Last summer I washed my windows with a mixture of dish soap, vinegar and water and was AMAZED at how well it cleaned my windows and made them shine.
Following the “sparkling window” experience, I decided that I would try to find some other cheap and natural cleaning supplies that were better than brand names for our normal cleaning supplies. What I found is there are many homemade or natural products that work awesome at cleaning, but there are also some “tried-n-true” traditional cleaners that I just can’t leave behind.
Cheap Natural Cleaning Supplies That Work Better Than Brand Names
Vinegar
- All Purpose Solution: Mix 1/3 white vinegar with 2/3 water and a couple drops of dish soap in a trigger sprayer for an amazing all-purpose cleaner.
- Window Cleaner: Mix 1/2 vinegar with 1/2 water and a good squeeze of dish soap in a bucket. Wash windows with soft rag and dry with newspaper. Murder on your nails – amazing on your windows.
- Lime-A-Way: Mix 1 teaspoon of vinegar with 2 tablespoons of salt to make a paste that will get rid of lime buildup.
Baking Soda
- Garbage Disposal Cleaner: Pour 1/2 cup baking soda down your garbage disposal followed by 1/2 cup of vinegar. Wait 15 minutes and pour boiling water to clear residue.
- Bathroom Scrub: Mix 1/4 cup baking soda with 1 tablespoon liquid detergent to make a scrub. Rinse with warm water.
- Oven Cleaner: Mix 1/4 cup baking soda with 1 tablespoon of water and 1 tablespoon of dish soap to make a scrub for the inside of your oven. Scrub and allow to dry and then wipe clean with a clean rag and warm water.
- Homemade Drano: 1/2 cup baking soda down clogged drain. Follow with mixture of 1 cup vinegar and 1 cup hot water. Plug drain with old rag and keep plugged for 10 minutes. Rinse with boiling hot water.
Lemon Juice
- Microwave Cleaner: Mix the juice of one lemon with water and heat on high in microwave for five minutes. Let set for five minutes and then wipe clean.
- Deodorizer: Place lemon peel in garbage disposal and run for a minute. Follow with boiling water.
Microfiber Cloths (my favorite, Libman)
- Dusters: Use on high varnish furniture to remove dust without wax or spray buildup.
Tried-n-True Traditionals
- 409: There are just some greasy stains or sharpie marker that can not be eliminated without the help of 409. It’s my go to cleaner for making grease/dirt/gunk a thing of the past.
- Scrubbing Bubbles Shower Cleaners: I hate cleaning the shower. And whatever they put in this stuff makes it so I don’t have clean that hard or that often. I’ll smell any fume for that convenience.
- Lysol or Mr. Clean Pourable: I have young children who can’t seem to aim correctly. I just imagine the chemicals killing all the “stuff” that lands on the tile floor.
- Lysol Spray: I’ve been know to spray family members with this stuff when everyone is sick in the house except me. It makes me feel like a have a line of defense.
- Mr. Clean Magic Erasers: They do a really good job of making a high traffic hallway presentable (without repainting) before a Christmas party.
How about you? Do you have any cleaners that you just can’t live without-no-matter-what? Let me know in the comments. I’d love to know that I’m not the only one.
