* Toilet disinfectant wipes. A chux cloth, rag or toilet paper sprayed with a little Miracle Spray will do the same job. Soak it in a bucket then wash it in the machine with other cloths / towels. Beware, toilet wipes cannot be flushed down the toilet. Yes, they do clog the sewer pipes.
* Dishwasher tablets. For decades people used powder in their dishwashers and it worked just fine. The tablets were invented and suddenly it's the only product to use. I use Coles no name powder which costs about $2 per 1 kilo box. I only need two level teaspoons to clean my dishes. Because I use so little powder, I can get over 60 washes for $2. We load our dishwasher as soon as dinner is over. Boil lines on saucepans are lightly scoured, plates are scraped and the dishwasher is turned on before the food dries on the plates. Yes we do have tablets in our home but they are saved for special occasions when we are really short on time. The bonus of using powder is you can put the dishwasher on a quick wash saving electricity and water. The tablets need the longest, hottest cycle for all of the tablet to dissolve.
* Hard floor / tile cleaners. Generally they leave a film on your floors so they don't look as clean as they should. Avoid the harsh smelling chemicals and use a dash of dish washing liquid with a good squirt of white vinegar in a bucket of boiling or very hot water. Make sure you wring out your mop as much as possible to avoid water marks. I've used this combination on all sorts of hard floor surfaces with great success.
* Air fresheners. I'm sure you are not keen on spraying the fragrant chemicals in your home. Sometimes there is a need for an air freshener especially when you've had a smoker in your home, visitors are coming or sickness arrives. Save the Glen 20 for the sickness and make your own air freshener for the other needs. Just add a few drops of essential oil and cooled boiled water to a small spray bottle and shake. I like to use water soluble lavender oil for my air freshener.
* Stainless steel cleaner / wipes. I've tried using these a few times and I'm not convinced they are the only product to use. I've found water and a clean microfibre cloth will do the job especially if you dry the appliance off with a dry cloth or paper towel Potato water does an amazing job too. Have a read of this blog post I wrote earlier this year. .
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| Dishwasher tablets are costly |
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| Make your own air freshener. |
Hi Wendy, thank you for reminding me there are other products out there that we forget about. The dish washing powder is a great example & I'm off next week to buy some. We already cut our tabs in half but to be honest it's a tough job & one I'd rather stop doing. I also love the floor cleaner recipe as well. Thank You SO Much!
ReplyDelete:) Susan
Great ideas. I had to start using pods when mom moved in, as she overloads all soap products. Her dementia is only getting worse and I was tired of cleaning up the mess from too much soap in everything. I can't watch her all the time:) But I can't wait to get back to the other cheaper versions.
ReplyDeleteDear Wendy, these are great tips. I love the Miracle Cleaner too and I tint mine pink, thanks to Annabel at The Bluebirds are Nesting! Bizarrely, I've found the best stainless steel cleaner to be a smidge of baby oil on a microfiber cloth. It cleans and repels further fingerprints. Truth! Mimi xxx
ReplyDeletei make my own lemon cleaner & eucalyptus cleaner they both work like a treat;
ReplyDeletei don't own a dish washer, feel these are just wasteful; washing soda can also make a good cleaner too
thanx for sharing
Hi Mimi,
ReplyDeleteI've used baby oil on stainless steel successfully as well. It's great on the top of gas cookers. Julee
Love this post Wendy!!!
ReplyDeleteI'll have to try the dishwasher powder as we have always used tabs as we don't use the dishwasher very often, Thanks
I asked you about what you use in your dishwasher about a year ago (on your Facebook page) and you told me about the Coles dishwasher powder. Unfortunately they seem to have deleted that line at our store. As for all the other cleaning products, my job is cleaning for the elderly and we are limited by government regulations as to what we can use. Basically we can use vinegar, bi carb, dishwashing liquid and creme cleanser. And we manage to clean the clients homes well with just those items together with elbow grease and hot water. I've been in the job for just over a year and it's drastically changed what's in my cleaning cupboard because it turns out most of the things I used to buy are unnecessary
ReplyDeleteYes, great tips. And I'd add the shower cleaner which to make is 50%vinegar and 50%dish detergent. Marie
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