. Wear latex gloves when applying. Krebaum’s Formula to De-Skunk Pets Items Needed: 1 quart of fresh (not old or out-dated) 3% hydrogen peroxide (from a pharmacy) – store bought is only [...]
• Household Degreaser & Cleaner Recipe: Kickin household degreaser, make sure to wear rubber gloves and not inhale this stuff, the ammonia is pretty strong. Homemade Degreaser Recipe Lemon scented ammonia Hot water Dawn dishwashing liquid Fill an empty liquid dish detergent bottle half full with the ammonia, then top with hot water. Add a few squirts of dawn. Put cap back on and shake to [...]