Frugal Cleaning supplies

Saturday, October 22, 2011 AnnMarie Brown 2 Comments


Who doesn't love cleaning wipes? They are so convenient but wickedly expensive and full of chemicals even with coupons and trust me if it wasn't for coupons I would have never bought them. The only alternative I could come up with is to make my own.

Homemade cleaning wipes are easy to make, economical, and contain only those cleaning agents you select. Use them in the kitchen, the bathroom, or for cleaning windows.

I remembered reading about making baby wipes some time ago and thought I could do the same with disinfectant wipes. Here's what to do:
  • First, find a container. I'm just using the empty container from my old wipes.
  • Second, take a roll of paper towels (preferably very strong ones--they may seem expensive compared to the cheap brands, but they will work better and still cost so much less than wipes). Don't forget to use your coupons when buying them and only buy them when they are on sale trust me they go on sale lots. You're going to have to cut it to size for the container you have--probably in half. I would recommend a very sharp bread knife, or an electric one if you have it. My bread knife worked beautifully in conjunction with a bit of ripping.
  • Third, make up some disinfectant solution. I would recommend one part disinfectant cleaner to three parts water, and add a few drops of dish soap if you like. Remove tub in the center of the paper towels and have towels feed through the center.
  • Pour the cleaner into the container with the paper towels and let it saturate them.
For disinfectant I like to use Vinegar just plain white vinegar it is inexpensive and doesn't contain a ton of chemicals which is really important to me.

As you use the wipes, they will begin to dry out, so add more water and/or cleaning solution as necessary. Allow wipes to stand overnight before continuing to use them after adding more solution.
You may vary the strength of the cleaning solutions as necessary for your household, using more cleaning agents for a stronger wipe, less solution and more water for a milder product.
Sometimes I also add an essential oil like lavendar to make everything smell fresh and clean.
That's all! Pull up the wipes from the middle and enjoy . . . er, well, go clean something.

2 comments:

  1. Thanks, I am going to try making my own. I love having the wipes around but like you say they are expensive to buy. Plus I like the idea of making them without all the chemicals. (Judy Cowan)

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