A year or two back I grew frustrated with domestic cleaning agents such as surface spray, laundry powder and such; not only are they mostly bad for the environment they are also expensive and often not effective so I did some research and now make my own.
All the following ingredients are available from Safeway, are cheap, less damaging to the environment and work well, give them a try:
----
Floor cleaner
2L of hot water
A small squirt of dish washing liquid
75ml white vinegar
1/4 cup of washing soda
-----
Laundry powder
1 bar cheap soap, grated
1 cup of Lectric Washing Soda
1/2 cup of Borax
Mix together and store in a sealed container.
Use one to two level tablespoons for a medium wash
NB. Use 100ml of white vinegar in the rinse to restore the pH balance
-----
Surface spray 1
Cloudy ammonia
Disinfectant
Water
The cloudy ammonia should be mixed at a ratio of 1:10 and the disinfectant at 1:20 therefore for a 750ml spray bottle mix 75ml cloudy ammonia and 40ml disinfectant and then top the bottle up with water.
-----
Surface spray 2
Mix 3 tabsp of borax and 1 cup of white vinegar with 3 cups of warm water to make an all-purpose cleaner.
-----
Ant killer
Mix 3 spoons of sugar and 1 spoon of Borax, make a watery solution and put drops of it on the ant trail.
-----
Washing soda = sodium carbonate = soda ash. Used for swimming pools and gardening.
----
End
Edit: Typo
-- Edited by Mike Harding on Monday 16th of January 2023 02:42:05 PM
Gary and Barb said
02:58 PM Jan 16, 2023
Top post! Will use!
I tend to use wool wash or sodium percarbonate for laundry and plant product dish liquid for dishes. Neither harm the environment and are very effective. Wool wash has the added advantage of saving water and work because you don't really need to rinse. For heavily soiled laundry, soaking in warm water with some sodium percarbonate (usually the key ingredient in "oxygen bleach") for an hour does a great job and the grey water is benign to the environment. Fantastic for cleaning bbq tools, burnt pots, etc., too. No phosphates, detergents or chemical residue in any of these products. Sodium Perc is used in brewing to clean and sterilise because it is safe and can be bought in bulk from brewing suppliers.
Thanks for the surface spray and other ideas, Mike. Keep them coming.
Whenarewethere said
10:44 PM Jan 16, 2023
Chlorine, sugar & oil good for removing stuff permanently. We did it as kids!
Whenarewethere said
10:46 PM Jan 16, 2023
Cloudy ammonia to clean grease out of range hoods.
Whenarewethere said
10:48 PM Jan 16, 2023
Vinegar to clean chrome floor waste drain grills. Leave in container overnight. Or soak some paper towels & cover offending piece of chrome.
Whenarewethere said
10:50 PM Jan 16, 2023
To save elbow grease, simply leave dirty clothes in a bucket with a bit of detergent for 24 hours. Then rinse.
Whenarewethere said
10:51 PM Jan 16, 2023
Hard water residue in kettles, shower heads etc, pour in some vinegar overnight.
Cupie said
11:45 AM Feb 27, 2023
Cleaning sanded & polished timber floors - 1 cup vinegar in 4L warm water. Damp mop only.
Finish with dry cotton mop along the grain of the timber.
A year or two back I grew frustrated with domestic cleaning agents such as surface spray, laundry powder and such; not only are they mostly bad for the environment they are also expensive and often not effective so I did some research and now make my own.
All the following ingredients are available from Safeway, are cheap, less damaging to the environment and work well, give them a try:
----
Floor cleaner
2L of hot water
A small squirt of dish washing liquid
75ml white vinegar
1/4 cup of washing soda
-----
Laundry powder
1 bar cheap soap, grated
1 cup of Lectric Washing Soda
1/2 cup of Borax
Mix together and store in a sealed container.
Use one to two level tablespoons for a medium wash
NB. Use 100ml of white vinegar in the rinse to restore the pH balance
-----
Surface spray 1
Cloudy ammonia
Disinfectant
Water
The cloudy ammonia should be mixed at a ratio of 1:10 and the disinfectant at 1:20 therefore for a 750ml spray bottle mix 75ml cloudy ammonia and 40ml disinfectant and then top the bottle up with water.
-----
Surface spray 2
Mix 3 tabsp of borax and 1 cup of white vinegar with 3 cups of warm water to make an all-purpose cleaner.
-----
Ant killer
Mix 3 spoons of sugar and 1 spoon of Borax, make a watery solution and put drops of it on the ant trail.
-----
Washing soda = sodium carbonate = soda ash. Used for swimming pools and gardening.
----
End
Edit: Typo
-- Edited by Mike Harding on Monday 16th of January 2023 02:42:05 PM
Top post! Will use!
I tend to use wool wash or sodium percarbonate for laundry and plant product dish liquid for dishes. Neither harm the environment and are very effective. Wool wash has the added advantage of saving water and work because you don't really need to rinse. For heavily soiled laundry, soaking in warm water with some sodium percarbonate (usually the key ingredient in "oxygen bleach") for an hour does a great job and the grey water is benign to the environment. Fantastic for cleaning bbq tools, burnt pots, etc., too. No phosphates, detergents or chemical residue in any of these products. Sodium Perc is used in brewing to clean and sterilise because it is safe and can be bought in bulk from brewing suppliers.
Thanks for the surface spray and other ideas, Mike. Keep them coming.
Chlorine, sugar & oil good for removing stuff permanently. We did it as kids!
Cloudy ammonia to clean grease out of range hoods.
Vinegar to clean chrome floor waste drain grills. Leave in container overnight. Or soak some paper towels & cover offending piece of chrome.
To save elbow grease, simply leave dirty clothes in a bucket with a bit of detergent for 24 hours. Then rinse.
Hard water residue in kettles, shower heads etc, pour in some vinegar overnight.
Cleaning sanded & polished timber floors - 1 cup vinegar in 4L warm water. Damp mop only.
Finish with dry cotton mop along the grain of the timber.
....................................................................................
Clean oil & grease from hands with cheap shampoo.