Homemade Cleaners? Here’s my honest take.
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What’s the real truth about cleaning with homemade cleaners? Are they really that good? Are they cheaper?
In this article, we’re going to get totally honest about using all natural homemade cleaners.
So, should you really make your own, homemade cleaners?
Now, I have made a lot of DIY cleaning products and have posted my recipes on the blog here. And over the years, I figured out what is really worth the time and effort, and what just isn’t.
I have to say, there are a couple that I really, really love. And there are some that, although I think are great, I just can’t seem to find the time to continue making.
I do love to clean with non-toxic ingredients. It’s just better for your home, health, and family. It seems as if every day there is new research about how environmental products affect our health. And you never know what is going to change next week. For example, who would’ve ever thought that there might be asbestos in talcum powder? Yikes!
First the home made cleaning products that I love to make, and keep making are my:
The ingredients for all of these cleaners are very cheap and save me a ton of money. Basically I use baking soda, Isopropyl alcohol, and vinegar. Those are the main ingredients for those cleaning products, along with some yummy smelling essential oils.
I know that when I deodorize my carpet there are no creepy chemicals in my deodorizer that might harm my family or my cats. And it really works well and smells great.
Even though where we live has laminate countertops, I still make my DIY granite cleaner. It is basically isopropyl alcohol with a few more ingredients and works great on the laminate too. And since alcohol kills germs, it cleans as well as sanitizes.
My DIY all purpose cleaner, uses mostly vinegar which is a great nontoxic way to clean. White vinegar is super cheap, and if you have a glass bottle you can make this cleaner quickly and easily.
What products do I tend to buy instead of make now?
The main cleaning product that I quit using, but still works incredibly well, is my DIY shower cleaner. I have found that by keeping a scrub brush (like this one that I can fill with soap), I can keep my shower cleaner. It just makes it easier to scrub the basin while I’m taking a shower. I do use a gentle soap in the scrub brush since I am cleaning it while I am showering. But gosh, does it save me time and angst to multi task this chore!
The other product that I generally don’t make, are my DIY toilet bombs. I do like them but didn’t find that they actually clean as well as I would like them too. But they smell great and I’m sure they do clean some. Instead are use I bleach-based toilet cleaner that I buy. I really just prefer that when it comes to toilets.
I also don’t make any laundry detergent. I tried using borax, but just felt like it didn’t clean as well as a regular detergent. Sometimes my husband likes to use fabric softener, but I generally don’t.
I also buy glass cleaner. I just haven’t found a great recipe that leaves a streak free mirror. The mirror streaks are really annoying. Even Mrs. Myers glass cleaner leaves them, so for now, I’m stuck using regular old glass cleaner.
Do homemade cleaners really save you money?
I love Mrs. Meyers cleaners but they are expensive. So making my granite cleaner and my all purpose cleaner, really does save a ton. An entire bottle of vinegar is way cheaper than a small bottle of Mrs. Myers cleaner. I find that it goes a long when I make my own cleaners, and I’m not having to continually buy new bottles. So that is good for the environment as well.
Here’s the truth: a gallon bottle of white vinegar is $2.64. A 16 ounce bottle of Mrs. Myers cleaner is over $7.00!
Wow! That’s a huge difference.
Is it worth the time and effort to make homemade cleaning products?
The good part about making your own cleaners is that once you’ve done it a couple of times, you can basically memorize the recipe. I have two glass bottles that I use to make my granite cleaner and my all purpose cleaner. So I know exactly how much isopropyl alcohol to put in the bottle of the granite cleaner, and how much vinegar to put in the bottle for the all purpose cleaner.
So I can whip up these two homemade sprays in no time at all now!
For the all Natural basic deodorizer, I do a huge batch at one time, and it lasts forever it seems. So it really is worth making it. Mainly because you only need to combine a couple of ingredients, so it is very quick and simple.
I hope my honest opinion about homemade cleaning products has given you some insight as to what is worth making and what is not.
Ideally, I would love to have everything in my home be all natural, but with a competitive swimmer and a lot of traveling with him to his swim meets, I have to save money where I can. That’s just the harsh, honest truth.
If you have any questions, or any suggestions, leave a comment below. I’d love to know what you think about making your own homemade cleaning products!
xoxo
Gwen
